Jan 09 2025
We read in Parashat Vayehi the special berachot that Yaakov gave to his sons just before his passing. He addressed each son individually, and delivered a specific blessing that was appropriate for each one. After telling us of all the berachot , the Torah summarizes this event by stating, ויברך אותם, איש אשר כברכתו ברך אותם – "He blessed them; each one according to his [appropriate] blessing did he bless them" (49:28). The Or Ha'haim takes note of the last word in this pasuk – אותם . Rather than say, ברך אותו – that Yaakov blessed each son with the blessing that was appropriate for him , the Torah instead says that ברך אותם – Yaakov blessed them with the blessing that was appropriate for each of the sons. The Or Ha'hahim 's explanation of this nuance is exceedingly powerful, and so relevant to us. He writes that each son's blessing was a blessing for all the other sons, as well. When the tribe of Gad is blessed, this is a blessing for the entire Jewish Nation. When the tribe of Asher is blessed, this is a blessing for the entire Jewish Nation. And the same is true of every other tribe. When any of the tribes succeeds and prospers, the entire nation benefits. A blessing for one group is a blessing for all the others, because, at the end of the day, we are a single nation. This is so crucial for us to remember today, when Am Yisrael is fragmented into so many different groups and subgroups. We often make the terrible mistake of assigning labels and names to different groups of Jews, regarding them as lower and less significant. Each group within the Jewish Nation, understandably, sees itself as exceptional, and as the most correct group. There is nothing wrong with this kind of pride, but this does not mean that we can or should assign derogatory labels to other groups. We are all in this together. And in case we may have forgotten that we're all in this together, our enemies have given us a very stark reminder of this fact over the past year. Our adversaries really don't care about our different customs, different prayer texts, different positions on important religious issues, different levels of observance, different countries of origin, different modes of dress, or the many other differences between the various groups of Jews. They see us as all the same – and this is how we must see ourselves, as well. Instead of looking down on other groups, or dismissing them as inferior, we need be helping and looking out for them – with the understanding that one group's success is a win for our entire nation. This is true also within our community. Our community has numerous different groups and subgroups, all of whom must be committed to one another. Each group has what to contribute to all of us, and can be a blessing to all of us and to all Am Yisrael . Too often, shidduch suggestions are turned down because the young man or young woman is from "the wrong kind of family," which is "not like us." This is a terrible mistake. We all know people who come from difficult backgrounds but grew to become the most wonderful people. The labels we given to a group within our community, or to certain families in our community, are so damaging. The Gemara in Masechet Baba Metzia (58b) teaches that people who refer to someone by a nickname, even if the person is not embarrassed by that nickname, are sentenced to Gehinam , and never rise from there. The Maharsha explains that assigning someone a nickname is akin to מוציא שם רע – slander. When we label a person or a group, we are basically announcing to the world that the person or group is bad, and irredeemable. That person or group is then dismissed and rejected. And this should never happen. We need to stop labelling, and to start respecting. We need to remember that we're all in this together, that every group bring our nation great blessing, and we must therefore all help one another achieve and succeed – realizing that every group's achievement is our achievement, and their success is our success.