30 Dec VAYECHI: EVERY GROUP IS A BLESSING

We read in Parashat Vayechi
the special berachot that
Yaakov gave to his sons just
before his passing. He
addressed each son
individually, and delivered a
specific blessing that was

appropriate for each one.
After telling us of all the berachot, the Torah
summarizes this event by stating, Vayivareich
Otam, Ish Asher K’virchato Bareich Otam,–
“He blessed them; each one according to his
[appropriate] blessing did he bless them”
(49:28).
The Or Ha’haim takes note of the last word in
this pasuk – otam. Rather than say, bareich
oto – that Yaakov blessed each son with the
blessing that was appropriate for him, the
Torah instead says that bareich otam – Yaakov
blessed them with the blessing that was
appropriate for each of the sons.
The Or Ha’hahim’s explanation of this
nuance is exceedingly powerful, and so
relevant to us. He writes that each son’s
blessing was a blessing for all the other sons,
as well. When the tribe of Gad is blessed, this
is a blessing for the entire Jewish Nation.
When the tribe of Asher is blessed, this is a

blessing for the entire Jewish Nation. And the
same is true of every other tribe. When any of
the tribes succeeds and prospers, the entire
nation benefits. A blessing for one group is a
blessing for all the others, because, at the end
of the day, we are a single nation.
This is so crucial for us to remember today,
when Am Yisrael is fragmented into so many
different groups and subgroups. We often
make the terrible mistake of assigning labels
and names to different groups of Jews,
regarding them as lower and less significant.
Each group within the Jewish Nation,
understandably, sees itself as exceptional,
and as the most correct group. There is
nothing wrong with this kind of pride, but
this does not mean that we can or should
assign derogatory labels to other groups. We
are all in this together.
And in case we may have forgotten that we’re
all in this together, our enemies have given us
a very stark reminder of this fact over the past
few years. Our adversaries really don’t care
about our different customs, different prayer
texts, different positions on important
religious issues, different levels of
observance, different countries of origin,
different modes of dress, or the many other
differences between the various groups of

Jews. They see us as all the same – and this is
how we must see ourselves, as well.
Instead of looking down on other groups, or
dismissing them as inferior, we need be
helping and looking out for them – with the
understanding that one group’s success is a
win for our entire nation.
This is true also within our community. Our
community has numerous different groups
and subgroups, all of whom must be
committed to one another. Each group has
what to contribute to all of us, and can be a
blessing to all of us and to all Am Yisrael.
Too often, shidduch suggestions are turned
down because the young man or young
woman is from “the wrong kind of family,”
which is “not like us.” This is a terrible
mistake. We all know people who come from
difficult backgrounds but grew to become the
most wonderful people.
The labels we have given to a group within
our community, or to certain families in our
community, are so damaging. The Gemara in
Masechet Baba Metzia (58b) teaches that
people who refer to someone by a nickname,
even if the person is not embarrassed by that
nickname, are sentenced to Gehinam, and
never rise from there. The Maharsha explains

that assigning someone a nickname is akin to
slander. When we label a person or a group,
we are basically announcing to the world that
the person or group is bad, and irredeemable.
That person or group is then dismissed and
rejected. And this should never happen.
We need to stop labelling, and to start
respecting. We need to remember that we’re
all in this together, that every group bring our
nation great blessing, and we must therefore
all help one another achieve and succeed –
realizing that every group’s achievement is
our achievement, and their success is our
success.