{"id":85742,"date":"2020-12-31T18:07:46","date_gmt":"2020-12-31T16:07:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=85742"},"modified":"2021-01-07T10:26:11","modified_gmt":"2021-01-07T08:26:11","slug":"vayechi-brotherly-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/vayechi-brotherly-love\/","title":{"rendered":"Vayechi: Brotherly Love"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[],"acf":{"old_id":"85742","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":85348,"related_cahpter":"1129","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"","content":"
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This week, Jacob, like his father before him, sets out to bless his progeny. The first to receive his blessings are Joseph\u2019s sons, the brothers Ephraim and Menashe. Those who have been following since Bereshit will know that being a brother in the main story of the parsha<\/em> is a fraught position. This lineage is riddled with kin-strife\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Cain and Abel, Shem and Ham, Issac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and his brothers. There is a family history of choosing one son and abandoning the other. Jacob, still not fully recovered from the fallout of his own sons\u2019 conflict, is determined to heal this intergenerational trauma. What is his advice to Joseph?\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201c\u05d0\u05b6\u05e4\u05b0\u05e8\u05b7\u0599\u05d9\u05b4\u05dd\u0599 \u05d5\u05bc\u05de\u05b0\u05e0\u05b7\u05e9\u05c1\u05bc\u05b6\u0594\u05d4 \u05db\u05bc\u05b4\u05e8\u05b0\u05d0\u05d5\u05bc\u05d1\u05b5\u05a5\u05df \u05d5\u05b0\u05e9\u05c1\u05b4\u05de\u05b0\u05e2\u0596\u05d5\u05b9\u05df \u05d9\u05b4\u05bd\u05d4\u05b0\u05d9\u05d5\u05bc\u05be\u05dc\u05b4\u05bd\u05d9\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Ephraim and Menashe will be for me as Reuben and Shimon.\u201d (Genesis 48:5<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Jacob is telling Joseph that the way forward is for brothers to be brothers. Siblings ought to love each other, not to vie for blessings or paternal adoration. Ephraim and Menashe will be like Reuben and Shmion, not like Joseph and his brothers or Jacob and Esau.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the laws of Shmita set out in Leviticus, we are told:\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201c\u05d0\u05b7\u05dc\u05be\u05ea\u05bc\u05b4\u05e7\u05bc\u05b7\u05a4\u05d7 \u05de\u05b5\u05bd\u05d0\u05b4\u05ea\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9\u0599 \u05e0\u05b6\u05a3\u05e9\u05c1\u05b6\u05da\u05b0 \u05d5\u05b0\u05ea\u05b7\u05e8\u05b0\u05d1\u05bc\u05b4\u0594\u05d9\u05ea \u05d5\u05b0\u05d9\u05b8\u05e8\u05b5\u0596\u05d0\u05ea\u05b8 \u05de\u05bd\u05b5\u05d0\u05b1\u05dc\u05b9\u05d4\u05b6\u0591\u05d9\u05da\u05b8 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d7\u05b5\u05a5\u05d9 \u05d0\u05b8\u05d7\u05b4\u0596\u05d9\u05da\u05b8 \u05e2\u05b4\u05de\u05bc\u05b8\u05bd\u05da\u05b0\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Do not take advance or accrued interest from [your brother], but fear your God and your brother shall live with you.\u201d (Leviticus 25:36<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The language of \u2018brother\u2019 in this context is notable. The laws of Shmita remind us that our fellows are our brothers, not to be contested with, but to be loved and aided in their time of need. Life on this Earth, given to us though no merit of our own, is not a competition, and God does not hand out reward based on accrual of resources.<\/p>\n

This shabbat, we will invoke Jacob\u2019s ancient blessing to our children on Friday night:<\/p>\n

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\u201c\u05d9\u05b0\u05e9\u05c2\u05b4\u05bd\u05de\u05b0\u05da\u05b8\u05a3 \u05d0\u05b1\u05dc\u05b9\u05d4\u05b4\u0594\u05d9\u05dd \u05db\u05bc\u05b0\u05d0\u05b6\u05e4\u05b0\u05e8\u05b7\u0596\u05d9\u05b4\u05dd \u05d5\u05b0\u05db\u05b4\u05de\u05b0\u05e0\u05b7\u05e9\u05c1\u05bc\u05b6\u0591\u05d4\u00a0\u2013\u00a0May god make you like Ephraim and Menashe.\u201d (Genesis 48:20<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

As we do, let us remember that Menashe, the elder, did not protest to being mentioned after his younger brother Ephraim. Menashe was already changing the story of his family to the one we should hope to cultivate in our own families: the story of God\u2019s abundant blessings, freely shared.<\/p>\n

The next shmita year begins next Rosh Hashanah 2021, almost a year from now. We have time to prepare. As we move through 5781 we invite you to join us in preparation for the upcoming shmita year \u2013 a sabbatical year for the Earth but also for ourselves, our communities, and our world. Each week we will share thoughts on how the weekly parsha can help guide our thinking around shmita themes of work and rest, wealth and debt, responsible land use, fair labor practices, private and public property ownership, and physical and spiritual revitalization.<\/p>\n

Join us for the journey.<\/p>\n

See here for more information on the Hazon Shmita project, and its blogs.<\/a><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":81608,"id":81608,"title":"shmita","filename":"shmita.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/bereishit-the-sabbatical-paradigm\/shmita\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"shmita","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":81605,"date":"2020-10-15 14:26:00","modified":"2021-02-01 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