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המלאך הגאל אתי THE ANGEL REDEEMING ME — The angel who was usually sent to me in my trouble, as it is said, (Genesis 31:11) “And the angel of God said unto me in the dream: Jacob etc. … (Genesis 31:13), I am the God of Beth-el.”

AND LET MY NAME BE CALLED ON THEM. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said that it means that all Israel be called by the name Ephraim,⁵⁷As in the verse: Is Ephraim a darling son unto me? (Jeremiah 31:19), the reference there being to all Israel. just as they are called “the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
This is not correct for Scripture uses the word bahem (on them), [thus referring to both Ephraim and Menasheh], and they were not called by the name of Menasheh. But perhaps this is because they were called the house of Joseph.⁵⁸Zechariah 10:6. And I will help the house of Joseph.
The correct interpretation though is that their race and their name will exist forever, and the name of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will forever be upon them.

ויקרא בהם שמי, may their seed and the seed of their see live.

In them may my name be recalled and the names of my fathers. That you recall for them all of what was taught concerning my name and the name of my ancestors. Because the name Israel is so named because "I have striven with beings divine and human (Genesis 32:29)." Thus he will be a righteous man, ruling through fear of God. And Jacob is so named because most of the goodness of the righteous is hidden, because their beginning is always with sorrow and their end is very exalted. And Abraham, is so named "Father of a multitude of nations (Genesis 17:4), thus they will be the head of all the nations. And Isaac is translated "And I rejoiced", thus there will always be joy in their dwellings.

המלאך הגואל אותי מכל רע יברך, the letter ה introducing the word המלאך is not a definitive article, identifying a specific angel [seeing that we had not previously heard about him; Ed] but acts as an appeal, instruction to such angel(s) who in the past on different occasions had been Yaakov’s guardian angels(s). Yaakov appeals to his own guardian angels to bless the children if their own merit does not suffice for the guardian angels assigned to them to do the job.

המלאך הגואל אותי, "The angel who redeems me, etc." Jacob referred to any word of G'd which He issues to or on behalf of those those who love Him as מלאך. This is analogous to Psalms 29,7: "The voice of G'd kindles flames of fire." Jacob expressed the hope that G'd's word would always come to the assistance of Joseph's sons and bless them.

ויקרא בהם שמי ושם אבותי, he meant that Joseph would be called Israel on occasion, as for instance in Psalms 80,2 רועה ישראל האזינה נהג כצאן יוסף, “Give ear O shepherd of Israel who leads Joseph like a flock.” Also in Amos 6,6 we read ולא נחלו על שבר יוסף, “but they are not concerned about the ruin of Joseph;” (Joseph being a euphemism for Israel, of course) The author quotes several more verses proving the same point, i.e. that Joseph is being equated with his father Israel, i.e. is the spiritual continuation of his father Yisrael, the founder of the 12 tribes. Psalms 80,3 uses the same simile for Joseph’s sons Ephrayim and Menashe when writing לפני אפרים ובנימין ומנשה עוררה את גבורתך ולכה לישועתך לנו, “at the head of Ephrayim, Benjamin, and Menashe! Rouse Your might and come to our help!”

המלאך הגואל אותי, “the angel that has redeemed me, etc. Some commentators understand this as a reference to G’d Who had shepherded Yaakov by means of an angel, seeing that no angel has independent powers such as attributed to him by Yaakov here. There is little doubt that the words המלאך and האלוקים which are used interchangeably (here 15 and 16) refer to the same Divine manifestation, but when viewed by the immediate recipient of the miraculous providence of G’d, appear as a more immediate Divine providence than when viewed by bystanders, who did not experience this on their own bodies. [my wording, but I trust the author’s meaning. Ed.]

Let my name be called. They too would be called “Hebrews” (ivrim) — indicating their origin “across the [Euphrates] river” (eiver hanahar) — despite having been born in Egypt. Alternatively, their lineage would be traced to the Patriarchs despite their mother’s descent from Shechem; see 41:45 in the name of Tosafos.

The angel who was usually sent to me in my time of affliction... [Rashi knows this] because an angel is unable to redeem anyone without Hashem’s permission.

Es ist sehr schwer, in diesem Zusammenhange von einem Engel auszusprechen, dass er segnen solle, zumal da unmittelbar zuvor Gott genannt ist, in dessen Händen ja allein der Segen liegt. In ב"ר Kap.97 spricht sich ר׳ אליעזר nach der Lesart des Jalkut also aus: הקיש גאולה לפרנסה ופרנסה לגאולה מה גאולה פלאים אף פרנסה פלאים מה פרנסה בכל יום אף גאולה בכל יום, ,"es sind hier die Ernährung (הרועה) und die Erlösung einander wechselseitig gleichgestellt; wie die Erlösung, so geschieht auch die Ernährung durch Wunder, und wie die Ernährung, ist auch die Erlösung täglich". Somit haben wir hier nicht an die Erlösung aus einer besonderen Gefahr, sondern an jene Erlösung zu denken, deren wir Tag für Tag wie der Ernährung bedürfen. Beide, Parnaßa und Geula, sind keine Ergebnisse der einmal von Gott allgemein gesetzten Weltordnung, sondern Wirkungen der besonderen göttlichen Fürsorge. Dass der Rechtschaffene, Gewissenhafte nur auf redlichem, sittlichem Wege sein Brot Suchende auf diesem Wege sein Brot finde, ist פלאים, ist ein jedesmaliges Geschenk der göttlichen Waltungswunder, wie es heißt: טרף נתן ליראיו יזכור לעולם בריתו, "was andere der Gewalt verdanken, gibt Er seinen Verehrern, Er ist unaufhörlich seines Bundes eingedenk". Und dass der also nur sittlich dahin wandelnde Mensch in einer mit physischen und sozialen Übeln drohenden Welt unangefochten aufrecht bleibt, dazu bedarf er der steten göttlichen Erlösung, der steten גאולה.

ויקרא בהם שמי ושם אבותי, “and let my name be known through them together with the name of my fathers;” He prayed that just as the 12 tribes who were physical sons of Yaakov were described as his sons, so these two grandsons should also be described as his sons.

המלאך הגואל אותי, “the angel who redeems me;” in verse 15 Yaakov had commenced the blessing by referring to G-d by His name of “האלוהים,” whereas in this verse he has switched to an angel as the source of the blessing. How are we to account for this?The two verses have to be understood as follows: “The G-d before Whom I and my forefathers have walked by means of His angel who protected me against all harm; may He arrange for that same angel also to protect the lads who are your sons.”

יברך את הנערים SHALL BLESS THE LADS — viz, Manasseh and Ephraim.

וידגו, the root is of the same category as the ones which lose the last root letter in the future tense, such as בכה, “to cry,” ויבכו, “they will cry,” or שבה, “to capture,” וישבו, “they will capture.”

וידגו לרב, may the multiply like fish.

ויקרא בהם שמי ושם אבותי אברהם ויצחק. Although we know that Avraham and Yitzchok were both Yaakov’s fathers, he meant to make plain that he did not appeal to the god of Terach or Nachor who were similarly his “fathers” in the sense of being his ancestors. It is an axiom throughout Scripture that the righteous are never linked to those of their ancestors who were wicked, i.e. idolaters. The same is true in reverse as our sages say in Sanhedrin 52, (but not found there) קרינן לרשיעא אפילו בר צדיקא רשיעא בר רשיעא, “a wicked person, even if he is the son of a righteous person is still called a wicked person son of a wicked person.” This principle is invoked in order to save the righteous father the embarrassment of being associated with his son who has turned from the path of righteousness. When the ancestry of such a wicked person requires to be mentioned, one prefers to link him to another wicked person in his lineage. This is why Yaakov prayed for the lads that they should remain G’d fearing and prepared to serve Him. If they were to do this they would qualify to be described as offspring of Avraham and Yitzchok. This principle is known as יחד לבבי ליראה את ה', “let my heart be undivided in reverence for Your name.” (Psalms 86,11)

ויקרא בהם שמי ושם אבותי, “and may my name and the name of my forefathers be declared upon them.” Ibn Ezra explains that Yaakov wishes that the Jewish people be known as “the children of Ephrayim,” just as they are known as “the children of Avraham Yitzchok and Yisrael.” Nachmanides disagrees, seeing that the verse addresses itself to both Ephrayim and Menashe, even though Ephrayim may have been mentioned ahead of his senior brother. History shows that although traditionally, the Jewish people have been referred to as “Ephrayim,” by some prophets, Menashe has never been used as an alternative for “the seed of Avraham, Yitzchok, and Yisrael.” Perhaps what Yaakov meant was that the Jewish people appear collectively as “the house of Joseph” in a number of prophecies by our prophets. The plain meaning of the blessing appears to be that just as the descendants of Avraham, Yitzchok, and Yisrael are blessed and assured of eternal continuity, so Yaakov wishes that the same may apply to the seed of both Ephrayim and Menashe, individually, as tribes.

Menasheh and Ephraim. If Rashi did not specifically explain this, we would think that it cannot mean Ephraim and Menasheh. Since it is specifically written in v. 20 that Yaakov blessed them, why then would he bless them again? Thus we would have thought that “the lads” were Yoseif’s young sons. Therefore Rashi explains that it refers to Menasheh and Ephraim. [Rashi knows this] because Yoseif did not have other sons. And why did he bless them twice? The answer is: Here it is written, “He blessed Yoseif,” and he included them in Yoseif’s blessing but did not bless them on their own. In v. 20 he gave them their own blessing. But to me it seems [that Rashi knew it means Menasheh and Ephraim] because it is written “the lads,” meaning those mentioned above, and only Menasheh and Ephraim were mentioned. Furthermore, Yoseif is not known to have had any other sons. The proof is that on v. 6, Rashi explained אשר הולדת to mean, “If you will have any more sons.” (Kitzur Mizrachi)

ויקרא בהם שמי, "and may my name be called upon them, etc." Jacob wished that Joseph's sons should reflect the spiritual level of the patriarchs. While it is quite impossible for any Jew to completely sever the connection with all three of the patriarchs, Jacob blessed Ephrayim and Menashe in that they would never fail to reflect the spiritual values of even one of the patriarchs.

גאל, verwandt mit Kohle: ein brennbarer Stoff, der bereits im Feuer ge legen, ihm aber entzogen wurde, ehe das Feuer ihn vollständig bewältigte. (So auch געל: etwas vor der Zeit hinauswerfen aus der Hülle, in welcher es sich befindet; allein während גאל zur Rettung, bedeutet געל in entgegengesetztem Sinne: etwas aus seiner bis dahin schützenden und nährenden Hülle hinauswerfen). גאולה ist aber die vollkommene Rettung, die nicht wie גחל noch die Spuren des Brandes an sich tragen, sondern gänzlich frei und unversehrt lässt, wie Abraham aus dem Feuer Chaldäas, wie Daniels Genossen aus der Glut des Ofens. Hätten wir Augen zu sehen, bemerkt ein Wort der Weisen, wir würden es gewahren, wie wir überall und immer von מזיקים, von schädlich auf uns einwirkenden Elementen in der physischen Welt umgeben sind, und wie im physischen, so wahrlich auch im sozialen Leben. Wehe uns, wenn wir dafür nicht blind wären. Wohl uns, dass wir die Gefahren des Todes nicht sehen, denen wir jeden Augenblick in der physischen Welt entgehen, noch das von Neid und Bosheit uns zugedachte Verderben und Unheil gewahren, das im sozialen Leben täglich und stündlich uns unbewusst an uns vorüberziehen mag. Das ist das רע, aus welchem הב"ה uns jeden Augenblick rettet, und zwar also rettet, dass wir uns der Gefahr nicht einmal bewusst werden. Nun bemerkt ר׳ שמואל בר נחמן daselbst: פרנסה גדולה מן הגאולה שהגאולה ע"י מלאך פרנסה ע"י הב"ה ,größer ist noch die Ernährung als die Erlösung, diese geschieht durch einen Engel (המלאך הגואל) jene durch הב"ה selbst. Verstehen wir diesen Satz recht, so liegt ihm die Wahrheit zu Grunde, dass die stete Geula von Untergang drohenden Übeln ja der Parnaßa vorangehen muss, die bloße Existenz des Menschen überhaupt bedingt, somit ein Moment ist, das von vornherein mit dem Dasein eines Menschen- oder Volks-Individunms gegeben sein muss, gleichsam der Raum ist, der ihm innerhalb des Weltgetriebes durch die göttliche Fügung geschaffen ist. Es ist dies das "Geschick" des Menschen, bei welchem der Jude aber stets an den "Schickenden" denkt, das ihm stets "מלאך", "Bote" der göttlichen Fürsehung bleibt. Es ist die gött- liehe Bestimmung, die bei dem Eintritt eines Menschenkindes oder eines Volkes ins physische, soziale oder historische Dasein "es soll leben!" spricht, und seinen מלאכים, seinen "Geschickten", für es befiehlt, "es zu hüten auf allen seinen Wegen, es auf Händen zu tragen, dass es an keinem Stein den Fuß verletze, dass es über Schakal und Otter dahinwandle, Leu und Schlangen zertrete" (Psalm 91). Vielleicht ist das Wort מלאך ja von מלך gebildet, eine bewältigend wirkende Macht, die aber nicht aus eigener MachtVollkommenheit wirkt, sondern ׳א, das Zeichen einer andern sie leitenden und sendenden Persönlichkeit unsichtbar in sich trägt: buchstäblich שמי בקרבו, wie es vom מלאך heißt). Jakob wünscht also, dass Gott seine Enkel durch denselben מלאך, durch welchen Er ihn von allem Übel erlöst, gesegnet werden lassen möge, d. h. dass seine Enkel dasselbe "Geschick" weiter tragen mögen, innerhalb dessen und durch welches Gott ihn Existenz und Gedeihen hat finden lassen, dass sie ebensowenig wie Jakob, etwa Esau gleich, auf eigener Faust und eigenem Schwerte leben, sondern, Jakob gleich, nur in Gott ihren Schutz und Beistand suchen und finden mögen; nur so ויקרא וגו׳ werden er und seine Väter in ihnen fortleben. וידגו לרב בקרב הארץ.

וידגו AND LET THEM INCREASE — like fishes (דגים) which are fruitful and which multiply and which the evil eye cannot effect (Berakhot 20a).

Jacob may also have expressed the hope that the reputations of the patriarchs would be enhanced by the conduct of Joseph's sons in the future. We find such an idea in Proverbs 23,24: "the father of the righteous will rejoice greatly;" we also have a similar statement in Proverbs 17,6: "Grandchildren are the crown of their elders." All of this is predicated on the grandchildren following in the footsteps of their illustrious forebears.

וידגו: Nie wieder kommt das Wort דגה vor, nur als Wurzel von דג, Fisch, ist es bekannt und bezeichnet eben als solches in ganzer Tiefe die Innigkeit des Jakobsegens und die Bedeutung dessen, was das Teilen des Jakobsgeschickes und das Forttragen des Jakobnamens enthält, was es heißt: vor demselben Gott wie die Väter wandeln, sich von demselben Gott führen und durch dieselbe Gottessendung retten lassen! — In gesondertem Elemente, still, in vom Menschenauge unerreichter Tiefe lebt die Fischwelt ihr Leben. Gedankenlos geht der Mensch am Ufer hin und ahnet nicht, welch fröhliches, frisches, glückliches, ungetrübtes Leben sich da unten in reicher Fülle von Geschlecht zu Geschlecht entfaltet. So בקרב הארץ, so in Mitte der Erde soll das Jakobsgeschlecht in seinem gesonderten Elemente, wohin die umgebende Welt ihm nicht zu folgen, dessen Bedeutung sie nicht zu ahnen vermag, ihr stilles, glücklich eigenes Leben vollbringen, "fischgleich", "gleichsam im Wasser in Mitten der Menschheit auf Erden" ,בגו בני אנשא על ארעא כנוני ימא יסגון (ת"א).

Jacob also hinted that mentioning the names of Ephrayim and Menashe would have as positive an effect in the ears of G'd as has mentioning the names of the patriarchs themselves. This sentiment is expressed in Jeremiah 31,19 when the prophet exclaims that every time G'd merely hears the name of Ephrayim mentioned He recalls him with feelings of mercy and has pity on his plight.

וידגו לרוב בקרב הארץ, "and they will multiply on earth just like fish." Jacob's considerations may have been similar to the blessings G'd bestowed on the fish in Genesis 1,22.1 explained there that a special blessing for the fish was called for due to their habitat being less suited for successful and enduring procreation than the conditions prevailing on dry land. G'd therefore increased the fish's natural reproductive powers to counter the negative conditions prevailing in their habitat. Jacob too accorded Joseph's sons greater powers of reproduction when he blessed them by comparing their fruitfulness to that of fish. Inasmuch as Ephrayim and Menashe did not reside in regions which are hostile to human reproduction, Jacob's blessing was even stronger than G'd's blessing for the fish.

Jacob deliberately chose to say בקרב, "in the midst of the earth," instead of merely saying "on earth." This was a hint that at some time in the future Joseph's descendants would "hide" within the earth as we know from Sotah 36 where Joshua is reported as having advised the members of that tribe to hide in the forests (to prevent attracting envy and jealousy due to their being numerous). This need arose only because Jacob's blessing had been fulfilled and they had multiplied at a faster rate than the other tribes. Berachot 55 sees in Jacob's phraseology a hint that the descendants of Joseph would be immune to the evil eye just as the fish are immune to the evil eye. The fish enjoy that status only thanks to their remaining under the surface of the water and therefore not visible. Jacob blessed the sons of Joseph that they would enjoy this immunity even while visible on earth, i.e. בקרב הארץ.