פרשת וזאת הברכה תשכ"ח - הברכות לזבולון וליששכר

And of Zebulun he said: Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out, And, Issachar, in thy tents.

לחוף ימים TOWARDS THE COASTS OF THE SEAS — (לחוף is the same as על חוף): by the shore of the seas will be his land. הוף means “border” as Onkelos has it; old French marche; English border. [והוא לחוף אניות] means he will constantly be at the haven of ships — the port — whither the ships bring merchandise. For Zebulun was engaged in business and provided food for the tribe of Issachar whilst these engaged in the study of the Torah. It is to this that Moses alludes, (Deuteronomy 33:18) “Rejoice Zebulun in thy going out. and Issachar in thy tents”, — Zebulun goes forth to trade and Issachar studies the Torah in the tents (Midrash Tanchuma, Vayechi 11; cf. Rashi on Genesis ישב אהלים 25:27)

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).

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).

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,

They shall call peoples unto the mountain; There shall they offer sacrifices of righteousness; For they shall suck the abundance of the seas, And the hidden treasures of the sand.

ושפני has the meaning of “covering”, as it is said (1 Kings 6:9) “And he covered (ויספן) the house”; (1 Kings 7:3) 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).

The Gemara asks: Is Kitron really Tzippori? Wasn’t Kitron in the tribal territory of Zebulun, as it is written: “Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol” (Judges 1:30)? And the tribe of Zebulun was resentful of its portion, as it is stated: “Zebulun was a people that jeopardized their lives to the death” (Judges 5:18). What is the reason for their resentfulness? Because “Naphtali was on the high places of the field” (Judges 5:18).

The Gemara asks: Is Kitron really Tzippori? Wasn’t Kitron in the tribal territory of Zebulun, as it is written: “Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol” (Judges 1:30)? And the tribe of Zebulun was resentful of its portion, as it is stated: “Zebulun was a people that jeopardized their lives to the death” (Judges 5:18). What is the reason for their resentfulness? Because “Naphtali was on the high places of the field” (Judges 5:18).

Rav Yosef teaches about this: “Treasures”; this is referring to the ḥilazon, which is found in the waters of Zebulun. “Hidden”; this is referring to the tarit, a type of sardine, which is also found in Zebulun’s coastal waters. “Sand”; this is referring to the sand from which white glass is made. Zebulun said to Him: All of these resources are indeed found in my territory, but Master of the Universe, who will inform me if others take them without permission? He said to the tribe of Zebulun: “There they shall sacrifice offerings of righteousness.” This shall be a sign for you that anyone who takes these items from you without making payment will not prosper at all in his business.

Rav Yosef teaches about this: “Treasures”; this is referring to the ḥilazon, which is found in the waters of Zebulun. “Hidden”; this is referring to the tarit, a type of sardine, which is also found in Zebulun’s coastal waters. “Sand”; this is referring to the sand from which white glass is made. Zebulun said to Him: All of these resources are indeed found in my territory, but Master of the Universe, who will inform me if others take them without permission? He said to the tribe of Zebulun: “There they shall sacrifice offerings of righteousness.” This shall be a sign for you that anyone who takes these items from you without making payment will not prosper at all in his business.

They shall call peoples unto the mountain; There shall they offer sacrifices of righteousness; For they shall suck the abundance of the seas, And the hidden treasures of the sand.

They shall call multitudes to the mountain Because they dwell by the harbor, Zevulun will become very wealthy from accumulating the bounty of the seas (the word is related to “a multitude of camels” [Isaiah 60: 6]), to the extent of

the secrets buried in sand (the word has no cognate, but it means the same as “buried” — for a similar poetic repetition, see “dusty earth” [Daniel 12: 2]) — meaning, their riches will be so great, that they will have to bury it in the sand. Consequently, great numbers of them will come to the mountain of God , to offer thanksgiving sacrifices to God.