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1 And this is the blessing, wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death.

2 And he said, The Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them.

3 Yea, he loved the people; all his saints are in thy hand: and they sat down at thy feet; every one shall receive of thy words.

4 Moses commanded us a law, even the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob.

5 And he was king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people and the tribes of Israel were gathered together.

6 Let Reuben live, and not die; and let not his men be few.

7 And this is the blessing of Judah: and he said, Hear, Lord, the voice of Judah, and bring him unto his people: let his hands be sufficient for him; and be thou an help to him from his enemies.

8 And of Levi he said, Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy holy one, whom thou didst prove at Massah, and with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah;

9 Who said unto his father and to his mother, I have not seen him; neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his own children: for they have observed thy word, and kept thy covenant.

10 They shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law: they shall put incense before thee, and whole burnt sacrifice upon thine altar.

11 Bless, Lord, his substance, and accept the work of his hands; smite through the loins of them that rise against him, and of them that hate him, that they rise not again.

12 And of Benjamin he said, The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by him; and the Lord shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his shoulders.

13 And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the Lord be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath,

14 And for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon,

15 And for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills,

16 And for the precious things of the earth and fulness thereof, and for the good will of him that dwelt in the bush: let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren.

17 His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.

18 And of Zebulun he said, Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out; and, Issachar, in thy tents.

19 They shall call the people unto the mountain; there they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness: for they shall suck of the abundance of the seas, and of treasures hid in the sand.

20 And of Gad he said, Blessed be he that enlargeth Gad: he dwelleth as a lion, and teareth the arm with the crown of the head.

21 And he provided the first part for himself, because there, in a portion of the lawgiver, was he seated; and he came with the heads of the people, he executed the justice of the Lord, and his judgments with Israel.

22 And of Dan he said, Dan is a lion's whelp: he shall leap from Bashan.

23 And of Naphtali he said, O Naphtali, satisfied with favour, and full with the blessing of the Lord: possess thou the west and the south.

24 And of Asher he said, Let Asher be blessed with children; let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil.

25 Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be.

26 There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellency on the sky.

27 The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.

28 Israel then shall dwell in safety alone: the fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land of corn and wine; also his heavens shall drop down dew.

29 Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency! and thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee; and thou shalt tread upon their high places.

h.וזאת הברכה … לפני מותו AND THIS IS THE BLESSING [WHEREWITH MOSES … BLESSED THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL] BEFORE HIS DEATH — i.e., quite near to his death. “For” said he, “if not now, when?” (Sifrei Devarim 342:7).

h.ויאמר ה' מסיני בא AND HE SAID, THE LORD CAME FROM SINAI — First he began with praise of the Omnipresent, and only afterwards did he begin with what concerned Israel; but in the praise of God with which he began there is also mention of Israel’s merit. All this was by way of intercession, as though to say, “These are worthy that blessing should rest upon them” (Sifrei Devarim 343:1).

h.מסיני בא [THE LORD] CAME FROM SINAI — He went forth towards them when they were about to take their stand at the foot of the Mount, — as a bridegroom goes forth to welcome his bride, as it is said, (Exodus 19:17) “And Moses brought the people forth to meet God”: this teaches us that He (God) was Himself going forth facing them (cf. Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 19:17:1 and Rashi on the verse quoted).

h.וזרח משעיר למו AND HE SHONE FORTH FROM SEIR UNTO THEM (the Israelites), because He first addressed Himself to the sons of Esau (the inhabitants of Seir) that they should accept the Law, but they refused,

h.הופיע מהר פארן HE APPEARED FROM MOUNT PARAN, because He went there and addressed Himself to the sons of Ishmael (who dwelt in Paran, see Genesis 21:21) that they should accept it and they also refused (Sifrei Devarim 343:6; Avodah Zarah 2b),

h.ואתה AND HE CAME therefore to Israel,

h.מרבבת קדש — i.e. and with Him were a part of the myriads of the holy angels, and not all of them and not even the majority of them: not as is the way of a human being who displays all the splendour of his riches and magnificence on his marriage day (Sifrei Devarim 343:11).

h.אשדת (lit., “fire, Law”, or “fire of Law”) — i.e. the Law which had been written before Him from olden times in black fire upon white fire (Midrash Tanchuma, Bereshit 1). The meaning of the verse is: He gave to them (למו) upon the Tablets the writing of His right hand (cf. Talmud Yerushalmi Shekalim 9:1). Another explanation of אש דת: Understand this as the Targum has it: a law which was given them from the midst of the fire (cf. Exodus 19:18).

h.אף חבב עמים YEA, HE LOVED THE PEOPLES — Also He loved the tribes with exceeding love. — Each individual tribe may be termed עם (or גוי), “a people”, for, you see, Benjamin alone was yet to be born when the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Jacob, (Genesis 25:11, see Rashi thereon) “A nation and a congregation of nations shall be of you.“

h.כל קדשיו בידך ALL HIS SAINTS ARE IN THY HAND — the souls of the righteous are stored up with Him, just as it is said, (I Samuel 25:29) “And the soul of my lord shall be bound up in the bundle of life with the Lord thy God” (Sifrei Devarim 344:7).

h.והם תכו לרגלך AND THEY SAT AT THY FOOT — And they are deserving of this, because they betook themselves right into the middle within the underpart of the mountain unto Thy foot at Sinai.

h.— The word תכו expresses the idea of “they were acted upon” (a passive) — “they placed themselves right in the middle (תוך) between Thy feet”.

h.ישא מדברתיך EVERYONE RECEIVED THY WORDS — they bore upon themselves the yoke of the Law (Sifrei Devarim 344:3).

h.מדברתיך. The מ in it (in this word) has a close affinity to a root letter (i.e., it is an integral part of the noun and is not a prefix), as in (Numbers 7:89) “And he heard the voice uttering itself (מִדַּבֵּר) unto him”, and (Ezekiel 2:2) “And I heard Him that uttered Himself (מִדַּבֵּר) unto me”, which is the same as מִתְדַּבֵּר (see Rashi on Numbers 7:89). So, too, this word מדברתיך denotes: that which Thou didst speak unto Thyself to make it audible to me that I might tell them; tes pourparlers in old French, [English = thy utterances]. — Onkelos, however, translated it in the sense that they travelled in accordance with Thy words (only at Thy command), so that the מ in it is a servile letter (a prefix) used in the sense of מן. — Another explanation of this verse: אף חבב עמים, YEA, HE LOVED THE PEOPLES — even at the time of Thy love for the nations of the world — when You did show unto the nations a smiling (friendly) countenance and did deliver Israel into their power, even then כל קדשיו בידך ALL HIS SAINTS WERE IN THY HAND — all their righteous and pious people clung to You and did not depart from You and You did guard them (Bava Batra 8a),

h.והם תכו לרגלך and they betook themselves right into the midst of, and gathered beneath Thy shadow,

h.ישא מדברתיך they gladly accepted Thy decrees and Thy laws. And these were their words:

h.תורה THE LAW which צוה לנו משה MOSES COMMANDED US, מורשה is AN INHERITANCE to THE CONGREGATION OF JACOB: we have taken it and we will not abandon it.

h.ויהי AND HE WAS — i.e. the Holy One, blessed be He, was

h.בישרון מלך KING IN JESHURUN — constantly was the yoke of His sovereignty upon them at all times.

h.בהתאסף When there gathered the head (בהתאסף ראשי), i.e., the total number (the whole) of their assembly.

h.ראשי — The word ראשי has the same meaning as (Exodus 30:12) “When you take the count (רֹאשׁ) of the children of Israel”. Consequently they are worthy that I should bless them (and so I shall now begin the blessing: May Reuben live, etc.). — Another explanation of בהתאסף: When they assemble together in one band and there is peace between them, only then is He their King, but not when there is dissension among them (Sifrei Devarim 346:1).

h.יחי ראובן LET REUBEN LIVE, in this world,

h.ואל ימת AND LET HIM NOT DIE, in the world to come (Sifrei Devarim 347:1) : that the incident of Bilhah be not remembered unto him (Sifrei Devarim 347:3).

h.ויהי מתיו מספר lit., AND LET HIS MEN BE A NUMBER — let him be counted amongst the number of his other brothers. This is exactly similar to the idea that is expressed in the text, (Genesis 35:22) “[And Reuben went] and lay with Bilhah [his father’s wife]” … “And the sons of Jacob were twelve”, which suggests that he was not excluded from the number of Jacob’s sons.

h.וזאת ליהודה AND THIS IS FOR JUDAH — He mentioned Judah immediately after Reuben because both of them made confession of the wrong that was theirs, as it is said, (Job 15:18-15:19) “Because wise men have told their sins … unto them alone [the land was given] and no stranger passed amidst them”. Further our Rabbis explained that during the whole forty years that Israel was in the wilderness Judah's bones were moving about in his coffin because of the excommunication that he had invoked upon himself, as it is stated that he said “If I do not bring him unto thee … I shall be sinning against my father all days” (cf. Rashi thereon: “also in the world to come”). Moses said, “Who brought it about that Reuben confessed his sin?” Judah, etc. (Sotah 7b; Bava Kamma 92a).

h.שמע ה' קול יהודה HEAR, O LORD, THE VOICE OF JUDAH — Hear the prayer of Judah’s descendants, David and Solomon, and of Asa because of the Ethiopians, of Jehoshaphat because of the Ammonites and of Hezekiah because of Sannecherib (cf. Sifrei Devarim 348:8),

h.ואל עמו תביאנו AND BRING HIM TO HIS PEOPLE in peace from battle;

h.ידיו רב לו LET HIS HANDS רב FOR HIM — let them successfully strive for him (רב) and avenge his wrongs,

h.ועזר מצריו תהיה AND BE THOU A HELP TO HIM FROM HIS ADVERSARIES — He here prayed for Jehoshaphat with regard to the battle at Ramoth Gilead, as it states, (II Chronicles 18:31) “And Jehoshaphat cried and the Lord helped him”. — Another explanation of שמע ה' קול יהודה HEAR, O LORD, THE VOICE OF JUDAH — Here in Judah’s blessings he alluded to Simeon (שמע) (i.e., Simeon’s blessing was included in that of Judah). And indeed, when they divided the land of Israel amongst the tribes, Simeon took his portion from amongst Judah’s lot, as it is said, (Joshua 19:9) “Out of the allotment of the children of Judah was the inheritance of the children of Simeon” (cf. Sifrei Devarim 348:5). {And why did he not assign to him (to Simeon) a separate blessing? Because he had something in his heart against him on account of what he had done at Shittim (Numbers 25:14). thus is it written in the Agada on the Psalms}.

h.וללוי אמר means AND OF LEVI HE SAID (not to Levi).

h.תמיך ואוריך THY THUMMIM AND URIM — He is addressing God (not Levi).

h.אשר נסיתו במסה WHOM THOU DIDST TRY WITH TRIALS — [Since this is said in praise of the Levites] we may gather from it that they did not murmur together with the other tribes.

h.תריבהו וגו׳ THOU DIDST STRIVE WITH HIM [AT THE WATERS OF MERIBAH] — Understand this as the Targum has it: (“Thou didst put him to the test”). — Another explanation of תריבהו על מי מריבה: Thou didst seek an occasion against him to come with a pretext, for if Moses said, “Hear now, ye rebels”, what sin did Aaron and Miriam commit? (why were they not allowed to enter the land?) Sifrei Devarim 349:3).

h.האמר לאביו ולאמו לא ראיתיו WHO SAID TO HIS FATHER AND TO HIS MOTHER, I HAVE NOT SEEN HIM — When they sinned in the matter of the golden calf and I said, “Who is on the Lord’s side, let him come to me” (Exodus 32:26), all the sons of Levi gathered themselves unto me, and I ordered them each to kill his mother’s father, he being an ordinary Israelite, or his brother on the mother’s side, or the son of his daughter whose husband was an ordinary Israelite, and thus did they do. — It is impossible to explain the term “his father” literally, and “his brothers” as being those on his father's side, and similarly to understand “his sons” literally, for really all these are Levites, and of the tribe of Levi no one sinned., as it is said, “[And there gathered unto me) all the tribe of Levi” (Sifrei Devarim 350:1, Yoma 66b).

h.כי שמרו אמרתך BECAUSE THEY KEPT THY WORD, viz., Thou shalt have no other gods,

h.ובריתך ינצרו AND THEY GUARDED THY COVENANT viz., the covenant of circumcision (Sifrei Bamidbar 67 on בהעלתך); For the [ordinary] Israelites who were born in the desert did not circumcise their sons, whereas the Levites were [not only] circumcised themselves, [but they] also circumcised their sons.

h.יורו משפטיך THEY MAY TEACH THY JUDGMENTS (the emphasis is to be placed on “they”) — they alone are worthy of doing this (cf. Onkelos).

h.וכליל — means burnt-offering (which was entirely (כליל) burnt on the altar) (Sifrei Devarim 351:3).

h.מחץ מתנים קמיו means, smite those who rise up against him with a smiting of the loins, similar to the idea that is expressed, (Psalms 69:24) “Make their loins continually to totter”. It was about those who contested the High priesthood that he spake thus. — Another explanation: He foresaw that Hasmon and his sons would in future war with the Greeks, and he therefore prayed for them, because they were few in number, viz., the twelve sons of Hasmon and Eleazar against several myriads of the enemy. On this account he prayed ברך ה׳ חילו ופעל ידיו תרצה BLESS, O LORD, HIS ARMY AND ACCEPT FAVOURABLY THE WORK OF HIS HANDS (cf. Genesis Rabbah 99:2; Midrash Tanchuma, Vayechi 14).

h.‎ ומשנאיו מן יקומון (The first word is, like קמיו, the object of the verb מחץ) — i.e. smite those who rise up against him and those who hate him (משנאיו), that they shall have no recovery.

h.לבנימן אמר OF BENJAMIN HE SAID — Because the blessing given to Levi referred to the Temple service and that of Benjamin to the Temple being built in his territory he mentioned one after the other. He placed Joseph immediately after him (after Benjamin), for he too had a Sanctuary in his territory: the Tabernacle at Shiloh was erected in his territory, as it says, (Psalms 78:67) “And he rejected the Tabernacle of Joseph” (v. 60 speaks of God forsaking the Tabernacle of Shiloh, the two verses being parallel). Because the “Eternal House” (the Temple) was more endeared to God than the Tabernacle of Shiloh, therefore he mentions Benjamin before Joseph (although Joseph was the elder),

h.חפף עליו means, He covers him and protects him,

h.כל היום ALL THE DAY — i.e., forever. From the day that Jerusalem was chosen as the seat of the Temple, the Divine Glory has never dwelt at any other place.

h.ובין כתפיו שכן AND BETWEEN HIS SHOULDERS SHALL HE DWELL — On the highest spot of his (Benjamin’s) land was the Temple built (cf. Sifrei Devarim 352:9), except that it was twenty-three cubits lower than En Etam (Yoma 31a), and originally indeed David's intention was to build it there, as it is stated in the Treatise “on the slaughter of the holy sacrifices” (Zevachim 54b): People said him (David), Let us place it a little lower, because it states, “and between his shoulders (which are lower than the head) shall he dwell” – and you have no finer part of an ox than his shoulders.

h.מברכת ה' ארצו BLESSED OF THE LORD BE HIS LAND — It is a fact that there was in the inheritance of all the tribes no land so full of every good thing as Joseph's land (Sifrei Devarim 353:1).

h.ממגד — this means dainties and sweet food.

h.ומתהום [BLESSED OF THE LORD BE HIS LAND] BY THE DEEP — for the deep ascended and moistened it from below (תחת). — You will find that in the case of each tribe Moses' blessing corresponded in some way with Jacob's blessing (cf. for instance this verse with Joseph's blessing in Genesis 49:25).

h.וממגד תבואת שמש AND BY THE PRECIOUS FRUITS BROUGHT FORTH BY THE SUN — for this land lay exposed to the sun and it therefore produced sweet fruit (Sifrei Devarim 353:3).

h.גרש ירחים [AND BY] THE PRECIOUS THINGS PUT THINGS FORTH BY THE MOON — there are some fruits which the moon brings to maturity, these are cucumbers and melons (Sifrei Devarim 353:3). — Another explanation of גרש ירחים: this refers to fruits which the earth puts out and produces from month to month (cf. Onkelos).

h.ומראש הררי קדם AND BY THE FIRST THINGS OF THE HILLS OF קדם (taken in the sense of: the hills priority) — the meaning is: and it is blessed through the earliest ripening of the fruits, because its hills are earliest (קדם, “prior”) to bring their fruits to maturity. – Another explanation: this tells us that their creation (the creation of the hills in the territory of Joseph) was prior (קדם) to that of all other hills (Sifrei Devarim 353:4).

h.גבעות עולם [AND THROUGH THE PRECIOUS THINGS OF] THE EVERLASTING HILLS — i.e., of hills which everlastingly (עולם) produce fruit, and do not cease to do so through restraint of rain.

h.ורצון שכני סנה — the last two words are the equivalent of שוכן סנה (the י being the suffix that that sometimes appears in participles, for the most part in poetry). The-meaning is: And may his land further be blessed through the favour (רצון) and satisfaction of the Holy One, blessed be He, who first revealed himself to me in the thorn-bush (סנה‎).

h.רצון means satisfaction and appeasement, and similar is the meaning wherever רצון occurs in scripture.

h.תבואתה LET IT COME — i.e. let this blessing come לראש יוסף ON JOSEPH'S HEAD.

h.נזיר אחיו means THE ONE WHO WAS SEPARATED FROM HIS BRETHREN through his being sold.

h.בכור שורו THE FIRSTBORN OF HIS OX — There is a usage of the word בכור that denotes greatness and sovereignty, as it is said, (Psalms 89:28) “I will also make him a בכור” (i.e., a man of rank), and similarly (Exodus 4:22) “My son, my firstborn (בכורי) is Israel”. The text means: the king who will issue from him, and that is Joshua, whose strength will be mighty as that of an ox to subdue many kings,

h.הדר לו HONOUR TO HIM — i.e., honour is given unto him, as it is said, (Numbers 27:20) “And thou shalt give of thy honour (הודך, a synonym of הדר) unto him” (Joshua).

h.וקרני ראם קרניו AND HIS HORNS ARE THE HORNS OF A RE’EM — The ox — its strength is mighty but its horns are not beautiful, a Re’em, however — its horns are beautiful but its strength is not mighty: therefore it ascribes to Joshua the strength of an ox and the beauty of a Re’em’s horns (Sifrei Devarim 353:10).

h.אפסי ארץ [NATIONS] OF THE ENDS OF THE EARTH — The thirty-one kings whom Joshua conquered — is it possible that they were all of the land of Israel? But there was no king or ruler who did not acquire for himself a palace and territory in the land of Israel because it was so estimable to all of them (Sifrei Devarim 353:12), as it is said of Palestine, (Jeremiah 3:19) “An inheritance, the desire of hosts of nations” (see Rashi on this verse).

h.והם רבבות אפרים AND THEY ARE THE MYRIADS OF EPHRAIM — i.e., those who are gored are the myriads whom Joshua, who was descended from Ephraim, slew.

h.והם אלפי מנשה AND THEY ARE THE THOUSANDS OF MANASSEH — they are the thousands whom Gideon, who was descended from Manasseh, slew of Midian, as it is said, (Judges 8:10) “And Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor [and their hosts with them, about fifteen thousand men, all that were left … for there had fallen a hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword]”.

h.ולזבולן אמר AND OF ZEBULUN HE SAID — These five tribes whom he blessed last, Zebulun, Gad, Dan, Naphtali and Asher, it repeats their names in order to instil them with strength and power, because they were the weakest of all the tribes. They are the very same whom Joseph took to Pharaoh, as it is said, (Genesis 47:2, cf. Rashi thereon) “And of the least of his brothers he took five men [and placed them before Pharaoh]” — because these looked weak, so that he (Pharaoh) should not appoint them his war officers (Bava Kamma 92a).

h.שמח זבולן בצאתך ויששכר באהליך REJOICE, ZEBULUN. IN THY GOING OUT, AND, ISSACHAR, IN THY TENTS — Zebulun and Issachar entered into a partnership: Zebulun dwelt at the harbour of ships and went out in ships to trade; he made profit and used to provide food for Issachar who sat at home and occupied themselves with the Torah. Consequently he mentioned Zebulun before Issachar (although the latter was the elder) because Issachar’s knowledge of Torah was due to Zebulun (Genesis Rabbah 99:9).

h.שמח זבולן בצאתך REJOICE, ZEBULUN, IN THY GOING FORTH — Be successful when thou goest out to trade,

h.ויששכר AND ISSACHAR, be successful when you sit in your tents (באהליך) to study the Torah — to sit in the Sanhedrin and to intercalate the years and to fix the day of New Moon, as it is said, (I Chronicles 12:33) “And of the children of Issachar, men that had understanding of the times, … the heads of them were two hundred”: as the heads of the Sanhedrin they used to busy themselves with this (Genesis Rabbah 72:5), and in accordance with their fixing of the seasons and their calculation of intercalary years,

h.עמים THE PEOPLES of the tribes of Israel,

h.הר יקראו THEY CALL TO THE MOUNTAIN, i.e., they assembled at Mount Moriah on the Festivals; — it speaks of calling them there because every assembly was (took place) in general by means of a summons to it — and שם THERE יזבחו THEY SACRIFICED on the Festivals, זבחי צדק SACRIFICES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.

h.כי שפע ימים יינקו FOR OF ABUNDANCE OF THE SEAS SHALL THEY — Issachar and Zebulun — SUCK, and they will consequently have leisure to busy themselves with the study of the Torah.

h.ושפני טמוני חול means, covered things that are hidden in the sand — the Tarith (a kind of fish; Rashi in his comment on the Talmudical passage afterwards quoted states that it is the tuna fish), the Chalazon (from which purple dye was obtained) and while glass (all valuable articles of commerce) which come out of the sea and the sand. This was in the territory of Issachar and Zebulun, as it is stated in Treatise Megillah 6a: The Scriptural text (Judges 5:18) is to be explained as follows: “Zebulun was a people that cursed his soul even unto death” because that “Naphtali was on the high places of the field“, i.e., Zebulun complained about his territory, saying, To my brother (Naphtali) you have given fields and vineyards (while to me you have given hilly and mountainous land; to my brother you have given land while to me you have given seas and rivers! God replied. “All your brethren will be in need of you”, as it states, “And the treasures hidden in the sand”, which the Talmud goes on to explain are the marine creatures Rashi mentions above, deriving each of them from the words of the text, For they shall suck … of the concealed treasures of the sea).

h.ושפני has the meaning of “covering”, as it is said (1 Kings 6:9) “And he covered (ויספן) the house”; (Jeremiah 22:14) וספן בארז, which the Targum renders by: “And it was covered with panels of cedar”. — Another explanation of עמים הר יקראו THEY CALL THE PEOPLES TO THE MOUNTAIN — Through Zebulun’s trading, merchants of the world’s nations will come to his land, he living at the coast, and they will say, “Since we have taken so much trouble to reach here, let us go to Jerusalem and see what is the God of this people and what are His doings”. When they behold all Israel serving one God and eating one kind of food (only that which is permissible to them), they are astonished because as regards the other nations, the god of one is not as the god of another, and the food of one is not as the food of another, so that they will say, “There is no nation as worthy as this”, and they will therefore become proselytes to Judaism there, as it is said, “There shall they sacrifice sacrifices of righteousness” (Sifrei Devarim 354:5).

h.כי שפע ימים יינקו FOR OF THE ABUNDANCE OF THE SEAS SHALL THEY SUCK — “they” means Zebulun and Issachar; for the sea will give them wealth in abundance.

h.ברוך מרחיב גד BLESSED BE HE THAT ENLARGES GAD — this teaches us that Gad’s territory extended far eastward (Sifrei Devarim 355:2).

h.כלביא שכן HE DWELLETH AS A LIONESS — Because he was near the border it therefore compares him to lions, for all who are near the border must be strong (that they may repulse attacks from neighbours) (Sifrei Devarim 355:3).

h.וטרף זרוע אף קדקד TEARING THE ARM WITH THE CROWN OF THE HEAD — Those whom they slew could be easily recognised, because they used to cut off the head together with the arm at one blow.

h.וירא ראשית לו AND HE SAW THE FIRST PART FOR HIMSELF — i.e. he saw good to take for himself territory in the land of Sihon and Og, the subjugation of which was the beginning (ראשית) of the conquest of the Land,

h.כי שם חלקת BECAUSE THERE WAS THE PORTION — i.e., because he knew that there in his territory was the portion of the field where was the grave of the מחקק, THE LAWGIVER, viz., Moses,

h.ספון HIDDEN — i.e. that field was hidden and concealed from every creature, as it is said (Deuteronomy 34:6) “And no man knows his burial place” (Sifrei Devarim 355:6).

h.ויתא AND HE CAME — i.e. Gad came.

h.ראשי עם AT THE HEAD OF THE PEOPLE — They (the men of Gad) marched before the armed men at the conquest of the Land, because they were mighty, and thus does it state that Joshua said to them, (Joshua 1:14) “Ye shall pass armed before your brethren, etc.”.

h.צדקת ה' עשה HE DID THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF THE LORD — because they proved true to their word and kept their promise to cross the Jordan and to remain there until they (the Israelites) had conquered it and divided it amongst the tribes. — Another explanation: ויתא AND HE — the Lawgiver, Moses — CAME ראשי עם AT THE HEAD OF THE PEOPLE, צדקת ה' עשה HE DID THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF THE LORD — This, too, is spoken of Moses (cf. Sifrei Devarim 355:9).

h.דן גור אריה DAN IS A LION’S CUB — He, too, lived close to the border, and therefore it compares him to a lion (Sifrei Devarim 355:12).

h.יזנק מן הבשן HE SHALL LEAP FROM BASHAN — Understand this as the Targum has it: (“His land drinks of the rivers that flow from Bashan”) — for the Jordan issued from his territory (ירדן = ‎ירד דן, “It comes down from Dan”) — from the cave of Pameas that is identical with Leshem which is in the territory of Dan (cf. Bekhorot 55a), as it is said, (Joshua 19:47) “And they called Leshem, Dan”, but its spurting (זנוק) and gushing forth (the source of the river) was from Bashan. — Another explanation is: Just as a gush of water issues from one place and divides itself afterwards into two directions, similarly the tribe of Dan took a portion in two places: first they took in the northwest, Ekron and its adjoining parts, and this did not suffice them, so they came and fought against Leshem, which is Pameas. and is in the north-east, — because the Jordan issued from the cave of Pameas which is in the east of the land of Israel and goes from north to south and ends at the extremity of the Salt Sea which is in the east of Judah who took his territory in the southern part of the Land of Israel, as is set forth in the Book of Joshua, and that is the meaning of what is said, (Joshua 19:47) “And the border of the children of Dan went forth from them; for the children of Dan went up and fought against Leshem … [and possessed it and dwelt therein]”, i.e., their border went forth from all that direction in which they first took their inheritance (Sifrei Devarim 355:13).

h.שבע רצון [NAPHTALI IS] SATISFIED WITH DESIRE — it means that his land was full of everything that its inhabitants could desire.

h.ים ודרום ירשה POSSESS THOU THE WEST (lit., the sea) AND THE SOUTH — The sea of Kinneret fell to his portion and he received on its south a ropes length of fishing-coast for spreading out his nets and meshes (Bava Kamma 81:2; cf. Sifrei Devarim 355:17).

h.ירשה — This word it a form of the imperative, as is the verb in (Deuteronomy 1:21), “Go up and take possession (רַשׁ)”. The accent that is penultimate, on the ר, proves this. Just as in the case of the ordinary imperative forms of the verbs, סלח, ידע, לקח, שמע, when one adds a ה at the end the accent will be penultimate, viz._{סלחה, ידעה, לקחה, שמעה, here also ירשה is an imperative form. In the Massora Magna we find it included in an alphabetical register of imperative forms the accent of which is on the penultima (next to the last syllable).}

h.ברוך מבנים אשר LET ASHER BE BLESSED AMONG SONS (or, “on account of sons”) — I have found in the Sifrei Devarim 355:19 the following: You will find none of the tribes who was so blessed with children as Asher, but I do not know how this was so.

h.יהי רצוי אחיו LET HIM BE ACCEPTED OF HIS BRETHREN — and this was so for he pleased (רצה) his brother-tribes with oil of unripe olives (used for anointing the body) and fine fruits, and they paid him (רצה) with grain. — Another explanation of יהי רצוי אחיו HE WILL BE ACCEPTABLE TO HIS BRETHREN — because his daughters were beautiful (and were much sought in marriage), and this is what is stated in Chronicles (1 Chronicles 7:31) [”The sons of Asher … Malchiel] who was the father of ברזית”, which is explained to mean: that his daughters were married to High Priests and Kings who were anointed with olive oil (זית) (Genesis Rabbah 71:10; cf. Rashi on this verse).

h.וטבל בשמן רגלו AND LET HIM DIP HIS FOOT IN OIL — it means that his land flowed with oil as a fountain: once it happened that the people of Laodicia were in need of oil; they appointed an agent (to purchase a large quantity and were able to do so only at a city of Asher; see Rashi on Genesis 49:20), as it is related in Menachot 85b.

h.ברזל ונחשת מנעלך THY LOCKS SHALL BE IRON AND COPPER — He is now addressing all Israel: This prophecy was fulfilled because their mighty men used to dwell in the border cities and, as it were, locked it (the country) so that the enemy should not be able to invade it, as though it were closely shut by locks and bars of iron and copper. Another explanation of ברזל ונחשת מנעלך: your land is locked in (surrounded) by mountains from which iron and copper is hewn, and the country of Asher was the “lock” of the Land of Israel (Sifrei Devarim 355:25).

h.וכימיך דבאך AND AS THY DAYS SO SHALL BE דבאך — i.e. and as the days that are thy best, — that is, the days of thy beginning, the days of thy youth, so shall be the days of thy old age, which דואבים, i.e. which flow away and decline (דבאך therefore means: the period of thy decline). Another explanation of וכימיך דבאך: as the number of thy days — all the days when thou didst perform the will of the Omnipresent, — shall be דבאך, thy flowing, i.e., referring to the fact that all countries will make gold and silver flow into the land of Israel, because it will be blessed with fruits, and all countries will take their supply of fruit from it and will, in payment, pour into it their silver and gold; askorant in old French: thus their silver and gold will come to an end, because they will pour it into your land (Sifrei Devarim 355:26).

h.אין כאל ישרון THERE IS NONE LIKE GOD, O JESHURUN — Know, O Israel, that there is none like God among all the gods of the peoples, and that their rock is not as your Rock.

h.רכב שמים — The meaning is: A RIDER UPON THE HEAVEN is the God who is your help, ובגאותו שחקים AND IN HIS MAJESTY he rides UPON THE SKIES.

h.מענה אלהי קדם A DWELLING PLACE FOR THE ANCIENT GOD (This must be connected with the preceding): — The skies serve as a dwelling place for the ancient God, i.e. the God Who pre-existed (קדם) all gods, for He selected the skies as His residence and dwelling place, ומתחת AND BENEATH His dwelling place, all the mighty men (men of strong arm, זרוע) dwell.

h.זרעת עולם THE ARMS OF THE WORLD are men such as Sihon and Og and the kings of Canaan who were the strength and might of the world. Therefore, since they are beneath God’s dwelling place, in spite of themselves they must tremble and quake, and their power prove frail in His presence, for always the fear of the one above falls upon him below, so that He, being above, to Whom therefore belong strength and power, is thy help. h.ויגרש מפניך אויב AND HE DROVE OUT THE ENEMY FROM BEFORE YOU, ויאמר AND HE SAID to you השמד DESTROY them!

h.מענה — Every word that requires ל at its beginning, [Scripture] places (may place) a ה at its end instead (Yevamot 13b).

h.בטח בדד [THEREFORE ISRAEL DWELT] IN SAFETY, ALONE — This means, every individual dwelling “each under his vine and under his fig-treeבטח) ״; cf. 1 Kings 5:5 where the words Rashi quotes are preceded by לבטח), separated one from another (בדד, “alone”), because after the enemy was driven out, as stated in the preceding verse, they had no need to come together and to dwell in company on account of the enemy.

h.עין יעקב — The word עין has the same meaning here as in (Numbers 11:7) “And its appearance (עינו) was as the appearance (עין) of crystal” (i.e., the word עין is used as a term of comparison, “as”, ”like”). The meaning is: And Israel dwelt alone like the blessing with which Jacob blessed them (cf. Targum); not like the בדד which Jeremiah used, (Jeremiah 15:17), viz., “I sat alone (בדד) [because of thy hand, for thou hast filled me with Thy indignation]”, but like the assurance which Jacob gave them, (Genesis 48:20) “And God shall be with you, and bring you back to the land of your fathers” (cf. Sifrei Devarim 356:6).

h.יערפו means THEY WILL DRIP.

h.אף שמיו יערפו טל ALSO HIS HEAVENS SHALL DRIP DEW — Also Isaac’s blessing will be added to Jacob’s blessing: “And God shall give thee of the dew of heaven, etc.” (Genesis 27:28) (cf. Sifrei Devarim 356:7).

h.אשריך ישראל HAPPY ART THOU, O ISRAEL — After he had recited unto them all these blessings in detail, he said to them. “Why should I detail everything to you? Everything is yours.

h.אשריך … מי כמוך HAPPY ART THOU … WHO IS LIKE UNTO THEE! Thy help is in God (נושע בה׳), Who is מגן עזרך THE SHIELD OF THY HELP and חרב גאותך THE SWORD OF THY EXCELLENCY;

h.ויכחשו איביך לך AND THY ENEMIES SHALL DENY THEMSELVES AS SUCH UNTO THEE, e.g., the Gibeonites who said, (Joshua 9:9) “Thy servants have come from a far land, etc.”

h.ואתה על במותימו תדרך AND THOU SHALT TREAD UPON THEIR HIGH PLACES, just as it is said, (Joshua 10:24) “Put your feet upon the necks of these kings” (cf. Onkelos).