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By Rabbi Shloimie Lindenbaum
ויאמר יוסף אל אביו בני הם אשר נתן לי אלקים (פרק מח פסוק ט)
When Yaakov is approaching his final day on this world, he calls to Yosef to bless his children. Yosef comes with Menashe and Efraim and Yaakov asks him, “who are these people.” Although Yaakov knew who his grandsons were, the אור החיים explains that he wanted to bless them with intense אהבה and so he prompted Yosef, his ever-beloved son, to say, “these are my children.” This would endear them even more to Yaakov and his ברכה would be even more effective. Yosef responds as expected, “these are my children”, but adds on, “that Hashem has given to me.” The אור החיים explains further that the way of צדיקים is that whenever they mention their good fortune, they mention Hashem and give honor to Him. This always reminds them that He is the source of all the good in a person’s life. We can emulate צדיקים in this way by always reminding ourselves where all our gifts are from and by constantly mentioning Him whenever discussing all that He has given us.
אשר לקחתי מיד האמרי בחרבי ובקשתי (פרק מח פסוק כב)
Yaakov promises Yosef the portion of Shechem which he describes as having conquered with his sword and his bow. תרגום says that this does not refer to physical weapons but rather to תפלה, the prayers of Yaakov. The Brisker Rav explains that תפלה is referenced in two terms, as a sword and as a bow, because there are two different types of תפלה each with their own potential. The difference between a sword and a bow is that the sword can damage and injure with its own power, while a bow can only inflict pain using the force of the one who shoots the arrow. A sword is sharp enough to damage without a strong force, while the injury achieved by a bow is solely dependent on the force and aim of the one shooting it. Similarly, there is a difference between the תפלה of שמונה עשרה, with its text as established by the אנשי כנסת הגדולה, and every individual’s personal תפלה, composed as per the persons needs and wants. The תפלה of שמונה עשרה is like a sword, with its own potential by value of its holy text, and therefore this form of תפלה can achieve results when said by anyone. It is intrinsically powerful. A personal prayer, however, is like an arrow. It has tremendous potential, but firmly depends on the one praying. This is the source of the custom that people ask צדיקים to pray for them (see בבא בתרא קטז), because by individual prayers you need a powerful “archer” to achieve the desired results. This is why Yaakov referred to תפלה in two terms, a sword and a bow, as a hint to the two possible forms of prayer.
