An Era’s End | Rabbi Shmuel Goldin | December 30th 2025

All right. Today we're going to take a step back again and try to look at things globally. Um we're at the end of Safrait. We're bringing to a culmination and a conclusion very very powerful personal story of Yakov's family and Yoseph and Mitim, the brothers. There's a reunion between the brothers and Yoseph. Everything seems to be coming to a conclusion. But at the same time, as is always the case, when the Torah is describing a personal story, there is a subtext below, and that is what's happening globally to the Jewish people at this particular moment. It's the end of an era. Can you hear me now? It's the end of an era. It's the end of a first era in Jewish history, the patriarchal and matriarchal era, the era of the Yavote and Imote. And the question is raised by Rashi in the very first Rashi in the Torah. If you take a look, he says, said the Torah really did not have to start except with when was that's the first commandment given to the nation while still in Egypt. It's the first mitzvah. The first mitzvah delivered to Ben Israel says, "Why is the Torah telling us all these stories? Why do we have the whole patriarchal and matriarchal era? Why not start with the beginning of the national history of the Jewish people with the exodus from Egypt? So the answer he gives is very preient given the time in which we find ourselves. It foreshadows the times in which we follow. He says the following. The reason is the whole point is says Rashi that God wants to prove that the Jewish people have rights to the land of Israel and since he's the creator and he's creating everything. He gave that land to the nations that preceded Israel. He gave that land now to Benet Israel and that's our answer. Now that is his explanation for why the Torah begins here. Begins with notes but rather with the beginning of of orit actually. Now I have to admit that I have always felt in this case the question is better than the answer. All right. And what I mean by that is the following that yes, I understand that that this is important for us to be able to pro prove our legacy of the land of Israel. But first of all, who are we proving it to? And will they listen to us? If we tell them God gave it to us, they're not going to listen to us. Right? All right. That's number one. And number two, is that the totality of the patriarchal and matriarchal era? The whole point of this is just to show us that we have the land of Israel or is there more? And the answer is obviously there's more. I don't think Rashi felt this was the only reason. I think he had a point he wanted to make. The point is that the p the era of the OS and Imos actually contributes a great deal to our thought process as Jews to to many things to many many aspects of Judaism and the stories I all you have to do is for example look at the stories from each story you learn a lesson you learn a lesson from a standing up for stoneman memory. You learn a lesson from uh Yakov dreaming of the dreams of L. You learn a lesson from all of these stories. Every story has its particular lesson. But let's back up and take a look at the era as a whole. And let's ask a question which is what does the matriarchal and patriarchal period what does the period of the Avote and Mahoot contribute to Jewish consciousness? What what does this era give over? And again, I I've often said to you, I like to look at things globally. I'm not looking at peace meal at each story, but what does it give over in a global fashion? I thought about this a number of years ago and I came up I have three answers. There may be many, many more. Take a look at the bottom of the page. I believe that the patriarchal and matriarchal era allows us the era of the yavos and demos allows us to create a balance that's critical between individual and community. Before we became a nation, we were a family. God wanted there to be a point in in history where the totality of the Jewish experience was summed up in the lives of individuals. Why? Because individuality is important and we'll come back to that. So that's number one. Creating a balance before you get into the national era and the seabore you have the era of the individual. Number two, it establishes for us a pre-national legacy. Meaning that the moment we are born as a people, we already have a history. We already were not born into a vacuum. And we'll talk about that. And finally, and in some ways, I don't know, more importantly, but most particularly impressive important is its stress on family. Let's understand the Torah tells us basically through its stories that the era of the Aos and Emos cannot come to a conclusion until you get to the point of Yakov's deathbed with all his sons around him. Until you have a whole family. You don't have that with the first generation because you have Yeshel. You don't have that with the second generation because you have Asaf. But you have it with the third generation. he basically is able to complete the the journey that began with. So let's start with that. Let's go back now and let's take a look at each of these three things. Three three global contributions that the Torah makes individual and national attaining the balance. All right. So import to underscore the importance of this balance you have to go back in time and we we've spoken about this you have to go back to the first two civilizations that the Torah describes the draam and the dhamab the generation of the flood and the generation of dispersion. I'm not going to go into it in depth, but we we if you remember, some of you might remember earlier in the year, we basically said that each of these generations or each of these civilizations sinned or failed at a particular extreme of a of a balance. In other words, they didn't create the balance that was necessary. Every society from the beginning of time is defined by the balance it creates between individual and community. Right? In other words, if you have strong individual because the two of them, best way to say it, the two of them are potentially clashing. If I have a strong government, there's going to be more impingement on my rights, right? I should have a right to yell fire in the crowded movie house, right? In other words, what? Free speech. Say whatever I want. At the same time, too much individual rights and you have a problem with the with the society. It's not going to exist. It's not going you're not going to be able to manage. So therefore, what happens is early in the Torah, the Torah describes two civilizations. Now, what was a sin of each? So the rabbis say, and I'm just reminding you, the rabbis say that when it came to the dormabul, the sin was well, the Torah says it was kamas. It was theft, right? Thought kamas. Perfect. Right? Torah says it was kamas, but the rabbis describe the theft. If you'll remember, the rabbis say, "What was the theft that took place during the doramu?" The theft that took place was you had a a road and you had a farmer or a land owner with a bushel of grapes, let's say. And as the guy walked along the road, everyone who was present, all the crowds, the throngs, what did they do? Everyone took a a grape. Right. Right. Yosher ad, right? Uh or any other what? Everybody took one grape. Everybody took one grape by the So that if you turned to anybody and said, "What are you doing? You're stealing." I just took a grape. That's a big deal. But by the time that owner gets to the end of the path, what's happening? He has no grapes. All right. Now, let's leave that for a second and let's take a look at the sin of the dorah. According to one Mamar Khazal, very powerful one, Mamar Khazal about the doraflaga is that there were seven stages up to a the tower they were building and seven down. And the way it worked was someone would walk up carrying a brick, put it down and walk down. If a brick, if a person fell off the tower, no one paid attention. The rabbi saying if a brick fell off the tower they went into mourning. So what does that represent? That represents the exact opposite of the dorah. Right here what is this? The stress is on everything for the community, right? Everything for mother Russia, everything for your individual rights are not that important. That it's it's what you're doing for the collective, the only thing that's important. And those two societies had to be destroyed because they were not s they were at the extremes in terms of their failures of that of that that delicate balance. And what was so the sin of the dormabul was a sin that stressed individual need over societal mandate. Right? Because what were they doing? They were doing an end run around the society. Right? They were mocking society. We're going to everyone will take a grape. He can't get us. Aha. But what the society can't stand. And because their sin was the sin that stressed individuals over society, that entire generation, the individuals had to perish. They couldn't last. When it comes to the opposite was true. It was the society over the individual. So what happens? God destroys the society. He doesn't have to destroy every individual. He just has to destroy the society because the society is the problem. So what you have is you have in the earliest times in the Torah describe these two civilizations because I have to wonder why does the Torah even bother telling us about them because they're important because they're they're showing us what that balance has to be. Along comes Yahadus and it introduces the era of the individual before we become a nation. And it says right individuality is important. And as I said, God wanted there to be Hashem wanted there to be a po point in history where the totality of Jewish experience was summed up in the lives of individuals. And each of these individuals of the of oimos each one of them was different from the other. When you say something very interesting the amid you say I could have said that shorter right. So what is it saying? say, some say each individual related to God in his own way and their relation, the relationship between God and Yakov differed from the relationship between God and the relationship between and God was different than the that of Abraham and and Hashem. And that's why we say elam the god who is the god of each one of them in the way that he was for them because every relationship is different and therefore each one of us has a different relationship with but how do you end the brah you don't say why because you want to say they all related differently to the one god It was the same god. The relationships were different. The rabbis suggest for example the rabbis say you know if you if you take a look at the stories of theos and they say two things they say aim created which which set of was and yanakov is mar. Now you can take that literally if you want. All right? In other words, as we said, when it comes to midrashim, you have a right to say that that really or you can say the rabbis are teaching me something. Think about it for a minute. A shakaris. Aam's the dawn. A's the beginning of the story. He's climbing the mountain alone. Yitzk is the cultivator, the one who receives. So his symbol they say a is har climbs the mountain of faith is sod because he's cultivating what he received and yakov is bias because he succeeds as we said where where no one else did before him. All right. So what you have then is the era of the the individual. Hashem is creating an era of our history where the individuals are important. Raelves points out that there if you take a look carefully you see that there are two separate breto we've spoken about this as well. Two separate bretote that are made two separate covenants that God makes with man with with the Jew. There is what he calls the Brit Aot and the Brit atmi the Brit the covenant of the fathers literally and the personal covenant co covenant when do these two breto take place the first the avote is found at hareni at harseni there is a ritual that takes place that Moshe does and he says we're creat and God is making a bris with you. Then on the last day of Moshe's life, Moshe is standing in front of everybody and he says God is making another bris. He doesn't say another. He says God is making a bris. But we know it's another because we know the text. So says Ralic, those two reto are different. The Brit aote even though it's the era of individuality but the Brit aote marks the collective. The Brit a vote means I'm part of the story that began with Ara. I'm throwing my lot in with that story. Right. I'm I'm part of that. The Brit at says there is take a look carefully at the para of you'll see that the text says it's a brit that God is making with each one of us. Every one of us has a separate covenant with Hashem. So what you have then again is this balance. There is this covenant of belonging and there's a covenant of individuality. And the RV by the way it's one of his most basic basic teachings when it comes to the Yim says that if you look carefully in Yom Kipur Yom Kipur presents two separate paths to Akadesh Baru along which we are both to tread we have to be on both of them one of them is I belong to this people that's represented by the seir lazar That's represented by the scapegoat that's sent out to the desert where the where the coin says he all the sins of all of Israel are placed and I belong to that collective what Larv refers to as Knesset Israel. Then there's the and and that's why by the way there's some very strange statements in the about Yom Kipper. For example, it says Yom Kipper atones even without Shuva. Right? What what does that mean? So the rub says that's talking about the bridto vote. As long as you say I'm part then you have you're on that path. As long as you say I'm part of the nation and then then you're on that path. However it's not enough. You can't just say I'm a Jew. That's great. You have to say you have to determine what's my unique challenge. what's my unique contribution and that's why the second bris says I'm not making this with you only I'm making this with all the Jews to come across the face of time again Jews is not the right word they're still Israelites at that point but the idea being that there is a Knesset Israel and that's where you have to start but at the same time you as an individual have to develop your with and if you remember if you let's let's realize that and we said this before that this correlates to what we expect from someone who wants to become Jewish right what's the first thing we say who remembers the first thing we say is why do you want to be part of this people why would you want to throw your lot in with a people that have been pushed from pillar to post. You don't have to do it. We believe that you're righteous if you're righteous anyway. No, you don't have to. Why do you want to be part of this people? That's how you start. And everyone knows you start with discouragement. But not everyone knows that that's the discouragement you're supposed to start with. And once the person says, "I'm not worthy of being part. I want to be part." At that point you start teaching mitzvah him or her mitzvot. >> You have to have to start with the totality and stress the individual as well. Yes. >> You also have duality with you have the which is individual and you have the pes which is >> oh very nice. Okay. She's saying that if you take a look there there are two separate places where the concept of living through the ritual of blood is found and one is Britney which is the individual and the carbon pesak which is the beginning of the collective era. >> Okay. Now let's go on. All right. So there do come. Now let's take a look for a moment at the practical reverberations that come over time to our own lives about concerning this balance between yid and sib. Let's take a look for a moment at the way we dav it's most important to davin in a min right so collective but what is the most what is it the the most significant prayer of all the amida what is the am how is the amida recited >> plural >> in the plural right very good in the plural but silently, right? I have to basically I have to say it loud enough for me to hear but no one else. Why? Because this is personal. This is the Brit. That's me. So therefore, you've got And then what do we do? And then we say it we say it in the plural. So you're saying the private the private in the plural, right? And then what do you do? You have someone repeat it for the congregation. So what you have is we're balancing that's we're balancing Y and Seabore right off the start [snorts] basically and as I said this is also effective when we take a look at the the Y kipper to paths to trouva all right so that's the first global contribution I would suggest that is made by the door aos the door of the osimos first contribution is the balance, the beginning of the balance because they'll when the nation is born that will be the society. Now we're dealing with the individuality. Next [snorts] free national legacy. I don't have to say much about this. All you have to do is look at the Torah. When God speaks to Benet Israel about Erit Israel over and over and over again, what does he say to them? This is the this is the land that I promised to your fathers. Right? I I just took one line out of the myriad lines. We say it every day in the in the you will have the land that I promised to your forth. Now, what's going on here? What's going on here is that a richness is given to the land that wouldn't exist without that prehistory. It's like I' I've often said if you have a beautiful gem or beautiful ring and it's beautiful and were valuable and you love it, but if it belonged to your grandmother before you, it's even more significant. Right? In other words, if something comes down to me from previous generations, it has a greater beauty and a greater pull on my heart. And that's what happens here when we're born. And when we are born as a nation in Mitzim, there's already a h we're born with a history, right? Don't don't often think about this. We're born we're born with a point at this point. We're born with a history. The idea being that we're it's not in a vacuum. And if I'm traveling to the land of Cananan, I'm traveling to the land that they lived and the land that was promised to them. And it ends lends a richness to what I do from that point on. So therefore, that the establishment of a pre-national legacy is the second global contribution. I'll take all comments at the end. Okay. Now finally the one that we have to speak about most family. We are you ever ever stop to think about how troubling [snorts] it is that every one of the patriarchal families had the problems they had. Right. Right. You know you know I I I don't want to say it but there's some dysfunction here. Right. That what what what what's going on that that you know Ishmael Asov the brothers throw him in the pit. I mean that makes our sibling rivalry look kind of pale by comparison. I hope I don't think any of your children throw others in the pit. But what what's going on? It occurred to me many years ago now. not sure I'm right that when Hashem launches the journey of one of the things he's saying to Avam is your family is going to have to raise the children not the tribe not the community not the collective meaning what meaning in those days the tribe raised the child the child was raised as part of the tribe as part of the institution here You're on a journey alone. Your family is isolated from everyone else, right? You're you're totally different. There are different responsibilities. You have different dreams and different expectations. And you have to raise your child in that vacuum. You have to raise your child. And by that may explain partially why it was so difficult. I mean, we we look at family as something that has existed for thousands of years. Maybe this was the first time that the family really became responsible for the total creation of the child and therefore maybe they had to learn from mistakes and there were errors and there was dysfunction. But what do we finally get to? We finally get to rec reunion and recon reconciliation. We get to a point where the everybody is together at the at the at the deathbed of Yakov and that brings it to culmination because it says okay you succeeded right you went through a difficult travail you went through a difficult path you made mistakes but by the end you're all standing around the and we'll take a look at that in a moment but when we talk about family we talk about par it's Not only that, we're coming to the culmination of the family, but we're doing something else. Yakov was the first what? Don't look at the paper. >> Yakov in the Torah is the first Zadei. >> What? >> Zadei. The first grandfather. What do I mean by the first grandfather? No. A was a grandfather, right? Yakov was his grandson. But nowhere in the Torah is there an interchange between grandchild and grandparent until he hit. You don't see it. You don't see Yakov speaking to Ara. Maybe he did, but wasn't important enough to put in the Torah. Here we have a very interesting legacy encounter where for the first time in the Torah a grandparent is confronting or is meeting a grandchild. And I want you to take a look because this is this is a very very interesting passage in this is the very very beautiful in terms of many of the lessons that he teaches. I'm looking at page two at the bottom of the page. The translation is on the next page. It was after these things that Yoseph was told, "Your father is ill." All right? And that means that he's coming to coming to his end. And what does Yoseph do? Yoseph takes his two children, Manasha and Ephraim, to meet again to to interface with their grandfather, to interact with Zigi. All right. And what does he do? Yoseph is coming. And and Yakov straightens himself up. This is an important encounter. And then he says to the to Yoseph something very very interesting. He says the underlined section on the bottom of page two. The two children who were born to you before I came here where it's those two children are mine le any other children that are born the Torah goes on to say will have their own place. But Manash and Ephraim are part what's he doing here? >> Raising their status. >> What? >> Raising their status. >> He's raising their status. And he's even more importantly, he is interweaving intergenerity into the into the society into the tribal society. What do I mean by that? Minashim areatim right that's what that comes from this pok comes from this pok where he says those who were born before I came are mine what do I mean they're mine they're like ruin and shimon because they are going to be tribes so all of a sudden now not only are Yako's children part of the but's grandchildren are part of theim as well take comments at the end okay a part of theatim as well. Now, we've [snorts] said this is a very very complex event really because on the one hand it's raising Minash and Ephraim and raising Yoseph because Yoseph will now officially in have two portions as opposed to one. But what else does it do? It removes the name of Yoseph from the Shanti because, and we've said this before, because Yoseph is always alone. No matter where he is, no matter where he finds himself in whatever society, whether it be with his brothers, whether it be with the Egyptians, Yoseph is always alone. So therefore, I would suggest that's one of the reasons that this happens. It happens for the better, for the good, but also it also emphasizes that when we talk about the tribes, we don't mention Yoseph's name. And it's sad. It's a it's a sad aspect of Yoseph's story. All right. So, let's keep going though. Top of page three. And the people the those who will be born after them mean after I came they're yours they're not mine they're not they're not they're not going to be part of the tribes they're just your children those are more important and he goes on to say there's an aside here which is very difficult to understand all of a sudden he says he talks about Rael dying and not being could be he's trying to apologize eyes to Yoseph for not being able to bury her in. But then take a look at the next underlying line. Right? I just I just made them part of the tribe. Who is that? Who is that? All right. Now the Torah will later say and if you take a look at two lines below uh one line below really the anoken right which means what he had difficulty seeing but it doesn't say that before he says m if that were the explanation of why he doesn't recognize them it should have said it prior right it should have said he turned around and He said ma. So what's what's happening here? Why is he saying ma? Because I think because he's taking a look at two young men who don't seem familiar to him at all. Right. They're dressed as Egyptians. They talk like Egyptians. They me a who are they? Not not just, you know, who are they? Who are they? Who are these? Who are these sons? Who are these people that are they're coming to my deathbed? Yoseph, I don't recognize them as part of my legacy. What's going on here? How does Yoseph answer? Yseph's words are very carefully chosen. Aiv the the sec third underlined line in on the page [snorts] aerosan elohim they are my children that God has granted to me here what's he saying he's saying yes what you're seeing is a natural natural development. These two children were raised by me here. You not not where you were but here. And therefore they are going to pick up and and and part of the culture around them will be part of the culture around them. And that's what that's what you're seeing. And that's why you can't recognize them. But at the same time, they are part of your legacy. At the same time, they're they're part they are part of your people. And isn't that what we've had to do over and over and over again in every place we've lived, right? We've had to take in what we could take in and push out what we what we had to push out. Anybody who says that that Jewish tradition was not touched by outside influence has to explain to me why Cholant isn't in the Torah. Right? I told you that once geil fish, right? Go on. Go on. Right. These are things that we picked up from the outside society. Right. And Ashkanazim to to to raise the raise the stakes. Why are they so why are we so different? Because we were raised in different worlds and we picked up things from the worlds in which we were raised. And that's why he has trouble recognizing them here because he says ma and Yseph says don't worry, don't worry. They're still they're still who you want them to be. I'll I'll really give time for other people have questions. So I'll All right. So then take a look. [snorts] After Yoseph tells him, "Don't worry, they're part of your legacy." What does Yakov then say? I never expected to see you again. And I am in wonder that I not only see you, but that I see your children. And there's a sense of wonderment here. There's a sense of wow what's hap and again this is major grandparent grandchild first time very major and then we go down to the bottom he blessed them on that day saying From this day on, those within the community will bless their children using your names. Now, let's stop for that. We're all familiar with that, right? What do we say to the girl? We say, right? Why don't we say Wouldn't that make more sense than saying? So, there are a couple of answers that are proposed. One is that this this is the first time since the beginning of the Torah where siblings get along, where they're able to where they they're not jealous of each other, right? Because what happens is Ephraim is blessed before Manasha and and that's once again the the firstborn is over overtaken right but nonetheless they are so that's one explanation we're blessing them they should be like Ephraim and Manasha the other explanation is no because they are the best example or the first example of Israelites raised in an outside society And we are therefore saying God should make you successful because you know it's a very very difficult task. We have to constantly be on our guard particularly in days like this what we let in and what we take out right and keep out. What we let in what could we learn from the outside what can't we learn? And you know I have to tell you I I was raised on Rabonim who are are no longer you don't see the mold anymore. I D Salvich used to quote Kirkagard in his sheer right. Um Ravaro Nikkenstein had a master's or a doctorate or whatever in English literature. I mean these were these were people who the RV went to the University of Berlin right? These were people who felt that you there was what you what to take from the outside world but at the same time I I their piety I would set them up against any any pious Jew today and say wow look at them. So what so what now we can't all be like that but what we have to be are people who accept things from the outside world and reject things and what we reject is very important and as we've said in today's society it's getting harder and harder to stop the invasion of the outside world into our lives. Right? It's just harder and harder and and and there's no privacy that whatever you have whatever someone said to me today, you know, I I found I have a new friend AI. AI is, you know, it's great. I'm looking trying to do footnotes on my new book. I don't have I say AI, where can I find this? It tells me 10 30% time he's wrong. Right? He doesn't it doesn't exist the way he says, but very often he's right. Right? But AI but someone told so I said so what's so so so everybody's frightened by AI so my friend said to me you know what what they they've done so far recently they were able to take somebody who is well known and have him say things that he never said using AI right and we've seen that we've seen like you know the AI that has little children saying things or whatever so what you can have is you can't believe anything anymore, right? Because anything can be doctorred. Anything can be changed. Maybe he didn't really say that. Maybe he didn't really mean that. Maybe that maybe it's a lie. So on the one hand, you have this wonderful tool. Wonderful tool. On the other I mean you can ask it anything. I I asked it if I should drink a second cup of coffee before a fast day. It gives you answers and and it and if you want it'll talk to you in a very nice voice. All right? And and by the way, it personalizes the answers. Yesterday it said to me, "Have a nice fast." Right? Really, really said to me, "Have a nice fast." So I said to AI, "How did you know that I'm going to fast tomorrow? I want to know that." And it said, 'Well, you mentioned in one previous conversation that this would be a fast. So, we remembered that and you've asked me a lot of questions about uh Jewish things. So, I made the conclusion that you are well-versed or well entrenched in the Jewish world. And it is an appropriate greeting to say to someone have an easy fast. I don't think it is. I think have a meaningful fast is better. Right? But the point being what? The point being because I put all those pieces together, I could then wish you have an easy have a pleasant fast. What? Sure. Right. It's like so this is this it's hard to believe that that's not someone. It's just something. But it's hard to hard to but all of this creates its own dangers and its own concerns. how many jobs are going to be out out moved out of the market. Now, people say they said that with the industrial revolution. So, there'll be new jobs that will be created because of AI. Yeah. Oh, perhaps. But the point being that there's a lot to think about with this. I I welcome it. And at the same time, uh what what's the Hebrew phrase? Means honor it and fear it. Right? In other words, that's the way that phrase is used to talk about the way we're supposed to view the outside world like President Trump, right? In other words, you there's a balance here and you got you got to be able to know it. All right. Now, so what we're suggesting then is that what is that family is expanding in. Right? So now we're not only talking about we're going to enter the national era with a whole family and with grandchildren and grandparents, things that didn't really exist outwardly before. Now take a look at the next page at page number four. And here you see a very beautiful medish. It it's some of you have heard it before. The madrish is explaining the existence of one puk that we say in the schma. There's one puk we say in the schma that's somewhat controversial. What puk is that told the voy where did that come from? The schma is in the Torah. The last all that is taken is Torah text isn't. So where did that come from? So there there's one medish that says that that Moshe heard the angels saying that on the summit of Arseni. But the more beautiful interpretation is this. And again, you don't have to take it literally, but listen to what it's saying. Omar, who's Omar? This is Yakov lying now on his deathbed. Lying on his deathbed. And who surrounds him? All of his children are surrounding him. And suddenly he is struck with fear. Shalom. God forbid. But perhaps among these sons around me, one of them will go off to Derek. Yes, it happened to my grandfather. It happened to my father. Maybe it'll maybe it'll happen to me at that point, right? Because he says, right? Hashem, hashem. All right. Who's Israel there? >> Yakov. Here, Israel. Here, grandfather. God. Hashem is our God. And he's one God. We're don't worry. We're with you. To which Yakov responds according to this medish. Now I know that God's name will be honored across the generations because now I know that these so it's a beautiful medish whether it happened that way I don't know but what it teaches us is this is a pivotal moment and all of his children are in the pala that's the way to use current vernacular right all of them are part of the process now take a look at the next time. And here is a very interesting just a very interesting um linguistic problem which is explained somewhat problematically I think and then all right so what does it sayar these are the tribes after after the blessings they are no longer people they're the tribes of Israel too right the zasher This is what their and what we've told you these what their father said to them. And each one by the way is individualized. Each bra is appropriate for that child. [snorts] Each one according to his blessing. So someone who knows the Hebrew, what's problematic there? >> That's right. Why does it say right? So that gives rise to rashi and others who say what's this telling me that after he blessed each child with the individual braha he then blessed all the children with all the brahoot and that's what it's saying but the problem with that is then why have individual brahoot right so it occurred to me maybe this is just a thought that what the Torah is telling what the medish is telling us is that after giving them their individual bra, he gave them the biggest brah of all. He taught them to share. He said to be your skills use for the benefit of ruin. Use it for the benefit of Ishmael. Your skills ruain use it for Yehuda. In other words, he taught and that's what it means when it says that each one had their bra but he's blessing them all that they should all use it for the benefit of the clal and that might be a potential answer. So there we and then in the next line take a look what do we see? Not only do we have in the Torah chronicled for us Yakov relating to his grandchildren, but once that door is opened, it says Yoseph sees the third generation. He sees the children of Maher Benasha. In other words, he he sees not only his grandchildren, but his great grandchildren. And again, why does the Torah have to tell me that? Because again, the Torah is stressing. That's the expansion of family here. That's what's happening before we close the era of the family. That's what we have to do now. This this sets up what happens when the national era is born. What do you have? So in other words, what I'm suggesting to you is those these three global contributions, whether it's the global contribution of individuality, whether it's the global contribution of a existing legacy, whether it's family, each one of these is picked up as we become a nation. Take a look at the last section where this is where we're told to take the carbon pes. Now did you ever think about it? We've spoke this spoken about this when we spoken about PES. We usher in the birth of the nation in a according to the instructions of aeshbu in a counterintuitive way. We don't have demonstrations out in the town square. We don't have um committee meetings. Thank God. We'd still be in Egypt if we had committee meetings, right? We don't have whatever. What does God tell us to do? go home, sit with your family and have a family meal because that's what the pesak is a family meal. He then says if you can't do it yourselves, if the it's too much, then someone should help you. So that takes family and then brings in neighborhood. And then at the end it says that you have to choose you have to figure out how much everyone can eat and you take enough that everyone can eat their part meaning their individual part has to be there too. So what do you have here? These concepts are woven into the birth of the nation as well. Go home. I've taught in many communities and if you were to ask me what the greatest failure of the America I I can only say this about the American because I didn't teach in Europe. The greatest failure of the American Jewish community is not assimilation. Assimilation is the symptom. The greatest failure is the abdication of the family unit's responsibility to teach their children. Too often we are farming that out. I it hap look what it certainly happened in the nonorthodox communities. I I would teach tomato and a parent and parent would say well we don't do any of those things but we want you to teach our children about chabas kash. It's not going to work right. Where do they have to learn those things? They have to learn those things. Someone comes to me and says, "I I the school has to teach my child not to cheat." No, [laughter] it's not the school's job to teach your child not to cheat. It's your job to teach your child not to cheat. So what's happening is we're too often even within the Orthodox community, we're not emphasizing the family's unit educational unit's educational power. Where do our children learn about Yandos? We learn from the family. And therefore, that piece is very important as we're moving forward. finally and then I'll take any questions. We're find ourselves at Hari and at Hari Hashem says to Moshe Israel. This you should say to the house of Jacob and speak to the children of Israel. And the rabbis say why that double language. One explanation I think the post pushup is Hashem is saying before you became bene Israel you were bakov. Before you became a nation, you were a family. So we learn from the famil we learn from that era a tremendous amount. Okay, we'll stop there. There were comments or questions, I'll take them.