In this week’s portion, both Reuven and Menashe lose their rights as firstborn children while receiving their blessings, which is something of a theme in the book of Bereishit (i.e. Kayin and Hevel, Esav and Yaakov). By exploring the connection between the rights of the firstborn and the blessings, we will explore the questions: A. What is the essence of a blessing? B. What is unique to the firstborn child? and C. Why did Yaakov bless his sons with the specific blessings he gave each?
