Commentaire sur La Genèse 48:14

שכל את ידיו PLACING HIS HANDS DESIGNEDLY — Understand this as the Targum renders it: אחכמינון he put wisdom into them (viz., into his hands), meaning designedly and wisely he moved his hands for this purpose, intelligently and with full knowledge, for he knew that Manasseh was the first-born and yet he did not place his right hand upon him.

שכל את ידיו, as if the Torah had written שכל, both the letters ש and כ with the vowels kametz, resulting in sachal, meaning something distorted, bent out of shape.

שיכל את ידיא, he was quite clear, relying on his sense of touch, without being able to see exactly where his hands came to rest.

שכל את ידיו כי כי מנשה הבכור, he placed his hands deliberately, keeping in mind that Menashe was the firstborn. Many feel that the word כי may best be understood as "although."

שכל את ידיו, he conferred intelligence to his hands, so that they appeared to act intelligently on their own, seeing that Menashe was the firstborn and Yaakov saw with prophetic vision that he would be the “smaller one,” in the sense that his future would reflect less blessing than the future of his younger brother. Had he placed his right hand on Menashe, what intelligence would this have demon-strated? [the author surely means that the Torah does not have to speak about an act of special intelligence being required to put one’s right hand on the older of the two sons. Ed.]

For he well knew that Menasheh was the firstborn and, nevertheless... Rashi is answering the question: The word כי in Scripture usually comes to explain what preceded. But according to Onkelos, who explains שִׂכֵל as “wisdom,” how does [“Menasheh was the firstborn”] explain [what preceded]? Thus Rashi explains [that here, כי does not explain what preceded. It rather means:] “And, nevertheless.” In other words, [כי means:] even though he knew that Menasheh was the firstborn. And this was the wisdom, as it says, “I know my son, I know” (v. 19). Maharshal writes: Many explain that [according to Rashi, this] כי means “even though.” But it seems not so. Rather, this is how the verse flows. It says, “He deliberately placed his hands,” and then explains why he did this instead of telling Yoseif to rearrange them with Ephraim to his right and Menasheh to his left. [The explanation is:] “Because Menasheh was the firstborn.” In other words, since Menasheh was the firstborn he did not want to embarrass him.

שכל את ידיו, he crisscrossed his hands [so that the right hand was pointed to the left and the left to the right].

שכל את ידיו, seeing that Joseph had lined them up with Menashe on Yaakov’s right side, he was forced to cross his hand in order to give Ephrayim his blessing with his right hand. Although Menashe was Joseph’s firstborn son, Yaakov wished to place his right hand on the head of Ephrayim. We encounter a similar situation in the Book of Daniel,9,9 [where the author recalls G–d’s merciful attitude of forgiving before even having mentioned why that forgiveness was required. Ed.]

וישת על ראש אפרים, “he placed it (his right hand) on the head of Ephrayim.” He did so with the intent of including them in the 12 tribes. We find a similar expression when Moses placed his hands on Joshua appointing him as his successor (Numbers 27,23).

כי מנשה הבכור, and Yaakov was well aware even without being able to recognise the sons’ features, that Joseph would position his firstborn son on his father’s right side. Seeing that he wanted to place his right hand on the younger son, Ephrayim, he had to cross his hands to accomplish this.

He guided his hands for Menashe was the firstborn. It is extra for we known from the parsha that Menashe was the firstborn. But this has depth and intension for truthfully, Yaakov shouldn't have guided (crossed) his hands, rather switched the positions of the boys. But since Menashe was the firstborn, he intended that Menashe should stand by Yaakov's right leg and Efrayim by his left leg. Only his hands did he guide that they should be crossed. The reason is that even though Yaakov put Efrayim before Menashe and therefore in the wilderness he was the head of his flag group (which Menashe was also a part of) still, in the counting of Parshas Pinchas, it was the opposite. Not only that, but even in the counting of Parshas Bamidbar it is written by all the (other) flags "and those that camp upon him" as opposed to with Menashe it is written, "and upon him the tribe of Menashe." All this comes to teach us that Efrayim only came before Menashe in matters of spirituality, that which is higher than the natural happenings of the world. In matters of the world, however, Menashe came before Efrayim. Therefore in the first counting at Mt. Chorev, where the Divine precence was upon their heads and the conduct was beyond nature, Efrayim came first. But in the counting in the Plains of Moav, when they were entering the Land, which was basically in a natural way (as is explained later in Bamidbar and Devarim) therefore Menashe came first. (And check out what I write in Bamidbar regarding the change of "and upon him the tribe of Menashe." The occurred because with regards to natural occurrences, the advantage of the firstborn is very impactful as I wrote earlier (27:19). Now, the hand services the head and the mind and the foot services the goings of the body according to its nature. That's why the Sages said in their way: The son is the foot of the father. Meaning: the natural mannerisms of the father that goes on its own without thought and wisdom. Therefore, Jacob desired that Menashe stand by his right leg and guided his hands so that Efrayim would be on his right hand. See more in Verse 20. That is why the verse specified "because Menashe was the firstborn."

I think that we have to understand the verse in conjunction with the previous statement that Jacob's eyesight was failing. As a result he could not recognise which of the two grandchildren was the older one. When it came to the blessing he used his wits to compensate for his eyesight and reasoned that surely Joseph had placed the sons in such a position that the elder one would be blessed by his right hand and the younger one by his placing his left hand on him. He reversed his hands because he wanted to place his right hand on the head of the younger son Ephrayim.

שכל את ידיו, “Yaakov placed his hands by using his intelligence, i.e. sechel. One could have thought that instead of crossing his hands, Yaakov should have asked that the sons of Joseph switch their position in front of their grandfather, but that is precisely what Yaakov did not want them to do. He did not want to embarrass Menashe by relegating him to his left side, seeing that after all he was Joseph’s firstborn, and he deserved to be treated with respect on account of this. The only reason he had not placed his right hand on the head of Menashe, was that he had seen through his holy spirit that his younger brother would historically be of greater importance than the first born. It occurs frequently that the word “כי,” means “although;” for instance: Psalms 41,5: כי חטאתי לך, “although I have sinned against You.” Or, Psalms 25,11: כי רב הוא, “although it is great.” Or, Exodus 13,17: כי קרוב הוא, “although it is nearby.” The author states that he could have quoted many more examples.