יב שבטים, עם אחד

(22) While Israel stayed in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah, his father’s concubine; and Israel found out. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve in number.

(1) This is the blessing with which Moses, God’s agent, bade the Israelites farewell before he died.(2) He said:
יהוה came from Sinai,
And shone upon them from Seir;
[God] appeared from Mount Paran,
And approached from Ribeboth-kodesh,
Lightning flashing at them from [God’s] right.
(3) Lover, indeed, of the people,
Their hallowed are all in Your hand.
They followed in Your steps,
Accepting Your pronouncements,
(4) When Moses charged us with the Teaching
As the heritage of the congregation of Jacob.
(5) Then [God] became King in Jeshurun,
When the heads of the people assembled,
The tribes of Israel together.(6) May Reuben live and not die,
Though few be his numbers.(7) And this he said of Judah:
Hear, יהוה, the voice of Judah
And restore him to his people.
Though his own hands strive for him,
Help him against his foes.(8) And of Levi he said:
Let Your Thummim and Urim
Be with Your faithful one,
Whom You tested at Massah,
Challenged at the waters of Meribah;
(9) Who said of his father and mother,
“I consider them not.”
His brothers he disregarded,
Ignored his own children.
Your precepts alone they observed,
And kept Your covenant.
(10) They shall teach Your laws to Jacob
And Your instructions to Israel.
They shall offer You incense to savor
And whole-offerings on Your altar.
(11) Bless, יהוה, his substance,
And favor his undertakings.
Smite the loins of his foes;
Let his enemies rise no more.(12) Of Benjamin he said:
Beloved of יהוה,
He rests securely beside [God],
Who protects him always,
As he rests between God’s shoulders. (13) And of Joseph he said:
Blessed of יהוה be his land
With the bounty of dew from heaven,
And of the deep that couches below;
(14) With the bounteous yield of the sun,
And the bounteous crop of the moons;
(15) With the best from the ancient mountains,
And the bounty of hills immemorial;
(16) With the bounty of earth and its fullness,
And the favor of the Presence in the Bush.
May these rest on the head of Joseph,
On the crown of the elect of his brothers.
(17) Like a firstling bull in his majesty,
He has horns like the horns of the wild-ox;
With them he gores the peoples,
The ends of the earth one and all.
These are the myriads of Ephraim,
Those are the thousands of Manasseh.(18) And of Zebulun he said:
Rejoice, O Zebulun, on your journeys,
And Issachar, in your tents.
(19) They invite their kin to the mountain,
Where they offer sacrifices of success.
For they draw from the riches of the sea
And the hidden hoards of the sand.(20) And of Gad he said:
Blessed be the One who enlarges Gad!
Poised is he like a lion
To tear off arm and scalp.
(21) He chose for himself the best,
For there is the portion of the revered chieftain,
Where the heads of the people come.
He executed יהוה’s judgments
And God’s decisions for Israel.(22) And of Dan he said:
Dan is a lion’s whelp
That leaps forth from Bashan.(23) And of Naphtali he said:
O Naphtali, sated with favor
And full of יהוה’s blessing,
Take possession on the west and south.(24) And of Asher he said:
Most blessed of sons be Asher;
May he be the favorite of his brothers,
May he dip his foot in oil.
(25) May your doorbolts be iron and copper,
And your security last all your days.
(26) O Jeshurun, there is none like God,
Riding through the heavens to help you,
Through the skies in His majesty.
(27) The ancient God is a refuge,
A support are the arms everlasting.
He drove out the enemy before you
By His command: Destroy!
(28) Thus Israel dwells in safety,
Untroubled is Jacob’s abode,
In a land of grain and wine,
Under heavens dripping dew.
(29) O happy Israel! Who is like you,
A people delivered by יהוה,
Your protecting Shield, your Sword triumphant!
Your enemies shall come cringing before you,
And you shall tread on their backs.

(1) LET REUBEN LIVE. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra commented that “he began with Reuben because he was the firstborn. He did not mention Simeon because of the sin of [Baal] Peor, because the worshippers were Simeonites, the proof being their numbers, and their prince, too, being killed [in the affair].” In my opinion, the numbers are no proof because over thirteen thousand are still unaccounted for, aside from those who died in the plague. In addition, other tribes as well diminished in population, for the sons of Gad lost five thousand, and the sons of Ephraim, eight thousand! Moreover, from the verse which states, And Israel attached himself unto Baal-peor, and it is said again, Take all the chiefs of the people it would appear that there were some among them from all the tribes, and that all their judges passed sentence on them. And similarly He said, so that I consumed not the children of Israel in My jealousy. Now do not rejoin against me from the affair of Achan where He said, Israel hath sinned [although it was but a single individual who sinned; similarly we can say that it was the tribe of Simeon alone that sinned in the affair of Peor yet Scripture describes it as if the entire nation sinned. This rejoinder is not valid, for] there, [the details of] the sin had not yet been revealed, so He mentioned Israel generally [but in the case of Peor the facts of the sin were clearly given and still He spoke of all Israel, which shows that people from all the tribes were among the worshippers of Peor]. Similarly, the identity of the victim [i.e., Zimri, a leader of the Simeonites] is no proof [that only his tribe sinned, as Ibn Ezra argues], for he [Zimri, the son of Salu] was only a prince of a fathers’ house of that tribe, not the prince of the [entire] tribe. Those who assembled against G-d in the congregation of Korach were greater and more honorable people than he [Zimri], for they were princes of the congregation, yet all their tribes did not follow them! Additionally, the psalm [that relates the sins of the wilderness] mentions Dathan and Abiram and their affair by name, saying, The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram; and it [the same psalm] mentions They attached themselves also unto Baal-peor together with Moreover, they scorned the desirable Land which applies to the general population! Forbid it also that Moses should refrain from blessing the tribe of Simeon, [when it is said] that a tribe be not blotted out from Israel! For all those who had joined Baal-peor had already died, as it is said, for all the men that followed Baal-peor, the Eternal thy G-d hath destroyed from the midst of thee, and it is written of those who survived, But ye that did cleave unto the Eternal your G-d are alive every one of you this day. And why should he not bless them? They all made the [golden] calf and sinned in the affair of the spies, yet they were forgiven, and he blessed them!
Now, I have seen in Midrash Rabbah the following text: “Six families were eliminated because of the immorality caused by Balaam’s advice [that Israel could be corrupted through seduction], and so Scripture listed one family less of Simeon and five less of Benjamin.” Thus, according to the opinion of the Rabbis [the tribe of] Benjamin had a greater part in the sin than did the tribe of Simeon — yet Benjamin is included in the blessing!
In my opinion, the correct interpretation is that Scripture considers the tribes of Israel as only twelve. So it stated in Jacob’s blessing, All these are the twelve tribes of Israel. Now Jacob mentioned his twelve sons and considered Joseph to be one tribe [instead of enumerating Ephraim and Menasheh separately as is sometimes done]. Moses saw fit to consider Joseph as two tribes, as he said, And they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Menasheh. This was for two reasons: one, since the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded and made them two tribes regarding the dedication of the altar, the flags [designating the tribal encampments in the wilderness], and the inheritance of the Land, he [Moses] had to count them as two [separate tribes] for their blessing. Secondly, he referred to Joshua, who would make them possess the Land, and he was from Ephraim, the younger son [of Joseph], therefore Moses had to mention his brother [Menasheh] who was older than him. Now, he also wanted to bless [the tribe of] Levi, for, through his blessing, all Israel would be blessed, in that his offerings shall be acceptable before G-d on their behalf. Hence it was necessary to omit one of the tribes, for nowhere [in Scripture] are they enumerated except as twelve, corresponding to the twelve constellations in the firmament, the twelve months of the year, and the twelve “border diagonals” concerning which the Rabbis have said in the Midrash that they are the everlasting arms. As the Sages mentioned in Tractate Berachoth: “The Holy One, blessed be He, said to the prophet, Go and tell the congregation of Israel: My daughter, I have created twelve constellations in the firmament to correspond to the twelve tribes.” Similarly, at Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal where Scripture counts Levi, Joseph is not mentioned as two tribes [because, there Simeon is mentioned]. Likewise you will see in the distributions of Ezekiel that he counts Joseph as two tribes with reference to the apportioning of the Land and did not mention Levi. On the other hand, in enumerating the city exits [of Jerusalem] he mentioned, the gate of Levi, one and did not list the tribe of Joseph as two tribes; instead he said, the gate of Joseph, one, since the tribes are always counted as only twelve. I have already mentioned this in the section Vayikach Korach. Accordingly, Simeon was left out [of Moses’ blessings] since his tribe was not large and it was not the intention of the blessing of Jacob, their father, that they become numerous. Instead he divided them in Jacob and scattered them in Israel, and to that extent they, too, were blessed through the blessing of the rest of the tribes among whom they were.
Now the order of this blessing [of Moses] was by [dictate of] Ruach Hakodesh (the Holy Spirit) according to their inheritance. He began with Reuben for he occupied his inheritance first; and, also, for he was the firstborn, and Moses prayed for him that his name not be blotted out because of his sin; therefore, in his blessing, he accorded him the right of the firstborn. Then he mentioned Judah for he was the first to inherit within the Land [proper] and of him came he that is the prince, and he was the first to advance to war [against the Canaanites], concerning which Moses blessed him [saying, his hands shall contend for him, and Thou shalt be a help against his adversaries]. Thus Judah’s blessing embraces all Israel. Then Moses blessed Levi — who dwelled with the children of Judah in Jerusalem, and there their offerings should be acceptable. Afterwards he blessed Benjamin because their inheritance was with the children of Judah, and, [because] the city of Jerusalem and the Sanctuary were between the children of Judah and the children of Benjamin, and the Levites abode with both of them. Then he blessed the children of Joseph for such was their inheritance, as it is said, And the lot of the tribe of the children of Benjamin came up according to their families; and the border of their lot went out between the children of Judah and the children of Joseph. Afterwards he continued to bless the children of the mistresses, and mentioned Zebulun before Issachar as Jacob had done. So, too, [in the division of the Land] the third lot fell to the children of Zebulun and the fourth lot to the children of Issachar. Then he blessed the children of the handmaids — Dan, Naphtali, and Asher — in order of their birth, and they were also [encamped] under the same standard. He mentioned Gad [born after Naphtali] before all the children of the handmaids, because he occupied his inheritance earlier with Reuben, the first of all, and he was [encamped under] Reuben’s standard.
Let Reuben live, and not die. “The meaning thereof is that his tribe shall live and never die. And let his men be a number. This is like the verse, And I have not learned wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One I have [where the word not from the first part of the verse, applies to the second part as well – ‘and the knowledge of the Holy One I have not.’ Here, too, the word not from the expression and ‘not’ die applies to the second part, thus meaning] ‘and let his men not be a number,’ that they may not become few, for whatever can be counted, is few. So also, and I am few in number.” This is the language of Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra.
It is more correct to explain: “Let Reuben live in Israel; and not die, that his tribe at no time should be cut off, and that his numbers always be among the count of the children of Israel.” He prayed for him that his name not be cut off from Israel because of the anger with which his father was wroth with him when he defiled his couch. This is similar to what is stated there, and Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine; and Israel heard of it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve; Scripture made it be known that he was not excluded from that number on account of his sin. Rashi also explained it this way. And the meaning of his men [and let ‘his men’ be numbered among the men of Israel] is that all his men should deserve this [to be included in the ranks of Israel], and not even part of their tribe be cut off because of his [Reuben’s] sin. Perhaps the expression his men refers to the heads of the four families [of the tribe of Reuben — Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi], and the meaning of the word mispar (number) is like b’mispar [with the prefix beth meaning “in the number,” the verse stating: “and let his men be ‘in’ the number” of the children of Israel]. Similarly, to play the harlot ‘beith’ [literally: “the house of”] her father [means b’veith — “in the house of” her father]; they shall wash ‘mayim’ [literally: “water,” means b’mayim — “with water”]. There are many similar cases. Or it may be that the meaning thereof is that in the census of Israel his men be counted first as is the right of the firstborn, for number one is the unit from which all numbers originate.
Onkelos rendered it: “And his children will receive their inheritance among their numbers.” He meant what we have explained, saying that Reuben will live and not be cut off [from Israel] and his men will be counted among their numbers forever. His tribe will not be blotted out from Israel but they will not be counted on account of their large numbers as forming two tribes. Thus he deprived him of the birthright [that awards the firstborn with a double share], but he assured him of being forever one tribe.
And some commentators explain that this blessing refers to the conquest of the Land, the verse stating that the Reubenites will live when crossing [the Jordan] armed for war before the children of Israel. And the purport thereof is that they will prevail, and not be defeated, similar in meaning to the expression, and by thy sword shalt thou live. And let him not die, that none of them should die in battle, and his men be a number that they should return to their homes in their [original] number, there lacking not one man of them. Similarly, in the blessing of Gad his companion [under the same standard] Moses mentioned this subject. This interpretation is likely [to be true]. But the first one appears to me to be more correct, for Moses’ blessing corresponds to the manner and thought that Jacob mentioned.
And by way of the Truth, [the mystic teachings of the Cabala], the expression Let [Reuben] live and not die is associated with visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and there I alluded to its secret. Moses’ blessing helped Reuben gain atonement for the affair of Bilhah, that he not be cut off and be denied [the World to Come] for it, forever. However, He visited upon him, along with the rest of the tribes [the sin of] the sale of Joseph, according to the narrative in Pirkei Heichaloth.

(4) You shall dispatch on the campaign a thousand from every one of the tribes of Israel.”(5) So a thousand from each tribe were furnished from the divisions of Israel, twelve thousand picked for the campaign.

(1) לכל מטות ישראל [A THOUSAND OF EVERY TRIBE] THROUGHOUT ALL THE TRIBES OF ISRAEL — including, therefore, the tribe of Levi (Sifrei Bamidbar 157:3).

The Gemara asks: What is the reason that we recite that passage: Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever, even though it does not appear in the Torah? The Gemara answers: We recite it in accordance with that which Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish interpreted homiletically.As Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said that it is written: “And Jacob called his sons and said, Gather around and I will tell you what will occur to you in the end of days” (Genesis 49:1). Jacob wanted to reveal to his sons when the complete redemption would arrive at the end of days (see Daniel 12:13), but the Divine Presence abandoned him, rendering him unable to prophesy. He said: Perhaps the Divine Presence has abandoned me because, Heaven forfend, one of my descendants is unfit, as was the case with my grandfather Abraham, from whom Ishmael emerged, and like my father Isaac, from whom Esau emerged. His sons said to him: Hear Israel, our father, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One. They said: Just as there is only one God in your heart, so too, there is only one in our hearts. At that moment Jacob our father said in praise: Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever, as all his children were righteous. The Rabbis said: What should we do? Shall we recite this verse? But Moses our teacher did not say it in the Torah as part of Shema. Shall we not recite it? But Jacob said it. In order to resolve this dilemma they established that this passage should be recited surreptitiously. Rabbi Yitzḥak said that the school of Rabbi Ami said: This is analogous to the daughter of a king who smelled the fragrance of the dried spices stuck to the bottom of the pot and craved to eat them. What can she do? If she tells her servants to give it to her, she will be disgraced, as the dried spices are a contemptible food. However, if she does not say she wants to eat them, she will endure suffering. Her servants began to bring them to her surreptitiously. One should conduct himself in that manner in similar cases of uncertainty.