Parshas Vayechi

The name of this weeks portion, the last in the book of Bereishit (Genesis) literally means "And he lived", this refers to Yaakov Avinu (Jacob Our Father, generally Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov are called Our Fathers), who lived in the land of Mitzrayim (Egypt) for 17 years before passing away at the age of 147. In Hebrew the number 17 can be made from the same letters that spell out the word Tov, or Good (in Hebrew, letters are also used as numbers), which teaches us that there were actually the best years of Yaakov's life.
The Parsha tells the story of Yaakov's death and the blessings that he bestows upon his sons (and grandsons) who compose the 13 Tribes of Israel. I'd like to focus on one specific blessing that Yaakov gave, to the two sons of Yosef, Menashe and Ephraim, who were born to Yosef in Egypt to the daughter of PotiFar (who by Divine Providence was herself a descendant of Yaakov, orphaned in Egypt). In the reckoning of the Tribes of Israel Yosef himself is not counted, but rather he is represented by his two sons. On a literal level, this represented the passing over of the 'first-born' to Yosef, in that his descendants received the double portion of inheritance reserved for the firstborn (in escrow until Joshua would actually like the children of Israel in to Canaan after Moshe's death). While this in itself could serve as a lengthy discussion (how were the other sons passed off? what does it mean to the be first-born?), I would like to focus on the beracha (the blessing) given to Menashe and Ephraim (here listed in order of their birth). We are told that when Yaakov came to bless the two boys, he switched his hands and placed his right hand upon Ephraim and his left hand upon Menashe; in other words he switched THEIR birthrights, the right hand (for the first-born) blessing Ephraim, the younger son, and vice versa. At the same time, Yosef asks his father if he knows what he is doing, to which Yaakov replies in the affirmative. We have to understand, why did Yaakov make the switch?
One way to explain this is by prefacing with a more subtle, but slightly more troubling inconsistency in this story: how did Yosef (know as "The Tzaddik" or "The Righteous") believe that his father (himself known as "The Chariot of G-d Almighty") had make a mistake and blessed in the wrong order? Rather, it must be that for Yosef, Menashe was truly the first-born, and yet for Yaakov it was Ephraim. How could this be? We are taught that Yaakov and Yosef represent two different 'modes' in their relationships with Egypt; for Yaakov, he came from Eretz Yisrael and, in a sense continued to live in the same way in Goshen; wherever he was, he was in Eretz Yisrael, above and removed, a light that can not be extinguished. Yosef, on the other hand, was so involved in Egypt that he actually ruled over it; not only did he "descend" (in a physical and spiritual sense) to Egypt and keep his principles, but he actually came out of it better; this is light, that when placed in a dark room seems tremendously bright, although in truth it is the same light as before.
So what is the connection between Yaakov and Yosef, and Ephraim and Menashe? To explain we will look at the names of the boys: the name Menashe is related to the word "to forget" in Hebrew, meaning "G-d made me forget (Nashani) all my struggle and all my father's home"; in other words he recognizes that being in Egypt causes him to lose connection to his roots, and therefore, he has a great yearning NOT to forget and, on the contrary, even to remain connected; i.e. to take the "light" of his fathers home, of Yaakov, and bring it into the darkness of Egypt. This is very similar to what Yosef himself did, and therefore Yosef saw Menashe as his first born. Ephrayim, on the other hand comes from the word for "fruit", as in "G-d has made me fruitful (Hifrani) in the land of my oppression," meaning that the source of his oppression, Egypt, actually became the source of his fruitfulness; i.e. transforming darkness itself into light. Such a transformation could only be made possible by tapping into that higher source of light, that light that can never be diminished, represented by Yaakov; a light that is so powerful that before it, darkness actually becomes light.
Finally, we are taught that everything in the Torah provides lessons for us on a personal level and on a day-to-day basis. Here, we should recognize that all of these 'characters' (Yaakov, Yosef, Ephraim, and Menashe) exist within each one of us, and we all have the ability to connect with them in our lives. When we find ourselves in "personal Egypts" we should know that we have the power not only to be unaffected by our surroundings (physical and metaphysical), but to actually thrive there (by staying connected to our roots), and even to transcend our current situation and use it as a source for growth.