GEN1589 The classic Jewish blessing on Friday evening by a Jewish father to his son is “May God make you like Ephraim and Menasheh.”   Of all of the great people to aspire to, why did the rabbis choose these two (relatively minor biblical personalities) and ignore Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and so on?  One possible answer is that unlike Isaac and Jacob, who grew up in a totally Jewish household in the land of Israel, Menasheh and Ephraim were born and raised in the land of Egypt, where they were the only Jews in the entire land and they had to “act Egyptian” as children of the king’s viceroy.   Nevertheless, they were able to remain good Jews, as they were brought up properly by their father Joseph.   … The other half of the blessing, for girls, can now be understood.   There, the four mothers of Judaism are mentioned as models, because each of them grew up in an environment alien to Judaism, yet, nevertheless, emerged as Jewish women with the right Jewish values. Sarah, Rebecca, Leah, and Rachel all had fathers who did not exemplify Jewish values, and they all grew up in the most non-Jewish of environments.  Like Menasheh and Ephraim, they, too, were able to withstand the pressures and influences of their environments to develop the right attitudes and pass them on to their children. … it is the obligation of Jewish parents to try and instill those values that will last and remain with children when they become adults so that they will be able to live Jewishly in any environment in the world. AMEMEI 138-9