Shabbat shalom. Thank you for joining us this morning.
My parsha is Vayechi. This is the end of Jacob’s life, and the end of Bereshit, the beginning book of the Torah. At this time Jacob is dying of old age and he must bless his grandchildren. While he is blessing his grandchildren, he gives the blessing costumed for the firstborn to the second born son, Ephraim. Joseph thinks that his father does this out of confusion because Jacob is blind and he tries to switch his father’s hands. But Jacob knows what he is doing and orders Joseph not to alter his blessed hands in any way. Jacob blesses both grandchildren. It is important to note that Jacob is not ridiculing Manasseh at all. He says Manasseh will be great, but Ephraim will be greater.
The question is why did Jacob bless the second born child. It is very easy to say that by this point in his life, Jacob has seen a lot of unusual things, and had a lot of experiences that could make him wiser. Because Jacob has been through all of these experiences, he would know what is best for his children because they are his family and he knows what will keep the family together and what will accomplish their long- term goal, continuing down many generations later.
The prophecy Jacob seeks is the final step to ensuring that Joseph and his brothers will live in peace and prosperity. But, G-d blinds Jacob and makes him forget the prophecy. By doing this, G-d challenges Joseph to confirm and ensure that he has the strength to forgive his brothers without help. Despite his rough and difficult journey, Joseph still manages to forgive his brothers for selling him as a slave, because he believed this happened so he could save the Egyptians from famine. And deep down inside, he knows they’re still his brothers and that they still love him.
Blessings are required because Jacob knows this is a difficult and new experience for his family. Jacob makes these blessing special for his children not only because he hopes G-d will make them true, but he reiterates their current identity. Each is different for each child.
To me, a blessing is telling someone what you hope their future will be while at the same time telling your god the hopes for someone’s future. When we bless someone, we give them hope for their future, hinting that not all things in their life are, or will be all bad. This is what Jacob did, and it is what we need to do right now in these times that are still far from our own normal.
At this moment, I would like to offer blessings:
To the man who prepared me for this day, Mr. Avi Davis, you are smart, hardworking and you are always teaching me new ways to go about my life. I hope you are able teach these skills to your son, his partner and your grandbaby. One thing I really appreciate about you is your tolerance.
To my dearest grandfather Bernie, you were resilient, strong, intelligent, and kind hearted. I hope your friends and family continue to see these traits in you, and that you will have a joyful reunion with the others. And I also loved being with you and sharing our special food-filled times together. I could go on for a list that would fill up five different Torah sized documents. If you have been Practicing Judaism for a long time, you may have noticed that this parsha does not line up with this time of year. The reason for that is because this very ceremony was scheduled for the eighteenth of December. However, fifteen days before, this occasion had to be postponed as Bernie had entered into rest to reunite with his beloved bride Janice. He made the most out of his long, happy life. I hope this ceremony would have satisfied his expectations.
To the third parent of our household whom everyone calls Katie. You are strong as well, healthy, understanding and kind. I owe a lot of my personality to you and your three canine children. But I hope it crosses your mind I love them no less than you. You’ve shown much strength thought the past struggles and I admire that, this is why I sometimes wish I was a biological relative of yours.
To my accomplished brother Sam, you are always handsome, strong, charming, and intelligent. You’ve had to put up with a ton of things that I’ve done to you. You deserve to have time to do anything you want. There is no other human being in this, or any other universe whom I would rather call my brother.
For my successful Dad, you’re very wise and always try to help people. If I ever need to know something, you always know it. You have made countless journeys to become a wiser man, and every one of them paid off.
To my sweetest Mom, you sacrificed way too much of your life just so I could grow up. The same way I could go on a list about food times with your father, I could use up the same amount of parchment to list the amount of times you helped me out. I wish we can continue each of these blessings for longer.
To the other people who had their B’nai Mitzvah this year in this synagogue, This Bar Mitzvah was widely inspired by each of yours, you guys are not only getting more mature, but older as well. However, it is important that we all remain a youthful spirit and so far, mission accomplished! And although it was one year earlier, this same blessing goes for my cousin Ezra
To my non-Jewish friends. I know that this past year has laid a separate challenge on each one of you, but I wouldn’t be able to call you friends if I knew we would not be happy by the end of this uncertain stage of life.
To the families I delivered food to for my mitzvah project. I hope you guys are well, and that no major problems happen. If they do, power through them because I have faith that you can, and that you will.
To the Jewish community. This bar mitzvah isn’t about me, it’s about bringing people together. Becoming a Bna’i mitzvah means having a new place in your congregation that’s your own, one that you must have the strength pave yourself, and contributing your own ideas. I know it’s hard to make more space in any community, but I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart. Especially Rabbi Barbara Penzner. You have not only been guiding me since my bris, but even before I was born. As the religious figure who married my dearest parents together, I owe you a fraction of my existence.
And the most important blessing is for the dog, Scooter.