Breaking The Jewish Code Perry Stone

responsibility of raising, teaching, and instruction.

Praying Blessings Upon Your Children and Grandchildren The Torah reveals the importance of verbally blessing your children. Isaac spoke blessings over Jacob and Esau (Gen. 27), and Jacob blessed the two sons of Joseph (Gen. 48), later passing blessings to his sons (Gen. 49). Before Moses’s death, he pronounced a prophetic blessing on the tribes of Israel (Deut. 33). Devout Jewish parents and grandparents continually offer blessings over their children and grandchildren, believing in God’s ability to transfer His favor through their prayers. Blessings are performed on Sabbath days, feast days, and various special occasions. It is important to begin the prayers of blessing when the children are young, tenderhearted, and more receptive, as they tend to feel more awkward as they enter their late teens. The pattern for blessing children is narrated in Genesis 48:2, when Jacob blessed Ephraim and Manasseh. Jacob sat on the edge of his bed when blessing his grandsons. The writer to the Hebrews wrote that Jacob blessed his own sons, “ . . . leaning on the top of his staff” (Heb. 11:21). Today, those performing the blessing on their children prefer to stand up in respect to approaching God’s throne. When preparing for a blessing, ask the children to bow their heads, teaching them reverence to God, and tell them the blessing was practiced by their