~ Our triennial focuses on the blessings that Yaakov gave to his sons, which are interpreted as blessings for the tribes later on.
~ What is the best blessing, in your opinion, and why?
~ How do you relate to the blessing of Yosef, specifically? Why does he receive the blessing he does?
(כב) בֵּ֤ן פֹּרָת֙ יוֹסֵ֔ף בֵּ֥ן פֹּרָ֖ת עֲלֵי־עָ֑יִן בָּנ֕וֹת צָעֲדָ֖ה עֲלֵי־שֽׁוּר׃ (כג) וַֽיְמָרֲרֻ֖הוּ וָרֹ֑בּוּ וַֽיִּשְׂטְמֻ֖הוּ בַּעֲלֵ֥י חִצִּֽים׃ (כד) וַתֵּ֤שֶׁב בְּאֵיתָן֙ קַשְׁתּ֔וֹ וַיָּפֹ֖זּוּ זְרֹעֵ֣י יָדָ֑יו מִידֵי֙ אֲבִ֣יר יַעֲקֹ֔ב מִשָּׁ֥ם רֹעֶ֖ה אֶ֥בֶן יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ (כה) מֵאֵ֨ל אָבִ֜יךָ וְיַעְזְרֶ֗ךָּ וְאֵ֤ת שַׁדַּי֙ וִיבָ֣רְכֶ֔ךָּ בִּרְכֹ֤ת שָׁמַ֙יִם֙ מֵעָ֔ל בִּרְכֹ֥ת תְּה֖וֹם רֹבֶ֣צֶת תָּ֑חַת בִּרְכֹ֥ת שָׁדַ֖יִם וָרָֽחַם׃ (כו) בִּרְכֹ֣ת אָבִ֗יךָ גָּֽבְרוּ֙ עַל־בִּרְכֹ֣ת הוֹרַ֔י עַֽד־תַּאֲוַ֖ת גִּבְעֹ֣ת עוֹלָ֑ם תִּֽהְיֶ֙ין֙ לְרֹ֣אשׁ יוֹסֵ֔ף וּלְקָדְקֹ֖ד נְזִ֥יר אֶחָֽיו׃ (פ)
(22) Joseph is a charming child, a beautiful child by the spring —the daughters stepped on the rocks (to gaze at him). (23) Archers bitterly assailed him; They shot at him and harried him. (24) Yet his bow stayed taut, and his arms were made firm by the hands of the Mighty Jacob — there, the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel — (25) the God of your father who helps you, and Shaddai who blesses you With blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that couches below, blessings of the breast and womb. (26) The blessings of your father surpass the blessings of my ancestors, to the utmost bounds of the eternal hills. May they rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the elect of his brothers.
(22) Joseph is a wild ass, a wild ass by a spring — wild colts on a hillside. (23) Archers bitterly assailed him; they shot at him and harried him. (24) Yet his bow stayed taut, And his arms were made firm by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob — there, the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel— (25) The God of your father who helps you, and Shaddai who blesses you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that couches below, blessings of the breast and womb. (26) The blessings of your father Surpass the blessings of my ancestors, to the utmost bounds of the eternal hills. May they rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the chosen one among his brothers.
(1) "Yet his bow stayed taut" ... As much as a bow is powerfully bent, it is able to shoot further, so too the bow of Joseph was straining to shoot an evil reward to his brothers. However,
"and his arms were made firm" - he showed the beauty of his hands to do good to them by giving them plenty and wealth... The next verse explains that Joseph gained these characteristics because [they came]
(ג) מידי אביר יעקב. לפי הפשט הוא מכחו הגדול של יעקב שהי׳ אביר כחו במדת השלום כמו שנתבאר לעיל ל״א מ״ו ול״ב כ״ו. ומזה בא כן המדה ליוסף בנו שהי׳ אחוז במדת אביו ביותר כמש״כ לעיל ל״ג ז׳ אכן משמעות אביר יעקב הוא כנוי על הקב״ה כמו לשון אשר נשבע לה׳ נדר לאביר יעקב והכונה בזה עפ״י מה דכתיב כי חלק ה׳ עמו יעקב חבל נחלתו. וביארנו שם דעם ישראל בכלל נמשלים לחבל המפותל מהרבה חוטים ולמעלה היא עבה ולמטה היא נפרדת כל חוט בפ״ע. כך הקב״ה נשמתא דנשמתין דכל ישראל ומש״ה תנן בסנהדרין פ״ד כשאדם מישראל מצטער שכינה מה אומרת קלני וגו׳ והוא כמו אם ניזוז חוט המתפרד למטה נרגש החבל העבה למעלה. וזהו כחו הגדול של יעקב. ומש״ה אסור לנקום זא״ז כמש״כ בס׳ ויקרא י״ט י״ח עפ״י הירו׳ וזהו טעמו של יוסף. ועוד טעם.
"From the hands of the mighty Yaakov" ~ according to the simple meaning, his father Yaakov had huge strength in terms of his ability to create peace, as has been explained previously... Yosef receives this from his father... However, others have claimed that the expression אביר יעקב actually is a name for the Holy One of Blessing as we find in other places.... and making an oath by Avr Yaakov can be explained by the verse in Devarim 32:9 "Yaakov His allotment" (allotment = chevel = rope) we explained there that the Jewish people are compared to a rope which is twisted together from many strands, and at the top it is thick and at the bottom, it is separated into different strands. So too the Holy One of Blessing is the ultimate soul of all souls which comprise the Jewish people, as we find in Sanhedrin 64a: "if a Jewish person is suffering, what does the Shechinah say? My head hurts, etc.". If a thread is pulled at the bottom of the rope, the top of the thick rope feels it as well. This is the great strength of Joseph. It is because of this that it is forbidden to take revenge against one another, as it is written in Vayikra 19:18, and this is the reason of Yosef.
(יט) כָּל מִי שֶׁיֵּשׁ בְּיָדוֹ שְׁלשָׁה דְבָרִי
הַלָּלוּ, מִתַּלְמִידָיו שֶׁל אַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ. וּשְׁלשָׁה דְבָרִים אֲחֵרִים, מִתַּלְמִידָיו שֶׁל בִּלְעָם הָרָשָׁע. עַיִן טוֹבָה, וְרוּחַ נְמוּכָה, וְנֶפֶשׁ שְׁפָלָה, מִתַּלְמִידָיו שֶׁל אַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ. עַיִן רָעָה, וְרוּחַ גְּבוֹהָה, וְנֶפֶשׁ רְחָבָה, מִתַּלְמִידָיו שֶׁל בִּלְעָם הָרָשָׁע.
(19) Anyone who has these three things is from the students of Abraham, our father, and [anyone who has] three other things is from the students of Bilaam the evildoer: [one who has] a good eye, a humble spirit and a small appetite -- is from the students of Abraham, our father. [One who has] an evil eye, a haughty spirit and a broad appetite - is from the students of Bilaam the evildoer.
Evil Eye - Ayin Hara: Kabbalah Response on Ask the Rabbi
Rabbi Dovid Rosenfeld
The concept behind it is actually rather straightforward. If we flaunt our blessings and draw undue attention to ourselves, it invokes the jealous notice of others. Drawing such negative attention also draws the notice of the Heavenly court. And it causes our judgment to be revisited: Do we really deserve this blessing which has engendered the ill-will of so many others?
Thus, in the eyes of Judaism, “evil eye” is not some spooky, nebulous force which goes about attacking the unsuspecting. It is a logical phenomenon – and for the most part, the result of our own indiscreet behavior....
The Talmud (Brachot 20b) does observe that one who does not covet what others have is less susceptible to the evil eye himself. He himself does not look askance at others’ blessings. As a result, the jealous stares of others will not affect him. Likewise, Joseph, who refused his master’s wife’s advances and did not covet that which was not his, became immune to the effects of the evil eye – as did his descendants for all time.
Regardless, when things go wrong, our general approach is not to blame it on invisible forces such as the evil eye – although of course we should always be wary of flaunting our blessings. Rather, we should take it as a sign from God to improve our ways. The Talmud writes that when suffering is visited upon us we should examine our ways (Brachot 5a). When things go wrong, our first reaction should be to turn to God and attempt to determine His message for us – as well as praying to Him for illumination. Before blaming our problems on mysterious forces, we look up to Heaven to help us.
(http://www.aish.com/atr/Evil-Eye-Ayin-Hara.html)
Syria 1920c.
Both necklaces are recent, the first one from Australia the second from Israel. But the tendency of transforming these things in external tchotchkes is as old as Metushela.
The important piece is to remind ourselves that it has to do with actions. External helpers might help, but the core - of our actions, of our values, of our modesty - is what is important.