Parshas Vayechi - Why did Yaakov cross his hands when he blessed Menashe and Ephraim?

The passuk says in this week’s sedrah (48:14)

וַיִּשְׁלַח יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת יְמִינוֹ וַיָּשֶׁת עַל רֹאשׁ אֶפְרַיִם וְהוּא הַצָּעִיר וְאֶת שְׂמֹאלוֹ עַל רֹאשׁ מְנַשֶּׁה שִׂכֵּל אֶת יָדָיו כִּי מְנַשֶּׁה הַבְּכוֹר

And Yaakov placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head, although he was the younger one, and he placed his left hand on Menashe’s head. He did cleverly with his hands, because Menashe was the firstborn.

Yaakov explained to Yosef that he changed round his hands because Ephraim would be greater than Menashe (48:19)

וַיְמָאֵן אָבִיו וַיֹּאמֶר יָדַעְתִּי בְנִי יָדַעְתִּי גַּם הוּא יִהְיֶה לְּעָם וְגַם הוּא יִגְדָּל וְאוּלָם אָחִיו הַקָּטֹן יִגְדַּל מִמֶּנּוּ וְזַרְעוֹ יִהְיֶה מְלֹא הַגּוֹיִם

And his father refused, and he said, “I know my son, I know, Menashe will also become a people and he will also become great.  However, his younger brother will become greater than him and his descendants will become the fullness of nations.”

Rashi comments:

ואולם אחיו הקטן יגדל ממנו - שעתיד יהושוע לצאת ממנו שינחיל את הארץ וילמד תורה לישראל

Yehoshua will come from Ephraim, who will bequeath Eretz Yisrael to the benei yisrael and who will teach them Torah.

·         Why did Yaakov not tell Ephraim and Menashe to change positions, so that Ephraim would be to his right, and he would then not have needed to cross his hands?

The passuk says in Shemos (17:9)

וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה אֶל יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בְּחַר לָנוּ אֲנָשִׁים וְצֵא הִלָּחֵם בַּעֲמָלֵק מָחָר אָנֹכִי נִצָּב עַל רֹאשׁ הַגִּבְעָה וּמַטֵּה הָאֱלֹקִים בְּיָדִי

And Moshe said to Yehoshua, chose for us men and go and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of Hashem in my hand.

The Ramban explains

ויתכן שפחד משה פן יתגבר בחרבו מפני היותו עם נוחל החרב מברכת הזקן שאמר לו ועל חרבך תחיה (בראשית כ"ז מ') כי המלחמה מן המשפחה הזאת היא הראשונה והאחרונה לישראל כי עמלק מזרע עשו (שם ל"ו י"ב) וממנו באה אלינו המלחמה בראשית הגוים ומזרעו של עשו היה לנו הגלות והחרבן האחרון כאשר יאמרו רבותינו (ע"ז ב') שאנחנו היום בגלות אדום וכאשר ינוצח הוא ויחלש הוא ועמים רבים אשר אתו ממנה נושע לעולם כאשר אמר (עובדיה א' כ"א) ועלו מושיעים בהר ציון לשפוט את הר עשו והיתה לה' המלוכה, והנה כל אשר עשו משה ויהושע עמהם בראשונה יעשו אליהו ומשיח בן יוסף עם זרעם על כן התאמץ משה בדבר

“And it is possible that Moshe was afraid that Amalek would overpower the benei yisrael with his sword, because he is a people that inherits the sword according to the beracha of Yitzchak who said to him, ‘By your sword you shall live.’

For this war from this family is the first and last for the benei yisrael, because Amalek is a descendant of Esav, and from him came the first war of the nations against the benei yisrael, and from the descendants of Esav came the destruction of the second beis hamikdash. And when he is defeated together with those nations that gather to him, the world will be saved... And behold just as Moshe and Yehoshua began the fight against Amalek, so too will Eliyahu and Mashiach ben Yosef complete the fight when Amalek is eradicated, therefore Moshe exerted himself to the utmost in the matter.”

According to the Ramban, a greatness of Yehoshua, who was descended from Ephraim, is that he began the fight against Amalek, which will be completed by another descendant of Ephraim, who will be Mashiach ben Yosef.

·         Why is the fight against Amalek conducted specifically by a descendant of the younger son of Yosef (Ephraim), and not by a descendant of his firstborn (Menashe)?

The passuk says in Balak (24:20)

וַיַּרְא אֶת עֲמָלֵק וַיִּשָּׂא מְשָׁלוֹ וַיֹּאמַר רֵאשִׁית גּוֹיִם עֲמָלֵק וְאַחֲרִיתוֹ עֲדֵי אֹבֵד

And he saw Amalek, and he raised his parable and he said, “Amalek is the leader of the nations, and in the end, he will be entirely destroyed.”

·         Why will Amalek be destroyed because he is a leader of the nations?

The Pachad Yitzchak explains as follows:

The reason that Amalek is destroyed as the leader (or as the first of) the nations is because he declares himself to have his own beginning, so that he does not need to have hakaras hatov to Hashem for creating him and for giving him his strength. In this way, Amalek mis-represents the bechorah of Esav, because according to Amalek, the bechorah of Esav entitles him to create a new empire, which does not owe allegiance to that which came before him.

Since the power of Amalek comes from the importance that he attaches to the bechorah, it would be impossible for a descendant of Menashe to defeat Amalek. This is because, to the extent that Menashe would come and fight against Amalek, by his very actions he would prove the glory associated with the bechorah, since he would only have been chosen to do battle by dint of his being the bechor. Instead, a scion of Ephraim, the younger one and hence the humble one, would fight the war against Amalek.

This does not contradict the fact that the bechor tends to be stronger than the children that come after him. Rather it illustrates that it is possible to accomplish a level of harmonious existence in which the strength of the bechor can be represented by the sword wielded by the younger brother. Herein there is no competition between the brothers as to which one would take the glory for Amalek’s defeat, because both come to serve a common purpose, which is to advance the world towards the service of Hashem.

Yaakov kept Menashe on his right to show that Menashe was truly the stronger one. However he crossed his hands to show that the strength of Menashe would be represented by the sword of Ephraim, thereby illustrating that the purpose of the bechorah was not to seize vain honour, but was rather to represent the strength that can be wielded for holy purposes, when there is no self-aggrandisement involved in its being wielded, and when the source of that strength is attributed to Hashem.