In our parasha Ya’akov blesses his sons before his death. Naturally, when dealing with the b’rachot (blessings) that Ya’akov gives his sons, we deal with the more central b’rachot, like those of Yehuda, Shim’on, Levi, and so on. Today we will examine the shortest b’racha that Ya’akov bestows on his sons – the b’racha given to Gad.

The b’racha:

“Gad, g’dud y’gu’denu; v’hu yagud a’kev” – “Gad, a troop shall raid him, but he will raid (at their) heel.”

(Bereshit 49:19)

Before we deal with the content of Gad’s b’racha, we will first examine it’s location among the other b’rachot.

After the sons of Leah - R’uven, Shim’on, Levi, Yehuda, Yissachar, and Zevulun - received their b’rachot, Ya’akov continues and blesses Dan.

He says:

“Dan shall judge his people, like any one of the tribes of Yisra’el. Let Dan be a snake on the road, a viper on the path, that bites the horse’s heel, and its rider will fall backwards.”

(Bereshit 49:16,17)

Ya’akov then addends a comment to this b’racha, a comment which seems surprising both due to its content and also its location:

“I hope for Your salvation, O God.”

(Bereshit 49:18)

Then Ya’akov continues on to Gad:

“Gad, a troop shall raid him, but he will raid (at their) heel.”

(Bereshit 49:19)

The first question that begs asking is regarding the order of these b’rachot. Why did Ya’akov bless Dan and Gad immediately after blessing Leah’s children? In other words, what rationale dictated the order in which Ya’akov chose to bless his children.

Already at first glance we see that Ya’akov did not bless his children in the order of their ages or births – for Yissachar and Zevulun were born after the children of the concubines, yet they appear before them.

The claim that Ya’akov divided his children into four groups, grouping them according to their maternal descent, and thus starting with the offspring of Leah, then blessing the children of the concubines, and finally the children of Rachel is also incorrect. If this was the ordering that Ya’akov chose, grouping the children according to their mothers, then after blessing Leah’s children he should have blessed Naftali (who is Bilhah’s child), and only then would he have blessed Gad and Asher, who are Zilpa’s children.

We must try and answer this question.

Another question – is simply to explain the verse:

“Dan shall judge his people, like any one of the tribes of Yisra’el.”

What is Ya’akov trying to say? That Dan has the right to judge Yisra’el? What does he mean?

We may answer this by saying that Ya’akov’s intention is that Dan will judge his nation “like any one of the tribes of Yisra’el” – referring to that certain, unique tribe of Yisra’el, ie. Yehuda. This then explains why when Moshe Rabbenu blessed the tribe of Dan he said:

“Dan is a young lion, springing from the Bashan”

(Devarim 33:22)

The “young lion” in Moshe’s b’racha reminds us of the verse:

“Young lion, Yehuda” (Bereshit 49:9)

in Ya’akov’s blessing to Yehuda. Thus, Yehuda is the head of the camps and the head of the nation, while Dan is the “gatherer” of the camps, who completes the unit.

Let us return to the question that we opened with – why did Ya’akov bless Gad after Dan? The “Tzror ha’Mor” answers:

“And in the Midrash I found another reason, for they said ‘Why did Ya’akov bless Gad after Dan? After Ya’akov saw the greatness of Shimshon (Samson) he began to say: ‘I hope for Your salvation, O God,’ yet this one will not bring the redemption. And which redemption is it that I long for? For the Divine salvation that one of the descendants of Gad will announce, as the verse states “and he will raid [“ya’ged”] (at their) heel.” The word “ya’ged” (literally “he will tell”) is written in the Torah, that Eliyahu who is of the tribe of Gad will tell (of the salvation) in the future. And he will draw the hearts of Yisra’el to their Father in heaven, as the verse states: ‘And he will turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers.”

(Mal’achi 3:24)

The Midrash tells us that as Ya’akov was blessing Dan he saw and perceived Shimshon. He sees how such a great hope falls to pieces and disintegrates.

As an aside, let us note that the author of “Akeidat Yitzchak” explains the verse:

“Let Dan be a snake on the road, a viper on the path, that bites the horse’s heel, and its rider will fall backwards,”

as a description of the difficult incidents surrounding Shimshon. Analogous to the snake that bites and kills the horse, despite the fact that the horse will fall back on him, killing him, so Shimshon says:

“My soul will die together with the Philistines.”

(Shoftim 16:30)

The mighty Shimshon indeed kills many of the Philistines, but he too pays with his life.

Let us return to the Midrash. Ya’akov sees the tragic end of Shimshon and how the dream of redemption is extinguished. That is when Ya’akov says: “I hope for Your salvation, O God.” Ya’akov says that it is not Shimshon who brings the redemption, and now when the darkness penetrates our hearts, now when the great hope has been shattered, what remains is to cleave to faith in God. For God desires his own redemption; for the salvation of Yisra’el is the salvation of God, and therefore the verse states: “For Your salvation.” Yours! God, I hoped for Your salvation.

This is the faith that gives us the strength to move forward, the faith that we do not simply face a ‘private’ national redemption, but rather the redemption and salvation of God.

From this point Ya’akov continues to the b’racha of Gad:

“Gad, a troop shall raid him, but he will raid (at their) heel.”

In other words, the person who will declare the redemption, God’s salvation, will be a descendant of Gad. Who is he? Eliyahu ha’Navi (Elijah the Prophet), Eliyahu ha’Gil’adi, Eliyahu of Gil’ad, which is in the portion of Gad.

We recall that at Gad’s birth Leah said:

“And Leah said: ‘Gad (luck) has come,’ and she called his name Gad.”

(Bereshit 30:11)

The Midrash comments on this verse as follows:

“And Leah said ‘Ba Gad’ – the Gad of my home has arrived, the Gad of the world has arrived; he who will destroy the foundations (îùúéúï) of the idolaters has come, and who is this? Eliyahu.”

(Bereshit Rabba 71:9)

The meaning of “Gad has come” is “luck has come.” The Midrash says:

“He who will destroy the foundations of the idolaters has come,”

meaning that he who will uproot and destroy the foundations and basis of idolatry in the world has come. “And who is this?” The Midrash answers – Eliyahu!

Therefore the intention of the verse “but he will raid [“ya’gud”] (at their) heel,” is that Eliyahu will announce (explaining “ya’gud” in the same manner as “haggada” – “telling” for “ya’gud” lacks a letter, allowing it to be read as “ya’ged” – “he will tell,”) about the “heel” – “akev,” which is in fact the ‘ik’v’ta d’m’shicha’ – the “footsteps (prelude) of the Mashiach (Messiah).” We thus can explain that this very term hints at “g’dida,” ie. “uprooting” the idolatry which is the meaning of “and he will raid at the heel” - Eliyahu will uproot the destructive forces of idolatry in the world immediately prior to the coming of Mashiach.

Ya’akov, then, sees a crisis before him, and gains strength through the hope that God’s salvation will also bring about the salvation of Yisra’el. In order to understand the immensity of the crisis that Ya’akov perceives in his prophetic vision, let us examine a Midrash in Bereshit Rabba:

“Since Ya’akov saw him (Shimshon), and he thought that he was the Messiah. Then, when he saw that he died, he said: ‘Even he dies? I hope for Your salvation, O God.’ Rabi Yitzchak said: Everything is (attained) through hope. The sanctity of God (is attained) through hope, the merit of the forefathers (is attained) through hope, the desire of the World to Come (is attained) through hope.

(Bereshit Rabba 98)

Through this Midrash we see the intensity of the difficult reality that was revealed to Ya’akov. Ya’akov painfully acknowledges “Even he dies” – even this hope is

shattered? If this is true, there is nothing left for us other than God’s salvation.

These event remind us of Ya’akov’s request to “dwell in peace” (in the words of our Sages) which we have discussed a number of times, but then the catastrophe of Yosef occurs.

Ya’akov’s request to “dwell in peace” means that after Ya’akov returns from Charan after a stay of twenty years, having being pursued by Lavan along the way, who survives the meeting with Esav, who fights difficult battles in Sh’chem, appeals for the end of the long exile. The time has come to call in the name of God, after all the years of toil and hardships.

Yet here everything is impeded, a new journey begins, the journey towards brotherhood. Yosef is sent to enquire as to his brothers’ wellbeing as they tend the sheep, Yosef moves towards brotherhood, but this is only realized after many years.

After reaching Bet El, Ya’akov believes that his long trek is over. And why should he assume otherwise? Have not God’s words to Avraham at the Covenant between the parts been fulfilled?

“And they will serve them, and they will afflict them,” (Bereshit 15:13) – he certainly served Lavan, who altered his salary tens of times.

“For four hundred years,” (ibid.) – we know that this number is not exact, (for even the actual exile in Egypt lasted only two-hundred and ten years, not four-hundred,) and at the Covenant between the Parts Avraham was told:

“And the fourth generation will return here,” (ibid 15:16.) Nothing is truer than this – for Ya’akov’s children are the fourth generation after Avraham.

All this convinces Ya’akov that it is true! The exile has ended. Then, however, Yosef disappears, and the long search for him begins. This is, in fact, the search for unity.

That is the request that Ya’akov makes, “to dwell in peace” and tranquility – to be able to see that the redemption has arrived, no more crises, no more exile. Yet the Supreme director, God, has another exile planned, the fiery furnace of Egypt, that only after this experience will Bnei Yisra’el be transformed into a nation.

Yet it is at this point that Ya’akov perceives the great hope that awakens as the spirit of God begins to beat within Shimshon. Ya’akov sees the great hope and opportunity that Shimshon offers, yet he also sees his death – and from here comes his cry of “I hope for Your salvation, O God.”

We must understand what this “salvation” of God is. What does this mean, and what is its nature?

In order to fully understand this, let us recall the words of Ya’akov immediately prior to his exit into exile.

“If God will be with me, if He will protect me on the journey that I am taking, if He gives me bread to eat and clothing to wear, and if I return in peace to my father’s house, then God will be my Lord.”

(Bereshit 28:20,21)

Ya’akov encapsulates all his aspirations in one statement – “Then God will be my Lord.” Ya’akov says that God (“Yud, hey, vav, hey”) will be his Lord (“Elohim”) – meaning to say that his God will be the attribute expressed in the Divine name Havaya (It is forbidden to pronounce the four letter Divine name, thus it is referred to by a slight rearrangement of the letters: hey, vav, yud, hey.)

What do these two separate names mean? What are the names Havaya and Elohim?

The Ramban explains that the name “Elohim” describes God as He appears in nature, yet the name “Havaya” is the name that reflects vision and hope. This is the name that reveals how God was, is, and will be.

Ya’akov commits himself to reveal God’s name in all its power, in all of its might. He isn’t prepared to merely accept the name “Elohim” which hints at God’s concealed presence in the world. He prefers that which directs the world to its source, to infinity, to the “was, is, and will be.”

This is also our great call of:

“Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one.”

(Devarim 6:4)

“Hear O Israel” – Yisra’el our ancestor, Yisra’el our father; “the Lord is our God” – the Lord who presently is only our God; “the Lord is one” – we will cause Him to be one, the one in whose name all of the universe will call.

And as long as God’s name does not fully appear in the world, God’s name is incomplete, and God’s throne is incomplete. That is the meaning of the verse:

“The hand is on God’s throne, God will be at war with Amalek for all generations.”

(Shemot 17:16)

As our Sages explained, “Kes” (“throne,” spelled lacking a letter) – God’s throne is not complete, “Ya” (“God,” spelled with only two of the four letters) – God’s name is not complete.

God’s salvation is the complete appearance of God’s name, that is to say that all those lofty characteristics, all of the Divine infinity, is revealed in the world. This is our hope and prayer, and in the words of Rav Alsheich:

“And he mentioned God’s name, and he said ‘I hope for Your salvation’ the intention being the salvation of God. And this is the meaning of ‘The hand is on God’s throne’ – God’s name is not complete in its four letters until Amalek is avenged. This is what he says ‘I hope for your salvation’ since Your salvation for which I hope is indeed my salvation, Your four-letter name being complete and in united is the salvation that will certainly not cease until You complete it.”

Ya’akov, who sees Shimshon die, knows that God has still not been saved, so to speak, His great name is still lacking. This is the source of his hope that since we await God’s salvation, the full appearance of God’s name in the world, then Yisra’el will definitely survive – for this is their cosmic mission .

Let us recap what we have said thus far. Shimshon, who comes from the tribe of Dan, portrays the great potential to be the redeemer, he is a Nazirite dedicated to God while still in his mother’s womb, and possesses superhuman strength. Shimshon illustrates how our relationship and affiliation to the Land of Israel is the ultimate justice. Shimshon travels from Chevron, the basis of our connection and rights to the Land of Israel to Azza, to the Philistines, fearlessly. He doesn’t necessarily obey his parents, but he sacrifices himself for his nation, he is prepared to die in order to avenge his nation’s enemy, the Philistines.

Shimshon represents the might of Yisra’el, the developing of our land, and our heroism and might. In a certain sense Shimshon represents the basis upon which the Zionist movement was founded.

Yet then the great crisis takes place – Shimshon dies; to use modern terminology “Zionism dies.” In truth however, this is not so, rather the correct interpretation is that the first stage, that earlier, primary stage of the nation-building has been concluded, and now we must move to the second stage, the building of the spirit.

Now it is Eliyahu’s turn to rejuvenate the spirit and soul of the nation, not solely its body, in order to ‘turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers.”

The knowledge that the rebuilding of the nation has two distinct stages, that of the body and that of the spirit, is superbly elucidated in a letter that Rav A.I. Kook wrote approximately ninety-one years ago, in the year 5673, to the members of the Mizrachi movement. We must note that Rav Kook apologizes that he is unable to leave for Eretz Yisra’el for uprisings were occurring then.

The words of Rav Kook appear against the background of a previous decision of the Zionist Congress that:

“Zionism has no issue with the religion;”

and it is against the background of the crisis in the body and in the spirit that Rav Kook writes his letter.

“The nation in general, with all its spiritual might and greatness, with all the genius of its soul, will under no circumstances be able to be contained solely in the narrow confines of Dr. Herzl’s, of blessed memory, dream – with all its beauty and power. Zionism – practical, intellectual, political, and diplomatic Zionism, (individually) and all these spheres together, as they have materialized from potential to reality until today – possesses great and lofty ideals, which we are called upon, from the depths of our Jewish existence, to support with all our physical and spiritual powers; yet all of these are no more than the Zionist body.”

Rav Kook writes that practical Zionism, which concerns itself with the construction and development of the national assets, made great achievements for the Jewish nation. (Just considering the holocaust that could have been averted had the State of Israel been founded ten years previously, which then could have been a place of safe refuge from the killing fields of Europe, is enough to make us acknowledge our good fortune in meriting to live in Israel, thereby being saved from many of the international storms.) However, Rav Kook writes, this is not sufficient! All this is merely the “Zionist body.”

“Yet we are called upon to immediately infuse this well formed body with its soul, in order that it will truly be worthy of its name, in a manner that it will immediately, and for generations to come, acquire that great drawing-power, that will be capable of drawing the entire nation towards it, the major and the minor amongst them, from all parties, avenues, factions, and various groupings, and that will be able to convey to the world that very ideal – that the source of Zionism stems from the source of the supreme holiness, the Tanach (Bible), in all the depth of its traditional glory.

Not the echo of a voice, that a nation hated by the world desires to seek safe refuge from its persecutors – this in itself being sufficient to restore this eternal movement to life; but a holy nation, the choicest of nations, the young lion of Yehuda, waking from its long slumber - and behold he returns to his inheritance, to ‘the pride of Ya’akov whom He loves, Sela.’(Tehillim 47:5).”

The time has thus arrived, to reveal the soul in the national body. The hour has come, says Rav Kook, to announce aloud and clearly that Zionism is not just a national movement of “a nation hated by the world” who “desires to seek safe refuge from its persecutors,” but much more.

Zionism is the voice of the holy nation, “the young lion of Yehuda, waking from its long slumber” – this is a matter of greatness, for Zionism draws its strength from the Tanach, from the infinite.

Not only the desire for physical salvation stands at the base of Zionism, that despite its importance is immeasurably inferior to the resurrection of the nation founded on the belief of the infinity of Yisra’el, the belief in God.

One who sees Zionism and the resurrection of the nation as nothing more than a “house” that protects one from the storms outside – can flee from the house as soon as the first cracks begin to appear. This is not so when one cleaves to the infinite, seeing the entire process of the national resurrection as a Divine process, wherein “the young lion of Yehuda, wakes from its long slumber.”

Now Rav Kook demands that the Mizrachi Movement not act simply as another political faction, but rather to bring about the revelation of the Zionist movement’s essence – to breathe the spirit of the infinite into the Zionist body.

“And this soul cannot be infused into the movement as long as it is marked with this mark of Kayin (Cain), that ‘Zionism has no issue with the religion.’ And now Mizrachi must proudly recognize the greatness of its mission. When the Mizrachi sets about its holy task of resurrecting the nation, materializing that Divine connection that exists in the heart of every man of complete faith, it cannot be done as a servant of a party that is pragmatic, political in nature, or culturist etc. But rather (Mizrachi) must give the entire Zionist movement, of all its various shades and areas of activities, a more powerful thrust of life, in order to transform the ideal of Zionism from the marginality of a lonely faction, whose actions are obscure in relation to the nation as a whole, to the greatness of the living movement of the entire people, a people who walks in pride towards its grand future in the light of God, its Lord’s countenance.”

There is another of Rav Kook’s letters in which he describes a young, gentle girl by the name of Shoshana, who suddenly fell ill, falling into a comatose state. The doctors almost gave up hope for her recovery, and then suddenly one day, she began moving her lips, asking for her doll.

The nation of Israel while in exile is compared to this young girl. And behold a miracle occurs and the gentle girl, Shoshana, begins to waken from her slumber – the nation of Israel begins to come out of the comatose state of the exile and the Diaspora.

Just like Shoshana asking for her doll, Am Yisra’el too begins with small requests. Needless to say how even this should fill our hearts, as Shoshana’ parents, with great joy.

When looking from a superficial point of view one may not understand why this girl’s parents are so excited by the fact that she requests a doll. He who knows how long the girl was in a comatose state understands that even the smallest request that reveals a sign of life is a reason to for thanksgiving. Even the request to return to Eretz Yisra’el as a safe haven – even though this is a minor request for the children of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Ya’akov – whose destiny it is to bring about the appearance of the infinite in the world. Even a movement like this is worthy of praise – for it is the first sign of the awakening from the comatose state of the exile.

Without a shadow of a doubt this girl who awakens from her coma must not be satisfied with a doll. We must not be satisfied solely with the physical construction, we must not be satisfied with the hope that a persecuted people will find tranquility in Eretz Yisra’el. We must know that we are here in Eretz Yisra’el because: “the young lion of Yehuda, is waking from its long slumber.”

Herzl’s book “Altneueland” was translated to the title “Tel Aviv,” but the time has come to long for “Yerushalayim” with all its significance - not simply the resurrection of the national physiological body, but for far more, the resurrection of the national spirit.

The Hertzlian dream led to the first stage of the national rebuilding, yet this is still only the first stage. This is in fact the first stage that is described in Yechezkel’s vision of the dry bones (Yechezkel 36) of the fusing of the bones one to another, and the formation of the flesh – yet the spirit is still lacking.

Now it is the opportunity for the second stage of the Zionist movement – the phase of the spirit.

We must understand that our mission is not fulfilled simply by this – that there should be a “Jewish existence” in Eretz Yisra’el. Our responsibility is not merely to “place a Kippa” on the head of the State.

Our mission is to resuscitate the spirit of the State, the spirit of the infinite, the spirit of “the young lion of Yehuda, waking from its long slumber.”

Our mission is to instigate the appearance of sanctity within the heroism and might, and in the physical national construction.

Ya’akov thought that Shimshon was the Mashiach, but Shimshon dies. The first stage of the nation-building “dies” – in other words, ends. The juncture of maturation has been reached, and now it is the time for the cry of “I hope for Your salvation, O God,” the anticipation of God’s salvation. Now it the moment for the descendant of Gad to appear – Eliyahu ha’Gil’adi – who will “turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers.”

This, then, is the mission of the Mizrachi movement in the perception of Rav Kook. As he writes in the letter:

“The ‘Mizrachi’ must be in Zionism what Yisra’el is among the nations: a force of constant fermentation, a force that will never cease its work or its ability to rejuvenate; it must always make its demands, and express on high its hope for the absolute and complete victory of its all-inclusive, superior, and constant outlook.”

And as Eliyahu Ha’Navi, who turns the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, Rav Kook urges the Mizrachi movement to work towards inner peace:

“It is worthy that Mizrachi, when taking upon this lofty mission, will first work on the general task – which thus far has been neglected – of attaining peace, an all-inclusive peace in the nation and all its various factions. Peace is not simply a moral leaning, the work of (attaining) peace is a constant cultural task, (which is) lofty and grand, a task that must continually harness the more fertile forces within the nation. We must consider: what will be the result of all these divisions that are proliferating, the parties, the federations, the factions, the unions, and the groupings, the various streams and the private altars, if we do not find one elevated being that will fly the collective flag of the nation, that will busy itself, without respite, in the more essential concealed aspects of the nation’s unity: leveling all disputes and synchronizing anticipations.”

Then Rav Kook summarizes all that he has said:

“Just as we acknowledge and believe that Yisra’el’s salvation will come through the beginning of the revealed end, that we will orchestrate with our Divinely given powers to do good: to acquire the land (of Israel), to redeem it, to work it, and construct it, to conquer it – practically and culturally, so we must increasingly recognize that the spirit of God that was upon Eliyahu, to ‘turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers,’ to bring peace to the world, and to level disputes; the function of the entire nation must be revealed in our own souls’ functioning, through the nation’s more positive powers – Talmidei Chachamim (Torah Sages) who increase peace in the world.”

This, then, is our mission – to be a fermenting force that makes its demands, and employs its influence on the national resurrection process, on the Zionist movement.

Our mission is to be a unifying force, a force of inner peace, upon which our true might will be based. More specifically, this is the task of the Talmidei Chachamim among us, whose character traits are of those who increase peace in the world.

We must declare this loud and clear, demanding deep, inner motivation of ourselves. We must act with dedication for the sake of our nation, and in order to reveal His great name in the world.

Translated by Sholem Hurwitz.

Copyright Keren Yishai/Rav M. Elon