ויקרא, he called them in to assemble around him

את אשר יקרא אתכם, a reference to future events, מקרה, events that are not the direct outcome of man’s initiatives. The word occurs in this spelling (with the letter א instead of ה at the end) in Jeremiah 13,22 מדוע קראני אלה?, “Why did these things happen to me?” Or, in Isaiah 51,19 שתים המה קוראותיך, “these two things have befallen you.” There are many other examples of a similar nature in Scripture.

The meaning of the words את אשר is the same as כאשר, “when;” the word את frequently means the same as מן, “part of.” Yaakov, after all, did reveal only a very small fraction of what would happen to the tribes in the אחרית הימים, the period when the tribal heads had long died and their offspring had become part of the Jewish nation. Some of what he predicted was to occur relatively soon, other parts much later. When he used the words באחרית הימים he meant that what he spoke about would be as real as what would happen on the morrow. He referred specifically to the period when the Israelites would settle in the Holy Land, describing events that would take place then. Whatever he told them had been inspired by the spirit of prophecy. Parts of the prophecy concerned Israel when settled peacefully on its land, other parts spoke of events occurring during wars which would threaten the nation’s continued existence. He listed the names of his sons in the order of their birth up until Yehudah only.

הקבצו ושמעו, this was the introduction to his prophetic utterances, just as in Moses’ parting speech to the nation the words האזינו השמים והארץ (Deut. 32,1) were the opening line. The prophetess Devorah in her victory song extolling G’d, (Judges 5,3) also began with a similar opening, i.e. שמעו מלכים, “listen, pay attention, kings!”

ראובן בכורי אתה; Yaakov repeated this theme a second and a third time when he continued: כחי, וראשית אוני. The reason was that theoretically, Reuven was entitled to three advantages. 1) birthright; 2) priesthood, as every firstborn in each family was automatically what the כהן would be after the sin of the golden calf when that privilege was transferred to the tribe of Levite who had not participated in that sin. 3) the position of political head of the nation, known as מלכות in the language of our sages.

יתר שאת, this expression encompasses both the birthright and the priesthood, both of which are primarily a description of an aristocratic social standing. ויתר עז, a reference to the political power, Royalty. Kings need to excel in this fortitude, toughness described by the word עוז. We find the expression used in that sense in Samuel I 2,10 ויתן עוז למלכו, “He will give power to His king.” Yaakov is reminding Reuven: “you would have enjoyed all these advantages over your brothers if you had not become guilty of a great sin.” This is why he continued with פחז כמים, you were precipitous as water in not restraining your biological urges which led you to mount the couch of your father. You did not stop to consider what a sin with far ranging effects you would make yourself guilty of by your lack of self control.

אל תותר, you will no longer enjoy any advantage over your brothers.

כי עלית משכבי אביך, when you committed that act, חללת יצועי, you defiled my couch; your act prevented me from having any further marital relations with my wife Bilhah. My grandfather explained the expression יתר שאת as an allusion to atonement. [שאת from the root נשא, to elevate, i.e. to forgive as in ונשאתי לכל המקום, “I will forgive the whole place” (Genesis 18,26) Ed.] If so, far from putting down Reuven in his final words to him, Yaakov blessed him by offering his forgiveness at this time for the sin he had committed. against him.

שמעון ולוי אחים, they had acted like brothers in their concern for their sister Dinah, as the Torah credits them in Genesis 34,25.

כלי חמס, their swords, (weapons) have become instruments of violence. [used aggressively instead of defensively. Ed.] Yaakov considered the slaying of the male population of Shechem as having been illegal. He did not consider the men of the city responsible for the sin of rape committed by their crown prince Shechem. Seeing that their act was illegal they endangered their whole family, including their father, as they could not count on G’d’s protection against the avengers of Shechem when the wrong they had committed themselves had brought that attack upon them. The fact that in the event, G’d did protect them, was not thanks to these two brothers.

מכרותיהם, as if the Torah had written במכרותיהם. The construction is parallel to ארץ מגוריהם, the land of their sojourn, i.e. the land in which they sojourned. The people of Shechem had lived peaceably side by side with the family of Yaakov, there being no war-like actions between them. [The author apparently sees in the word מכרותיהם the root הכר, “to recognise someone, i.e. to know him well.” Yaakov describes the deed of Shimon and Levi against the people of Shechem as having been perpetrated on friendly unsuspecting neighbours. Ed.] Ezekiel 21,35 as well as 29,14 also speaks of מכורותיך meaning מגורים the place where one resides. Onkelos also translates it in this sense. Midrash Tanchuma Vayechi 9 understands the word as applying to their swords. In Greek a sword is known as makirin.

בסודם אל תבא נפשי. At the time they planned their revenge I had not been taken into their confidence either about what they were going to do or about how they were going to do it. It had not been done at my suggestion. Yaakov repeats what he said in different words, continuing אל תחד כבודי, the word תחד is in the feminine mode seeing it refers to כבוד which is another word for נפש which is a feminine noun.

כי באפם הרגו איש, the word איש refers to people generally, as in Samuel I 14,24 ואיש ישראל נגש, where it also did not refer to a single Israelite but to the Israelite troops who were pressing for action. Yaakov too describes the whole population of the city of Shechem as איש, as if a single unit. We find that the word שור is often used also as a reference to many oxen although it is in the singular mode. Other examples of such constructions are Exodus 15,19 כי בא סוס פרעה, where the Torah speaks of all of Pharaoh’s (Egypt’s) horses, not just of Pharaoh’s personal horse. Some commentators understand the words שור as meaning the ruling prince of the land, Chamor. We have several examples of someone in a high position being referred to as שור, as for instance in Deuteronomy 33,17 בכור שורו. The word עקרו in our verse, is another word for הרגו, “they killed.” The word שור may also mean “wall, fortification,” as understood by Onkelos.

וברצונם, “in order to carry out their will; their urgent desire.” In our homiletic literature, (compare Rashi) the entire line starting with אל תבא is understood as referring to misdeeds carried out by members of the tribe of Shimon in the distant future such as the leader of that tribe Zimri who slept with a Midianirte princess in an act of defiance of Jewish mores, and the infamous Korach of the tribe of Levi who wanted to usurp the position of Moses and Aaron. Due to Yaakov’s express wish here, neither of these two men had his genealogy traced all the way back to Yisrael when the Torah explains who they were. (compare Numbers 16,1 and Numbers 25,15)

ארור אפם, whenever we encounter the expression ארור it involves denial of some blessing or something good and welcome to the party subject to the curse. For instance, we read in Maleachi 2,2 וארותי את ברכותיהם, “I will turn their blessings into a curse.” The words ארור אפם must be understood as a type of prayer by Yaakov, who wishes that Shimon and Levi be denied at least a part of their willfulness of character, as something that has become too strong to endure. Yaakov repeated the same thought in different words to make his point more insistently. This is why he added the words ועברתם כי קשתה.

אחלקם ביעקב, so that they will not constantly be next to one another. Shimon’s ancestral territory in the land of Israel actually became an enclave within the boundaries of the land allocated to the tribe of Yehudah. Shimon and Levi (who had no territorial claims after being granted the status formerly occupied by the firstborn after the golden calf episode) had no common territorial boundaries, so that the danger of their joint cooperation resulting in a repeat of what happened at Shechem was drastically reduced. In Bereshit Rabbah 99,7 the words אחלקם ביעקב, are understood as referring to the 24 thousand members of the tribe of Shimon who were killed as a result of Zimri’s brazen act of sexual union with a Midianite princess. This resulted in 24 thousand wives of these men becoming widows, These widows were distributed to the other tribes, 2000 to each tribe, so that anyone having to go begging was from the tribe of Shimon. As a result, G’d said that the Levites were to be similarly distributed among all the tribes seeing he did not deserve a better fate than that of his partner in crime Shimon. Seeing that the Levites became dependent on the tithes, etc, voluntarily given to them by the farmers of the other tribes, their basic livelihood was no less precarious than that of the widows and orphans of the members of the tribe of Shimon who had been killed by a plague by G’d at Shittim.( Numbers 25,9) It is a historical fact then that Yaakov’s prediction came true. Seeing what had happened, G’d elevated the Levites by granting them 10% of the combined harvests of all the other tribes. However, the Levites, just as the members of the tribe of Shimon, had to visit all the threshing floors and request from the local farmers to give the tithe tithes they were obliged to give to a Levite to them. [The Midrash endeavours to justify Yaakov saying both אחלקם ביעקב, and אפיצם בישראל, meaning that each of these tribes will be busy looking for handouts and not have spare time for aggressive ventures such as those hatched by their respective founding fathers. Ed.]

יהודה אתה יודוך אחיך, they will elevate you to the position of royalty instead of Reuven, for the royalty, or potential for royalty of which I have deprived him your brothers will bestow upon you. We have proof of this happening from Samuel II 5,1 when David was crowned in Chevron by all the tribes of Israel. We are told in Bereshit Rabbah 99,8 that when Yehudah saw that Yaakov suddenly served up Reuven’s sin, as well as that of his brother Shimon and Levi, he became afraid that his own sin with Tamar would be the next one to be referred to by his father. He only calmed down when Yaakov began his remarks to Yehudah with the words “your brothers will elevate you to the position of royalty because you had the strength of character to publicly acknowledge and repent your having slept with your daughter-in-law Tamar.”

ידך בעורף אויביך, a reference to King David, who was victorious in all his wars against his enemies. We have a parallel verse said by David himself in Samuel II 22,41 ואויבי תחת לי עורף, “He made my enemies turn tail before me.”

ישתחוו לך בני אביך, when they will observe that you are successful, then they will prostrate themselves before you and declare that you are fit to be their king. When Yitzchok blessed Yaakov in Genesis 27,29 he referred to “the sons of your mother” prostrating themselves before him. Seeing that Yitzchok had only one wife this was quite normal. Seeing that Yaakov had four wives it would not have been good enough to refer to the sons of Yehudah’s mother, as that would have included only half the tribes. By phrasing the blessing as applicable to the “sons of your father,” Yaakov included all 12 tribes.

גור אריה יהודה; at the beginning of his career he would be only a גור, a cub, one that has not attained maturity. Even so, such a lion is stronger than all the other beasts. Yehudah was also the first of the tribal princes to offer his inaugural sacrifice (Numbers 7,12). When it came to the war against the Canaanites in Judges 1,2 this tribe was the one leading all the others. Again, at Geva in Binyamin (Judges 20,18) the tribe of Yehudah was in the lead in the tragic civil war against the tribe of Binyamin. [at any rate a heavenly voice or the High Priest after consulting the Ephod had announced that Yehudah should be in the lead. Ed.] The first of the Judges who were heads of the nation after the death of Joshua who had failed to appoint a successor, was Othniel son of Knaz from the tribe of Yehudah. (Judges 3,9). Eventually, when David was appointed King of all the Israelites, this גור, “young lion,” became a fully grown mature lion, i.e. אריה,

מטרף בני עלית, due to the surfeit of loot you rose to a position of distinction and glory as we know from Samuel II 8,13 “David gained fame when he returned from defeating Edom in the valley of Salt.”

כרע רבץ כאריה, my father of blessed memory explained this verse as follows: during the period of David, Yehudah crouched as does a lion who at the time when he is afraid of other ferocious beasts does not lie down and relax, but only crouches. This he does in order to be able to rouse himself at a moment’s notice when attacked. However, at a time when he does not face imminent danger he lies down relaxed. Similarly, David. Seeing that he was involved in wars practically during the entire period of his reign and had to be ready to rise at a moment’s notice to face his enemies and to kill them, he was like a lion concerned about staying alive. However, his son Solomon, could afford to lie down in repose seeing that all the nations were afraid of him and none dared attack him. There was no one around who would rouse him from his slumber.

לא יסור שבט מיהודה, the ruler is called שבט because he exercises authority over the people and disciplines them if they disobey. He uses his power like a father uses his rod on a disobedient son. In fact, the rod or scepter, or its equivalent, are carried by people in authority in order to remind those who are subservient to them as a symbol of their power to exact punishment. We find such a שבט called שרביט הזהב, “the golden scepter,” and whether the king extended it or failed to extend it to a supplicant determined if he would be executed. (Esther 5,2) The expression also occurs in the sense we have mentioned in Isaiah 14,5 and in Psalms 45,7.

ומחוקק מבין רגליו, a reference to the sons of Yehudah, i.e. that his appointment as forecast by Yaakov will be hereditary, just as the priesthood is transferred from father to son. (if the son is worthy and the people do not object) The expression מבין רגליו is analogous to the afterbirth, which exits from between the mother’s legs (Deuteronomy 28,57) The reason why the king is referred to as מחוקק, is because he has the authority to legislate laws, חוקים. Yaakov said that this authority of an informal nature would not depart from Yehudah until he would have someone from his tribe who wields formal authority, i.e. is elected king, a reference to David.

שילה; a reference to David’s son, seeing that the meaning of the word is derived from Deuteronomy 28,57 ובשליתה, i.e. “and against her afterbirth, etc.” Onkelos understands the word as referring to the Messiah. He bases himself on the variant spelling here still having the same meaning as שלו, “his.” This is also the way Bereshit Rabbah 99,8 understands the word שילה in our verse. Yaakov would be saying that Yehudah’s preeminence would not be short-lived, but would continue until the coming of the Messiah, the one to whom royalty would belong permanently. The whole blessing to Yehudah could then be compared to a father saying to his son: “accept this token in the meantime until I can give you the real thing!”

ולו יקהת עמים. The word יקהת is a noun meaning “obedience,” as it is also in Proverbs 30,17 ותבוז לקהת אם, “and disdains to relate with obedience to his mother.” Yaakov predicts that all the nations will show obedience to the king stemming from Yehudah. This prophecy began to be fulfilled in the days of King David, and in an even greater measure during the reign of his son Solomon.

אסרי לגפן. The letter י in the word אסרי is an addition, similar to the letter י in Deuteronomy 33,15 שכני סנה, and other examples of a similar construction. Also the letter י in בני אתונו, is an addition. The entire expression ולשרקה בני אתונו is a duplication, seeing that the word שרקה means the same as גפן, perhaps a superior type of vine. The entire verse is a praise of the quality of the land apportioned to the tribe of Yehudah which yields such bountiful harvests that the farmer can tie his ass to the vine after having eaten from its grapes, without any worry. There are so many grapes on a single vine that they suffice to make up a full load for his ass. Similarly, there is so much wine that even if he were to launder his garments in wine instead of in water, he would not run short of wine. Yaakov repeats the theme once more in different words, saying: ובדם ענבים סותה, the expression דם ענבים refers to wine, the word סותה to garments. Naturally, this is an exaggeration permissible to poets.

Yaakov adds something else which is an exaggeration when he says: חכלילי עינים סותה, not only Yehudah’s clothing would be red but even his face and eyes. The word עינים describes the exterior appearance, as in Proverbs 23,29 למי חכלילות עינים? “Who suffers from redness of his eyes? The word עין, עינים, to describe an exterior appearance is also used to describe the manna in Numbers 11,7.

ולבן שנים מחלב. Due to drinking a lot of milk his teeth are white. Some commentators understand the word שנים in our verse as describing the teeth-like points of the rocks being white from the drippings of excess milk by the sheep and goats. Accordingly, even these so-called teeth have to be explained allegorically, as a reference to the Messiah. [I believe that all the commentators who chose the path of interpreting Yaakov’s words allegorically, simply could not credit that he would waste his last few minutes on earth with describing mundane matters as being the essence of what he had to communicate to his children at that time, even if these words were garbed in poetic language. The sages were convinced that behind this lovely prose there must be hidden far more profound spiritual messages. Ed.]

To continue with the “Messianic” interpretation. אסרי לגפן עירה, the word הגפן is a metaphor for the concept of the Jewish nation, כנסת ישראל, an expression used in the same sense in Psalms 80,9 גפן ממצרים תסיע, “You transplanted a vine (the people of Israel) from Egypt.” Just as the word גפן is used as a metaphor for the Jewish people in Psalms, so the word שרקה is used in a similar sense in Jeremiah 2,21, ואנכי נטעתיך שורק כלו זרע אמת, “whereas I had planted you as a vine, all with the choicest seed.” The prophet, of course, compares the Jewish people to a vine, normally yielding excellent grapes, but somehow having become corrupted. When such vines are at their best, the grapes they produce do not even have kernels, (i.e. seedless grapes)

Yaakov continues with אסרי, this King Messiah, when he arrives, will tie together two vines, i.e. the Kingdom of Yehudah and the Kingdom of Ephrayim who had been bitter competitors until then, as predicted in clear language by Ezekiel 37,19 ועשיתם לעץ אחד”so that they will become a single stick.” The reason Yaakov chose the expression אסרי for this kind of unification can be well understood when we read in Hoseah 10,10 באסרם על שתי עוונותם, an expression used by the prophet when referring to these two kingdoms. The most effective union, one that is least likely to come undone, is the one described in Hebrew by the verb אסר and קשר respectively. עירה and בני אתונו, refer to the King Messiah of whom it has been said in Zecharyah 9,9 that he will appear riding on an ass, on a donkey foaled by a she-ass. Yaakov continues with כבס ביין לבושו, here the word לבושו is an alternate for בגדו a word also used in Psalms 45,9 an expression used in Kohelet as describing one’s words of wisdom and one’s good deeds. In other words, tangible phenomena that we are familiar with are used as substituting for meta-physical, abstract concepts by our sages and patriarchs. Yaakov refers to ביין with the vowel patach under the letter ב, meaning a specific wine as distinct from wine generally. The fragrance of good wine envelops the people who drink it. Compare Hoseah 14,8 זכרו כיין לבנון, “His scent is like the wine of Lebanon.” The wine Yaakov speaks of is well known for its fine bouquet. A similar reference to the fragrance of wine occurs in Song of Songs 7,10 וחכך כיין הטוב, “and the breath of your mouth is like the choicest wines.” We believe that the thrust of these allegorical interpretations is that if ever Yehudah were in difficulties in matters physical, then spiritual mental faculties should compensate for what he could not accomplish in the natural way. This is the definition of the Messiah in Isaiah 11,2 “the spirit of the Lord shall alight upon him; a spirit of wisdom and insight; a spirit of counsel and valor, a spirit of devotion and reverence for the Lord.” The prophet continues.והריחו ביראת ה' ולא למראה עיניו ישפוט ולא למשמע אזניו יוכיח ושפט בצדק דלים והוכיח במישור לענוי ארץ והכה ארץ בשבט פיו, וברוח שפתיו ימית רשע. “He shall sense the truth by his reverence for the Lord. He shall not judge what his eyes behold, nor decide by what his ears perceive; thus shall he judge the poor with equity and decide with justice for the lowly of the land. He shall strike down with the rod of his mouth and slay the wicked with the breath of his lips.” ובדם ענבים סותה, Yaakov mentions the appearance as something comparable to how it appears after it has been laundered, whereas he describes the wine as symbolic of a pleasant fragrance but here he uses it in connection with the external appearance of something. All these hyperboles are just that, a parable.

He continues: חכלילי עינים מיין ולבן שנים מחלב, having already mentioned wine as symbolising fragrance as well as symbolising an impressive appearance, he did so because he views them as the most appropriate description of something that looks pleasant and inspiring. Such a perception of what looks beautiful is also echoed in Lamentations 4,7 ”Her elect were purer than snow and whiter than milk,” and in Song of Songs 5,10 the example for such a lovely appearance is “my beloved is clear-skinned and ruddy.” The appearance of wine is most impressive and it is reddish and sparkling as described in Proverbs 23,31 “do not ogle that red wine as it lends its colour to the cup.” It is described as if giving off sparks. Pure white colour is also extolled in Exodus 24,10 when the elders before the revelation at Mount Sinai feasted their eyes on a Divine appearance described as “like a brick of sapphire, and the essence of the heavens in purity.” The whitest parts of the human body are the teeth They are praised for their whiteness also in Song of Songs 6,6 where their whiteness is compared to that of “a flock of ewes climbing up from the washing pool.” [The author continues in this vein for a few more lines. Ed.] The point he is trying to make is that over and beyond any physical perfection we know of in this world, the perfection of virtues, albeit intangible, is superior to anything perfect but tangible on earth. Hence the superiority of the Messiah with his virtues and supernatural qualities. Yaakov, using his prophetic insights, addresses each of his sons with the degree of prophetic insight he has been granted in describing the future in store for him.

זבלון, up until this point Yaakov listed his sons in the chronological order of their birth, not paying attention to who was their mother. At this juncture he mentions Zevulun before Issachar although the latter had been born earlier by the same mother, Leah. Concerning this anomaly we read in Bereshit Rabbah 99,9 that the fact that Issachar chose the pursuit of Torah as his vocation whereas Zevulun supported him financially with his marine endeavours enabling his brother to concentrate on his Torah studies, he deserves to be mentioned first. The concept underlying this preferential mention of Zevulun here is explained in Proverbs 3,18 as עץ חיים היא למחזיקים בה, “the Torah will prove a tree of life to those who support it (financially).” Moses followed Yaakov’s example when blessing Zevulun before Issachar (Deuteronomy 33,18) when he said שמח זבולון בצאתך ויששכר באהליך, “rejoice Zevulun when you set out (on your journeys) and Issachar in your tents.” Everywhere else Issachar is mentioned ahead pf Zevulun.

לחוף ימים ישכון, part of his ancestral heritage will be situated along the shores of the sea as stated in Joshua 19,11 ועלה גבולם לימה, ”their boundary ascended to the sea.” Moses had already hinted at this in Deut. 33,19 when he said כי שפע ימים ינקו, “they will draw from the riches of the sea.” The word חוף describes something covered, or better: “a place where ships can find refuge from the storms.”

והוא לחוף אניות, he, Zevulun, will constantly be as a haven for ships. Most of his mercantile endeavours will be related to wares brought from overseas. Hence, ships will constantly anchor on its coast.

וירכתו על צידון, his borders will extend as far north as the coastal town Tzidon. The meaning of the word על in this phrase is similar to the meaning of the word עד, “as far as.” The word על occurs as meaning “as far as” also in Joshua 2,7 על המעברות, “as far as the fords.”

וירכתו, as if the Torah had written ולירכתו as in Exodus 26,23 ולירכתו המשכן, “at the rear of the Tabernacle.”

יששכר חמור גרם, like a strong donkey possessing strong bones. He is able to lie down while carrying his load and to get up again while still having his load on his back.

המשפתים, a reference to the load the donkey carries. Yaakov uses the word in the plural mode, to indicate that Issachar will be loaded with not only one burden but two, carrying one on his right side, the other on his left. His soil will be extremely good, as if to say that he will not join battle formations in war but will belong to the troops bringing the supplies to the front lines. He will pay a special tax to the king to be allowed this arrangement, hence ויהי למס עובד. This is what Yaakov had in mind when he said of Issachar וירא מנוחה כי טוב. Our sages in Bereshit Rabbah 98,12, and 99,10 explain the entire blessing as a prophecy that Issachar would make his primary occupation the study of Torah, and Yaakov depicting such a way of life as something lovely and rewarding for those who pursue it. The more one labours and immerses oneself deeply in Torah study the greater the ultimate sense of serenity, מנוחה, constructive peace of mind one will experience. All the expressions used here such as וירא מנוחה כי טוב ואת הארץ כי נעמה ויט שכמו לסבול ויהי למס עובד, describe, step by step the immersion in Torah study, the difficulties in mastering that discipline, and the eventual satisfaction it yields the person who stays the course. As proof that Yaakov’s blessing for Issachar did indeed come true, consider that the tribe of Issachar sent only 200 representatives to attend the crowning of David as King, whereas all the other tribes sent delegations numbering between 10,000 and 120,000. The 200 men from Issachar however, are described as יודעי בינה לעתים, “knowing how to interpret the signs of the times.” They were all Torah scholars. (compare Chronicles I 12,24-38)

דן ידין עמו, Yaakov predicts that a judge will emerge from among the Danites as, or equal to, any of the other tribes of Israel. The reason why Yaakov had to make such a strange sounding comment was that Dan was a son of Rachel’s maid, Bilhah, and the status of the descendants of the maidservants of the matriarchs might have been questioned. Yaakov wants it understood that there is not going to be such a relationship between his sons. To emphasise this, Moses appointed the tribe of Dan as one of the four tribes who were leaders of their respective army corps comprising three tribes each. (compare Numbers 2,25) The judge from the tribe of Dan who presided over the court was Shimshon, of whom we are told in Judges 16,31 that he judged the people for 20 years.

יהי דן, Yaakov compared Dan to different kinds of serpents which do not travel (hunt) in packs, but rely on their wits, killing many. Shimshon, the most prominent warrior of the tribe of Dan, was a loner, never involving others when he faced danger. Compare Judges 15,8 ויך אותם שוק על ירך וכלחי חמור הכה אלף איש, “he struck them leg as well as thigh, and with the jawbone of a donkey he killed one thousand men.” He saved the Israelites from the constant incursions of the Philistines before he engaged in his acts of daring. This is what prompted Yaakov to wish him success with the words: 'לישועתך קויתי ה, “your type of salvation for Israel, orchestrated by a single individual, is something that normally, only G’d Himself can orchestrate.” Some commentators (Rashi) view these words of Yaakov as his reaction when he foresaw with prophetic vision how Shimshon had his eyes blinded by the Philistines. The words לישועתך וגו' then are Yaakov’s prayer that G’d Himself would avenge what was done to Shimshon. This prophecy/prayer was also fulfilled, as we are told in Judges 16,30 that Shimshon killed more Philistines in dying than he had killed cumulatively while alive.

גד גדוד יגודנו, if a troop, battalion attacks him he will overpower that troop. This is the meaning of the last words in the verse והוא יגד עקב, in the end (עקב) he will prevail. This is a specific reference by Yaakov to what we have been told in Chronicles I 5,18-22 in which this tribe (together with Reuven and half the tribe of Menashe) is described as waging a successful war against the Hagrites. Their victory, -apparently they had been attacked,- is credited to the fact that they implored G’d to help them, and had faith that He would help them. Their trust was justified as is evident from the amount of loot they captured after that battle, Subsequent to that battle they remained undisturbed until their exile, about 150 years before the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.

מאשר שמנה לחמו, the introductory letter מ appears to indicate that the bounty described in the verse following applied to only part of the territory in which Asher dwelled. The word לחמו is a euphemism for the whole ancestral land of the tribe of Asher, as it is what produces the bread of this tribe. The word לחם here as well as in many other examples, is a collective term including all the food these people grew and consumed. There were many olive trees on the territory of Asher, something confirmed by Moses in Deut. 33,24 where the tribe is described as immersing its feet in that oil. Also all the other fruit grown on its soil was especially good in quality. This is why the verse concludes with the words: והוא יתן מעדני מלך, that the dignitaries of that tribe would send gifts of these fruit to be served at the king’s table.

נפתלי אילה שלוחה, Yaakov prophesied regarding the extraordinary salvation which would accrue to Israel thanks to a single man from the tribe of Naftali, Barak, the commander of the forces who defeated Siserah at the river Kishon, putting to flight an army boasting 900 armoured vehicles. Seeing that he would be assisted by the prophetess Devorah, his being fleet-footed is not credited only to him, and the word describing this is in the feminine gender, ayalah, instead of ayal. Barak had refused to attack unless Devorah would be with him. This is also why Yaakov said שלוחה, again in the feminine mode, to allude to Devorah’s role in the battle. It sounds as if Devorah had been dispatched by G’d to hasten Barak’s coming to a decision, seeing he had been so hesitant to join battle with Siserah. Concerning the song of thanksgiving composed by Devorah after that battle (Judges chapter 5), Yaakov describes that song as אמרי שפר,”words of beautiful poetry.”

בן פרת יוסף בן פרת עלי עין, the branch סעיף, is referred to as בן, as it is an offshoot of the tree. Seeing that it is called בן in the masculine mode, he word פרת, the adjective modifying it, ought to be in the masculine mode also, but it is not. Suddenly, the Torah changes grammar in mid-stream and speaks of בנות צעדה עלי עין instead of בנים צעדו עלי עין, “his branches spilling (running) over the wall.” The reason is that the word סעיף also occurs as a feminine noun, as in Ezekiel 31,6 בסעפתיו קננו, “in its boughs they made their nest.” Such nouns in a dual role are not that rare, as for instance we find the חמור, male donkey, treated as if it were an אתון, the she-ass in Samuel II 19,27 אחבשה לי החמור וארכב עליה, “I will saddle my donkey and ride on her.” The donkey is both a beast, בהמה, a feminine noun, and a male of its species. We are therefore free to use either gender when referring to it. A similar example is found in Exodus 22,25 where the Torah describes the word שלמה, dress, as masculine although generally we always use it as feminine. The fact is that the specific garment “dress, שלמה,” is at the same time a garment, בגד, a noun describing all garments, a masculine noun. While a bough, פארה, is indeed a feminine noun, referring to a specific type of branch, the word סעיף includes many types of branches and is a masculine noun. There are quite a few examples of this grammatical phenomenon. As to the addition of the letter ת in פרת, it substitutes for the letter ה as it does on many occasions. Look at Deuteronomy 31,29 for instance, where we have וקראת instead of וקראה.

בן פרת עלי עין, its leaves will not wilt and it will prove to be very fruitful as per Psalms 1,3 והיה כעץ שמול על פלגי מים, “he will be as a tree planted by springs of water, etc.” The reason for this apparent duplication is that Joseph would be split into two of the twelve tribes, hence the blessing had to be twofold.

בנות צעדה עלי שור, these two branches (from the בן above) would grow and branch out so much until they would spillover the protective wall around the orchard, just as grapevines are in the habit of doing when they require trellises to support them..

וימררו ורובו, if Yaakov spoke of the past in this verse we must understand his remarks as pertaining to Potiphar and his wife, as well as to the members of his household, but not to Joseph’s brothers. It is quite impossible to conceive of our patriarch Yaakov speaking of the brothers’ shame at the same as he was blessing them. Even though Yaakov had spoken of Reuven’s having disgraced himself, Yaakov had to do this in order to justify why he had deprived him of the privileges of the birthright. The same reasoning applies to his having recalled Shimon and Levi’s acts of violence, for which Yaakov made appropriate precautions for the future by dividing them up so that they could not pose a threat again.

וימררוהו, they embittered his life throwing him into jail for at least two years, as we know from Psalms 105,18 ענו בכבל רגלו ברזל באה נפשו, “his feet were subjected to fetters, an iron collar was put on his neck.”

ורבו, they shot arrows at him. The root of the verb רבו is of the type in which two root letters appear רבב repeated. Yaakov repeats the thought expressed by the word וימררוהו, also a root with a double consonant. The word רומו in Job 24,24 is a parallel construction to our word here.

וישטמהו בעלי חצים, they hated him for no cause, slandering him to his employer. Yaakov summarises all these wicked words with the word חצים, arrows. We find the word חץ used in the same sense in Psalms 120,4 חצי גבור שנונים עם גחלי רתמים, “a warrior’s sharp arrows with hot coals, etc.” [the previous verse speaks of the deceitful tongue, so that this verse is a simile for such deceitful tongues. Ed.]

ותשב באיתן קשתו, the bow from which they aimed their arrows at him broke, whereas the supposed victim, Joseph, remained unhurt, not only that, but advanced to ever higher positions.

ויפוזו זרעי ידיו, his hands and arms kept getting stronger, i.e. he acquired the means to punish those who had slandered him. We encounter the expression מפזז in Samuel II 6,16 as a description of strength. It appears there next to the word מכרכר, a variation of the root פזז having a similar meaning, when applied to the legs. What was the source of Joseph’s strength?

מידי אביר יעקב, the G’d Who had manifested Himself many times as the Power that stood by his father and lent him strength, not allowing him to collapse in spite of all the troubles that had dogged him for many years.

משם רועה אבן ישראל, Joseph’s great honour originated from there, משם, from the Shepherd of Israel. Seeing that a stone represents something solid, unshakable, permanent, all of Israel is compared to a stone, אבן. Alternately, seeing that Yaakov/Israel was the founding father of the nation, Yaakov refers to himself in that manner, i.e. the corner stone of the nation. Rabbeinu Saadyah gaon translates it into Arabic as עצם, the essence. This conforms to what we said.

מאל אביך, your glory stems from the G’d of your father, and He will assist you, ואת שדי, and your blessing will be confirmed by Shaddai. The letter מ in the word מאל also serves as an unwritten preposition for the expression ואת שדי, i.e. it really means ומאת שדי, “and from Shaddai.”

What will Shaddai’s blessing consist of? מברכת שמים מעל, the dew which comes from above and the rain which arrives at its proper time.

ברכות תהום רובצת תחת. The subterranean blessing from below. Moses uses similar words when he blesses the tribe of Joseph in Deuteronomy 33,13 saying: מברכת ה' ארצו ממגד שמים מטל ומתהום רובצת תחת. He only reversed the order in which he recited these blessings. He says of the water which reposes in the belly of the earth that it is perceived as lying down, as if in preparation for the time when it is expected to rise and to irrigate the crops. Alternately, it awaits man to draw it to perform irrigation. A third possibility would be that irrigation will be performed by the rain from heaven. The gist of the blessing is that the soil in the part of the land on which the tribe of Joseph dwells is so amply irrigated from underneath that even if there should be a drought, and no rain would fall, there is enough moisture to support the herbs in the fields.

ברכת שדים ורחם, Onkelos, who understands this as the blessing of father and mother, is familiar to most readers. Other commentators understand these words as referring to blessing emanating both from heaven and earth, although if we were to accept this, Yaakov would have repeated himself. The fact is that he wanted to reinforce the power of the blessing. “The heavens” are a euphemism for the breasts, and the drops of rain they yield are being compared to the drops of milk from the breasts, whereas the earth is a simile for the womb, seeing it produces fruit, as does the womb. My late father of blessed memory explained the word שדים as referring to the wet nurse, (when the mother herself cannot nurse her baby) and the word רחם as referring to the actual mother. Yaakov follows this blessing with the blessing of אביך “your father,” seeing that the baby requires a blessing from three sources. They are: father, mother, and the wet nurse who feeds the baby with her own milk. Personally, I feel that the blessing refers to the children that are being born to the tribe of Joseph, the opposite of a רחם משכיל ושדים צומקות, which we already referred to as a curse (Hoseah 9,14).

ברכת אביך גברו, although Yaakov uses the past tenses in the word גברו, what he means is the future, that the blessing will prove to be what he says. The anomaly of using the past tense to describe matters that are yet to occur is no anomaly; it occurs again and again in Scripture. The word הורי, normally translated as “my parents,” refer to Avraham and Yitzchok, Yaakov’s father and grandfather respectively, his mentors. The very expression הורה, horeh, and הורה, horah, respectively, apply to father and mother, depending on the vowel under the letterר . This is so as both are involved in bringing about the pregnancy leading to the eventual birth of the child. The father is the active partner, whereas the mother is considered the passive partner seeing that she is the recipient of the male’s sperm.

עד תאות גבעת עולם, these blessings should in turn be transferred to your offspring in an unending chain. We know the word תאוה as describing a limit, boundary, from Numbers 34,10 והתאויתם לכם, “you will draw for yourselves (boundaries).” Yaakov simply means that as long the universe will continue to exist “my blessing to you shall remain in force.” Hills and mountains, as opposed to rivers, are symbols of something that endures. The prophet Isaiah echoes this thought when he said (Isaiah 54,10)כי ההרים ימושו והגבעות תמוטינה “for even if the mountains were to move and the hills to collapse, etc.” [just as the former is unlikely, so G’d’s loyalty shall remain steadfast towards Israel. Ed.]

תהיינה לראש יוסף, in all the blessings which have been mentioned in this chapter Joseph should be the first and principal beneficiary. The words וקדקד נזיר אחיו are again a duplication, repetition, in order to emphasise how strongly Yaakov feels about the matter.

נזיר, an expression applied to leading people as in Nachum 3,17 מנזריך כארבה.”your guards were like locusts.”

בנימין זאב יטרף, he will be comparable to a ravenous wolf which tears apart its victims whether domestic animals or predators. The wolf is more courageous than other wild animals, not being afraid to invade human habitations. The members of the tribe of Binyamin demonstrated this quality of fearlessness on many occasions during their long history. In Judges chapter 20 they took on single-handedly the armies of all the other tribes in a tragic civil war. Also in Chronicles I 12,2 they joined the persecuted David who commanded only a small number of men, in what must have appeared as a hopeless undertaking. In verse 19 there we read that David placed these Binyaminites at the head of his small band.

בבוקר יאכל עד ולערב יחלק שלל. He will outdo the wolves, which have to wait until evening to eat any part of their prey. Binyamin will consume the foe in the morning and the loot in the evening following. Compare Tzefaniah 3,3 for confirmation of this. The word עד is equivalent to the word שלל, loot, booty. The Aramaic term for the word שלל is עדאה. This also contains an allusion to the war of Sha-ul, of the tribe of Binyamin against the Amelekites as well as against other nations as we know from Samuel I 14,47. Also Mordechai, who was descended from Binyamin , won against all the Antisemites including Haman and thus brought a great salvation to his people. The reason why the wars of Sha-ul are referred to by Yaakov as בוקר, morning, is because they occurred at the very beginning of the years during which the Jews had a crowned head as their leader. Mordechai’s “war,” by comparison was called ערב, evening, seeing that during his time the Jews were in exile, something compared to evening.

יחלק שלל, you may ask that we read in the Book of Esther 9,15 that the Jews did not pocket any of the loot. The meaning of that line was that seeing the King had given to Mordechai all that had belonged to Haman, such belongings could not longer be described as “loot.”

כל אלה שבטי ישראל שנים עשר, he had to mention this seeing that Joseph amounted to two tribes, which otherwise would have made us believe that Yaakov envisioned 13 tribes. When it came to the distribution of the land of Canaan there were only 12 tribes, seeing that the tribe of Levi did not share in that land distribution but was allocated only cities in which the Levites were to reside, scattered among all the other tribes.

וזאת אשר דבר להם, this is the future of which he spoke to them.

ויברך אותם, these were the words with which he blessed them, איש אשר כברכתו ברך אותם, each of these tribes according to the specific blessing Yaakov had bestowed on them. The blessings would all become effective in the future.

ויצו אותם, after he had completed his blessing, he instructed them that they should bury him in the family plot; even though he had already commanded Joseph concerning this, he also commanded his other sons. He wanted them all to be prompt in carrying out his wishes.

אל אבותי, same as ‘“with” my fathers.’ We find the word אל meaning “with” also in Leviticus 18,17 אשה אל אחותה לא תקח, “you must not marry the wife together with her sister.”

אל המערה, same as במערה, “in the cave.” We have the same construction in Exodus 25,21 ואל הארון תתן את העדות, “you are to place the tablets inside the ark,” not: “you shall give the tablets to the ark.”

במערה, we have explained on Genesis 25,10 why this mention of the cave of Machpelah as the patriarchs’ burial site is mentioned so many times in the Torah as if we did not know already.

שמה קברו, Yitzchok and Ishmael.

קברו את יצחק, the reason why Yaakov did not say “we buried,” but “they buried,” although the Torah had testified that he and Esau had buried their father, was that he did not want to even be mentioned in the same breath as his brother who was a wicked person.

ויאסוף את רגליו. As long as he had still been speaking to his sons he felt strong enough to carry on sitting on the bed with his feet on the floor. As soon as he had finished, he pulled up his feet to the bed and lay down.

ויגוע, an expression used with the righteous, describing a painless death. Some (Taanit 5) explain the fact that the Torah did not add the word וימת, “he died,” which is customary, as a hint that Yaakov did not actually die in the accepted sense of the word. Although the Torah specifically mentioned that Moses died, i.e. וימת משה, (Deut. 34,5) the fact is that he did not die. (Sotah 13). The fact is that the righteous do not die in the accepted sense of the word.

ויאסף אל עמיו, I have explained the meaning of this expression on 25,8.