Parasha: Vezot HaBerachah · Aliyah: First (Chesed)

וזאת הברכה, and this is the blessing, etc. We need to explain the conjunctive letter ו at the beginning of this verse. Moreover, we need to examine the need for the entire verse. If the Torah meant to inform us as to who was the person who bestowed this blessing and who it was bestowed upon, surely we would have known this without the benefit of this verse. All the Torah had to do was to commence with the word ויאמר in verse two and I would have known all this. If, on the other hand, the Torah wanted to inform us that Moses bestowed these blessings immediately prior to his death, this too had become clear from what the Torah had written in the previous paragraph. Besides, why was it important to record precisely when Moses bestowed these blessings?

It appears therefore that the Torah's purpose was to accord praise to Moses, the man of G'd. Although he had been instructed by G'd in the previous paragraph to ascend Mount Ha-Avarim, Har Nevo, in order to die there, he did not harbour any negative thoughts in his heart concerning this although his premature death had been due in part to the Israelites' rebellious behaviour at the time when he struck the rock. Ordinary people would not feel inclined to bless those who have caused them to die. Not so Moses. The Torah therefore records that Moses not only did not harbour any hatred but even went out of his way to bless these people. This is also the reason why the word זאת was prefaced by the letter ו, to alert us to the fact that immediately before proceeding to bless the people G'd had told Moses to ascend the mountain in order to die.

The Torah adds the words: "before his death," in order to further underline this characteristic of Moses, i.e. that he blessed the people even at this hour though he was painfully aware of the people's share in his death. The letter ו also testifies to the fact that the blessings Moses pronounced were unreserved; he did not hold back part because he had misgivings about his impending death.

Another message that the Torah may wish to convey by writing וזאת הברכה, "and this is the blessing," is to draw our attention to the patriarchs who had blessed their children. Abraham had blessed Isaac, Isaac had blessed his children, and Jacob had blessed his children when on his deathbed, assembling them all around him. The Torah goes on record that Moses' blessing the people is to be understood as adding an additional dimension to the blessings the tribes had received at the time from their father Jacob. Sifri has explained this in connection with Deut. 1,11: "may the G'd of your fathers add more blessings, etc."

The fact that the Torah here emphasises הברכה, with the definitive article, is a hint that this blessing was superior even to the blessings bestowed by Jacob at the time. The Torah goes on to outline in which respect this blessing by Moses was superior.

1) The words אשר ברך משה, "which Moses blessed," is a clear reference to the superiority of Moses as an individual. I have explained this in connection with Numbers 12,7 where G'd extolled Moses' virtues to his brother Aaron and to his sister Miriam.

2) The words איש האלוקים, "the man of G'd." Tanchuma explains this expression going as far as to consider it parallel to Elimelech who was described as איש נעמי, "the husband of Naomi" in Ruth 1,3. What the Torah means is that when Moses would decree something (without consulting with G'd) G'd would honour what Moses had decreed. We plan to explain this phenomenon still further.

3) The words את בני ישראל, "the children of Israel," are an indication that all the Israelites were a vessel deserving to be blessed at that time, a condition that had not existed previously. We have explained on several occasions that the presence of G'd does not come to rest on fewer than 600,000 Jews as only this number is able to comprise the combined degree of sanctity which assures Israel of being suitable carriers of the שכינה. The reason that the Torah added the word את and did not content itself with writing בני ישראל, may have been in order to allude to a hidden dimension, something which does not manifest itself openly. It may be a veiled reference to the fact that even when the Israelites are in exile, some part of G'd's presence never completely deserts them. This concept is based on Psalms 91,15: "I will be with him in distress." [Moses was the author of this Psalm. Ed.] Moses, who may be viewed as "Israel's best Man" in the mystical relationship between G'd and Israel, bestows this additional aspect of blessing on his people.

4) The words לפני מותו, "before his death," may indicate that although Moses possessed outstanding spiritual powers throughout his life, these powers were enhanced at this time when he was close to his death. This may also be a further meaning of the introductory word וזאת, i.e. in addition to all the spiritual powers Moses was endowed with, at this time he possessed even greater spiritual resources.

Another meaning of the word וזאת may be gleaned from the comments of the Yalkut Shimoni who says that Moses did not rate the description "man of G'd" until he blessed the Jewish people. The meaning of the word then is that in spite of all the feats performed by Moses in his 120 years he only qualified for the title איש האלוקים when he blessed the people at this time.

איש האלוקים, the man of G'd. This may be an outstanding compliment to Moses. Whereas we are told in Erchin 17 in the name of Rabbi Eliezer the great, that if G'd were to go to arbitration with the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that none of them could prevail, [seeing all had to depend on G'd employing His attribute of Mercy, Ed.] Moses alone was able to be judged on the basis of the attribute of Justice, i.e. האלוקים. This is also what David had in mind when he said in Psalms 143,2: "and do not enter into judgment with Your servant for before You no living creature is in the right." He meant that even a צדיק, [play on the word יצדק in that verse, Ed.] can survive when the attribute of Justice is applied to him. The Torah tells us here that Moses was the only צדיק who did not fit the description by David. He was a "man" who could be evaluated and not be found wanting even when measured by the yardstick of the attribute of Justice.

Another meaning of this expression may be that Moses trained himself to acquire the virtue of reverence for G'd. He was not blessed with this virtue by birth, it was not one of the genetic gifts he enjoyed. We may understand this better with the help of a statement in the Talmud comparing the respective virtues of King Saul and King David. Rav Hunna (Yuma 22) states that "whereas Saul committed one grievous error which spelled his doom (as a king and dynasty), David committed two errors without paying for it by losing his kingdom and his dynasty." The reason why G'd applied a stricter yardstick when judging Saul's behaviour was that Saul was of a natural disposition which made it easy for him to revere G'd and be obedient. David, on the other hand, had no such genetic advantage and found it much more difficult to discipline himself. This is why he was introduced to us in the Book of Samuel I 16,11 as אדמוני, i.e. similar to Edom, to Esau, in temperament. Had Saul possessed David's temperament he would have become ten times as guilty of disobeying G'd as David was. The Torah testifies here that Moses' attaining of the title איש האלוקים represented a supreme effort by Moses seeing that he was an independent spirit by nature.

The words איש האלוקים convey yet another meaning. It is a description of someone unique. There never has been nor will there ever be again a human being to whom the description איש האלוקים can be applied in the way the Torah applied it to Moses. This is why the term is coupled with the words את בני ישראל. The Torah means that Moses achieved his status only due to what he had done on behalf of the Jewish people and what he suffered at the hands of Jewish people. Seeing that no other leader endured what Moses endured and came out on top as did Moses, the description which fits Moses would not fit anybody elese.

ויאמר, ה׳ מסיני בא, He said: "Hashem came from Sinai, etc." Our sages in the Sifri understand this to mean that G'd came towards the Jewish people at Mount Sinai, וזרח משעיר למו, and that on the way towards the Jewish people He first offered the Torah to the descendants of Esau (who lived in Se-ir). The words הופיע מהר פארן would mean that G'd also offered the Torah to the Ishmaelites whose abode was in the desert of Paran. The difficulty with this exegesis is why would the Torah mention the Ishmaelites last when, geographically speaking, G'd would have first encountered the Ishmaelites, seeing He is described as coming from Sinai? Furthermore, we need to know why the Torah employs three different verbs for describing G'd's arrival, i.e. בא, זרח, הופיע? Why did the Torah not simply lump all this together by writing: "He came from Sinai, Se-ir and Paran?" Besides, why did the Torah first mention the place when referring to Sinai, whereas it describes G'd's "shining" or "appearing" before mentioning where this took place, i.e. Se-ir or Paran respectively?

We may best understand this when considering why the Torah had not been given to Jacob who, after all, had raised twelve sons all of whom were loyal to the Abrahamitic tradition. Midrash Hagadol on Genesis 32,2 says that the Shechinah does not come to rest on an assembly of fewer than 600,000 (Jews or angels). Giving the Torah to the Jewish people required the presence of 600,000 as the Torah reports that G'd descended on Mount Sinai for the occasion (Exodus 19,20).

How do we reconcile this statement with the opinion offered in Avot 3 that even if two people discuss words of Torah the Shechinah is present? Knowledgeable scholars explain that the first statement refers to the total presence of the Shechinah, whereas the statements we find in Avot regarding the presence of G'd when 10 or even fewer Jews engage in Torah is a reference to a portion of the Shechinah. This "portion" of the Shechinah suffices to inspire the people studying Torah to gain greater insights. The degree of insights afforded such people studying Torah varies with the number of people involved in such study. The fewer the number, the smaller the input due to the Shechinah.

When the Torah mentions here that G'd came from Sinai, this is a reference to the totality of the Shechinah. It arrived to welcome the people of Israel. On the other hand, when G'd approached the tribe of Esau and Ishmael respectively, He employed only a small portion of the Shechinah. One such portion appeared to Se-ir, the other to the Ishmaelites in Paran. What the Torah describes here is the return of these two "portions" of the Shechinah which had "offered" the Torah to the nations mentioned. This is why mentioning Sinai first is perfectly in order as the bulk of the Shechinah had never departed from the encampment of the Jewish people at Sinai. The very words זרח and הופיע are only descriptions of the insignificant parts of the Shechinah which appeared to these nations. We find a similar expression in Makkot 23 where the Talmud describes the appearance of Holy Spirit in the hall of the academy with the words הופיע רוח הקודש בבית דינו של שמואל. The Edomites (descendants of Esau) enjoyed a relatively greater portion of the Shechinah on that occasion than the Ishmaelites as their biological relationship to the Jewish people is closer than that of the Ishmaelites.

We have now explained all the nuances in our verse including the fact that Sinai is mentioned at the outset as the source from which the Shechinah travelled to these other nations. The purpose of the whole verse is to demonstrate the spirituallly high level of the Jewish people at the time which made it possible for Moses to bestow such far-ranging blessings upon them both collectively and according to their respective tribes. Moses acted no differently from Isaac when he prepared himself to bless Jacob and asked him to approach his father so that he could kiss him (Genesis 27,26). Extolling Israel's superiority put them in a suitable frame of mind to receive the blessing just as being kissed by his father put Jacob in the right frame of mind to receive the blessing.

You will do well to read what I have written on Genesis 48,8 where Jacob asked Joseph who the two lads were whom he had brought to be blessed. Moses' display of love for the Jewish people is part of his many outstanding characteristics.

ואתה מרבבות קדש, and arrived with the myriads of holy ones. According to Rashi who quotes Sifri, the letter מ preceding the word רבבות means that G'd was accompanied only by some of the myriads of holy beings, or at least the Torah describes it in this fashion to demonstrate the "humility" of G'd. According to this view the word ואתה means "He brought." This is certainly not the plain meaning of this word. On the other hand, if we understand the word ואתה to mean "He came," there is no proof that G'd was accompanied by even some of His holy hosts. Perhaps those commentators thought that there was no need to mention that G'd was accompanied by merely some of His myriads of holy hosts and that therefore He was accompanied by all of them. What the Torah does tell us then is that though G'd was accompanied by all these myriads of holy hosts He did not leave them in a terrestrial domain.

If we ignore the conventional explanations we may view what is written here as a reflection of the spiritual level of the Jewish people. The Torah tells us that G'd left behind Him in the Celestial Regions the myriads of holy hosts and instead came to take up residence amongst the Jewish people here on earth. The word ואתה means that G'd arrived for a permanent visit with the Jewish people, making them His people and His inheritance. The Zohar on Terumah item 140 describes the anguish experienced by these heavenly hosts when they became aware that G'd had moved His abode to the "lower" terrestrial regions.

מימינו אש דת למו, from His right hand He presented the fiery Torah to them. This is the reason why G'd chose to take up residence on earth and departed from the myriads of holy beings in the Celestial Regions. We find something analogous in Shemot Rabbah 33,1 explaining Exodus 25,2 as a parable describing a king who had an only daughter who stipulated to his son-in-law to be that there must always be room in his house for him. G'd considered the Torah His only daughter and when He gave it to Israel He stipulated that there be a place for Him also amongst the Israelites. The Torah explains that the reason G'd left His abode in the Celestial Regions was that He had given His "right hand," i.e. the Torah, to the Jewish people and He could not bear being separated from the Torah.

The reason the Torah describes the Torah as אש דת instead of as דת אש is in order for the word אש, "fire" or "fiery" to appear next to the word מימינו, "on His right." The Torah emphasises that when G'd gave the Torah to the Jewish people He did so with His right hand as well as with His left hand. The word אש symbolises G'd's left hand, as it stands for the emanation גבורה. This is the mystical dimension of the statement in Devarim Rabbah 3,12 that the Torah (parchment) was white fire inscribed with black fire. It is also the deeper meaning of Avot 6,1 that studying the Torah provides תושיה, wisdom, through the emanation of גבורה and עז וממשלה, strength and authority derived from the emanation חסד.

אף חבב עמים, Also a lover of people, etc. Our sages in Baba Batra 8 understand these words to mean that although on occasion G'd displayed fondness for the other nations when He exiled the Jewish people amongst them, כל קדושיו בידיך והם, the Jews who study Torah continue to enjoy special privileges such as exemption from certain taxes even while they are in exile. It appears that our verse provides the rationale for what is written in the previous verse, namely that G'd came to both Se-ir and Paran. He did so in order to subject them to His anger on the day of judgment when these nations would excuse their conduct by saying that they had never been given a chance to receive the Torah and had not been informed of its contents so that they could have lived by its precepts. The entire verse needs to be understood as follows: "G'd had also displayed His love for the other nations when He offered them the Torah at the time he gave it to the Israelites."

The words כל קדושיו may best be understood in line with Yalkut Shimoni at the end of Parshat Kedoshim item 626, on Leviticus 20,26: "and I have separated you from the other nations to be Mine." If the Torah had written: "I have separated the other nations from you," this would have meant that we do not accept proselytes. Seeing that the Torah uses the reverse order and writes: "I have separated you from the nations," this means that when Gentiles wish to convert to Judaism they are able to do so. [this is the thrust of the comment; our author has enlarged on it. Ed.] The words קדשיו בידיך mean that G'd reserves the right to allow those who wish to sanctify themselves by embracing the Torah to do so.

Another approach to our verses may be this. The meaning of the words אף חובב is that there remains one single fondness for the Jewish people vis-a-vis the other nations, namely that those who study Torah, the "holy ones," enjoy some privileges as I have explained. The word והם, "and they," refers to the Jewish people who are the principal subject of the verse. We are told that the Jewish people are able to maintain their sanctity or improve it because תכו לרגלך, "they planted themselves at Your feet." This is an allusion to the statement in Shabbat 146 that as a result of the revelation at Sinai the Israelites were completely cleansed of any residual pollutant dating back to the sin in Gan Eden. They achieved this status because they planted themselves at G'd's feet, i.e. embraced the Torah wholeheartedly. This enabled them to be addressed by G'd directly. Our sages in Shabbat 86 go so far as to say that at that time their souls left them (based on Song of Songs 5,6: "my soul left me when He spoke"). It was this experience which removed their pollutant. This remained an advantage of the natural born Israelites over their proselyte counterparts (compare Zohar volume three page 14).

ישא מדברותיך, accepting Your pronouncements. The word means "authority" in this instance. We find a similar meaning for דבר in Psalms 47,4: "He subjects peoples to us." The meaning is that only natural born Jews have true authority over other Jews; proselytes or their (immediate?) descendants may not become kings. Our sages in Kidushin 76 have derived this ruling from Deut. 17,15: "from amongst your brothers." This restrictive clause applies not only to kings who must be natural born Jews but also to judges and princes. The Talmud Sotah 41 relates that when King Agrippas read these words in the Torah his eyes started watering with tears as he was not a natural born Jew. The meaning of the words ישא מדברותיך here is that only a natural born Jew may arrogate to himself a position of authority over fellow Jews. The reason that the word ישא is in the singular is an allusion to Sanhedrin 8 that the Jewish people will have only a single authority, there will be no power-sharing.

An additional meaning of the word ישא מדברותיך could be that it provides the rationale for תכו לרגליך. We have been told in Shabbat 88 that the acceptance of the Torah by the Jewish people was not exactly voluntary but that G'd threatened to bury them under the Mountain if they would not accept the Torah. On the other hand, the acceptance of the Torah during the period of Esther and Mordechai was entirely voluntary as a result of Haman's decree against the Jews being cancelled. I have explained the reluctance of the Jews to accept the Torah in my commentary on Exodus 19,5. It did not extend to acceptance of the biblical commandments but only to the rabbinic decrees. At any rate, the words תכו לרגליך are a reference to the threat of death at the Mountain if they would not accept the rabbinic ordinances. The people accepted the biblical parts of the Torah wholeheartedly and voluntarily. They did so in order to be spiritually uplifted by it, i.e. ישא מדברותיך. When the Torah wrote in Exodus 24,7 that the Jewish people said unanimously: "we will do all that G'd has said and we will hear it," the word "all" refers to the rabbinic ordinances.

The word מדברותיך may also be understood as referring to the people giving guidance to the Jewish people, the ones who introduce certain new ordinances if circumstances seem to call for this. When the Jews during the time of Mordechai observed how successful the latter had been in his looking after Jewish interests, the people voluntarily embraced all such rabbinic ordinances.

Still another meaning of the words ישא מדברותיך may be based on the Midrash Rabbah (Song of Songs 1,2) explaining the words ישקני מנשיקות פיהו, "may He kiss me with the kisses of His mouth." According to this Midrash every single word which G'd spoke He communicated to every single Israelite asking if the Israelite in question was prepared to accept the law in question. The Israelite would answer in the affirmative. In response G'd would kiss him and place a crown on his head. This is why the Torah adds… והם תכו ישא מדברותיך. The reason that the Torah writes מדברותיך instead of the usual דברותיך is because the words themselves "spoke" to the Israelites asking them if they were prepared to accept them.

The reason the word ישא is in the future tense instead of in the past tense, is because after the episode with the golden calf the Israelites were deprived of the crowns we have mentioned (Exodus 33,5), whereas Moses received them (Shabbat 88). This is based on a concept developed in Chagigah 15 that two places are reserved for each person, one in purgatory and one in Paradise. The one who forfeits his place in Paradise leaves it for his colleague who is more deserving, and the same is true for those who vacate their place in purgatory. This is the mystical dimension of Exodus 33,8 that "the people looked after Moses." Our sages in Sanhedrin 110 explain this to mean that each Israelite suspected Moses of committing adultery with his wife. This is not to be understood literally, of course, but it means that the Torah which was considered as betrothed to the Jewish people had become Moses' exclusive bride seeing he had taken over the parts that the people had previously been entitled to. By the Torah writing ישא in the future tense we receive the assurance that the removal of the crowns of the Israelites after the episode with the golden calf is reversible and that the time will come when they will once more merit and receive these crowns. Our sages (a glossary in the prayer-book edited by the Ari Zal) state that these crowns return to the heads of the Israelites on every Sabbath and that on the Sabbath Moses retains only his own crown. This is the reason that we say in the Sabbath morning prayer that Moses rejoices in his (personal) share, i.e. even though on that day he retains only this single crown.

Our verse may also be a veiled reference to the statement in Makkot 24 that the Israelites heard the first two of the Ten Commandments from G'd Himself whereas Moses was the intermediary for the balance of the commandments. On the other hand, the Mechilta on Parshat Yitro claims that all of the Ten Commandments were spoken by G'd in a single utterance. We explained this apparent contradiction by referring to the tradition that the souls of the Jewish people left them during the revelation. This occurred after they had heard the first two of these commandments. The words תכו לרגליך are a reference to this overpowering effect of G'd speaking to the people as a result of which their souls left them. This is further supported by the words ישא מדברותיך, i.e. that G'd "uplifted their souls" after they heard part of His words. They heard the balance of the Ten Commandments from the mouth of Moses after their souls had been restored to them. This is the reason why we read in the next verse תורה צוה לנו משה, "Moses commanded us the Torah," instead of "G'd commanded us the Torah." A close look at the word תורה reveals that its numerical value equals 611, i.e. an allusion to the number of commandments the Jewish people heard from the mouth of Moses. When you add the two words ישא מדברותיך you get the total of 613 commandments.

The words in our verse may also reflect something we have been told in Megillah 29 that the Presence of G'd accompanied the Israelites into exile. In this connection, the Talmud relates that the angels wanted to expel Rabbi Sheshet from the synagogue on account of the presence there of the Shechinah. Thereupon Rabbi Sheshet asked G'd: "if there is a person who has been subjected to insults and another who has not, which of the two deserves to be expelled?" As a result of this appeal G'd instructed the angels not to bother Rabbi Sheshet. This is the meaning of והם תכו לרגליך, "they have already been humbled at Your feet," i.e. the very fact that the Jews have been exiled is enough of a putdown for them so that if they use this fact as an argument ישא מדברותיך, He will uplift them when they are confronted by the angels i.e. "Your spokesmen."

Still another allusion which may be contained in our verse is based on Berachot 5 that G'd gave the Israelites three good gifts all of which they acquired only by means of suffering afflictions first. They are: the Torah, the land of Israel, and the hereafter. The Talmud in Berachot 63 also states (based on Proverbs 30,32: "if you have exalted yourself through acting arrogantly, etc.") that if a person is prepared to suffer disgrace for the sake of Torah he will eventually be elevated to a high position. This is the meaning of the sequence תכו לרגליך, ישא מדברותיך. "You will eventually be elevated as your disgrace was due to your humbling yourself for the sake of Torah." Torah confers high office on a person as we know from Proverbs 8,15: "kings reign through me."

Still another message contained in our verse is based on Rosh Hashanah 21 based on Psalms 8,6: "You have made him only a little less than divine." This means that G'd endowed Moses with 49 of a possible 50 "gateways to insight" when the latter was on Mount Sinai. The 50th gateway is reserved for G'd Himself. I have explained this concept in connection with Isaiah 11,9: "for the earth will be full of knowledge of the Lord." The prophet means that at that stage of the development of mankind G'd will hand over even the 50th gateway of insight to man, something He had not even done for Moses. This will be part of the Messiah revealing himself. In accordance with this concept the words תכו לרגליך refer to the Torah insights which had already been revealed, whereas the words ישא מדברותיך are a reference to the final degree of insight which so far had been withheld by G'd.

תורה צוה לנו משה. Moses commanded the Torah to us. Seing that Moses is speaking, why did he not write: "I commanded the Torah to them? Perhaps we have to view this verse as a continuation of the previous verse as follows: "He will uplift the people of Israel due to their cleaving to His words of Torah which Moses had commanded them." Similarly, the meaning is that all the people of Israel will raise their collective voice jointly protesting that since Moses had commanded them the Torah and they had accepted it they deserved some consideration even in exile, etc.

The words צוה לנו may be understood as describing the authority which Torah exercises over the people of Israel which even includes the king who rules only by dint of the Torah and who is obligated to personally write two copies of the Torah (Deut. 17,18). This is also one facet of the verse we quoted from Proverbs 8,15 that the "kings rule through Me."

ויהי בישרון מלך, He became king in Yeshurun. This verse means that in order for a king to become legally crowned in Israel he must be approved by a popular assembly including the heads of the people. This rule is spelled out in a Tossephta Sanhedrin 83 that only the Supreme Court of 71 judges is authorised to appoint a king. Moses referred to this rule when he mentioned the "heads of the people." When he added יחד שבטי ישראל, he referred to a national assembly of the people approving of such a choice.

Another meaning of this verse is connected to Proverbs 8,6: "I speak of lofty things," a reference to Torah's rule. The words: "when the heads of the people assemble," mean that when the people request that a king be appointed such a king may be appointed in addition to the Torah. This is precisely what happened during the lifetime of the prophet Samuel. We read in Samuel I 8,5 that all the elders of the people assembled, approached Samuel and said to him: "seeing that you have aged and your sons do not follow in your footsteps, please appoint over us a king to judge us like all the other nations." Unless such a situation exists the Torah is supposed to be the only authority ruling over Israel. This is part of what Samuel replied (Samuel I 8,12) "and the Lord your G'd is your king." The king he referred to was the Torah.

Perhaps Moses alluded to this when he employed the word ויהי which always signifies something regrettable. We are told that Samuel was deeply grieved by the people's request for a king and that G'd had to tell him that this request reflected a rejection of Him as king even more than a rejection of the prophet as their leader (Samuel I 8,7). Moses prophesied concerning this situation when he used the word ויהי at the beginning of our verse.

Our verse also hints that the kingdom of Israel will endure only if the heads of the people assemble together (keep the peace amongst themselves) not if the leaders of the people are split. If the leaders are split, the tribes themselves will not be able to maintain their unity. A look at Jewish history shows that as long as the people were united under David and Solomon the king and the nation were extremely successful, whereas as soon as a split developed the fortunes of the Jewish people took a turn for the worse.

יחי ראובן ואל ימות, "May Reuven live and not die, etc." According to Sifri on our verse the words "may Reuven live" mean that Moses prayed that Reuven should have a share in the hereafter. Perhaps what is meant is that the leaders of that tribe who died during the uprising of Korach should have a share in the hereafter. [seeing that a prayer for someone who had died hundreds of years ago would seem futile and even sinful. Ed.] According to Bamidbar Rabbah 18, the 250 men who died offering incense were all heads of the courts, most of them from the tribe of Reuven. Seeing that one could have assumed that the community of rebels including Korach would not have a share in the hereafter, Moses prayed that Reuven, i.e. the tribe, should live. Granted that only 250 of their number had been guilty of joining the uprising, the fact that these 250 men represented the elite of the tribe could have brought disaster on the whole tribe and jeopardised their share in the hereafter.

It is also possible that Moses referred to Reuven, Jacob's son, personally. His continued share in the hereafter might have been endangered seeing that his most illustrious offspring had become guilty of the uprising against Moses. All of this is in accordance with the view expressed by one scholar in Sanhedrin 108 that the rebellious group of Korach did not forfeit their share in the hereafter.

ויהי מתיו מספר, "even though he may be few in numbers." Moses prayed that the surviving members of the tribe be righteous seeing that their holy roots had been undermined due to their leaders having been guilty of taking part in Korach's uprising. The prayer concerning their numbers may be understood in accordance with Sanhedrin 26 where the Talmud discusses the prayer of King Chiskiyah that G'd should not be influenced by the attitude of Shevna his heretic scribe who commanded the support of the majority amongst the people of beleaguered Jerusalem at the time. At that time G'd replied to Chiskiyah not to worry because numbers are not relevant when He deals with the wicked. Similarly, Moses mentioned that though there may have been a substantial number of the tribe of Reuven who were not righteous, G'd should not judge the tribe by this numerically significant segment. This may be the meaning of Samuel II 23,3 that צדיק מושל יראת אלוקים, "a righteous person" (even when in the minority) rules' G'd.

שמע ה׳ קול יהודה, "Hearken, O Lord, to the voice of Yehudah." Seeing that Yehudah had sinned in his relationship with Tamar and had confessed his guilt (Genesis 38,26) when he said: "she is more righteous than I," Moses prayed that G'd should accept his confession. He mentioned this only in order to be able to continue with ואל עמו תביאנו. We have explained in our commentary on Genesis 49,9 (page 424) how the union of Yehudah and Tamar enabled Yehudah to qualify for the description אריה, a fully grown lion. Yehudah's spiritual ascent had been due to his being able to tear himself away from the prey, i.e. from the pools of souls that had been taken captive by the forces of Satan as a result of Adam's sin. In our verse Moses alludes to this when he refers to Yehudah's "hands having performed a mighty deed."

ועזר מצריו תהיה, "may she be a helper against his enemies." the word תהיה, refers to the eventual descendant of Yehudah, Ruth the Moabite, without whom even such illustrious people as Zerach and Peretz could not have guaranteed that he would become the founder of the dynasty culminating in King David and eventually the Messiah. The word עזר, is an allusion to the first female, Eve, who was described by the Torah (Genesis 2,18) as Adam's helper, עזר. Similarly, Yehudah's female descendant Ruth would perform this role in asssuring that he could attain his destiny. Compare also what I have written on Genesis 43,9 (page 347).