This week’s parsha concludes the action-packed book of Bereishit. It comes to an end with the death of Ya’akov, the last of our three primary forefathers, and Yosef, the center of more text than any other figure in Bereishit. Before the description of their deaths, however, Ya’akov hands out twelve blessings. The first is to Yosef’s sons, Ephriam and Menasha, and is the basis of the blessing every Jewish father gives to his son(s) before the Friday night Shabbat meal (the blessing for daughters relates to female Jewish figures). We then have a blessing handed out to each of Ya’akov’s eleven sons. I found each to be fascinating and the relation between them even more intriguing. Rav Mordecai Elon also spends some time on this, particularly trying to understand the shortest blessing of them all, that given to Gad, and why Dan and Gad are blessed after Leah’s sons. And, between the blessings, why does Ya’akov exclaim: I wait for your deliverance, O God! (Bereshit 49:18)
The Tzror ha’Mor gives an answer to this question as well: Shimshon (Sampson) will be Dan’s descendent. When Ya’akov realized this he began to say I wait for your deliverance, O God, before realizing that, in fact, redemption was not destined to come through Dan and Shimshon. But it was to be announce through Gad, “as the verse states, and he will raid [ya’ged] at their heel (Bereishit 49:19). The word (ya’ged) is written in the Torah that Eliyahu, who is of the tribe of Gad, will tell of the salvation in the future.”
What Rav Elon sees in this explanation – in Ya’akov’s ability to perceive that Shimshon would fail to be the messiah? It is because of this failure that Ya’akov inserts a verse in between blessings. “This verse is the faith that gives us the strength to move forward, the faith that we do not simply face a ‘private’ national redemption, but rather the redemption and salvation of God.” It is this understanding, this feeling, that can keep us moving towards progress. When Ya’akov says these words, he has realized that the physical strength of Shimshom that brought the Jewish nation a measure of success has come to an end with his death. But the building of a national spirit is able to proceed it and build an even stronger nation: “Not by might, and not by power, but by My spirit alone!” Our spirit will triumph over any and all temporary victories won by physical force. Physical force has its time and place, but must, eventually, give way.
Another “blessing” I enjoyed contemplating this week was what Ya’akov said to Yosef before gathering all his sons:
Behold – I am about to die; God will be with you and will bring you back to the land of your fathers. And as for me, I have given you Shechem – one portion more than your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow. (Bereishit 48:21-2; Artscroll translation)
Why does Yosef deserve Shechem? Why not Shimon and Levi, the ones who slaughtered the Hivites in defense of their raped sister, Dinah? In addition, does Ya’akov claim he took the land from the Amorites? This certainly isn’t in the Torah. It was Levi and Shimon that took the land, with their swords and their bows, from the Hivites.
As I began to look into this issue it did not take me longer to realize the benefit of reading three translations every week as there are, undoubtedly, political or other opinions that influence most translations of the Torah (and other ancient texts). The JPS Tanakh, likely the most “scholarly” translation, translates as follows: And now, I assign you one portion more than to your brothers, which I wrested from the Amorites with my sword and bow. Mechon-Mamre.org has a similar translation. Where does Shechem appear in these? It is translated as “portion” in all three – but the Artscroll double counts this word – first as the city and secondly as “portion” – in order to convey one particular interpretation of the verse. To be certain, there probably is a correlation between the city and the verb. We know that Yosef’s son, Ephraim, was allotted the land of Shechem which lends itself well to the interpretation expressed by Artscroll.
But Rashi proposes a different answer:
“Shechem Achad.” This is the birthright, that his (Yosef’s) sons will get two portions. And ‘schechem’ has the connotation of ‘portions’ and this has many parallels in the Tanakh…. “With my sword and bow.” This is his (Ya’akov’s) wisdom and his prayer.”
Julie Pelc, however, points out that none of the “parallels” that Rashi cites explicitly use the word shechem as meaning “portion.” And why does Rashi use a metaphoric interpretation of sword and bow? The answer is twofold: there is not much evidence of a physical fight and, secondly, there may have been a movement of Rabbinic pacifism that this was linked to. Ramban, according to Pelc, has a more plausible explanation by turning Ya’akov’s words into prophecy: it refers to the birthright that actualizes itself in the future after the Jewish people’s Exodus from Egypt and eventually into Israel. The sword and bow refer to the physical force by which Menasseh and Ephraim took the land. Pelc also poses other potential solutions, but I don’t particularly buy into any of them. Robert Alter offers a “new” interpretation that doesn’t appear once in the previous 3,000 years…I don’t buy it. Others want to read it through modern lenses…well, guess what, it’s not a modern text. We can read the Bible as an eternal text, but we must also first gain an understanding of its origin and historical context/interpretations.
So what is my answer? Well, I’m not sure I have one either. But there are a couple of things that may play a factor into it. First, it comes immediately after the blessing of Ephraim and Menasseh. And although the text says that Israel (i.e. Ya’akov) speaks to Joseph, he utilizes the plural form of “you” (imachem, not imcha). In the next verse the singular is used in relation to giving Yosef one portion greater than his brothers. When Ya’akov uses the plural to tell Yosef that God will be with him and bring him back to the land of his fathers, it is clear he must be talking to him as a representative of all Jews in Israel or, at the least, a representative for all his brothers. There is hope for all of them during the exile and slavery they will shortly begin to endure. But then we switch to the singular as Ya’akov personalizes his language for Yosef alone. It is only Yosef that will receive an extra portion. This may be because he earned it, and certainly is deserving of it. But maybe it is because of his sons. We are blessed after Ephraim and Manasseh because of their ability to be morally upright in an amoral society, to follow God in a place of idolatry, and our desire for our future generations to have such ability. All of the brothers were able to, in the end, follow God and find the path of the righteous. But it was Yosef and his sons that never left it; they had stumbles here and there but did not ever leave the path. And for that they are deserving of an extra portion.
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