Manasseh – Eighth Tribe / Cheshvan - Eighth Month
This week, we begin the month of Cheshvan which literally means “eighth month”. That’s interesting… the name of the month is numerical in meaning. Something unique arises from this understanding. The months of the Hebrew year are named in accordance with their number. So we must then ask ourselves the question: from where do we start counting the months? Since Cheshvan means “eighth month” we can count backwards to the first month and discover that to be the month of Nisan. Technically Nisan means “bud” and is a reference to the FIRST sighting of life from the sleep of winter. It seems highly significant that the months of the Hebrew year are named according to the counting of months of the Festival calendar as opposed to the counting of the months of the Civil calendar. Thus we can surmise that the Festival calendar holds a slightly greater importance than the Civil calendar. And, if the Festival calendar holds this greater importance, this reveals the special importance of the Festivals themselves.
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From past articles each month, we are now well aware that the tribes are camped in a numerical fashion around the Tent of Meeting as noted in the Torah and have been assigned (by the sages) the corresponding month of the Festival year. Judah was the first noted in the camping order and thus is assigned the month of Nisan. For this eighth month, we can see that the eighth tribe noted in the camping order brings us to the tribe of Manasseh.
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As with the tribe of Ephraim, who is connected to Tishrei, Manasseh was not named by one of the wives of Jacob. Jacob’s son Joseph was the one who named his first born son Manasseh for with the birth of this boy, he was ‘causing him to forget’ the hardships of his life in the past. Manasseh brought that much joy to Joseph.
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So… how does the month of Cheshvan and the tribe of Manasseh tie in with attributes and not just numerically?
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We go back to the account of Jacob blessing Joseph’s two boys. We know the story well, Jacob was soon to die and he wanted to adopt the sons of Joseph for his own. With this adoption, he could then pronounce inheritance blessings upon them. As is the custom, the first born would receive the greater inheritance, which is done by the laying on of the right hand to the head of the child. So, that is what Joseph did. He positioned Manasseh to Jacob’s right side and positioned Ephraim (as second born) to Jacob’s left side. But Jacob was very wise and he was lead by the Ruach haKodesh to cross his hands, placing his right hand upon Ephraim and his left hand upon Manasseh.
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Here’s a question to consider: why didn’t Jacob simply have the boys switch places?
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There is a profound reason. Jacob recognized the strengths of these two boys. The sages say that Jacob saw how Ephraim was superior in spiritual matters, while Manasseh was superior in worldly matters. This is explained to us in other parts of the Torah where we find that Ephraim is acknowledged more so than Manasseh while in other scriptures
Manasseh is acknowledged more so that Ephraim. Take for instance the numbering of the tribes in their encampment as noted in Numbers chapter 2. This numbering includes the names of the tribal leaders but what is important is verses 18 to 21. When the scriptures describe the placement of the west side encampment around the Tabernacle to be that of Ephraim first, followed by Manasseh and then Benjamin, there is one unusual item to note. In verse 20 it states, “Next to him [Ephraim] shall be the tribe of Manasseh, and the leader of the sons of Manasseh: Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur,” Zero in on the word, ‘next’. In the Strong’s Concordance the Hebrew word used here is H5921 “al” and literally means “over”. So in this case, even though Ephraim was the tribe of leadership for the west side encampment, Manasseh was placed over Ephraim. No doubt this was due to the worldly attribute of Manasseh, who could deal with physical matters such as camp politics with greater skill than Ephraim.
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So, let’s return to Jacob blessing Ephraim and Manasseh. Jacob crossed his hands because he understood the strengths of both boys and to give them both blessings of greatness. Ephraim received the first born blessing, which is done by the right hand, but Manasseh’s blessing was powerful too, because he remained at Jacob’s right side. Both boys were elevated to leadership status and being close knit brothers, they worked in unison – something that is seem with the interactions of the tribes throughout the scriptures.
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Manasseh is a tribe that is skilled in worldly matters, yet they were the tribe that was placed with Gad and Rueben on the east side of the Jordan. Why wasn’t Ephraim placed with Gad and Rueben? Wouldn’t the strength of Ephraim’s spirituality be what is needed to keep Gad and Rueben connected with God? Actually, according to the sages,
Manasseh was placed with Gad and Rueben because this tribe was skilled in the matters of Torah but also managed to still conduct matters of the world without compromise. Manasseh was the better choice to keep Gad and Rueben connected and even more interesting… it was only half of the tribe of Manasseh that was stationed there. That’s how powerful Jacob’s blessing upon Manasseh has been.
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The eighth tribe with the eighth month… a time of new beginnings right after the Fall Festivals. This is a time to understand that we must develop the attributes of Manasseh, who could conduct himself within the ways of this world while maintaining and upholding the ways of Torah. This month begins the season of winter where we do not have ordained festivals to celebrate. Without the festivals, it is as though we are totally immersed in the world. More than ever, we truly need to be like Manasseh. More than ever, we need to remember the importance of the festivals and the instructions we have received… that way we can get through this dark period and once again be immersed within the festivals - just as the people did in Jerusalem when Yeshua rode in. They were waving palm branches, something that is done during Sukkot in the Fall. Yet this was the Spring time and the people were preparing to celebrate Passover (John 12). They maintained the attributes of Manasseh and came through the winter dark months still holding to the joys of the festivals.
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We can too.
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For more insight about why Jacob crossed his arms, check out the article titled "Jacob's Blessings - Why Didn't Joseph's Sons Switch Places?"
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Next: Benjamin - Nineth Tribe / Kislev - Nineth Month
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