Weekly Portion: Vayechi (Genesis 47:28-50:26)
The Parsha opens with Jacob on his deathbed 17 years after arriving in Egypt. Jacob blesses Joseph’s two sons, Manasseh (Menashe) and Ephraim (to this day it is a tradition to bless our sons every Shabbat evening with the blessing, “May the Almighty make you like Ephraim and Manasseh” – they grew up in the Diaspora amongst foreign influences and still remained devoted to the Torah).
