Three Jewish mothers sitting on a park bench in Miami Beach are discussing (what else?) how much their sons love them.

Sadie says, "You know the Chagall painting hanging in my living room? My son, Arnold, bought that for me for my 75th birthday. What a good boy he is; see how much he loves his mother!"

"You call that love?" Minnie chimed in. "You know the Cadillac I just got for Mother's Day? That's from my son Bernie. What a doll."

"That's nothing," exclaims Shirley. "You know my son Stanley? He sees a psychoanalyst on Park Avenue, five sessions a week. And what does he talk about? Me!"

The most famous parental blessing is found in this week’s Torah portion: “…May G‑d bless you to be like Ephraim and Menashe.” Jacob proclaims that this shall be the paradigm of blessing for all future generations—“With your names (his grandchildren Ephraim and Menashe) shall all of Israel be blessed.”

One cannot help but wonder why Jacob chose to connect the most famous Jewish blessing with the names of his grandchildren, rather than his children, the twelve tribes of Israel.

But Jacob, the great prophet and patriarch of the Jewish people, was able to foresee all the future generations including ours. He envisioned a challenging time like ours when role models would be scarce and the forces of assimilation and secularism would run rampant.

Addressing the challenge of our generation, Jacob encourages parents to bless their children: “May G‑d bless you to be like Ephraim and Menashe.” You must bless them to be like my own grandchildren, Ephraim and Menashe, who, unlike their parents and grandparents before them, grew up in the land of Egypt, exposed to a very foreign culture. Despite this and despite never seeing their Jewish family until much later in life, they still managed to grow up faithful to their family’s values and lifestyle!

Because of the similarities between his grandchildren and the children of our generation, Jacob encourages the parents of our generation to bless their children to follow the example of Ephraim and Menashe specifically, rather than any of the other famous biblical heroes. Over 3,000 years ago, Grandpa Jacob was preparing to comfort our generation with the knowledge that despite our colossal challenges, our children can still be just like Ephraim and Menashe who successfully continued their tradition in Egypt and against all odds.