I
Yosef called his second son Efrayim, "for Hashem has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering" (Bereishis 41:52). According to the simple understanding of the passuk, the root of the name Efrayim - אפרים is pri - פרי, fruit. The Da'as Z'keinim gives a radically different explanation of the name, and says that Efrayim is named after his ancestors Avraham and Yitzchak who are referred to as, "ash – אפר". Avraham said, "I am but dust and ash" (Bereishis 18:27), and Hashem sees Yitzchak before Him as if his ashes are on the altar (Rashi Vayikra 26:42), and Efrayim is the plural of eifer, meaning two sets of ashes. Therefore, all of Yisroel, all of whom are descended from Avraham and Yitzchak, are called Efrayim as it is said, "Efrayim, my favorite son" (Yirmiyahu 31:19).
How can this understanding of Efrayim as a plural form of eifer - ashes, be reconciled with the Torah's explicit explanation of Efrayim's name as indicating that Yosef was fruitful, having been blessed with children, as in the mitzvah of "pru u'rvu - be fruitful and multiply" (1:28)?
Perhaps the answer lies in how the mitzvah of pru u'rvu was redefined for Am Yisroel, beginning with Avraham Avinu. Hashem loved Avraham because he commands his children to keep the way of Hashem (18:19). This includes the paternal obligations of mila, pidyon haben, teaching the child Torah and a trade, and marrying him off so that the generations continue in the way of Hashem (Kiddushin 29a). Furthermore, if his children are not observant, he may not have fulfilled pru u'rvu (Mishna Berura 574:12).
We can now reconcile the seemingly unrelated translations of Efrayim. The literal understanding, recorded in the Torah, is "Hashem has made me fruitful". However, in order to properly fulfill the mandate of being fruitful, pru u'rvu, the children must follow in the way of their ancestors. Therefore, the Da'as Z'keinim links Efrayim to eifer - ashes, a reference to Abraham and Yitzchak. Only by Yosef's sons following in their ways, a particularly difficult challenge in the isolation of the land of his suffering, would his being fruitful constitute a blessing. Thus, the name Efrayim representing the successful transmission of a Torah life to future generations, is an appropriate appellation for all of Am Yisroel.
II
Yosef called his firstborn Menashe, "for Hashem has made me forget all my hardship and all my father's house" (41:51). The K'sav V'hakabala asks: how could Yosef Hatzadik have forgotten his father's house? Wasn't the image of his father (Rashi 39:11) still uppermost in his mind? Why did Yosef not tell his beloved father that he was alive and well, appointed over all the land of Egypt (41:43)?
The answer is that Yosef did not forget his father for even one moment. Moreover, he bemoaned his father's pain over their separation much more than his own. However, his great righteousness prevented him from honoring his father. Hashem decreed in his prophetic dream that his father and brothers would bow down to him (Bereshis 37:7-10, see Rashi). Heavenly decree prevented him from informing his father. He had to overcome his great desire to gladden his father's broken heart, so that the Divine will be fulfilled in its time.
To do Hashem's bidding, he had to distance the thought of honoring his father from his mind. He therefore called his son Menashe, i.e. Hashem enabled me to not think every moment about my father. He was able to put it out of his mind, the equivalent of forgetting. He thanked Hashem, by calling his son Menashe, for this ability. Thus, the name implies great honor toward his father, not the reverse, because only by Hashem's intervention was he able to contain his great love and respect for his father in order to carry out Hashem's plan.
III
Yaakov blessed his grandsons Efrayim and Menashe, and added, "May my name be declared upon them and the names of my fathers, Avraham and Yitzchak" (48:16). The Seforno explains that Yaakov prayed that they be tzaddikim worthy of being called proper descendants of their illustrious ancestors. A more literal interpretation is based on the aforementioned comments of the Da'as Z'keinim and the K'sav V'hakabala. The names of Avraham and Yitzchak are called upon Efrayim which refers to their ashes. And the name of Yaakov himself is alluded to in the name Menashe, which recalls the great love and respect that Yosef had for Yaakov.
The text of Yaakov's beracha is used by fathers to bless their children and grandchildren to this very day. We pray that they keep the way of Hashem and be worthy descendants of our forefathers. We often give them the actual names of our forefathers or names which refer to previous generations, as Yosef did.
We utilize the beracha given to Efrayim and Menashe in particular. Just as they were not influenced negatively by their surroundings in Egypt, we bless our progeny that they, too, will not be led astray by the prevailing culture of their time and place.
On Chanukah we celebrate our ability to resist the Hellenization which swept the world and, sadly, corrupted large segments of the Jewish nation; only the fierce dedication of the Chashmonaim saved them from acculturation and assimilation. Only by replicating the countercultural exclamation of "Mi lashem elai" can we overcome the powerful pull of the host culture which is in precipitous decline. May we, like Yosef, Efrayim, and Menashe, withstand the onslaught of the contemporary Greek-like immorality which surrounds us by clinging to the pure Torah values and precepts represented by the Chanukah menorah.
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