As the media and South African goverment deal with the incident of the fake interpreter of sign language and confusing hand motions that the whole world watched, it reminded me of an episode in this week's Torah portion.
The Torah relates a very interesting episode of confusing hand motions used by Jacob that leaves Joseph completely baffled and perplexed. It was only after Jacob explained the meaning of his mixed up hand motions did Joseph comprehend the message and meaning of his motions.
The Torah tells us that towards the end of his life, Jacob summons his son Joseph along with his two grandchildren Menashe and Efraim. Jacob tells Joseph that he wishes to bless his grandchildren and designate them both as tribes in their own right. Jacob who was almost blind at that time asked Joseph to draw them close to him and position them for the blessings. Joseph places the older son Menashe to Jacob's right and the younger son Efrayim to Jacob's left. The reason he did this was because in the Jewish tradition, the right side is more dominant when it comes to blessings.
Yet as Joseph sets them up, Jacob proceeds to cross his arms and extends his right hand to the younger son who was on his left and the left hand to the older son who was on his right. Joseph is confused and questions the actions of his father to see if they were done correctly or what was the reason of the sudden change.
Jacob responds that Efrayim the younger child is destined to have the great leader Joshua descend from him and therefore he needed the greater blessings more than his older brother who would also have leaders descend from him, but not ones who were so dramatic in their influence and roles.
Chassidic teachings explain another dimension to this whole story which sheds light on the story yet also shares a timeless and beautiful message. The Torah tells us that Menashe and Efrayim are not just random names, instead their names were methods of Joseph remembering who he was and keeping in tune with his relationship with G-d. Menashe the older son, stems from the word "forgetting", and he named him that because he was thankful for forgetting his suffering of his youth, and also as a reminder to NOT FORGET who he was and where he came from. Efrayim on the other hand, stems from the word "fruitful", as Joseph wished to thank G-d for his success in Egypt and to remind himself of the importance of action.
In this slight hand motion and switch that Jacob did, he conveyed a deep and profound message. Jacob said yes, identity in itself is huge and vital, remembering who you are and not forgetting where you come from is a critical part of who we are as Jews. Yet acting on that identity, and using that identity and memory to inspire and generate actions, is ultimately even more powerful and the very point of the identity itself!
In twisting his hands the "wrong way", Jacob taught us an eternal message about balancing our values and priorities. Yes, there are these two values dear to our hearts, our identity and our actions. Yet in the balance of these two values, it is vital to remember that the goal and potential is brought out primarily through the second value, through actions and Mitzvot and the whole goal of the identity is to result in actions.
Good Shabbos