Determinism: The Final Message in Bereishit

One of the themes the book of Bereishit clearly dabbles in is determinism. No doubt about that! 

The question is, "What is the final message being made, or conveyed?"

The fulcrum or pivot-point in the whole of the book is whether or not the firstborn will gain primacy in the last match, in the showdown. Call it Messi v. Mbappé, or what you will, but does the party with everything going for him, with all the rights to victory, get it at the end of the day? 

It would seem that there's a clear undercurrent from one faceoff to the next - from Yitzhak to Yishmael, Yaakov to Eisav, Yosef, Reuven and Yehudah, and Efraim and Menashe, that the one who's caught sleeping loses. Spirituality, like in sports, cannot be taken for granted. The Vikings (I admit, I know nothing about football but the headlines were so sensational that I couldn't help but peek) came back from 33-0, to beat the Colts just a month ago. So, in essence, the message in Bereishit seems to be that the underdog, the one who is not the firstborn, has the upper hand, unless the firstborn demonstrates exceptional leadership skills, religious fervor, or devotion to Hashem's will that prove that he is really the one destined to carry the torch of Jewish continuity. 

That brings us to Efraim and Menashe. In contrast to the other faceoffs, Menashe and Efraim are essentially anonymous. We know nothing about them - and yet still, Yaakov Avinu, in one of the most famous scenes in the Torah switches his hands, destining Efraim for greatness, and Menashe, to being second best. 

Perhaps some hint can be gleaned from their names, which reflect different outlooks, or life mentalities. Menashe's seems to frame things from the standpoint of hardship; life is tough, and so a person has to eke out his best given life's curveballs. Efraim's, seems to strike a more positive note; it takes the angle of one's accomplishments, first focusing on that despite life's morasses. 

Joseph named the first-born Menashe, meaning, “God has completely made me forget my hardship and my parental home.”

In contradistinction:

And the second he named Ephraim, meaning, “God has made me fertile in the land of my affliction.” 

I think that Yosef planted in Efraim himself the seeds to success. It is not, just, as Yaakov avers, "Yet his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall be plentiful enough for nations.” Rather, the role we have as parents is to shape reality by focusing on our children's successes, and frame life from that vantage point: "You succeeded despite the challenges," and not "Despite the challenges, you succeeded." Maybe the difference is small, but vis a vis self-efficacy, and empowerment, it would seem that that that was one of Yaakov's final messages. 


 

 

 

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