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

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

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

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

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

the handle (Devarim

19:5), in the sense of negation and casting off.

This matter (In the

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

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

the throne of Israel shall never end."

Further, you know what Yoav son of Zuriah did to me,

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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