* Translation by Yehoshua Siskin
In this week's Torah portion, Yaakov Avinu blesses his sons before he passes away. However, some of his sons do not receive a blessing, but a rebuke instead. What is going on here? Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe explains as follows:
"A person's character traits, the root of their soul, are of most profound concern, and so Yaakov Avinu blesses his sons by revealing their personalities to them. A person can live an entire lifetime without knowing who they are. And the greatest blessing a person can receive is to know both their positive qualities and their flaws. When a person is told of a particular character trait, this can provide stability throughout their lives. Only by knowing our flaws can we be rescued from them and improve ourselves. This is a tremendous blessing."
So the greatest blessing we can receive is to be informed of who we really are. When studying a Torah portion that describes the truth about the souls of Yaakov’s sons, we too can ask: What are our positive qualities and what are our flaws? And knowing this, what is our mission in this world?
