Torah Study - Deuteronomy 33:6-7 March 11, 2017

The Tribal Blessings (vv. 6-25)
Moses blesses the tribes individually, mentioning them in geographic order beginning with Reuben, in whose territory the Israelites are encamped. (JPS)

• Nachmanides, quoting Ibn Ezra, writes... that the reason why Moses did not include Shimon in the list of tribes whom he blessed was because that tribe had been so guilty in the sin at Baal Peor....Nachmanides adds that in his view this is not conclusive proof of anything... [He continues by saying] It is quite inconceivable that Moses would deny a whole tribe a blessing on account of a sin committed by one of their leading members.... The correct interpretation of why Moses did not bless the tribe of Shimon specifically has to do with the long-standing tradition that the Jewish people comprise no more than 12 tribes. At the time when Yaakov had blessed his children, he had given one blessing to Joseph, although part of the whole procedure had been the vision that both of Joseph’s sons would develop into two separate tribes. This left Moses with the problem of which tribe to delete from his blessings, seeing that including the “super” tribe Levi, there were now in effect 13 tribes. The division of the tribe of Joseph into two tribes did not occur as a mere wish of Yaakov, or as its interpretation by Moses on his own. At the inauguration of the Tabernacle and when establishing the groupings around the Tabernacle by the various tribes, Ephrayim and Menashe, by Divine decree, had clearly been treated as separate tribes. Furthermore, there was a need to mention Joshua who would be Moses’ successor and who would lead the people to the Divinely ordained heritage in the Land of Canaan, and he was a member of the tribe of Ephrayim. Seeing that Ephrayim was the junior of the two sons of Joseph, it would have been inconceivable for Moses to ignore the senior son (tribe) Menashe by not blessing that tribe separately. Moses, clearly, wanted to bless the tribe of Levi, the tribe whose members henceforth would dispense blessings to all of the people. The people’s various sacrificial offerings would have been meaningless unless the Priests, members of the tribe of Levi had blessed them. Moses could not avoid deleting one tribe from his blessing as the number 12 was not arbitrary but was symbolical of the 12 signs of the zodiac, the twelve months of the year, etc.... (Tur HaAroch)
  
• The reason why Reuven had been listed first was because he was the first of the tribes to receive his ancestral heritage (on the east bank of the Jordan). An additional reason was the fact that he was chronologically the most senior of the tribes, the founding father having been Yaakov’s oldest son, the firstborn. Moses prayed for the tribe’s continued well being, wishing that its name not be extinguished on account of the sin of their founding father involving an indiscretion with Bilhah, his father’s steady mate after the death of Rachel.... He blessed Yehudah next, as this tribe would be the first tribe to receive its heritage in the land, and he would lead the nation in its war against the Canaanites. The blessing given by Moses to Yehudah was meant to include all of the Jewish people. Moses blessed the tribe of Levi next, as the Levites who largely lived in Jerusalem, would be territorial neighbours to Yehudah. They would ensure that the sacrificial offerings of the Jewish people, both communally and individually, would enjoy a welcome reception by Hashem. Binyamin was next in line for Moses’ blessing, as the holy Temple would stand on its territory. After having blessed Binyamin, Moses blessed the tribes named after Joseph’s two sons, as they were next in conquering and settling the land of Israel. Next Moses blessed the remaining tribes that had as their founding father sons of Yaakov principal wife Leah. He followed the pattern used by Yaakov when he had blessed those sons. This left the tribes whose founding fathers were the maidservants of Leah and Rachel, respectively. History shows that the lots allocating lands to the various tribes also confirmed the order in which Moses had blessed these tribes. Gad was mentioned first, as he with Reuven was the first to receive his share on the east bank of the Jordan. He was also part of the flag commanded by the army headed by Reuven. (Tur HaAroch)

Verse 6

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These urgent words, more prayer than blessing, obviously reflect a moment in early Israelite history when the tribe of Reuben, inhabiting territory east of the Jordan, habitually threatened by marauders, perhaps also in the process of being swallowed up by neighboring Gad, appeared to run the risk of extinction. (Alter)
let Reuben live...not die.

• Let him live in this world and not die in the world to come: that the incident of Bilhah be not remembered unto him (Rashi)
  • Reuben loses his first-born status because of his incestuous affair with Jacob's concubine Bilhah. (JPS)
• Even though the tribe of Reuven had chosen to live in a ritually unclean country...and as a result of this they are not really entitled to eternal life in the hereafter, Moses prays that his (Reuven's) heart may live on forever. (Sforno)
• Reuven (the tribe) should live indefinitely, never die out. (Ibn Ezra)

few in number.

• The territory of Reuben was the most vulnerable of any tribe: located east of the Dead Sea, cut off from the tribes that were west of the Jordan. It virtually ceased to exist by the tenth century B.C.E. (Friedman)
• Could also be translated "and/but let his numbers become few." (JPS)
• "let his men be a number." Let him be counted amongst the number of his other brothers...[suggesting] that he was not excluded from the number of Jacob's sons. (Rashi)
  • “and may its numbers never shrink into insignificance.” Seeing that all things that are subject to count are also subject to a decline in number, Moses prayed that Reuven should not experience such a reduction in numbers. (Tur HaAroch)

Verse 7

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The blessing anticipates a time when the tribe will be at war. Moses prays that God will hear Judah's prayer, aid it in battle, and bring it home safely. (JPS)
And this he said of Judah. This is also what I request and pray for on behalf of the people residing in the tribal territory of Yehudah that includes the members of the tribe of Shimon who were an enclave within the tribal territory of Yehudah. Let them not die in the wars in which they will be involved. They all go out to war together. (Sforno)

• Moses was not willing to mention the name of the tribe of Shimon as Moses held him responsible in his heart for being the one who had first suggested that Joseph be killed. (Chizkuni)
• Moses means that the blessing he had just given to Reuven will also apply to Yehudah. He prayed that they both be extraordinarily successful in that war. The reason he also singled out Yehudah for such a blessing was that that tribe usually was always at the head of the army. (Daat Zkenim)

to his people You shall bring him.

• Jeffrey H. Tigay plausibly suggests that the reference is to bringing him back safe from battle. The next line in fact invokes combat. (Alter)
• If this refers to Judah's fellow tribesmen, it means "bring the tribe's warriors home safely from battle." "His people" could also refer to the whole people of Israel, implying that the tribe of Judah is fighting apart from the rest of Israel and perhaps on its behalf.... (JPS)

Though his own hands strive for him.

• The precise translation of this clause is uncertain, but it seems clear that the blessing is a play on the name of the tribe, since yadav, "his hands," sounds like Yehudah (Judah). (JPS)
• [Meaning:] may he not have to rely on outside assistance other than the help of Hashem, alone. Some commentators, seeing in the word רב an analogy to ריב, “quarrel, strife,” understand the verse to mean that Moses wishes that Yehudah’s hands alone should prove equal to any strife he will be involved in. (Tur HaAroch)