Separate Destinies
In parshat Vayechi, the Torah details Yaakov’s “last will and testament,” his blessings to his twelve sons.
By all rights, we should be examining, in depth, the brachot of Yaakov to all the Tribes, but given the brevity of this shiur format, I will focus more closely on two specific tribes, Zevulun and Yissachar, since examination of these two alone is sufficient basis for the underlying conclusion of this shiur. If we were to examine all twelve, we would discover the same, repeating pattern.
The destiny of the Tribe of Zevulun is that they will be fully occupied with commerce – seafaring merchants. For this reason, the inheritance of Zevulun (according to the pasuk) is on the coast, with ports for ships, stretching up to Tyre (in what is today Lebanon).
However, in Sefer Yehoshua (Chapter 19), we see that in reality, this was not the case! According to descriptions in Yehoshua, the inheritance of Zevulun is located in the lower Galilee, sandwiched between the tribes Asher (north-west), Naftali (north-east), Yissachar (east) and Menashe (south). In other words, Zevulun is land-locked!
According to Onkelos (Bereishit 49:13), the pasuk in our parsha is referring to a future inheritance. Originally the inheritance of Zevulun is the land locked area described in Sefer Yehoshua, however, later Zevulun conquered/acquired additional regions on the coast. This opinion is reflected both in the Targum Yonatan (ibid.) and in the Zohar.
The Gemara (Megillah 6a) says that Zevulun “complained” that all the other tribes had fields and vineyards to farm, while his inheritance was in the mountain region. The other tribes had arable land while he had rock, rivers and the sea! HaKadosh Baruch Hu replied “Do not worry about livelihood.” In Zevulun’s inheritance HaKadosh Baruch Hu gave him the Chilazon, a crustacean from which the techelet dye is derived. In addition, Zevulun enjoyed an abundance of fresh water fish (which Rashi says is tuna) in the mountain rivers and the beach sand on the coast was used to make the highest quality glass.
On the surface of the Gemara, it seems that Zevulun was complaining that he did not have enough material wealth in his inheritance to provide a livelihood, as opposed to the other tribes, which required HaKadosh Baruch Hu to placate him by listing the natural resources in his inheritance. However, I would like to suggest that this was not Zevulun’s claim at all.
Zevulun, who were ancient seafarers, never had a moment’s peace of mind. They were either worrying about a storm, or about no wind in the sails, or whales or the many other dangers that lurk on the high seas. It is impossible in this frame of mind to study Torah. When they docked and were on land, they were constantly preoccupied with commerce related to the natural resources in their inheritance.
When Zevulun “complained” to HaKadosh Baruch Hu, they were complaining that their very existence would not allow at all for Torah study. They yearned to study Torah like the other tribes! Most of the other tribes were farmers. Farming is not 365 days of intensive work. Only certain periods in the year were intense, like sowing at the start of the winter and harvesting from spring until the end of summer. There were many months where no work was done at all, like in the winter months after sowing, until spring. What were the farmers doing during this time? Studying Torah!
HaKadosh Baruch Hu replied “This is not your destiny! Your purpose in the world is to make money, not just for you but also for Yissachar. You have the genetic gift of being successful at business. You are not like the other “farmer” tribes who sometimes work, and sometimes learn. I want you to use your gift entirely to sponsor Yissachar.” When Zevulun heard that they would get the merit of Yissachar’s Torah study, they were placated, they were happy with their inheritance, even if that meant them having to forego studying Torah themselves, that they so yearned to do. They bowed to the greater will of HaKadosh Baruch Hu and devoted their entire existence to the purpose which He gave them to fulfil in this world.
The Tribe of Yissachar’s blessing from Yaakov is that they are like a donkey who bears a heavy load, the yoke of the Torah. If you think that it requires more dedication to face the danger of the high seas, than to study Torah, you are mistaken. It takes equivalent (or even more) dedication to study Torah.
Yissachar is someone who risks their life to study Torah at the expense of any materialism. Comfort is not a factor in the equation for them at all. They measure every second of their day and do not waste a single second on anything that is not essential to Torah study. Eating just enough to give you strength to study Torah, sleeping just enough that you will be awake and alert to study Torah with the required intensity, spending just the right, balanced amount of time with your family and children that is required to educate them and maintain shalom bayit. Not wasting a second on anything that does not facilitate your study of Torah.
Just like Zevulun never had a single second to study Torah, so too were Yissachar involved entirely, without a single second wasted on anything that did not contribute to intense Torah study.
Zevulun and Yissachar are just a case study, a microcosm of the symbiotic structure of the Twelve Tribes. If we would delve into this more deeply, we will see that this symbiosis is reflected in each and every one of the tribes, each contributing their own unique, separate destiny for the benefit of the whole that is Klal Yisrael.
Parshat HaShavua Trivia Question: Who was the first human to become ill in history?
Answer to Last Shiur’s Trivia Question: After the reconciliation, Yosef wept on Binyamin’s “necks” and Binyamin wept on Yosef’s “necks” (Bereishit 45:14) How many “necks” did they each have? The “neck” here is a euphemism for the Beit HaMikdash (Rashi), which resembles a neck with two pipes, one going up/out (creating speech and prayer) and one going down/in (providing material sustenance). Yosef was weeping for the two Batei Mikdash in Binyamin’s inheritance that would be destroyed and Binyamin was weeping for Mishkan Shilo, in Yosef’s inheritance, that would be destroyed.
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