Mixed Blessings

^{דברים לג:א} וְזֹ֣את הַבְּרָכָ֗ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר בֵּרַ֥ךְ מֹשֶׁ֛ה אִ֥ישׁ הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים אֶת־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל לִפְנֵ֖י מוֹתֽוֹ:

^{Deut 33:1} And this is the blessing that Moses, the man of God, blessed the children of Israel before his death.

So begins Parashat Ve-zo’t ha-Beracha, the final Torah portion, , whose opening verse combines death and blessings, seems eerily suited to the present state of affairs. We have lived through a summer of multiple conflicts around the globe, none closer to my heart than that between Israel and Gaza.^[1] Too many deaths and too much destruction will linger too long in the minds of both peoples. Better then to turn to blessing because that is what we all desperately need. I have set out to understand more about the noun beracha, ‘blessing’, in Torah and the content of this, Moses’ last blessing.

The Noun “Beracha” in the Torah

The noun beracha appears almost exclusively in just two books of Torah: Genesis and Deuteronomy.^[2] Thus at the beginning and again at the end, blessing provides a frame in which the story of the people Israel is told. The verse in Deuteronomy proclaims:

^{דברים כח:ו} בָּר֥וּךְ אַתָּ֖ה בְּבֹאֶ֑ךָ וּבָר֥וּךְ אַתָּ֖ה בְּצֵאתֶֽךָ:

^{Deut 28:6} Blessed are you in your comings, and blessed shall you be in your goings.

Knowing that in moments of transition and flux, we need blessings to strengthen us for what lies ahead.

Genesis: Inclusive vs. Exclusive Blessings

Beracha as a noun first appears in Genesis 12:2 precisely as Abraham embarks on his journey to an unknown land. God reassures him, “and you shall be a blessing (וֶהְיֵה בְּרָכָה).” This is an exceedingly important idea in the Torah. God relies on humans to bring blessing into the world. We only have to think of Abraham’s subsequent conversation with God (Gen 18:22-33) in defense of the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, or Aaron’s priestly blessing (Num 6:22-27), to further illustrate the point. Yet humans, and even blessings, are often sources of anguish and strife. So it is in the next story in which ‘blessing’ appears—that of Jacob and Esau.

Jacob takes the blessing meant for Esau and engenders resentment in his brother (Gen 27: 12, 35, 36, 38, 41). The tension, long-boiling between the brothers, explodes once Isaac prepares to bless only one of his sons. Thus does the story problematize an exclusive blessing given at the expense of another. Many years later, Jacob offers Esau a blessing that leads to reconciliation (Gen 33:11). Blessings are most efficacious when extended to others.

Unfortunately, Jacob does not live by his own life experience. In the passage that bears most resemblance to Deuteronomy 33, Jacob’s deathbed speech, he offers a ‘blessing’ only to Joseph:

^{בראשית לג:כה} מֵאֵ֨-ל אָבִ֜יךָ וְיַעְזְרֶ֗ךָּ וְאֵ֤ת שַׁ-דַּי֙ וִיבָ֣רְכֶ֔ךָּ בִּרְכֹ֤ת שָׁמַ֙יִם֙ מֵעָ֔ל בִּרְכֹ֥ת תְּה֖וֹם רֹבֶ֣צֶת תָּ֑חַת בִּרְכֹ֥ת שָׁדַ֖יִם וָרָֽחַם: ^לג:כו בִּרְכֹ֣ת אָבִ֗יךָ גָּֽבְרוּ֙ עַל־בִּרְכֹ֣ת הוֹרַ֔י עַֽד־תַּאֲוַ֖ת גִּבְעֹ֣ת עוֹלָ֑ם תִּֽהְיֶ֙יןָ֙ לְרֹ֣אשׁ יוֹסֵ֔ף וּלְקָדְקֹ֖ד נְזִ֥יר אֶחָֽיו:

^{Gen 33:25} The God of your father who helps you, And Shad-dai who blesses you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that couches below, blessings of the breast and womb. ^33:26 The blessings of your father surpass the blessings of my ancestors, to the utmost bounds of the eternal hills. May they rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the elect of his brothers (NJPS).^[3]

Parts of Jacob’s speech sound more like bitter curses than blessing: ‘unstable as water, you shall excel no longer (פַּחַז כַּמַּיִם אַל־תּוֹתַר)’ or ‘cursed be their anger (אָרוּר אַפָּם).’ Even at the end, Jacob nurses old grievances and favors Joseph over his brothers. ‘Blessing’ has mixed results in Genesis. Competition, resentment and exclusion threaten to overshadow possibilities for reconciliation.

Deuteronomy: The Power of Blessings

Deuteronomy’s treatment of blessings is altogether different; the book trusts in the sheer power of blessings. While the threat of curses hovers over the people of Israel, blessings can counter them (11:26, 29 and 30:1, 19). God even transforms a curse into a blessing:

^{דברים כג:ו} וַיַּהֲפֹךְ֩ יְ־הֹוָ֨ה אֱלֹהֶ֧יךָ לְּךָ֛ אֶת־הַקְּלָלָ֖ה לִבְרָכָ֑ה כִּ֥י אֲהֵֽבְךָ֖ יְ־הֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ:

^{Deut 23:6} And YHWH your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, for YHWH your God loves you.

Moses gives his last blessing—Deuteronomy 33—to all the children of Israel. It opens with God’s arrival from Sinai and other southern environs to join the people Israel. God’s southern locale is mentioned in other poems of great antiquity, including Deborah’s Song in Judges 5 and a few psalms, helping to date this poem to the same early period. Tigay points out that the tribes appear in Moses’ blessing in an order based on where each of them settled geographically.^[4] In Deuteronomy 33:4, we are reminded that God has given Torah to the people as an ‘inheritance (מוֹרָשָׁה)’ for the generations. This is a poem meant not only for the generation of Moses but also for us.

Blessing Joseph with Bounty and a Legacy

Just as Jacob singles Joseph out in Genesis, so now (Deut 33: 13-17) Moses singles out Joseph by offering him the longest blessing.^[5] Unlike Jacob, however, Moses also extends his blessing to the other tribes. But Joseph’s blessing offers the reader a deeper glimpse into an essential dimension of biblical blessings, as well as reinforces the notion that human beings are agents of God’s blessings in the world.

One word stands out in Joseph’s blessing — ‘bounty (מגד)’. It appears once in verses 13, 15, and 16, and twice in verse 14. Its repeated use suggests that ‘bounty’ is an essential aspect of Joseph’s blessing. It is a rare word, appearing only in this poem and in Song of Songs (4:13, 16; 7:14). Its use in Song of Songs suggests luscious fruits that would delight the palate, in an atmosphere of love and appreciation. The context suggests that, in Deuteronomy, Moses blesses the tribe of Joseph not just with an abundance of food, as important as that may be in an agricultural society, but with a sustenance that expresses God’s love for Joseph and his descendants.

An unusual reference in verse 16, ‘the Dweller in the Bush’, links Joseph more directly to Moses as God’s particular partners in bringing blessing into the world.^[6] Both characters protect and shepherd the people Israel and, hence, deserve God’s continuing favor. Joseph keeps his family alive and brings them safely down to Egypt. Moses leads the descendants of that family, the people Israel, out of Egypt toward the Promised Land.

The Meaning of the Blessing

Although Moses singles out Joseph with extra blessings, he promises agricultural success—a land well-watered by dew that produces ample quantities of grain and wine—to all the tribes of Israel, as well as success in trade through extracting the riches of the seas and sands. Sustenance and prosperity are gifts indeed. Moses also blesses the people Israel with survival and victory over their foes. Above all, he promises them security, in the blessing’s final verses. Note that ‘untroubled’ is the blessed consequence of feeling ‘safe’:

^{דברים לג:כח} וַיִּשְׁכֹּן֩ יִשְׂרָאֵ֨ל בֶּ֤טַח בָּדָד֙ עֵ֣ין יַעֲקֹ֔ב אֶל־אֶ֖רֶץ דָּגָ֣ן וְתִיר֑וֹשׁ אַף־שָׁמָ֖יו יַ֥עַרְפוּ טָֽל:

^{Deut 33:28} And Israel shall dwell in safety,
Untroubled is the fountain of Jacob,
In a land of grain and wine,
Under heavens dripping dew^[9]

^לג:כט אַשְׁרֶ֨יךָ יִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל מִ֣י כָמ֗וֹךָ עַ֚ם נוֹשַׁ֣ע בַּֽי־הֹוָ֔ה…

^33:29 O happy Israel, who is like you?
A people delivered by YHWH ….^[10]

Extending the Blessing

It is quite moving to discern Moses’ longing for his people to live in safety and in peace as the blessing ends. But Genesis has taught that ‘blessing’ works best, without unintended grievances, if extended to others (Jacob offers his blessing to Esau). In Deuteronomy, Moses expands ‘blessing’ to include all of Jacob’s sons, the tribes of Israel.

The next step would be to spread these blessings beyond the people Israel. How much all the peoples of the earth need such blessings is beyond dispute. Blessings and curses remain ours to choose and reject. Both are actualized through people, God’s agents in the world.

Note that in the Jewish calendar, Ve-zot Ha-berachah is chanted not on Shabbat as part of the weekly, annual cycle of Torah readings, but on Simchat Torah. We hold this ancient blessing close on that holiday by dancing with and celebrating the Torah in which it is written. Let us take its words to heart.