Naphtali is a swift gazelle;

[he is one] who utters beautiful words.

(Bereishit 49:21)

 

Naphtali is a swift [sheluha, literally: "sent forth"] gazelle - The plain meaning is that he was blessed with swiftness, that the sons of Naphtali will run as swiftly as gazelles and to be the first to announce good tidings and make them known, like a gazelle who delivers a letter fastened between her horns.

And according to the midrash (Bereishit Rabbah 99:12): "Naphtali is a swift gazelle - That is the Ginossar Valley, which yields its fruit speedily as a gazelle. who utters beautiful words - That the sons of Naphtali would honor kings with their fruits, and they would speak beautifully, and the kings would yield to them."

(Rabbeinu Behayey ben Asher, ad loc)

 

who utters [noten] beautiful words - Noten cannot refer to the gazelle, because "gazelle" [ayala] is feminine [and noten is a masculine conjugation]. Beautiful [shefer]: "Beautiful," and [the word] shofar is also derived from it: a horn that it naturally hollow. [Also] shafrir - and he shall spread shafriro [his royal pavilion] over them (Jeremiah 43:10): it is a pavilion or a dome. From this we see that shefer does not refer to outer, sensuous beauty, but rather to the harmonious structure of the parts within a whole, as against yafeh [beautiful], related to yifa=radiant and yifah=exhaling, which designates beauty as it strikes the beholder. Shefer, is accordingly, arched, and curved, the harmonious formation where the whole is built around a guiding center point. Also, the related word sofer - to count - refers to the bringing together of several objects under a single concept. But unity in diversity is the concept of harmony. In connection with the public shefer refers to a beautiful and improved order, a pleasant mode of speech. Naphtali is not an original creator in either deed or thought. However, he knows how to adjust himself to the opinions of others, to act on them quickly and express them tastefully.

(Rabbi S.R. Hirsh ad loc)

 

Simeon and Levi are brothers:

their weapons are tools of lawlessness.(Bereishit 49:5)

Haim Rubinstein

Any regular group of people falls into a Gaussian distribution possessing extremes. Every community has its group of extremists, a group that is highly sensitive to stimuli and whose reactions to those stimuli are exceptionally strong. Its voice is heard more than those of other groups; it is salient beyond its size and influence. Its character can be traced by following its history of reactions to relevant events. It typically reacts with disproportionately extreme speech and actions to events that disturb the group.

In parashat Vayishlah we saw the very different reactions of Jacob, the majority of his sons, and Simeon and Levi to the Dinah incident. We have, respectively, and Jacob kept silent; Jacob's sons answered Shechem... And they said to them; and, finally, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, each took his sword, and they came upon the city with confidence, and they slew every male (Bereishit 34). Jacob kept silent, his sons began negotiating, and Simeon and Levi drew their swords.

Despite the apparent justification mentioned in the chapter's concluding verse - Shall he make our sister like a harlot? - their father Jacob scolds them: You have troubled me, to discredit me among the inhabitants of the land. Jacob reminds them of their embarrassing deed many years later, expressing himself sharply in our parasha: Cursed be their wrath for it is mighty, and their anger because it is harsh (49:7). The NeTzIV writes in his commentary, Ha'Emek Davar: "My soul is quiet, for it is said, Remove anger from your heart, for through anger actions are performed that are more extreme than necessary for the purpose at hand; they create more problems than they solve." Yeshayahu Leibowitz wrote about this in his book on parashat hashavua:

There is justice which humans are not allowed to execute. These two tribes were cursed because they did a deed which could be justified in some ways, but which in any event is considered to have been an instance of avoidable, unnecessary, blood shed. (Sheva Shanim shel Sihot al Parashat HaShavua, pp. 184-5)

Midrash Tanhuma (Bereishit, parashat Vayehi 10) amplifies Jacob's prophecy and links it to later events in the tribes' history:

Let my soul not enter their counsel - When Zimri will rise up and fornicate with Kozbi, do not mention my soul together with theirs. And so it says, And the name of the man who was struck was Zimri son of Salu (Bamidbar 25) he was referred to by his name and his father's name, names which are never found elsewhere in Israel, my honor, you shall not join their assembly - when Korah will assemble the whole congregation against Moses my soul will not enter with them, rather, and Korah son of Yitzhar son of Kehat son of Levi took (Bamidbar 16) but son of Jacob is not written. Where will my name be mentioned? When they stand in the Temple service, for it is written, The son of Izhar, the son of Kehath, the son of Levi, the son of Israel (I Chronicles 6:23).

Tanhuma extends the historical critique of Simeon and Levi from the sale of Joseph, through Zimri, who belonged to the tribe of Simeon, down to Korah and his congregation, who were Levites. All of these reflect the tribal characteristic of their wrath for it is mighty, and their anger because it is harsh.

The events involving these tribes are characterized by extreme reactions and defiance towards the regime and the social framework. In the case of Zimri: "When the tribe of Simeon gathered together and brought the Midianite woman before Moses, they asked him: 'Is she forbidden or permitted [to us]? If you say forbidden, who made Jethro's daughter permissible for you?'" (Midrash Rabbah). In the case of Korah: "Korah jumped up and said to Moses: 'Should a garment that is completely azure colored be exempt from [having] fringes [tied to it]?' He told them: 'It is required to have fringes.' Korah said to him: 'If a garment does not fulfill the obligation by being entirely azure colored, how can four strings fulfill its obligation?'" (Bamidbar Rabbah 18).

This group tends to jump head-first into violent deeds - their weapons are tools of lawlessness - without first looking for a reasonable solution. They are marked by defiance of authority, disrespect for the law of the land, contempt for social frameworks, an egocentric and egotistical outlook - an outlook typical of impatient people who are fixated on themselves and feel that the whole world is against them. They are extremely sensitive to stimuli which they think of as dangerous.

There is something theatrical about their crass behavior. They hide nothing; they always talk "straight to your face." Their crassness is an expression of contempt, as if to say, "Why, who are you?" Their callousness finds its naked and sharp expression in the sword.

And the correct interpretation appears to me to be that the verse is to be understood in its usual sense as stating that in their anger they killed each man of whom they were wrathful; and in their self-will, after their anger had been calmed by the slaying of the men, they uprooted all oxen, this being an allusion to their cattle and their possessions, including everything that was in the home and everything in the field. (RaMBaN, Bereishit 49:6, Chavel translation)

The transition from defiance to massacre moves along a continuum. Verbal violence turns physical and behavior slips down the slippery slope.

Rabbi Shimon Raphael Hirsch wrote:

Accordingly: the danger to the general public posed by Shimon and Levi's excessive impetuosity and choleric disposition is only present at a time when the nation is flourishing, when it forms a powerful body of a people who could easily be influenced by two compact tribes filled with glowing feelings of strength and power and of the unity and brotherhood of the whole nation. Therefore in Israel: I will scatter them. In a flourishing Jewish state they are to be scattered. (R. S.R. Hirsch on Bereishit 49:7, based on Levi translation)

It is important that Jacob's prayer, Cursed be their wrath for it is mighty, and their anger because it is harsh, I shall divide them in Jacob, in Israel: I will scatter them, applies to the powerful groups which see themselves as leaders, who try to lead the nation in their direction through noisy and daring acts, be they like those of Korah or of Zimri.

The voice of the silent and rational majority must be heard on high. The tribe of which it is written, The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the staff of the law from between his feet must rise up and take leadership upon itself. People of law and order must take hold of the reigns of the state and put the Simeonites and Levites in their place. They must lead along the golden mean, with level-headedness, without unnecessary storms, through speech and dialogue, law and order. Love truth and peace.

As the Sages said regarding the book of Bereishit: "The deeds of the fathers are a sign for the sons."

Haim Rubenstein, Levite Without a Sword

 

But the hands are the hands of Jacob: They Speak and Bless

 

But Israel stretched out his right hand and placed [it] on Ephraim's head, although he was the younger, and his left hand [he placed] on Manasseh's head. He crossed his hands, for Manasseh was the firstborn.

(Bereishit 48:14)

 

He crossed his hands - as its translation (in the Targum) Akhaminun - with understanding and wisdom he knowingly crossed his hands, for he knew that the firstborn was Manasseh, and even so, he did not place his right hand upon him.

(Rashi, Bereishit 48:14)

 

Crossed his hands - as in sakhal - referring to a crooked and twisted person.

(Rashbam, Bereishit, ibid.)

 

Crossed his hands; He understood through touch, without looking.

(Seforno, ibid.)

 

Crossed his hands, for Manasseh was the firstborn - there are those who query: Why did Joseph remain silent until after he blessed them, and only afterwards he supported his father's hand to remove it from Ephraim's head? Why did he not do so before he blessed them? Perhaps it was because Joseph thought that the left was more important than the right, for the heart, source of understanding, is placed on the left side, and the liver, source of the soul of desire, is on the right, and Joseph thought that since Manasseh was the elder, therefore he desired to bless him with the blessings of intelligence, to give him a greater portion of knowledge and wisdom; Ephraim was to receive the material blessings.

But after they both received the same blessing, Joseph saw that this was not his father's plan, and that perhaps he erred in differentiating between the elder and the younger, or perhaps he did not discern who was standing by his left and who by his right, therefore, and this was wrong in his eyes, and he said: Not so, my father.

(Kli Yakar, ibid.)

 

The Difference Between Levi and Pinchas: The Dangers of Zealousness

Both Levi and Pinchas were zealous against fornication and endangered their lives for it. As a result, Pinchas ascended the ladder of virtues, while Levi was rebuked by his father - and there are many similar cases. That is why we read in Pirkei Avot: "An ignoramus cannot be a saint" - for that [saintliness] requires great precision in considering a deed in the context of a particular time and place, and it also requires application of principles of the Torah that lack explicit formulation.

Your Tummim and Urim to the man of Your saintliness: This kindness of performing the commandments with devotion to fulfill God's faith and covenant amongst the public - this requires great caution. That is why Moses gave a blessing of Your Urim ["lights"]; that is, that the light of the Torah of truth prepares them for this saintliness, so that they can see how to aim for the straight path and not make their deeds strange deeds that are not in accord with the Torah.

(The NeTziV MiVolozhen's Ha'Amek Davar)

 

Foe and Spoils: Even in War There is Necessary and Unnecessary Violence

In the morning he consumes the foe [Hebrew: ad], and in the evening he divides the spoils [shalal]... and anything which is necessary for a person, that is, what he needs to consume to break the hunger of his household, is something given cheerfully and he shall not want bread la'ad [forever] and for all eternity. But the luxuries that a person asks for beyond his own consumption will eventually be left to others and divided among them - perhaps to his widow's new husband - while he is denied [meshulal] and distanced from those luxuries given him in the evening. That is why it says, In the morning [he consumes his foe], speaking of the thing given him cheerfully, of which he consumes only his fill and which is given to him forever. Even though la'ad also refers to spoils, the term la'ad was used in order to imply eternity. And in the evening refers to that which is given to him regretfully, things that he will have to share with others, it is removed from him [meshulal mimenu], since the term shalal can be used in the sense of removal, as in the verse the axe-head flies off [ve'nashal habarzel] the handle (Devarim 19:5), in the sense of negation and casting off.

This matter (In the morning he consumes the foe [Hebrew: la'ad], and in the evening he divides the spoils [shalal]) appears next to the blessing (Benjamin is) a ravenous wolf (49:27) in order to warn the judges of Israel not to ravage in war more than is necessary, as it says: Her judges are wolves of the steppe, they leave no bone until morning (Zephaniah 3:3). The prophet accuses them of ravaging more than is necessary, therefore he called them wolves of the erev [steppe, also "evening"] and says they leave no bone until morning because they did not ask for the necessities given in the morning. Similarly, Saul, who was of Benjamin is accused [of having] swoop[ed] down on the spoils (I Samuel 15: 19), for he did not remember Jacob's blessing to Benjamin. However, of Abraham it is said [that he took of the spoils] nothing but what my servants consumed (Bereishit 14: 24). They took only what was needed for their own consumption, and he did not divide superfluous spoils among them. That was the inspiration for his comparison with the wolf who hunts for his own consumption yet sometimes needlessly kills and destroys, and this is a precious interpretation.

(Keli Yakar Bereishit 49:27)

 

Vindictiveness and Suspicion vs. Forgiveness and Peace

When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead. What did they see then that made them fearful? They saw that on the way back from burying their father, Joseph visited the pit into which they had sent him in order to say a blessing, as one is required to say a blessing at a place where a miracle happened for one's sake: "Blessed is the Omnipresent who performed a miracle for my sake at this place." When they saw this, they said, now that our father is dead, "What if Joseph still bears a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrong that we did him!" So they sent this message to Joseph, "Before his death your father left this instruction... So shall you say to Joseph, Forgive..." (50:15-17). We have searched and not found that Jacob commanded this thing. But come and see how great is the power of peace, for the Holy One blessed be He wrote these things in His Torah regarding the power of peace.

(Tanhuma Vayehi 17)

 

The midrash tells us that Joseph the Righteous had acted for the sake of Heaven, he went to fulfill the commandment taught him by his father, to recite the customary blessing for a miracle which had occurred. Nevertheless, the brothers are unable to shake off their suspicions. They were entrapped by their old prejudice that had caused them to err even after the reunion; they were incapable of understanding the reality that someone might be guided by forgiveness, even for a terrible deed such as that which they had done to their brother Joseph.

(Y. Leibowitz: Sheva Shanim shel Sihot al Parashat Ha-Shavua, pg. 186)

 

Between Regime and Morality

When David's life was drawing to a close, he instructed his son Solomon as follows: "I am going the way of all the earth; be strong and show yourself a man. Keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in His ways and following His laws, His commandments, His rules, and His admonitions as recorded in the Torah of Moses, in order that you may succeed in whatever you undertake and wherever you turn. Then the Lord will fulfill the promise that He made concerning me: "If your descendants are scrupulous in their conduct, and walk before Me faithfully, with all their heart and soul, your line on the throne of Israel shall never end."

Further, you know what Yoav son of Zuriah did to me, what he did to the two commanders of Israel's forces, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Yeter: he killed them, shedding blood of war in peacetime, staining the girdle of his loins and the sandals on his feet with the blood of war. So act in accordance with your wisdom, and see that his white hair does not go down to Sheol in peace.

(I Kings 2:1-6, from the Haftorah for parashat Vayehi)

 

Every king or sovereign or ruler among human beings, in as much as they are human beings, even amongst Israel, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, even if he is called "Messiah of the God of Jacob," will become evil as a result of his ruling over his brothers. There cannot be a monarchy that is not wicked. This is something that the greatest believers and Torah scholars would occasionally mention even in connection with King David, who was in their eyes the great example of a just and pious king, as they said: "Any one made a leader below becomes evil in [the eyes of God] above."

(Y. Leibowitz, op. cit. pg. 190)

 

Forces from without compelled us to forsake the political arena of the world, but our withdrawal was also motivated by an inward assent, as if to say that we were awaiting the advent of a happier time, when government could be conducted without ruthlessness and barbarism. That is the day for which we hope. Of course, in order to bring it about, we must awaken all our potentialities and use all the means that the age may make available to us: Everything evolves by the will of the Creator of all worlds. But the delay is a necessary one, for our soul was disgusted by the dreadful sins that go with political rule in evil times. The day has come - it is very near - when the world will grow gentler; we can begin to prepare ourselves, for it will soon be possible for us to conduct a state of our own founded on goodness, wisdom, justice, and the clear Light of God.

"Jacob sent the royal robe to Esau": Let my lord go on ahead of his servant (Bereishit 33:14). It is not meant for Jacob to engage in political life at a time when statehood requires bloody ruthlessness and demands a talent for evil. At the beginning of our history we were granted only the foundation, the minimum that was necessary to establish a nation. After our race was weaned, our political sovereignty was destroyed, and we were dispersed among the peoples and sown in the depths of the soil, till the time of singing is come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land (Shir Ha-Shirim 2:12).

(Rabbi A. I. Kook, ztz"l, Orot, pg. 14. Translation based on Arthur Hertzberg, The Zionist Idea, pg. 422)

 

 

 

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