Broken and Blessed
(א) וַיִּקְרָ֥א יַעֲקֹ֖ב אֶל־בָּנָ֑יו וַיֹּ֗אמֶר הֵאָֽסְפוּ֙ וְאַגִּ֣ידָה לָכֶ֔ם אֵ֛ת אֲשֶׁר־יִקְרָ֥א אֶתְכֶ֖ם בְּאַחֲרִ֥ית הַיָּמִֽים׃
(1) And Jacob called unto his sons, and said: ‘Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the end of days.

Mordechai Yosef of Ishbitz, Mei HaShiloach, Vayehi

And Jacob called unto his sons

When Jacob wanted to bless his sons, he was unsure if he really needed to bless them on account of all the distress they caused him (from the selling of Joseph), for it is taught (Talmud Yoma 22b): “Any scholar who does not avenge himself and bear a grudge like a serpent, is no [real] scholar.

Therefore, the text says called, meaning crying out and yearning with all his heart that Heaven should guide his heart and mind, and that God should place the right words [the blessings] on his tongue...

This is why the text does not initially say Jacob blessed his sons, for he was still not sure what he was going to say to them.

(כ) וַיְבָ֨רֲכֵ֜ם בַּיּ֣וֹם הַהוּא֮ לֵאמוֹר֒ בְּךָ֞ יְבָרֵ֤ךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר יְשִֽׂמְךָ֣ אֱלֹהִ֔ים כְּאֶפְרַ֖יִם וְכִמְנַשֶּׁ֑ה וַיָּ֥שֶׂם אֶת־אֶפְרַ֖יִם לִפְנֵ֥י מְנַשֶּֽׁה׃
(20) And he blessed them that day, saying: ‘By thee shall Israel bless, saying: God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh.’ And he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

Simcha Bunim of Peshischa, Kol Simcha, Vayehi

So he [Jacob] blessed them that day

When a person serves God with exceptional clarity/purity of intention, it nevertheless appears to her as if she still has accomplished nothing. “Day” is synonymous with mental clarity, and “that” refers to something being hidden. This is what Jacob blessed [Joseph's] sons – that they exist constantly in the aspect of that day [ie. that the service itself be pure and utterly clear, but they are never aware of the magnitude of their purity].