וְזֹאת הַבְּרָכָה. זֶה שֶׁאָמַר הַכָּתוּב: רַבּוֹת בָּנוֹת עָשׂוּ חַיִל וְגוֹ' (משלי לא, כט). זוֹ בִּרְכָתוֹ שֶׁל מֹשֶׁה, שֶׁהֲרֵי הָאָבוֹת רִאשׁוֹנִים בֵּרְכוּ כָּל אֶחָד וְאֶחָד אֶת דּוֹרוֹ, וְלֹא הָיְתָה בָּהֶן כְּבִרְכָתוֹ שֶׁל מֹשֶׁה. שֶׁהֲרֵי נֹחַ בֵּרֵךְ אֶת בָּנָיו וְהָיָה בָּהּ מַחֲלֹקֶת, שֶׁבֵּרֵךְ אֶחָד וְקִלֵּל אֶחָד, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: יַפְתְּ אֱלֹהִים לְיֶפֶת וְיִשְׁכֹּן בְּאָהֳלֵי שֵׁם וִיהִי כְנַעַן עֶבֶד לָמוֹ (בראשית ט, כז). יִצְחָק בֵּרֵךְ אֶת יַעֲקֹב וְהָיְתָה בְּבִרְכָתוֹ קְטָטָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וְיִתֶּן לְךָ אֶת בִּרְכַּת אַבְרָהָם (שם כח, ד). וְאָמַר לְעֵשָׂו, בָּא אָחִיךָ בְּמִרְמָה (שם כז, לו), דִּכְתִיב: וַיִּשְׂטֹם עֵשָׂו (שם פסוק מא). יַעֲקֹב בֵּרֵךְ אֶת הַשְּׁבָטִים וְהָיְתָה בָּהֶם קְטָטָה, שֶׁהוֹכִיחַ רְאוּבֵן, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: פַּחַז כַּמַּיִם (שם מט, ד). וְכֵן שִׁמְעוֹן וְלֵוִי. וּמִנַּיִן לָמְדוּ הָאָבוֹת לְבָרֵךְ כָּל אֶחָד וְאֶחָד לְדוֹרוֹ. מִן הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא. שֶׁבְּשָׁעָה שֶׁבָּרָא אָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן, בֵּרְכוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה וְגוֹ' וַיְבָרֵךְ אוֹתָם (בראשית א, כז-כח). וְהָיָה מִתְנַהֵג בַּבְּרָכָה עַד שֶׁבָּא דּוֹר הַמַּבּוּל וּבִטְּלוּהָ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֶמְחֶה אֶת הָאָדָם אֲשֶׁר בָּרָאתִי וְגוֹ' (שם ו, ז). כֵּיוָן שֶׁיָּצָא נֹחַ מִן הַתֵּבָה, רָאָה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא שֶׁבָּטְלָה מֵהֶם מִדַּת בְּרָכָה, חָזַר וּבֵרֵךְ אֶת נֹחַ וְאֶת בָּנָיו, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וַיְבָרֵךְ אֱלֹהִים אֶת נֹחַ וְגוֹ' (שם ט, א). וְהָיָה הָעוֹלָם מִתְנַהֵג בְּאוֹתָהּ בְּרָכָה עַד שֶׁבָּא אַבְרָהָם וְהוֹסִיף בְּרָכָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וְאֶעֶשְׂךָ לְגוֹי גָּדוֹל (שם יב, ב). כֵּיוָן שֶׁבָּא אַבְרָהָם, אָמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, אֵינוֹ דֶּרֶךְ כָּבוֹד שֶׁאֶהְיֶה אֲנִי זָקוּק לְבָרֵךְ אֶת בְּרִיּוֹתַי, אֶלָּא הֲרֵינִי מוֹסֵר אֶת הַבְּרָכוֹת לְאַבְרָהָם וּלְזַרְעוֹ. וְכָל מִי שֶׁקּוֹבְעִין בּוֹ בְּרָכָה, אֲנִי חוֹתֵם עַל יְדֵיהֶם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וֶהְיֵה בְּרָכָה, וַאֲבָרְכָה מְבָרְכֶיךָ וְגוֹ' (שם פסוק ב-ג). וּמַהוּ וַאֲבָרְכָה. אָמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, הֲרֵינִי מוֹסֵר אֶת הַבְּרָכוֹת לְכָל מִי שֶׁאַתָּה מְבָרֵךְ, וַאֲנִי חוֹתֵם עַל יָדֶיךָ. וְכִי מֵאַחַר שֶׁנֶּאֶמְרוּ הַבְּרָכוֹת לְאַבְרָהָם, לָמָּה לֹא בֵּרֵךְ אֶת יִצְחָק. לְפִי שֶׁרָאָה אַבְרָהָם, שֶׁעֵשָׂו יֵצֵא מִמֶּנּוּ. אָמַר, אִם אֲנִי מְבָרֵךְ אֶת יִצְחָק, הֲרֵי עֵשָׂו מִתְבָּרֵךְ, וְנִמְצָא יַעֲקֹב חָסֵר. מָשָׁל לְמָה הַדָּבָר דּוֹמֶה. לְבַעַל הַבַּיִת שֶׁהָיָה לוֹ כֶּרֶם, נְתָנוֹ לְאָרִיס, וְהָיָה בְּאוֹתוֹ הַכֶּרֶם אִילָן שֶׁל חַיִּים מוּדְלֶה עַל גַּב אִילָן שֶׁל סַם הַמָּוֶת, וְאֵינוֹ יוֹדֵעַ מַה לַּעֲשׂוֹת. אָמַר, אִם אֶעֱדֹר אוֹתוֹ כֶּרֶם, הֲרֵי אִילָן שֶׁל סַם הַמָּוֶת מִתְגַּדֵּל. וְאִם אֵינִי עוֹדֵר אוֹתוֹ כֶּרֶם, הֲרֵי אִילָן שֶׁל חַיִּים מֵת. אֶלָּא מָה אֶעֱשֶׂה. אֲגַלְגֵּל בַּכֶּרֶם הַזֶּה עַד שֶׁיָּבֹא בַּעַל הַכֶּרֶם וְיַעֲשֶׂה בְּכַרְמוֹ מַה שֶּׁיִּרְצֶה. וְאַף כָּךְ אָמַר אַבְרָהָם, אִם אֲבָרֵךְ אֶת יִצְחָק, נִמְצָא עֵשָׂו מִתְבָּרֵךְ, וְיַעֲקֹב מַפְסִיד. אֶלָּא הֲרֵינִי מַנִּיחוֹ עַד שֶׁיָּבֹא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא וְיַעֲשֶׂה אֶת שֶׁלּוֹ. בָּא יַעֲקֹב וְקִבֵּל חֲמִשָּׁה בְּרָכוֹת, שְׁנַיִם מֵאָבִיו, וְאֶחָד שֶׁל אַבְרָהָם, וְאֶחָד שֶׁל מַלְאָךְ, וְאַחַת שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא. מֵאָבִיו, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וַיֶּחֱרַד יִצְחָק (שם כז, לג). לָמָּה וַיֶּחֱרַד. אָמַר רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן פְּדָת, שֶׁרָאָה גֵּיהִנָּם פָּתוּחַ לְפָנָיו. בִּקֵּשׁ לוֹמַר, אָרוּר יִהְיֶה. חָזַר וְהוֹסִיף בְּרָכָה, וְאָמַר, גַּם בָּרוּךְ יִהְיֶה (בראשית כז, לב), הֲרֵי אַחַת. שְׁנִיָּה, וַיִּקְרָא יִצְחָק אֶל יַעֲקֹב וַיְבָרֵךְ אוֹתוֹ (שם כח, א). בִּרְכָתוֹ שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וַיֵּרָא אֱלֹהִים אֶל יַעֲקֹב וְגוֹ' (שם לה, ט). בִּרְכַּת אַבְרָהָם, וְיִּתֶּן לְךָ אֶת בִּרְכַּת אַבְרָהָם (שם כז, כח). וְשֶׁל מַלְאָךְ, וַיְבָרֵךְ אוֹתוֹ שָׁם (שם לב, ל). בָּא יַעֲקֹב לְבָרֵךְ אֶת הַשְּׁבָטִים, בֵּרְכָן חָמֵשׁ בְּרָכוֹת שֶׁהָיוּ בְּיָדוֹ, וְהוֹסִיף לָהֶם בְּרָכָה אַחַת, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: כָּל אֵלֶּה שִׁבְטֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְגוֹ' (שם מט, כח). בָּא מֹשֶׁה לְבָרֵךְ אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל וְהוֹסִיף לָהֶם בְּרָכָה שְׁבִיעִית, וְזֹאת הַבְּרָכָה, תּוֹסֶפֶת עַל הַבְּרָכוֹת שֶׁבֵּרֵךְ בִּלְעָם אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל, שֶׁהָיָה רָאוּי לְבָרְכָן שֶׁבַע בְּרָכוֹת כְּנֶגֶד שִׁבְעָה מִזְבְּחוֹת וְלֹא בֵּרְכָן אֶלָּא שָׁלֹש, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וְהִנֵּה בֵּרַכְתָּ בָּרֵךְ זֶה שָׁלֹשׁ פְּעָמִים (במדבר כד, י). אָמַר לוֹ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, רָשָׁע, אַתָּה עֵינֶיךָ צָרָה לְבָרְכָן, אַף אֲנִי מַסְפִּיק עַל יָדְךָ שֶׁתַּשְׁלִים בִּרְכָתְךָ עִם יִשְׂרָאֵל. יָבֹא מֹשֶׁה שֶׁעֵינָיו יָפוֹת לְבָרְכָן, הוּא יְבָרֵךְ אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל. וְעָלָיו אָמַר שְׁלֹמֹה, טוֹב עַיִן הוּא יְבֹרָךְ (משלי כב, ט). אֶל תְּהִי קוֹרֵא יְבֹרָךְ, אֶלָּא יְבָרֵךְ. טוֹב עַיִן, זֶה מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּנוּ, שֶׁעֵינָיו יָפוֹת לְבָרֵךְ אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל, שֶׁבֵּרְכָן אַרְבַּע בְּרָכוֹת. הָרִאשׁוֹנָה, וַיַּרְא מֹשֶׁה אֶת כָּל הַמְּלָאכָה וְהֵנָּה עָשׂוּ אוֹתָהּ כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּה ה' כֵּן עָשׂוּ וַיְבָרֵךְ אוֹתָם מֹשֶׁה (שמות לט, מג). וְהַשְּׁנִיָּה, וַיָּבֹא מֹשֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן אֶל אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד וַיֵּצְאוּ וַיְבָרְכוּ אֶת הָעָם (ויקרא ט, כ). הַשְּׁלִישִׁית, ה' אֱלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵיכֶם יוֹסֵף וְגוֹ' (דברים א, יא). הָרְבִיעִית, וְזֹאת הַבְּרָכָה. לְכָךְ נֶאֱמַר: רַבּוֹת בָּנוֹת עָשׂוּ חַיִל וְגוֹ' (משלי לא, כט). וְזֹאת הַבְּרָכָה, לְמֹשֶׁה נָאֶה לְבָרֵךְ אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל, שֶׁנָּתַן נַפְשׁוֹ עֲלֵיהֶם בְּכָל שָׁעָה וְשָׁעָה. לְכָךְ נֶאֱמַר: וְזֹאת הַבְּרָכָה. אִישׁ הָאֱלֹהִים, אִם אָמַר אִישׁ, לָמָּה נֶאֱמַר אֱלֹהִים. וְאִם אָמַר אֱלֹהִים, לָמָּה אָמַר אִישׁ. אֶלָּא כְּשֶׁהֻשְׁלַךְ לַיְּאוֹר שֶׁל מִצְרִים, אִישׁ. וּבְשָׁעָה שֶׁהֲפָכוֹ לְדָם, אֱלֹהִים. דָּבָר אַחֵר, כְּשֶׁבָּרַח מִלִּפְנֵי פַּרְעֹה, אִישׁ. וּבְשָׁעָה שֶׁשִּׁקְּעָן, אֱלֹהִים. דָּבָר אַחֵר, בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁעָלָה לָרָקִיעַ, אִישׁ, לִפְנֵי הַמַּלְאָכִים שֶׁהָיוּ כֻּלָּם אֵשׁ, הָיָה אִישׁ. וּבְשָׁעָה שֶׁיָּרַד, אֱלֹהִים. דָּבָר אַחֵר, קֹדֶם שֶׁעָלָה לָרָקִיעַ, אִישׁ, שֶׁהָיָה אוֹכֵל וְשׁוֹתֶה. וְכָל זְמַן שֶׁהָיָה שָׁם, אֱלֹהִים, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וַיִּרְאוּ מִגֶּשֶׁת אֵלָיו. (Deut. 33:1:) “And this is the blessing.” This text is related (to Prov. 31:29), “Many daughters have done valiantly, but you surpass them all.” This is the blessing of Moses,1PRK 31:11. in respect to which you should note that in the case of the earlier generations each and every one blessed his generation, but there was none was like the blessing of Moses. Noah blessed his children, but it contained a divergence, as he blessed one and cursed another, as stated (Gen. 9:27,) “May God enlarge (ypt) Japheth (ypt) [...]; and let Canaan be a slave to them.” Isaac blessed Jacob, but there was strife in it. It is so stated (in Gen. 28:4), “May He give you the blessing of Abraham, but he said to Esau (in Gen. 27:35), “Your brother came with deceit”; and it is stated (in vs. 41), “Then Esau hated Jacob […, and Esau said in his heart, ‘Let the days of mourning for my father come, and I will kill my brother Jacob’].” Jacob blessed the tribes, but there was strife among them, in that he rebuked Reuben, as stated (in Gen. 49:4), “Unstable as water”; and similarly (in vs. 5), “Simeon and Levi [are brothers; weapons of violence are their swords].” And from where did each and every one of the patriarchs learn to bless his generation? [They learned it] from the Holy One, blessed be He. When he created Adam, He blessed him, as stated (in Gen. 1:27-28), “male and female. Then [God] blessed them.” And the world was maintained by that blessing, until the generation of the flood came, and they cancelled it out, as stated (in Gen. 6:7), “And the Lord said, “I will blot out the humanity which I created.” When Noah left the ark, the Holy One, blessed be He, saw that this blessing had passed from them. He blessed Noah and his children anew, as stated (in Gen. 9:1), “Then God blessed Noah and his children.” The world was maintained by this blessing, until Abraham came into the world, and He added blessing, as stated (in Gen. 12:2), “For I will make you into a great nation.” Once Abraham came, the Holy One, blessed be He, said, “It is not honorable for Me, that I should be obliged to bless My creatures. Rather take note! I am handing over the blessings to Abraham and to his seed, so that for all who they issue a blessing, I am placing my seal upon [those blessings], as stated (in vs. 2, cont.), ‘[I will bless you and magnify your name] and so become a blessing.’” (Vs. 3:) “I will bless those who bless you….” What is the meaning of “I will bless?” The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “Take note. I am handing over the blessings to all whom you bless, and I am sealing [them] through you.” But if from then on the blessings were [handed over] to Abraham, why did he not bless Isaac? It was because Abraham saw that Esau would issue from him. He said, “If I bless Isaac, then Esau will be blessed, and Isaac will be found lacking.” A parable: To what is the matter comparable? To the head of a household that had a vineyard,2See Gen. R. 61:6; Numb. R. 11:2; M. Pss. 1:5. [and] gave it to a tenant. And in that vineyard was a tree of life, but it had overgrown a tree having a deadly poison. Now he did not know what to do. He said, “If I cultivate that vineyard, then the tree having a deadly poison will flourish; but if I do not cultivate that vineyard, then the tree of life will die. So what shall I do? I will bear with that vineyard until the owner of the vineyard comes. Then he may do what he wants with his vineyard.” And so also did Abraham say, “If I bless Isaac, Esau will end up being blessed and Jacob will lose out. Rather look here. I will leave him alone until the Holy One, blessed be He, comes, when He will deal with what belongs to Him.” Jacob came and received five blessings: two from his father, one from Abraham, one from the angel, and one from the Holy One, blessed be He.3Cf. Gen. R. 94:5. From his father, as stated (in Gen. 27:33), “Then Isaac trembled (when he realized he had blessed Jacob instead of Esau). Why “trembled?” R. Eliezer ben Pedat said, “[He did so] because he saw Gehinnom open in front of him. He wanted to say, ‘Cursed will be [Jacob.’ Instead,] he went back [on it], and added blessing [to it], when he said (ibid., end), ‘he also shall be blessed.’” Here is one [blessing]. A second (is in Gen. 28:1), “So Isaac called Jacob and blessed him.” The blessing of the Holy One, blessed be He, (is in Gen. 35:9), “Now God appeared unto Jacob [… and blessed him].” The blessing of Abraham (is in Gen. 28:4), “And may He grant you the blessing of Abraham.” And the blessing of an angel is (in Gen. 32:30), “and he (the angel) blessed him there.” When Jacob came to bless the tribes, he blessed them with the five blessings that he had in hand and added one blessing to them, as stated (in Gen. 49:28), “All these are the tribes of Israel, [twelve in number, and this is what their father spoke to them when he blessed them, each one with his own blessing is how he blessed them].”4The midrash notes that the words, HE BLESSED THEM, occur twice and interprets the verse to mean that one blessing, the fivefold blessing he had received, was for the tribes as a group while the other blessing was a specific blessing for each tribe. When Moses came to bless Israel, he added a seventh blessing to them. Thus it is stated (in Deut. 33:1), “And this is the blessing.” [According to another interpretation, Moses made] an addition to the blessings with which Balaam had blessed Israel,5Cf. PRK 31(suppl. 1):4. since it was fitting for him to bless them with seven blessings corresponding to the seven altars [he had built];6On these altars, see Numb. 23:1, 14, 29. but [Balaam] only blessed them with three, as stated (in Numb. 24:10), “but here you have even blessed them these three times.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “O wicked one, your eye is too jaundiced for you to bless them. Moreover, I am not putting the power in your hand to finish your blessing over Israel. Moses will come, whose eye is fair; then he will bless Israel.” And it is about him that Solomon has said (in Prov. 22:9), “He that has a benevolent eye shall be blessed (ybrk).” Do not read “ybrk [with vowels meaning] shall be blessed,” but [with vowels meaning] “shall bless.” This refers to Moses our master whose eyes were fair when he blessed Israel, such that he blessed them with [the other] four blessings: The first is (in Exod. 39:43), “When Moses saw all the work […] he blessed them.” The second is (in Lev. 9:23), “Then Moses and Aaron came unto the tent of meeting; and when they came out, they blessed the people….” The third is (in Deut. 1:11), “May the Lord God of your ancestors add [to your numbers a thousand times more than you are and bless you].” The fourth is (here in Deut. 33:1), “And this is the blessing.” It is therefore stated (in Prov. 31:29), “Many daughters have done valiantly, but you surpass them all.”(Deut. 33:1:) And this is the blessing.” It was fitting for Moses to bless Israel because he had constantly risked his life for them.7PRK 31(suppl. 1):12. For this reason, it is stated (in Deut. 33:1), “And this is the blessing [that Moses blessed... the Children of Israel].” (Deut. 33:1:) “The man of God (the Power).” If it says, “man,” why does it say, “God,” and if it says, “God,” why does it say, “man?” It is simply that at the time he fled from in front of Pharaoh, he was a man, but at the time he trounced [the Egyptians], he was a power. Another interpretation: At the time that he went up to the firmament, he was a man; in front of the angels that were all fire, he was a man. But at the time he came down, he was a power. Before he went up to the firmament, he was a man, as he would eat and drink. But all the time that he was there, he was a power, as stated (in Exod. 34:20), “and they were afraid to approach him.”