Parshas Vayechi: The Secret to Jewish Continuity:

“Joseph was told that his father was sick. [Joseph went to his father,] taking his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, along with him… [Jacob] gave Joseph a blessing. He said, 'The G-d before whom my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, walked, is the G-d who has been my Shepherd from as far back as I can remember until this day, [sending] an angel to deliver me from all evil. May He bless the lads, and let them carry my name, along with the names of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac. May they increase in the land like fish.'… On that day [Jacob] blessed them. He said, '[In time to come] Israel will use you as a blessing. They will say, 'May G-d make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.'” (Genesis 48:1, 15-16, 20)

Every Friday night, in traditional Jewish homes throughout the world a blessing is being concatenated in the direct chain from Jacob. The boys are blessed with the same blessing that Jacob blessed his two grandchildren during his final moments on earth. (The girls are blessed to follow in the path of the Matriarchs) "Yisimcha Elokim ki’Efraim vichi’Menashe,” May G-d elevate you to the status of Ephraim and Manasseh.

Why did Jacob determine that all future generations bless their children to follow in the paths of Ephraim and Manasseh? How did these two brothers succeed in becoming the paradigmatic role models for all generations?

The commentators note the distinctiveness that these two brothers displayed. The Netziv (Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin 1817- 1893) comments that these brothers were unique in that Ephraim was the Scholar, and Manasseh was the communal leader. We in turn bless our children to display both of these characteristics.
Other commentators note that they were the first brothers who actually got along nicely with each other, and that is their merit.
A commonly quoted understanding is that they were both raised in the exile, yet they overcame the negative Egyptian influences and remained true to their faith. Jacob foresaw the Jewish exile so he was blessing all of us to learn from the model of Ephraim and Manasseh, and not from the foreign cultures that will play host to us.

Notwithstanding these explanations, perhaps there is another significance that is being displayed here. Jacob was hinting at the special and unique relationship which he shared specifically with Ephraim and Manasseh, and with none of his own children. That is his grandparent-grandchild relationship. Jacob saw the continuity of himself through his grandchildren Ephraim and Manasseh. Jacob used to study Torah with his grandchildren and the blessing was solidifying the fact that Judaism knoweth not of a generation gap, because Torah is an infinite culture, not bound to timely fads and passing whims. Jacob was putting them two on a pedestal because true Jewish continuity is contingent on the unbroken chain linking us back to Sinai. That is most actualized in the grandparent-grandchild relationship.
This idea is illustrated by a revealing anecdote. Rabbi Yaakov Kaminetsky (1891-1986), one of the most esteemed deans of American Yeshivos, once found himself on a plane with a childhood acquaintance who had become a ranking official in the Histadrut, the overly secular Israel Labor Organization. The acquaintance was quite taken by the stream of grandchildren who punctuated the flight by coming over and asking Rabbi Kaminetsky if there were anything they could do to make him more comfortable. The acquaintance admitted to not being treated with as much solicitude by his own grandchildren, whom, in fact, he saw rather infrequently. Why the difference, he asked?
"Quite simple," Rabbi Kaminetsky responded. "Your children and grandchildren picked up your world view, in which all life evolved by complete chance from primordial chaos. You taught them that they are nothing but glorified apes who have evolutionized out of some primordial mud. Naturally, they look at older things as more primitive, less developed, and wish to distance themselves from them. To them, you are one generation closer to a common ancestry with apes. Mine believe in a moment of Revelation at Sinai, with generations born afterward looking with awe at those who stood there. I represent something positive, a link with the greatness of those who came before me."

There's a saying that grandchildren is G-d’s way of compensation when we get old. (Others say that that it’s the parents way of getting revenge on their children!)
Yet we see that it's so much more than that. Grandchildren are a link in the strong nexus connecting us to Sinai.

Similarly, out of the twelve spies sent to scout out the Holy Land, only two of them remained spiritually pristine. That was Joshua (due to a name change by Moses), and Caleb. Caleb survived by going to Chevron and beseeching Heavenly mercy in the merit of our ancestors buried in the Cave of Machpela. Caleb was grounding and anchoring himself to Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebeccah, and Jacob and Leah. By Caleb's reflecting on his past, he created his present, thereby ensuring his future. Throughout his mission in the holy land he realized that success will only be had if he realized that he is building on the foundations of the past. That was Caleb's secret, and that's the message we convey to our children every Friday night

By virtue of the fact that we identify today as Jews, our grandparents and great-grandparents surely had a strong connection to our heritage. Tens of millions of people have some Jewish blood, but only a small percentage of them identify as Jews. Not everybody gets that message. There was a couple going on a cruise, so they dropped off their eight year old son Bob by his traditional grandparents for two weeks. His grandparents taught him the concept of benedictions and fringes, Sabbath and skullcaps. After two weeks his parents came to pick him up. Before he left, he went into his bedroom to say goodbye to his room. Then he hugged his grandparents goodbye. Finally, as he was walking out the door, he put down his suitcases, lifted up his hand, kissed the mezuzah, and said “Goodbye G-d!”

When an archer shoots an arrow, first there is recoil, a pull back. In order to shoot onwards, we first must pull back. In order to march on, we must refer to our past! This notion is not a new one. It was prophesied 3000 years ago by the prophet Malachi (3:23-24). In his poetic words he foresaw "V'heishiv leiv avos al banim v'lev vanim al avoisum" , And G-d shall return the heart of parents to their children and the heart of children to their parents. May G-d elevate us all to the status of Ephraim and Manasseh, and may we all merit to witness the fulfillment of that prophesy speedily in our times. Amen.

POINTS FOR DISCUSSION:
What are your Jewish memories of your grandparents or great-grandparents?
What can we do to perpetuate our grandparents’ memories?