With schools taking winter breaks this week, we took a day trip down to Cupertino to see Apple Headquarters.
A special edition book displays the evolution of Apple products. Just 17 years ago, the first iPod was manufactured. Since then, the products have become ubiquitous in millions of homes and pockets, as they have become more powerful, advanced, and sleek.
About one month ago, they opened a visitors center across the street from Apple Park, the new massive circular spaceship-like campus that will house 12,000 employees. 
At the visitors center, they have an aluminum model of the campus, designed to "tour" the campus through virtual reality. Pointing an iPad at the massive table, one can explore the buildings and surrounding nature and infrastructure.
This dreamlike new-age concept of virtual reality - the ability to overlay an imaginative experience on top of a tangible realistic one is a central theme in this week's Torah.
In blessing his grandchildren, Jacob crosses his hands to place his right hand on Ephraim's head, despite Menashe being the firstborn. Naturally, this was no random act, but a purposeful message.
The Hebrew meaning of Menashe is "forget" - a constant reminder to Joseph that while living in the spiritually devoid Egypt, he must not forget where he came from. So he would reminisce about life in the "good old days", hanging on to the memories of what life was like growing up in the home of his righteous parents and grandparents.
Ephraim, on the other hand, comes from the word "Pri" (fruit), symbolizing a very different approach. It is the choice to be fruitful in a barren land, to impact one's surroundings, to overlay my dreams and visions over a cold hard surface. Yet not to suffice with a "virtual reality", but to truly transform the environment.
This is the preferred method for dealing with life's challenges. Sure, we can gain inspiration and direction from memories. But the quantum leap into a futuristic, advanced reality, to achieve that success, we must embrace our new reality. Not to simply survive despite what life throws at me, but thrive as a result of it. To turn the darkness of our challenges into the fuel that powers our dreams.
ב"ה