Renewal Through Teshuvah

בפסוק ועתה שני בניך כו'.

“In the verse, ‘And now, your two sons…’”

The Sefat Emet begins by focusing on the phrase “and now,” which introduces Jacob’s elevation of Ephraim and Manasseh.

ועתה הוא המשכת דרך חדש.

“‘And now’ signifies the drawing forth of a new path.”

According to the Sefat Emet, this phrase indicates that something spiritually new is being initiated at this moment.

לכן איתא ועתה לשון תשובה.

Therefore it is said that “and now” is a language of repentance.

The word “and now” often signals teshuvah, a turn toward renewal and correction.

לפי שבעל תשובה צריך להמשיך דרך חדש לתקן מה שקלקל.

For a penitent must draw forth a new path to repair what was damaged.

Teshuvah requires not merely avoiding past errors but creating an entirely new direction that restores what was broken.

וכן עשה כאן יעקב דרך חדש והעלה בני יוסף להיות להם דביקות באבות כמ"ש ויקרא בהם שמי ושם אבותי.

And so Jacob here made a new path and elevated Joseph’s sons to have connection with the Patriarchs, as it is written: “And my name and the name of my fathers shall be called upon them.”

Jacob’s act was transformative: he integrated Ephraim and Manasseh into the direct spiritual lineage of the Patriarchs.

אבל מולדתך כו' ע"ש אחיהם יקראו.

“But your offspring… shall be called after their brothers.”

Other children of Joseph would be grouped under Ephraim and Manasseh; only these two receive tribal status.

שדביקות הע' נפש הוא בהי"ב שבטים והי"ב שבטים דבקים במדרגת האבות.

For the attachment of the seventy souls is to the twelve tribes, and the twelve tribes are attached to the level of the Patriarchs.

The Sefat Emet explains the chain of spiritual linkage: the nation connects through the tribes, and the tribes through the Patriarchs.

והעלה את מנשה ואפרים לתוך השבטים.

And he elevated Manasseh and Ephraim into the tribes.

Jacob drew them upward from being grandchildren to being full tribal heads.

ויוסף הועלה למעלה ממדרגת השבטים כמ"ש שכם אחד על אחיך.

And Joseph was elevated above the level of the tribes, as it is written: “One portion above your brothers.”

Joseph himself is placed even higher, rewarded with an added portion and spiritual stature surpassing the other tribes.

Summary: The Sefat Emet reads “and now” as signaling a moment of renewal akin to teshuvah. Jacob initiates a new spiritual pathway by elevating Ephraim and Manasseh into the tribal structure, linking them directly to the Patriarchs and raising Joseph even further. This establishes the chain of spiritual connection from the Patriarchs to the tribes, and from the tribes to all Israel.