We read in Parashat Vayehi of the special blessings that Yaakov Avinu gave to Yosef’s two sons, Efrayim and Menashe. After Yaakov took ill, Yosef brought his sons to Yaakov so that he could bless them. Yaakov embraced them and then proclaimed the following famous blessing: המלאך הגואל אותי מכל רע יברך את הנערים, ויקרא בהם שמי ושם אבותי אברהם ויצחק, וידגו לרוב בקרב הארץ. The angel who has redeemed me from all evil shall bless the youths, and my name – and the names of my fathers, Avraham and Yitzchak – shall be called upon them, and they shall be fruitful like fish in the midst of the land. (48:16) Why did Yaakov draw a comparison here specifically to fish? To introduce the answer, we need to examine the difference between two terms: victim, and victimhood. Throughout our history, the Jewish People have been victims. We have been subject to all kinds of mistreatment and persecution. And yet, never did we resort to victimhood. We never embraced victimhood as our identity. We always remained strong and resolute, and maintained our dignity and our belief in our potential for greatness and in the glorious future that awaits us. Often, when a child gets upset or offended at the table, he will go to the couch and sulk. Some children will remain that way for a long time, embracing their victimhood, wallowing in self-pity, feeling sorry for themselves. Other kids, however, will get up after a few minutes and return to the table. These kids choose not to identify themselves as victims, and to instead pick themselves up and move on. This is, in a sense, who the Jewish People are. We get hurt, we get knocked down, but we don’t wallow in self-pity. We are victims, but we do not fall into victimhood, into a sense of helplessness and powerlessness. We “get off the couch.” We feel confident in ourselves and in our capacity for greatness, no matter what happens to us. Nobody embodied this concept better than Yosef and his children. Yosef was violently betrayed by his brothers, then falsely accused of a heinous crime, and imprisoned for many years – but was not broken. His sons were born and raised in a foreign country, far away from their grandfather and his family, but they still emerged as among the founders of the twelve tribes of Israel. The berachah that Yaakov was giving them was that this should always continue. He blessed them ויקרא בהם שמי, ושם אבותי אברהם ויצחק – that they should follow the legacy of Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, all of whom were tested and persevered. The Keli Yakar explains the word ויקרא in this pasuk to mean יקר – precious and glorious. Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov recognized their inner greatness and glory even in difficult times. This is the blessing that Yaakov conferred upon Yosef’s children – that ויקרא , they should always realize their “preciousness,” no matter what they are going through. He then added וידגו לרוב – that they should resemble fish, that propagate underwater, where nobody sees them, where we would not imagine that life could exist and flourish. וידגו לרוב refers to the ability to succeed and achieve even “underwater,” even in circumstances where this does not seem possible. And this is one of the Jewish Nation’s greatest qualities. We have excelled and accomplished even in trying times. Rather than fall into victimhood and despair, and regard ourselves as helpless, we push forward, we build, we grow, and we achieve. Yaakov told Yosef, בך יברך ישראל לאמר: ישימך אלוקים כאפרים וכמנשה – for all time, parents will bless their sons that they should be like Efrayim and Menashe. The greatest blessing that a parent can wish upon his child is the blessing of perseverance, of resisting victimhood, of remaining confident and ambitious even in hard times. We are all “victims” of something, at one point or another. All of us have had to face adversity. We have all found ourselves “underwater,” in places where it seems inevitable that we will “drown,” and where there appears to be no chance of succeeding. But we have received from our righteous ancestors the power to resist victimhood even when we are victims; the power of וידגו לרוב , to prosper and flourish even under trying circumstances. Let us always be emboldened and encouraged by this precious legacy that we carry, and always remember that even when we are victims, we have the ability to “get off the couch,” hold our heads high, and achieve greatness.