SO JOSEPH WENT UP TO BURY HIS FATHER, AND ALL PHARAOH'S SERVANTS, THE ELDERS OF HIS HOUSE, AND ALL THE ELDERS OF THE LAND OF EGYPT WENT UP WITH HIM.

(Bereishit 50:7)

 

and all Pharaoh's servants went up with him - besides Joseph, all of Egypt's populace were called Pharaoh's servants.

(Ibn Ezra Bereishit 50:7)

 

Rabbi Brekhiah said: Loving kindness is found in the Torah, in its beginning, its middle and its end.

In its beginning, it is written: And the Lord God built up the rib (Bereishit 2) - this teaches that the Holy One blessed be He plaited Eve's hair and brought her to Adam, acting as their best-man, for in the seaports, "plaiting" is called "building."

In its middle, for it is written: and He appeared to him at Elonei Mamrei (Bereishit 18) - this teaches that He visited him (while Abraham was recovering from circumcision). And God blessed his son Isaac (Bereishit 25) - this is the blessing of mourners.

In its end, for it is said: And He buried him in the valley (Devarim 34).

Rabbi Hanin said: What is a virtue that will be repaid? Jacob died in the land of Egypt, who should take care of him? Should it not be the Holy One blessed be He, who had told him I shall go down with you to Egypt (Bereishit 46)? Joseph came along and snatched the good deed from Him, for it is written: and Joseph went up to bury his father (Bereishit 50). Joseph died in Egypt, who should have taken care of him? Was it not the tribes, whom he had sworn [to see to it that he be buried in the Land of Israel], for it is said and Joseph swore them (Bereishit 50). Moses came along and snatched the good deed from them, for it is said: and Moses took Joseph's bones (Shemot 13). Moses died, and the Holy One blessed be He repaid him personally, for it is written, and He buried him in the valley (Devarim 34).

(Kohellet Rabbah 7:2)

 

 

Jacob's Blessings - or Jacob's Prophecies?

Yonatan Bassi

Throughout the generation, exegetes have engaged the question of whether Jacob's address to his sons was uttered as a prophecy or whether he simply spoke to them as someone well-acquainted with their characters who was trying to bless them and guide them along the paths of their choosing.

At the beginning of the chapter, he says "Gather and I will tell you what will happen to you at the end of days," but at its conclusion we read: and this is what their father spoke to them and blessed them; each man, according to his blessing, he blessed them.

Ibn Ezra offers an explanation with his customary decisiveness: "The prophet spoke of the future. Those who said these are blessings have erred. Where are the blessings of Reuben, Simon, and Levi? He spoke in the manner of prophecy, and latter he blessed them." From here we see that what we call "Jacob's blessings" are prophecies rather than blessings. Some of them even include very harsh words concerning the sins of Jacob's three eldest sons and their future punishments - one would lose his first-born status and the others would lose their inherited lands. The blessings were given separately, and then Scripture only quotes them with great brevity.

However, if we consider the structure of the chapter, and in particular the formulation of the final verse of Jacob's address to his sons, we must admit that the more reasonable interpretation is that of "generalization - particular - generalization" [klal u'frat ve'klal] and that Ibn Ezra does not give us the plain meaning of the text.

Consider, for example, Dan's blessing:

Dan will avenge his people, like one, the tribes of Israel. Dan will be a serpent on the road, a viper on the path, which bites the horse's heels, so its rider falls backwards. For Your salvation, I hope, O Lord!

Can this be read as a prophecy or as a blessing? Rashi, following the Sages, reads it as a prophecy that relates directly to Samson:

Dan will avenge his people Will avenge his people from the Philistines.

like one, the tribes of Israel All Israel will be like one with him, and he will avenge them all. Concerning Samson he uttered this prophecy.

and [causes] its rider to fall backwards - although it does not touch him. We find something similar in [the story of] Samson: And Samson grasped the two pillars of the center, upon which the house rested, and leaned upon them... and he bent with (his) might, and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein and those on the roof died.

For Your salvation, I hope, O Lord! He (Jacob) prophesied that the Philistines would gouge out his (Samson's) eyes, and he (Samson) would ultimately say, O Lord God, remember me and strengthen me now, only this once O God, that I may be avenged the vengeance for one of my two eyes from the Philistines. (Judaica Press translation)

Rashi's grandson, RaShBaM, strongly rejects his grandfather's view but, out of respect, does not mention the name of its promulgator:

The one who interpreted this as referring to Samson was completely ignorant of the deep plain meaning of the text. Did Jacob come to prophesize about a man who fell into the hands of the Philistines who gauged out his eyes? God forbid! He prophesized about the tribe of Dan, which took up the rear of all the camps... since it was always marching after all the flags - be it in the days of Moses or of Joshua - they had to fight against all the nations, for they were valiant, that is why Jacob said Dan will avenge his people - he would avenge them and protect them from their pursuers.

That is to say: although the RaShBaM also speaks of the future of the tribe of Dan in prophetic terms, it can be said that it is more of a blessing (perhaps owing to his acquaintance with Dan's courage) than a prophecy.

It is even clearer in the case of Zebulon's blessing - the only blessing that refers explicitly to the territory that a tribe will possess - He [will be] at the harbor of the ships, and his boundary will be at Sidon. Onkelos renders this as "He will capture territories with ships, and his borders will reach Sidon."

Rashi explains: "The end of his boundary will be near Sidon. Yarketo [his border] means: his end."

Some exegetes claim that Jacob and his sons dealt with the future parceling-out of territory to the tribes and determined inter-tribal borders while they traveled around the Land of Canaan. We, however, who read Jacob's blessing to Zebulon 3,500 years after it was originally uttered, and who judge it from a temporal perspective - should we say that Jacob erred in his blessing/prophecy? We know that Zebulon settled in the western valleys and that the tribe of Asher settled to its north; at no time did Zebulon's border approach Sidon. Already in the lots cast by Joshua (19), the Tabor is mentioned as lying in the middle of Zebulon's territory, while Sidon. Tzor, and the Carmel were in Asher's portion - Zebulon did not even have any access to the sea!

In Judges (1:31) it is said: Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Akko, nor the inhabitants of Sidon. Asher, not Zebulon! The GRA tries to explain that Jacob's prophecy was fulfilled because Zebulon had an enclave in Asher's territory that bordered on the Sidonite lands, an enclave that even offered access to the sea - but we find no evidence to support this claim.

And so it seems that Jacob's address to his sons constitutes a mixture of admonishments, blessings for the future, and even prophecy (perhaps as Leibowitz would have it - that prophecy is chiefly concerned with describing what would be worthy of happening in the future, and not necessarily a guarantee that those things will happen), and all of them are based upon Jacob's acquaintance with his own sons.

Can a father bless his children, while trying to predict what will happen to them in the future on the basis of his close acquaintance with them? Are Isaac's blessings to Esau and to Jacob, Jacob's blessing to Ephraim and Manasseh and later to the twelve tribes, also conducive to a different, more rational explanation?

Psychology Prof. Daniel Kahneman won the 2002 Noble Prize in economics. His main subject of study is human decision making ability, and the ability of people to foresee the consequences of their decisions. In his study on "Judgment in conditions of Uncertainty" for which he won the prize, Kahneman writes:

Many decisions are based upon beliefs regarding the likeliness of uncertain events. What determines such beliefs? It appears that people depend upon a limited number of principles which reduce the complicated procedures to simpler rules of judgment. These principles are usually quite useful, but sometimes they lead to serious and systematic errors. (Translated back from the Hebrew translation)

Kahneman also emphasizes the difference between intuitive thought processes and deliberate thought. Writing about "The Psychology of Blocked Rationality," he points out that in most cases thoughts and preferences come to mind quickly and without deep reflection; they are the intuitions which usually guide our actions. They are quick, automatic, effortless, and associative, but they are not susceptible to self-criticism. Conscious thought is slower, more controlled, more flexible, and controllable by principles.

Throughout his life, Jacob took both routes to action, both the intuitive and the thoughtful. We can trace after his immediate, intuitive reactions on the one hand, and his later reactions that followed a great deal of thought, on the other.

We should compare his "real time" reactions to the Reuben/Bilhah incident (and Israel heard) to the blessing he gave Reuben; the real-time reaction to Simon and Levi's deed (You have troubled me, to discredit me, but leaves them the last word - Shall he make our sister like a harlot) to his blessing for Simon and Levi; his reaction to Judah's plan (I will guarantee him; from my hand you can demand him and Jacob's response: If so, then do this... And may the Almighty God grant you compassion before the man) to the blessing he gave Judah: A cub [and] a grown lion is Judah. From the prey, my son, you withdrew.

One central aspect of Jacob's filtering process is worthy of deep consideration. He works through the many events that made up the lives of each of his sons, and does not remind Judah of Tamar, he does not remind Reuben of Joseph thrown into the pit, he does not remind Joseph of his dreams, despite the fact that his father took note of it, etc., etc. The prophecy of what will happen to you in the end of days is based upon years of reflection; not on first reactions, in which intuition blocks reason, but upon deliberate, critical, directed, and conscious judgment

The seventeen years following the reunification of his family granted Jacob the perspective that allowed him to bless his sons without distraction or "shooting from the hip." His blessings were based upon past events, they reflected great certainty regarding his sons' characters and abilities, and regarding what could be expected to await them in the future's fog of uncertainty.

As a soldier serving in the 13th Battalion of the Golani Brigade in the middle of the War of Independence, my father was granted a short leave in order to participate in the circumcision of his eldest son. He blessed me with an intuitive blessing that sprung from his heart's yearnings: "May it be God's will that by merit of my participation in this war that my son will know of war only through the stories I tell him when he is older."

My father passed away this week forty years ago, a week before my induction into the IDF. The letter he wrote me before his death contained other blessings and other prayers, less grand and more realistic. Meanwhile, all of my sons have participated in Israel's wars; in five years my eldest grandson will don his uniform. The vision of eternal peace in the end of days seems more distant then ever. If so, how am I to bless my grandchildren - and all the members of their generation - without sounding pathetic? It seems appropriate to use the words that serve as the motto of these pages, and to pray that at least their generation will see the realization of the Psalmist's prophecy/blessing:

The Lord give His people strength; the Lord bless His people with peace

 

 

Simon and Levi Are Brothers

Simon and Levi are brothers: This is to say they possess brotherhood, for their hearts became inflamed because of their sister [Trans. Note: In Hebrew, the three emphasized words all share a common root]. This is intended to commend them, for it was out of zealousness for their love that they did what they did. They were deserving of a great punishment, their sin was not worthy of forgiveness, for it was violence.

The correct explanation, in my opinion, is that Simon and Levi were "total brothers," similar to each other and bound together in plan and action, and I have already explained previously that Jacob was furious at Simon and Levi for slaughtering the people of Shechem, for they did so in violence, for they (the Shechemites) had not sinned towards them at all, and they had entered the covenant and circumcised themselves, and perhaps they might have returned to God and

have become members of Abraham's community - And the souls which they gathered in Harran - and he was further disturbed lest people say that the deed was done by his counsel, and this would be a desecration of the Name, that a prophet should perpetrate violence and plunder. This is the reason for In their council let my soul not enter - [this was] an explanation that he was not in their counsel when they answered deceitfully, and he did not participate in their assembly when they came upon the city and killed them, and therefore he cursed their violence and plunder.

(RaMBaN, Bereishit 49:5)

 

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)

 

Joseph fell on his father's face, and he wept over him and kissed him. And Joseph commanded his servants, the physicians, to embalm his father, and the physicians embalmed Israel. And forty days were completed for him for so are the days of embalming completed and the Egyptians wept over him for seventy days.

(Bereishit 50:1-3)

 

Embalming - Doubt of Faith?

It is well known that Midrash Rabbah criticizes Joseph for this, even to the extent of saying, "Why did Joseph die before his brothers? Rabbi says: Because he had his father embalmed - the Holy One blessed be He said to him: Can't I preserve my own righteous ones? Did I not say to him: Fear not [alternatively: see not] worm of Jacob - no worm shall see Jacob?"

However, we must understand what Joseph was thinking; could it have been that he thought Abraham and Isaac, who were not embalmed, were susceptible - God forbid - to worms and maggots!? It seems... that he took pains that his father not be even temporarily buried in Egypt, for if that were to occur, it would be necessary to possess the land as acquired by the deceased. It was because of this that Joseph understood that his father was not worried about being buried immediately upon his death, and that it would be possible to leave him unburied for some time. Joseph acted out of respect for the dead and was worried that his father might decompose - God forbid - while lying on the bier, unlike the cases of Abraham and Isaac who were immediately buried and the special qualities of the Me'arat Ha'Machpeila [Cave of the Patriarchs] also helped [keep their bodies from decomposing]. However, in any case the Holy One blessed be He would have certainly taken care to preserve that saint [Jacob] on the bier.

(Ha'Amek Davar loc cit)

 

 

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