Who was Ephraim Menashe?
The Midrash explains that Ephraim and Menashe represent the two qualities of Joseph. Menashe, according to Rashi, was worldly, a talented linguist and worked for the viceroy of Egypt. He represents secular wisdom. Ephraim was a Torah scholar, devoted to the ways of his ancestors.
Why do Jews bless their children?
The blessing that parents say over their children today continues with a three-part blessing, a timeless wish for well-being and peace. These words were first used to bless the people of Israel in desert wanderings and in the Temple in Jerusalem.
What is the blessing for children on Shabbat?
May God bless you and keep you. May God shine light on you and be gracious to you. May God turn toward you and grant you peace.
Why did Jacob favor Ephraim?
These rabbinical sources allege that it was on account of modesty and selflessness, and a prophetic vision of Joshua, that Jacob gave Ephraim precedence over Manasseh, the elder of the two; in these sources, Jacob is regarded as sufficiently just that God upholds the blessing in his honour, and makes Ephraim the …
What does the challah loaf Symbolise?
For Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, challah loaves are made in a circular or spiral shape for various symbolic reasons—depending on whom you ask, the round shape represents continuity, the wheel of the seasons, or a spiral of upward progress.
Does God love Ephraim?
Hosea speaks specifically of God’s love for Ephraim, which it is natural to assume that the prophet himself understood as a rather restricted metonymy for Israel.
Why did Ephraim get the birthright?
Ephraim’s birthright included the authority to preside over all those who have the priesthood. Ephraim was given the duty to gather, in the last days, all of Jacob’s scattered posterity back into the same covenant family. Jacob’s posterity is often referred to as the house, or twelve tribes, of Israel.
Why is challah important?
The bond among Jews, God and bread goes back to the first five books of the Bible: As the Israelites are about to end their exile, God commands them to show gratitude by setting aside a portion, or “challah,” of all the bread they make after entering the Holy Land.
Why are challah braided?
From this perspective, the braiding of the challah symbolizes the weaving of our weekday mentality into a Shabbat state of mind, a braiding of the weekday mindset into a more sublime Shabbat-driven consciousness.
Who recites Kiddush?
In the Aseres Hadibros (Ten Commandments), we are commanded to “Remember the Shabbos day to sanctify it.” One fulfills this Torah obligation by simply reciting Kiddush on Shabbos. Chazal (the Rabbis) instituted the recitation of Kiddush over a cup of wine.
What is the meaning of kiddish?
Childish; immature
kiddish (comparative more kiddish, superlative most kiddish) (informal) Childish; immature.