Rabbi Daniel: Thoughts on Torah

Dear Friends,

In 5786 we are reading the first triennial each week, which means starting each parsha at the beginning.  The third verse of our first aliyah is: 

  וַאֲבָֽרְכָה֙ מְבָ֣רְכֶ֔יךָ וּמְקַלֶּלְךָ֖ אָאֹ֑ר וְנִבְרְכ֣וּ בְךָ֔ כֹּ֖ל מִשְׁפְּחֹ֥ת הָאֲדָמָֽה׃
 
"I will bless those who bless you; and curse the one who curses you; and all the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you.”

Rashi has a great explanation of this verse.  He makes a simple point about what it means to bless one generation by the name of a past generation.

ונברכו בך

AND IN THEE SHALL BE BLESSED

— There are many midrashim concerning this but the plain sense of the text is as follows: A parent says to his/her child, “Mayest thou become as Abraham”. This, too, is the meaning wherever the phrase ונברכו בך “ And in thee shall be blessed” occurs in Scripture, and the following example proves this: (Genesis 48:20)

בך יברך

“By thee shall Israel bless their children saying, “May God make thee as Ephraim and Manasseh”.

Rashi is explaining that when God tells Abraham that people of the earth shall be blessed by him it means that Abraham will have a great legacy.  This legacy will be one that future generations will want their children to emulate.  In our day, when we name a child after a loved one who has died, we are continuing this lesson of honoring those who lived their lives in a way that future generations would want their children to carry forward.  

In peace and honor,
 
Rabbi Daniel