וזאת הברכה, “and this was the blessing, etc.” the letter ו at the beginning of the word וזאת, indicates that the paragraph following is a continuation of what we have read immediately before. Whereas up to now Moses had admonished the people, he now switched to blessing them.

ה' מסיני בא, “The Lord had come from Sinai;” some commentators understand this phrase as meaning: “the Lord, Whose glorious presence, shechinah, emanates fro Sinai, etc;” we find an example of such a construction in Psalms 134,3: יברכך ה׳ מסיני, “may the Lord Whose glorious presence emanates from Sinai, bless you;”

וזרח משעיר למו, “and He shone forth from Seir, to them;” the sunrise is witnessed each morning from the East, the sun breaking forth from behind the mountains of Seir. It appears as if lightning suddenly illuminated the earth. [According to our author, these mountains are situated to the east of Mount Sinai. On our maps this is not quite so, as these mountains are more northern than easterly from Mount Sinai. Ed. ] הופיע מהר פארן, “He manifested Himself from the mountain of Paran. [This mountain is also assumed to be situated to the east of Mount Sinai. Ed.] The concept of G-d making His appearance from an easterly direction of the universe is seen as a tribute to the people of Israel, meaning that the Lord came forward toward them. According to Rashi on Numbers 34,3, on the words: ממדבר צין, where he elaborates in an unusually lengthy manner on the geography of that region, this is to be understood as a sign of His fondness of the people.

מימינו אש דת למו, “at His right hand was a fiery law unto them.” That the right side is one which symbolises fondness we know from Song of Songs 2,6: וימינו תחבקני, “and His right hand embraces me.”

אשדת, spelled in the text as a single word, but read as if it had been written: אש דת.

אף חובב עמים, “Lover, indeed of the peoples;” (the twelve tribes of Israel are termed “peoples). We know that the Israelites were viewed as “special” by G-d when He said to us in Exodus 19,5: והייתם לי סגולה, “you will be for Me a treasure;” Why is this so? It is because all of His holy beings are under His direct supervision. How does this work in practice? “והם תוכו לרגליו, “they are sitting between His feet;” Compare Exodus 19,17: ויתיצבו בתחתית ההר, “they had taken up their positions at the base of the Mountain.” (Sinai). An alternate interpretation: even at times when G-d is fond of the gentile nations and delivers the sinful Israelites into their hands, they still remain under His direct supervision, (though they may not be aware of it.)

והם, “and they are;” Israel, תוכו לרגלך; after all when the gentiles persecute them it is only because they are G-d’s people, having entered into a covenant with Him to observe His commandments.לרגלך, this expression, presuming that G-d has physical dimensions, is also used in Genesis 30,30 where even the pagan Lavan acknowledges the existence and personal providence of Yaakov by his G-d when he enriched Lavan in order that the latter treat Yaakov fairly. This is why Yaakov could say to him there: ‘ויברך ה׳ אותך לרגלי, “He has blessed you at my foot.”Another interpretation of the words: והם תוכו לרגלך, “in the Holy Temple.” The Temple is perceived as G-d’s footstool on earth. His presence manifests itself in and around the Temple. This is where most Israelites are found three times a year at least.

ישא מדברותיך, “receiving part of Your words.” This was a reference to the first two of the Ten Commandments during the revelation at Mount Sinai which the whole people heard directly from the mouth of G-d before having asked Moses to become their interpreter. (Deuteronomy, 5,21-26)

תורה צוה לנו משה, “Moses commanded the Torah to us;” whereas G-d had commanded them the first two commandments, Moses commanded them the remaining 611 commandments. (This is why the numerical value of the letters in the word תורה total 611) In spite of the extraordinary spiritual high level the whole people had attained at that time, i.e. they were able to “see” thunder not just hear it, they could not listen to the voice of the Lord any longer and had feared they would die.

תורה צוה לנו משה וגו, this verse appears in a truncated mode and should by rights read: תורה צוה לנו משה להיותה מורשה לנו קהלת יעקב, ”Moses commanded us this Torah in order for it to become a heritage to the congregation of Yaakov.”

ויהי, “he became,” i.e. Moses; בישורון מלך בהתאסף ראשי עם, “King in Yeshurun, when the leaders of the people assembled.” This was recorded in Deuteronomy 4,10: באמור ה' אלי הקהל את העם ואשמיעם את דברי, when the Lord said to me: “assemble the people so that I can let them hear My words.”It is up to us to keep the Torah which He commanded us, and after having accepted it, it became a source of blessing for us.

יחי ראובן ואל ימות, “may Reuven live and not die;” Moses refers to the period when the members of that tribe would be in the vanguard of crossing the Jordan and battling the Canaanites.

ויהי מתיו מספר, “let the number of his men of military age that had been counted not decline.” (Let them not suffer casualties)

וזאת ליהודה, “and this for Yehudah;” he meant that his blessing that Reuven should not suffer casualties in battle, should also apply to the men of military age of the tribe of Yehudah;At this point Rashi said (based on the Talmud tractate Sotah folio 7) that Moses gave the credit for Reuven’s having done penitence to how Yehudah had demeaned himself publicly when admitting that his daughterinlaw had become pregnant by him. (Genesis 38,26) In Genesis 37,29, we read about Reuven being mortified when Joseph was no longer in the pit the brothers had thrown him into. Although he had not even been present when Joseph was sold, he held himself responsible for not staying around at that time. Yehudah, though admitting his paternity of his daughterinlaw’s Tamar’s babies did not do so until challenged. Until Yehudah admitted his guilt publicly, Reuven had done so only privately; (Genesis 37,29). After hearing of Yehudah’s confession, he too admitted his defiling his father’s couch openly.

שמע ה׳ קול יהודה, “hear o Lord the voice of Yehudah!” Whenever Yehudah finds himself in difficulties and appeals to You for help on behalf of his people, grant his plea! He is singled out for this as he normally leads the rest of the tribes in warfare. (Compare Judges 1,2) The same applied to Reuven, as he had been the first tribe to cross the Jordan and face the enemy. Compare Joshua 6,7.) Shimon did not need to be mentioned separately as that tribe always made common cause with Yehudah as reported in the Book of Judges. [His territory was an enclave within the territory of Yehudah. Ed.] (Compare Judges 1,3) A different interpretation of Moses’s pleading: יחי ראובן, “may Reuven live!” Seeing that the founding father of the tribe of Reuven had committed a serious offense against his father Yaakov, and the commandment of honouring father and mother is accompanied by the promise that people doing so would enjoy long life, (Exodus 20,12) it could be inferred that people failing to do so would have their lives cut short, Moses blesses the tribe, emphasising that the descendants of Reuven should not be affected by something their founding father had done wrong.

וזאת ליהודה, “the following is the blessing for Yehudah, as distinct from praise for its founding father. Its founding father had also caused his father grief due to Joseph’s having been sold at the time was due to his suggestion. (Genesis 37,27) Moses was not willing to mention the name of the tribe of Shimon as Moses held him responsible in his heart for being the one who had first suggested that Joseph be killed. (Compare Rashi’s commentary on Genesis 42,24)

וללוי אמר וגו׳, “and of Levi he said, etc.” Moses referred to the Levite (singular) who had been chosen to wear the breastplate with the Urim and Tumim, (the High Priest of the people) evidence that he was considered a pious individual,

Even though G-d had put him to a test repeatedly, and although he had failed a test by the Lord at Massah/Merivah, he had nevertheless qualified to become so holy that he was not allowed to defile himself even for the burial of his father or mother or brother or son. [The High Priest in any generation is not allowed to cause himself to become ritually defiled except when a corpse has no one else who could bury him without delay; Leviticus 21,11) Ed.],

כי שמרו אמרתיך, “for the Levites observed Your commandments not to defile the sanctity of the Tabernacle/Temple.” (Leviticus 21,12) None of the Levites committed the error of worshipping the golden calf, and they were prepared to execute family members whom they found doing so. (Sifri and Rashi)

ובריתך ינצורו, “and they kept Your covenant.” The covenant G-d made with the priests whose status became hereditary from father to son. (Numbers 25,13)

יורו משפטיך ליעקב, “They will teach Your ordinances to Yaakov;” seeing that they are impartial people not showing undue favours to anyone, they are qualified to teach and help enforce Your laws. (Compare Ezekiel 44,23: ואת עמי יורו,”and My people they will instruct.) It is also written in Deut: 17,9: ובאת אל הכהנים הלוים והגידו לך את דבר המשפט, “when you will come to the priests, who are members of the tribe of the Levites, and they will tell you matters concerning the ordinances.”An alternate interpretation: “they will teach you the laws of the Torah, since they do not have to earn their living from farming, etc., they have the time to study and teach all these laws.” The reason they did not receive any share of the land of Israel was to enable them to do just that.

ופועל ידיו תרצה, “and may the work of his hands be welcomed by You;” the “work” Moses speaks of are the sacrifices of the priests who are members of this tribe. The expression נרצה is especially appropriate for the expiation for sins most sacrifices are meant to achieve. If anyone who is not a member of the priestly tribe offers such sacrifices they will not achieve this.

מן יקומון, “from anyone rising up against the Israelites.”

לבנימין אמר, “to Binyamin he had said: Binyamin is mentioned by Moses immediately after the tribe of Levi, seeing that the major part of the Temple building was situated on its ancestral land, and the Levites and priests therefore were moving on that soil when they performed their priestly duties.

ידיד ה, “the beloved one of the Lord;” he is called the beloved one because ישכון לבטח עליו, “seeing that the protective Presence of the Lord which resides in the Temple is constantly manifest on his ancestral land.” The term: עליו, in the sense of “by Him,” is also found in Numbers 2,20, ועליו מנשה, where it describes the location of the tribe of Menashe as next to Ephrayim, both parts of the tribe of Joseph.

חופף עליו כל היום, “G-d’s manifestation covers him (Binyamin) all day long;” it saves him from potential attackers.

ובין כתפיו שכן, ”and He dwells between his shoulders.” The word כתף, “shoulder,” is used by Moses as a metaphor, similar to Numbers 34,11, where it describes the slopes leading to the sea of Galilee as “shoulder.” The reason why this tribe received such a complimentary title is that its founding father was the only son of Yaakov who had not been involved in the sale of their brother Joseph. And furthermore, Benyamin was the only one of the twelve brothers who was born in the Land of Israel. This is why G-d’s Presence could feel so at home on its territory and that is why the Temple was located on it.

וליוסף אמר מבורכת ה' ארצו, “and of Joseph he said: “blessed by the Lord be his land;” When Adam, the first human being, had sinned by allowing himself to be seduced by his wife, the land on which he lived afterwards was cursed as a result, and his livelihood became one that required hard toil. Joseph, who had withstood the deduction by the wife of Potiphar, was rewarded in that the land his descendants dwelled on was especially blessed.

וממגד גרש ירחים, “and from the precious things due to the moons.” The fruit of the trees emanate from the earth, and the trees start growing at the beginning of the month. On each new moon a different category of fruit tree commences the cycle of growing and subsequently ripening. Our author quotes four examples of this as an illustration.

ומראש הררי קדם; “and from the top of the ancient mountains.” This is an expression of praise, as for instance in Jeremiah 2,3: ראשית תבואתה, “the first fruit of its harvest, orAmos 6,6: וראשית שמנים, “with the choicest oils.” Moses refers to the choicest mountains that were created during the first six days of creation.

הררי קדם, the mountains of Ephrayim; the land allocated to the tribe of Joseph’s descendant Ephrayim, son of Joseph was especially mountainous. Compare Samuel I 1,1, צופים מהר אפרים, “from the district of Tzofim in the mountains of Ephrayim.

ורצון שוכני סנה, “May it enjoy the good will of Him (G-d) that dwells in the (burning) bush.”

נזיר אחיו, (according to Rashi) ‘the one who had been separated from his brothers.” According to other commentators this ought to be translated as: “the prince among his brothers.” Use of the expression נזיר as meaning “prince” is found in Lamentations 4,7: זכו נזירה משלג, “her princes were purer than snow.” Joseph had clearly been at least a prince among his brothers.

בכור שורו, “His firstling bullock;” Joshua was the first king chosen by G-d from the descendants of Joseph. This is why he is referred to by Moses here as בכור, “firstborn.” The reason why Moses compares a king to an ox is because the ox or bullock is the king amongst the domesticated four legged mammals. (Talmud tractate Chagigah folio 13.)

והם רבבות אפרים, “and they (the horns) are tens of thousands of the warriors of Ephrayim.” Seeing that Joshua was from the tribe of Ephrayim, the soldiers of that tribe would be the first to rally around him when war broke out.

והם אלפי מנשה, the Israelites had a great leader from the tribe of Menashe also, by the name of Gideon, who was known for fighting with far fewer soldiers, i.e.,אלפי מנשה, the thousands of Menashe. Yaakov when on his deathbed, had insisted on placing his right hand on Ephrayim, the younger of the two brothers. This is reflected in Moses’ blessing here.

שמח זבולון, “rejoice Zevulun;” he had complained about the portions of ancestral land he had drawn. We read in the Talmud tractate Megillah, folio 6 That he complained about having received mountainous territory and sandy territory alongside the ocean, compared to Naftaly who had been given apparently fruitful earth in the mountainous regions, as had most other tribes. (Deborah praised this tribe in her victory song in Judges 5,18 as literally having mocked death in the constant danger as a seafaring tribe. When Zevulun had seen Naftaly completely exposed, as the other tribes simply failed to respond to Deborah’s call to arms, he responded without hesitation. Foreseeing all this in a prophetic vision, Moses is trying to calm Zevulun for having received his share near the beaches of the ocean where they would be far less exposed than Naftaly; would he have preferred to have been exposed to the dangers Naftaly faced?) It will be explained soon how Zevulun in fact benefited by his territory facing the ocean.

בצאתך, “when you are setting out;” Moses blesses each tribe according to what he foresees will be its special needs. Zevulun as a seafarer, who derives his livelihood from maritime trade, will require a special blessing to keep his ships safe when they are on the high seas, so that his merchandise will not be lost at sea. Compare Yaakov’s blessing for him in Genesis 49,13, where reference is made to the beaches of the sea in connection with him. Moses blesses him in wishing him that instead of being fearful when setting out on each voyage, he should be joyful, confident of G-d’s help.

ויששכר באהליך, whereas he blesses Yissochor by wishing him similar confidence seeing that his fertile soil may become the envy of his neighbours, so that he is forced to stand guard watching against potential robbers. Moses wishes him success in this. Yaakov had already hinted at this in his blessing for this son when he said in Genesis 49,14: רובץ בין המשפתים, “crouching among the sheepfolds.”

ושפני טמוני חול, “and the hidden treasures of the sand.” Sometimes when ships break up when at harbour and are buried deep in the sand; when the waters of the sea retreat, it is revealed that this sand which buried their ships had also hidden treasures which would have remained undiscovered if the ship had not broken up.

מרחיב גד, “Who enlarges Gad; Moses blesses him to whom G-d had given a large territory, suitable for raising sheep and cattle.

וטרף זרוע אף קדקוד, “to tear off arm and scalp;” seeing that the scalp is mentioned last, it is clear that he disabled his opponent first by disabling his arm which carries his weapon. He does so by taking aim at the sword raised against him. By doing so he succeeds in not only disabling his opponent’s arm but decapitating him at the same time with one stroke.

וירא ראשית לו, “he chose a first part for himself.” Even though the Ammonites and Moabites dispute his territorial claims to its land, as is evident from Judges 11,13 and Yiftach rebutting their arguments. (Compare Rashi there) Another interpretation of this line: What is the meaning of the phrase: כי שם חלקת מחוקק צפון, “for in part of that land the grave of the Israelites’ lawgiver (Moses would be hidden)" Alternately, Reuven has been referred to as the lawgiver; in Judges 5,15, when Deborah describes him as such with the words: בפלגות ראובן גדולים חקקי לב, “among the clans of Reuven who were debating great decisions of the heart.” The Reuvenites had long been entrenched in these lands already, (at the time of Yiftach, 300 years after Moses had died). According to yet another interpretation the whole line speaks about both Reuven and Gad, the two tribes who had decided to settle on the east bank of the Jordan river. Since both of these tribes had proven outstandingly strong, Moses accords them recognition already in his parting words to the people.

יזנק מן הבשן, “he leaps forth from the region of Bashan.” He (Dan) conquers in that region, although it is well known as the habitat of lions and other ferocious beasts.

שבע רצון, Naftaly is satisfied, aware of having been favoured;” the fruit of his orchards is not only of the highest quality, but also ripens ahead of those in other regions of the land. Whenever he tastes them he is gratefully conscious of his good fortune.

ומלא ברכת ה “and filled with G-d’s blessing.” Whoever visits his part of the land of Israel and blesses the Almighty for its fruits.

ברך מבנים אשר, “Asher be blessed more than the other sons (of Yaakov).” He receives these blessings from the other tribes, as proved from the end of this verse.

יהי רצוי אחיו, “let him be the most favoured among his brothers.” What is the reason why all the other tribes bless Asher? He is able to bathe his feet in oil, i.e. this tribe enjoys an abundance of oil harvested from the olive trees on his territory. All of his brothers can anoint themselves with this oil at minimal cost.

ברוך מבנים אשר, according to Rashi, the interpretation of this line is that there is no other tribe that has enjoyed being as fruitful, having so many children. (Rashi quotes Sifri as his source, adding that he does not know the reason for this.) If we consider the numbers of the tribes’ male children provided by the Torah, Menashe appears to have been equally blessed if not more so. The latter, of course was not a son but a grandson of Yaakov.

יהי רצוי אחיו, according to tradition, when Reuven had defiled the couch of his father, it was Asher who told his other brothers about this. When hearing this, the brothers chided him for badmouthing their oldest brother. They ostracised him forthwith. Moses now revoked this ostracism. Seeing that when someone is ostracised this is introduced by the word: “be cursed,” Moses reversed this by now introducing his blessing of this tribe with an additional word of blessing, i.e. ברוך. When someone has been officially ostracised he is not allowed to engage in marital intercourse. He is also not allowed to anoint his skin with oil, nor to wear normal shoes; hence Moses refers to this tribe’s feet being shod with exceptionally strong shoes, i.e. his shoes are as strong as iron. [According to Rabbi Chavell, this interpretation is found in Tossaphot. Ed.]

דבאך, “your old age.” The expression is one of דאבה, “old age;” it is one of the words in which the sequence of two letters have been reversed, such as in כשבים and כבשים sheep, or שמלה and שלמה, both meaning: dress, or garment. Moses refers to the days of old age which often are days of anxiety and depression, i.e. דאבה. Moses blesses Asher in that even in his old age he would be full of vigour and enjoy the golden age. Compare a statement to this effect in the Talmud, tractate Chulin, folio 24.

ומתחת זרועות עולם, “and underneath are the everlasting arms;” Asher is perceived riding on the globe which is seen as beneath the rider. The “arms” are seen as supporting the universe, carrying its weight. The One Who rules both the upper regions of the universe and its lower regions is seen as supporting Asher also.

ויגרש מפניך אויב, “He thrusts out the enemy from before you. They are specifically: Amalek, Sichon and Og.,ויאמר: השמד, and Who said: “destroy,” i.e. תמחה את זכר עמלק “wipe out the memory of Amalek” (Deut 25,19” (Deut 25) and לא תחיה כל נשמה “do not allow a single soul to survive” (in the land of Canaan).

עין יעקב, “the fountain of Yaakov;” a metaphor for the descendants of Yaakov, as in Isaiah 48,1: וממי יהודה יצאו, “and who came forth from the waters of Yehudah.” (metaphor for “from the loins of”)

ויכחשו אויביך לך, “and when your enemies will try to deceive you, etc.;” your enemies will sometimes pretend to be your friends in order to lull you into a sense of security.