Parashat V'zot Habracha - Third Aliyah
Read the biblical text and try to understand it on your own, before reading the commentary.
The blessing of Joseph: plenty from all of creation and the strength to keep it
The whole aliyah is devoted to the blessing of Joseph, and it paints a picture of great plenty that comes from every part of creation. Moses blesses the land of Joseph with dew from the heavens and with water that comes from the deep, with crops that grow by the power of the sun and with plenty tied to the cycles of the moon. The blessing continues on to the ancient mountains, the hills, the earth and all that is in it.
All these sources of good converge on Joseph. The blessing describes him as one of special standing among his brothers, and asks that the plenty and the blessing come upon his head. There is a connection here between the fertility of the soil and the standing of Joseph within the family of Israel.
At the end of the aliyah the emphasis moves from plenty to strength. Joseph is described through the image of an ox of majesty and of the horns of a wild ox, which symbolize a might capable of standing up to nations. This strength is divided between the two tribes that come from Joseph: Ephraim is described in myriads and Manasseh in thousands.
Insights from the aliyah
The blessing of Joseph comes from every direction
The heavens, the deep, the sun, the moon, the mountains and the earth all appear within the blessing. On the level of the idea, complete plenty does not flow from one source alone, but from a whole system of conditions working together.
Plenty begins with what is above a person and also beneath him
The dew comes down from above and the deep lies beneath. So a picture is formed in which Joseph is surrounded by blessing on every side. Sometimes growth depends both on what we see and on the deep foundations that are hidden from the eye.
Time is part of the blessing
The sun and the moons bring into the blessing a dimension of cycles. On the level of the idea, true plenty is not only a great quantity at one moment, but the ability of the good to keep arriving in its season and in its time.
Joseph receives both plenty and strength
Most of the blessing deals with the yield of the land, but at its end appears might against nations. This teaches that success is not only the ability to produce and to grow, but also the ability to protect what has been built.
Might does not stand alone
The strength of Joseph comes after a long description of soil, harvest and blessing. On the level of the idea, strength takes on a different meaning when it protects fruitful life, and not when it becomes a goal in itself.
Ephraim and Manasseh carry on the blessing of Joseph together
The blessing of Joseph splits into two tribes, but both remain part of the same source. This teaches how one blessing can appear in different forms in different generations.
The plenty of Joseph joins nature, leadership and continuity
The aliyah begins with soil and water, moves on to Joseph himself and ends with Ephraim and Manasseh. So the blessing moves from the surroundings to the person, and from the person to the generations that follow him.
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