פרשת ויחי תשכ"ד - ברכת יוסף

Joseph is a fruitful vine, A fruitful vine by a fountain; Its branches run over the wall. .

בן פרת means a graceful son. It is an expression used in Aramaic: אפרין נמטיה “Let us treat gracefully (literally, let us make a triumphal procession for) R. Simeon”, and may be found at the end of Bava Metzia 119a.

בן פורת יוסף בן פורת עלי עין, the first half of this verse is not to be understood until we have read the second half. The only reason it is written in this manner is in order to help us identify immediately who is the subject in our verse. We have a similar verse in Exodus 15,6 where in the first half of the verse G’d’s attribute of employing His right hand is extolled before we are tolled how this is manifest, i.e. by the manner in which He destroyed the enemy. A very familiar similar construction occurs in Psalms 93,3 a psalm we recite each Friday night, when the psalmist speaks of נשאו נהרות ה' נשאו נהרות קולם, and only afterwards we are told that the rivers raise their voices in response toכי הנה אויביך ה', כי הנה אויביך יאבדו. The verse means: ”The river raise ther “voices” (sounds), O Lord, the oceans sound their thunder and their pounding.” All of this is in response to verse 10 in the previous psalm where G’d’s enemies are described as perishing.” In fact the psalmist in 94,3 asks almost despairingly: “how long are the wicked going to be allowed to carry on successfully before the Just can rejoice when they observe their downfall?” Here too, the words בן פורת יוסף describe an attribute, referring to the tall and handsome person Joseph, before telling us that all the maidens of Egypt were craning their necks to catch a glimpse of him, each one trying to admire his features, trying to do so from a suitable vantage point. He, whose exterior had appealed to the wife of Potiphar at the time, now became a household word in Egypt so that all the women allowed out of their houses tried to catch a glimpse of him. [I paraphrased the author’s words in this paragraph. Ed.] Joseph’s handsome appearance had already inflamed the libido of Potiphar’s wife,

בן פורת יוסף, בן פורת עלי עין, "Joseph is a fruiful son, fruitful to the eye, etc." The reason Jacob repeated the word פורת, fruitful, may have to do with Joseph's fertility being twofold We have already explained (Sotah 36) that Joseph had originally been intended to father twelve tribes; the second reason was that he resisted the temptation to sleep with Potiphar's wife, i.e. עלי עין, he overcame the temptation to follow his eyes, proved superior to visual allure.

בן פרת means a graceful son. It is an expression used in Aramaic: אפרין נמטיה “Let us treat gracefully (literally, let us make a triumphal procession for) R. Simeon”, and may be found at the end of Bava Metzia 119a.

Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee, And by the Almighty, who shall bless thee, With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that coucheth beneath, Blessings of the breasts, and of the womb.

מאל אביך means FROM THE GOD OF THY FATHER did this happen to you AND HE WILL HELP YOU also in the future (Genesis Rabbah 87:7).

ואת שדי means AND WITH THE ALMIGHTY was your heart when you did not hearken to the words of your mistress AND therefore HE WILL BLESS YOU.

The blessings of thy father Are mighty beyond the blessings of my progenitors Unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills; They shall be on the head of Joseph, And on the crown of the head of the prince among his brethren.

And he said: ‘Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing.’ And he said: ‘Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?’

then I will command My blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth produce for the three years.

All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is it that their father spoke unto them and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them.