Bless You
Toward the end of parashat Vayigash, Joseph brings his father and brothers for an
audience with Pharaoh. Pharaoh’s meeting with Jacob is brief and emotionally
intense, and at the end, just before leaving, Jacob blesses Pharaoh.
Rashi, commenting on Jacob’s blessing, notes that Jacob acted “according to the way of anyone who departs from an important person, blessing him and taking leave” (Rashi, Genesis 47:10). What does this concept of a parting blessing suggest about the nature of human relationships?
In one of my favorite passages from the Talmud, Rav Nahman and Rabbi Yitzhak are about to depart from one another when Rav Nahman asks Rabbi Yitzhak for a blessing.
Rashi, commenting on Jacob’s blessing, notes that Jacob acted “according to the way of anyone who departs from an important person, blessing him and taking leave” (Rashi, Genesis 47:10). What does this concept of a parting blessing suggest about the nature of human relationships?
In one of my favorite passages from the Talmud, Rav Nahman and Rabbi Yitzhak are about to depart from one another when Rav Nahman asks Rabbi Yitzhak for a blessing.
Rabbi
Yitzhak said to him: I will tell you a parable. To what is this matter comparable?
To one who was walking through a desert and who was hungry, tired, and thirsty.
He found a tree whose fruits were sweet and whose shade was pleasant, and a
stream of water flowed beneath it. He ate from the fruits of the tree, drank
from the water in the stream, and sat in the shade of the tree.
And
when he wished to leave, he said: Tree, tree, with what shall I bless you? If I
say to you that your fruits should be sweet, your fruits are already sweet; if
I say that your shade should be pleasant, your shade is already pleasant; if I
say that a stream of water should flow beneath you, a stream of water already
flows beneath you. Rather, I will bless you as follows: May it be God’s will
that all saplings which they plant from you be like you.
So it
is with you: with what shall I bless you? If I bless you with Torah, you
already have Torah; if I bless you with wealth, you already have wealth; if I
bless you with children, you already have children. Rather, may it be god’s
will that your offspring shall be like you (Ta’anit 5b-6a; tr. Steinsaltz).
We learn three things from Rabbi Yitzhak’s
blessing of Rav Nahman. First, in order to give a blessing, one must be aware
of the other person’s gifts as well as his needs, so that the blessing
addresses the whole person. Second, a meaningful relationship demands that each
person cultivate an awareness of gratitude for what the other provides. And
third, in order to fully realize the inherent potential in the relationship, we
must be willing to express our gratitude clearly and directly to the other
person.
The end of the secular year offers us an opportunity for reflection. As we take our leave of 2014, it’s worth asking: what are the blessings we take from the year that is ending, and to whom should we offer those blessings? May it be a year of life, health, and peace for all of us.
Shabbat Shalom and Happy New Year,
Rabbi Abe Friedman
The end of the secular year offers us an opportunity for reflection. As we take our leave of 2014, it’s worth asking: what are the blessings we take from the year that is ending, and to whom should we offer those blessings? May it be a year of life, health, and peace for all of us.
Shabbat Shalom and Happy New Year,
Rabbi Abe Friedman
