Commentary for Genesis 48:17

ויתמך יד אביו; HE HELD UP HIS FATHER’S HAND — He lifted it up from his son’s head and upheld it in his hand to remove it etc.

IT DISPLEASED HIM. Perhaps Joseph loved Menasheh more on account of his being the first-born. Hence it displeased him. The correct interpretation in my opinion is that he thought that his father had made a mistake concerning them, and if his blessing will be without true knowledge it will never be fulfilled upon them as it will not have been done with the proper Ruach Hakodesh (holy spirit). But when his father told him, I know it, my son, I know it,⁵⁹Verse 19 here. he was reconciled.

כי ישית, before he had started blessing them (Verse 7) Joseph had noticed that his father had crossed his hands. ויאמר יוסף אל אביו לא כן אבי, it is not correct to translate this line as: “you are not doing the correct thing.” If that were what Joseph had had in mind he would not have spoken so dismissively, but would have asked his father why he was doing this.What Joseph said to his father must be understood as follows: “the sons have not been positioned by me in the order in which you think, by my not paying attention who should be on your right, i.e. the eldest on your right, etc., but I have made sure that my firstborn is already on your right and his brother on your left. There is therefore no need for you to bend your arms, etc.”

וירא, it is possible that Yaakov made this comment even before he began the formal blessing, or that after he commenced blessing them that this was the first part of the blessing.

וירע בעיניו, “Joseph was displeased by his father having placed his right hand on Ephrayim;” perhaps Joseph loved Menashe better seeing that he was his eldest son, and that it bothered him that his father appeared to ignore this point. Perhaps he only thought that Yaakov had done what he did mistakenly; and as soon as he heard that his father had done so intentionally he was reconciled to the holy spirit which guided his father’s hands.

He lifted it from his son’s head... Rashi needed to explain this because הרמה means removing, but ויתמוך means supporting, [and they are opposites].

וירע בעיניו, “it displeased him (Joseph).” I heard from Rabbi Levi Yitzchok that the reason that Joseph was displeased was that he thought that he, Joseph, was a fool not to have known in which order to position his sons for the blessing, whereas he had done so correctly.