Parashat V'zot Habracha - Fifth Aliyah
Read the biblical text and try to understand it on your own, before reading the commentary.
From Dan to Jeshurun: the blessings return to one source
The aliyah continues the blessings of the tribes and moves on to Dan, Naphtali and Asher, and afterwards begins to return from the individual blessings to the praise of God and his protection of Israel.
Dan receives a short and powerful blessing. He is described as a lion cub that leaps from the Bashan. The picture is one of young strength, alertness and the ability to break through quickly. The blessing does not go into detail, but it gives Dan a character of might and movement.
Naphtali is described as satisfied with favor and full of the blessing of God. Alongside the inner plenty there also appears an inheritance, the sea and the south. His blessing creates a sense of contentment, blessing and space.
Asher receives a broader blessing. He is blessed in relation to his brothers, in favor and in an abundance of oil. Then there appears a picture of iron and copper tied to his bolts, which gives the blessing a dimension of strength and security.
In the last verse of the aliyah the gaze changes. Moses no longer speaks only of a particular tribe, but turns to Jeshurun and stresses that there is none like God, who is described as one who comes to the help of Israel with heavenly might. In this begins the transition from the distribution of blessings to the tribes toward a broader ending that deals with the relationship between God and all of Israel.
Insights from the aliyah
Each tribe has a different kind of blessing
Dan receives an image of strength and movement, Naphtali of favor and plenty, and Asher of blessing, acceptance and strength. On the level of the idea, there is not only one form of success. Every person and every group can have a different mission.
Strength can also be agility
With Dan, might is not described as standing in place, but as a leap. On the level of the idea, sometimes the advantage is not only how much strength a person has, but the ability to act at the right time and at the right speed.
Satisfaction is not only an abundance of possessions
Naphtali is described both as satisfied with favor and as filled with the blessing of God. On the level of the idea, outward plenty alone does not guarantee a sense of fullness. There is value also in the ability to be content with the good that exists.
A blessing can also include good relations with one’s surroundings
With Asher there also appears his relationship to his brothers. This teaches that a blessing is not only what a person has for himself, but also the place he holds within the community and the ties he builds.
Plenty needs a strength that protects it
With Asher there appear, on one side, oil and plenty, and on the other, iron and copper. On the level of the idea, successful building requires both fruitfulness and a stability that makes it possible to keep it.
The individual blessings return to one source
After Dan, Naphtali and Asher, Moses moves on to the praise of God. On the level of the idea, all the different strengths of the tribes do not stand as separate systems, but combine within one people whose source of blessing is one.
The move from the tribe to the people is part of the ending of the Torah
As the blessings draw to their close, the gaze keeps widening. First each tribe receives its place, and afterwards the Torah returns to the overall picture of Israel and God. So the details do not disappear, but they enter into a larger story.
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