birthright belonged to Yosef.". garments in wine; his clothes in the blood of wine. hand, blesses his children with the desire that all will be part of the Divine inheritance. leadership. and were unfaithful, like their fathers; they turned aside like a deceitful May peoples from sleep, as a mighty man shouting because of wine. various elements of blessing among the tribes so as to preserve the unity of the brothers shall praise you, your hand shall be upon the neck of your These two north-south highways were connected by several east-west roads, the most important among them running through the Jezreel Valley. and the blessing to Dan. rejection, but rather mutual concern and responsibility, in the tradition (, There are many interpretations of this difficult verse. It seems that the answer can be found by looking at the blessings given They raid the city of Layish (another word for lion), engaging in open, face-to-face combat, and emerge victorious. This reflects the covenant made between Yehuda and Binyamin when Yehuda fearlessly defends Binyamin against Yosef, agreeing to become a slave in his place. from Divrei Ha-yamim, and based on a comparison between the blessing that By defiling his worthy of the birthright, for only he was actually a "peter rechem" – the actual (2) What did he do so that his decision concerning the The independent tribal status was no longer urgently to Yosef, saying: Your father commanded before his death, firstborn of Rachel. And even when Yosef attained During a later period, (2) Perhaps because of his excessive love, which to a certain degree spoils his judgment, God chooses Jerusalem, straddling the border of the territories of Yehuda to the south and Binyamin to the north. Reuven is the firstborn according to natural right. Yehuda Yaakov predicted or prophesied for them. (72) So he led them Dress up the classroom, decorate student pages, and create activities or gifts. Yosef and upon the crown of the head of him who was separated from his part of the promise to Am Yisrael. established forever. division of assets does not necessarily create the impression of preference or The watershed line in the territory of Yehuda is also the place where the orphaned girl who tends the vineyards in. Is this what actually happens? inheritance. Harav Yaakov Medan ***** Dedicated by the Etshalom and Wise families in memory of. to the choice of leadership (as explained in the shiur on Parashat shall dwell at the sea shore; he shall be a haven for ships and his border shall This hypothesis may be correct, but saying: (17) So shall you say It would appear that Yaakov speaks about the first territory, in Gush Dan, whereas Moshe, in his blessings, refers to the northern territory, in the Bashan: And of Dan he said: Dan is a lion's whelp, that leaps forth from Bashan. For Yehuda arose over his brothers, and the ruler came from him, although the firstborn of Israel, for he was the firstborn, but when he defiled his father's there are two classic forms of such leadership. of the dew of heaven and the fatness of the earth; and much corn and and may your mother's sons bow down to you. is their anger, for it is strong, and their fury – for it is fierce; I shall leadership: "Mashiach ben Yosef" and "Mashiach ben David." Listen to your father Israel. Finally, recognizing the structure of the blessings allows us to is taken from Reuven. the blessings of abundance are given to the two remaining sons of Leah. explained, we refer here only to the blessing given to Yaakov disguised as Esav For the Pelishtim have iron chariots that travel well along the plains, and the Israelites lack the necessary tools to deal with them. Apart from the colors of blue and white that are so dear to us, this blessing can be understood as describing the watershed line that runs the length of the Chevron hills. Yaakov's words may be fulfilled with the tribe of Shimon, as Shimon takes part of the territory of Yehuda and a large part of the Negev, areas that are more appropriate for raising flocks than for growing agricultural products. blessing? The division of the blessing is directed towards Yaakov gives and the one that he received from Yitzchak. The Jezreel Valley is a good, pleasant and fertile area, and its strategic importance on the West Bank of the Jordan is exceedingly great. are dependent upon each other. Here, too, there is an explicit It is blessed with military success, and so is Dan – son of Bilha. is a lion's whelp; from the prey, my son, you arise; he bent down, crouched like them: Do not fear, for am I in place of God? fear: I shall sustain you and your children. by virtue of its central location, it creates the symmetry and parallel between Yehonatan, son of Shaul, acts in a similar way with his young man against a mighty camp of the Pelishtim with "thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the seashore in multitude" (I. understanding Yaakov's choice, and they provide a precise solution: a understand Yaakov's call/prayer. Gad, the firstborn son of Zilpa, receives blessings that parallel those received by Dan, the firstborn of Bilha. – a blessing meant to bestow the birthright, but not containing any decision as pinnacle of the entire chapter, we may say that it belongs to the chapter as a He planned and was allowed to tell each son what would happen to him over time, the course of his overall destiny, the characteristics of the tribe he would found. However, his very presence keeps the valley in the hands of the people of Israel even when he is subjugated to foreign rulers. Many commentators have proposed that since Yaakov envisioned Dan The land on the western side of that line is blessed with vineyards along the entire length of the territory of Yehuda. of leadership because Mashiach, after all, is a king – i.e., a leader – and Yitzchak, in his second blessing, establishes that the "blessing of It is possibly for the past the three sets of blessings that Yaakov receives, and noted that only And Yosef wept when they spoke to him. In the end, Yaakov tells them other things. (, The path that Yaakov outlines for Dan in his territory involves acting like a serpent. would expect to find a symmetric balance with the sons of Rachel, but we know