Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L
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Yaakov's Final Words and Blessings to His Sons
Yaakov calls all of his sons over with the intention of revealing to them when the end of all Jewish exiles will be, but the Divine Presence departs from him just as he is about to speak, so he continues with other things, namely different prophecies told in a poetic manner about each of the sons and their lineages as follows:
Reuven:
Yaakov praises him for being his "strength" and "vigor". He is implying that Reuven is the "firstborn" in not only the literal sense but in the sense that Yaakov was so holy that Reuven was the result of the first emission of seed he ever had in his life.
He continues, saying that Reuven was meant to be greater than his brothers and have the priesthood, however because he acted hastily and tampered with his father's bed (see earlier parshas), he lost this privilege.
Shimon and Levi:
Yaakov speaks of their close relationship, how they worked in concert regarding attacking Shchem as well as with instigating the brothers to want to kill Yosef.
Yaakov continues and says that Shimon and Levi had stolen this "craft of murder" from Esav and used this violence in the land in which they were sojourning.
Due to this, Yaakov distances himself from them and warns the other tribes to distant themselves from them by alluding to a few times in the future:
* Regarding Shimon's decendents: In recounting the story of Zimri ( the head of the tribe of Shimon at that time who approached Moshe mockingly asking if a jew is allowed to marry a Midianite woman. And before waiting for an answer, says "If you say it's not allowed, how can you justify your marriage to the daughter of Yisro (who had been a Midianite priest)?), the Torah does not include Yaakov when it writes out Zimri's name. It is written as "Zimri son of Salu, leader of a father's house of the Shimonite" (Bamidbar 25:14)
* Regarding Levi's decedents: Yaakov warns the other brothers not to join in with the rebellion of Korach (who was from the tribe of Levi). And there too, in the Chumash's recounting of this story (Bamidbar 16:1) Yaakov is omitted from Korach's name as it is spelled out in the text: "Korach son of Yitzhar son of Levi" (however in Divrei HaYamim (Divrei HaYamim 1, 6:22-23), Yaakov's name is added and it reads "Korach son of Yitzhar son of Levi son of Yisroel (AKA Yaakov)".
Yaakov reiterates that the other brothers should not unite with Shimon and Levi since:
* They killed "a man" (referring to Chamor and all of the people of Schem who were considered like "one man" in relation to Shimon and Levi to whom they were no match for.
* They wished to kill Yosef (referred to poetically here as a glorious ox).
Yaakov curses their rage (he is specific in cursing only their "rage" and not them) and says that he will divide them from one another by Levi not inheriting land like the other tribes.
He also says that G-d will disperse them across the land. Shimon, by his descendants becoming poor people, scribes or children's teachers, all of which need to travel to make a living. And Levi, by his family becoming those who thresh the ground in preparation for Terumah.
Side note, Levi's lot was not as severe as Shimon's in that he wouldn't have to beg to make a living the way Shimon did. This is a consequence of the fact that Shimon was a more active participant in wanting to kill Yosef.
Yehuda
When Yehuda sees how his father rebuked Shimon and Levi, he was worried that he would receive similar treatment over his incident with Tamar and begins backing away. Yaakov reassures him that it is not the same thing and beckons him to come closer.
Yaakov tells him that his enemies will be at his mercy (his "hand will be at their nape") and that the rest of his brothers (called here his "father's sons" instead of "mother's sons" since his father had a few wives) will prostrate themselves to him.
He foretells that King David will come from him (referring to him as a cub (during the time of King Saul) who grew into a lion).
He says that Yehuda elevated himself from being like "prey" in two incidents:
* Whereas Yaakov suspected Yosef of being torn to bits by "prey" (related to a lion, which is what Yehuda is likened to), in fact, Yehuda proved him wrong by protesting his brother's original intentions saying, "What will we gain by killing him?"
* With the incident with Tamar, Yehuda redeemed himself by admitting that Tamar was right that it was he who had been with her.
Because of these acts, Yaakov blesses Yehuda to lie down like a lion, which was fulfilled later with King Shlomo who was a descendant of Yehuda.
Yaakov continues and says that the exilarchs and the princes will all come from the tribe of Yehuda as well as the eventual king Moshiach and says that he will lead groups of nations. He says that Yehuda's land will grow much wine.
Side note, according to Onkelos (as brought down by Rashi) the translation for this verse about the vineyards should be understood in a more metaphorical sense. Here is a list of words which Onkelos translates different than Rashi:
* The "vine" and "vine branch" which Rashi takes to mean literally, Onkelos translates to be referring to "Israel"
* The word עירֹה which Rashi translates to mean a "he-donkey" which one ties to a vine to get wine, Onkelos understands to be "city", namely the city of Jerusalem.
* The בני אתֹנו which Rashi translates to mean the "she donkey" upon which the wine is loaded to, Onkelos translates as "the Gate of Entry", which was a part of the Beis HaMikdash.
Onkelos then gives alternative translations to all of these things:
* The "vine" is the righteous people
* The she donkey are people who devote themselves to learning Torah
* The part of the verse that is literally translated to mean that he launders his garments in wine, Onkelos translates to mean that his garments will be made of fine purple (a color which resembles wine) cloth. Just as colorful clothing worn by a woman can entice a man, so too does wine "entice".
Yaakov continues and says that Yehuda's eyes will become red from so much wine and his teeth will become white from so much milk (i.e. they will have an abundance of sheep). Here too, Onkelos (as brought down by Rashi) offers an alternative translation:
* He translates "eyes" to mean mountains or springs
* He translates "teeth" to mean valleys.
Zvulun
Yaakov says that the tribe of Zvulun will become merchants who's land will be near the sea so that they can trade. The money they earn will support the tribe of Yissaschar who will be Torah scholars.
Yissaschar
Yaakov says that Yissaschar will take on the burden of learning Torah like a strong boned donkey that is loaded up with a heavy yoke. Also, like a donkey who wanders day and night, Yissaschar will wander in between the boundaries of the cities to transport merchandise.
Yaakov continues and says that Yissaschar's land will be good for bearing fruits. And their tribe will head courts to lead in practical decisions based on Torah law. And they will "bend their shoulders" (i.e. humble themselves) to become apprentices.
Onkulos (as brought down by Rashi), translates "bending their shoulders" to be referring to fighting at war, and that all their enemies will be subdued by them, i.e "bend at their shoulders".
Dan
Yaakov says that Dan will judge all of the other tribes and will vindicate all of them. Just as Moshiach will do in the future. Yaakov likens Dan to a snake, who hisses and doesn't need to bite in order to scare off it's enemies. Onkelos (as brought down by Rashi) gives an alternate translation, saying that this is referring to a Churman (related to the word "cherem" which means "destruction" since it destroys everything in it's path) snake (AKA a viper) for who's bite there is no cure. Onkelos furthermore says that this verse is alluding to an "old snake" who will lie in ambush.
Yaakov prophesizes that Shimshon will come from Dan and that it will be his destiny to die an honorable death when his eyes were gouged out by the Philistines whilst he was taking revenge on them.
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