Chasidut zu Bereschit 49:9

Genesis 49,9., “Yehudah is like a lion’s whelp; you ‎have grown from merely capturing prey, my son.” ‎‎Rashi’s commentary on this verse draws attention to the ‎fact that in the first half Yehudah is described as ‎גור אריה‎, “an ‎immature lion”, (as in Samuel II,5,2 describing David, while King ‎Sha-ul was still alive, whereas later on when he was on the throne ‎he is described as ‎אריה‎, a fully mature lion).‎
We have explained repeatedly, that the principal purpose ‎of the Jewish people having been sent into exile is to “save” some ‎of the “sparks” that had descended from the “Shechinah” so ‎that they could return to their celestial habitat. [Compare ‎reference to this concept on pages 21-22. Ed.] As soon as ‎this purpose of the exile will have been accomplished, and, as a ‎result, evil will have been expunged from our regions, seeing that ‎had it not been for Adam’s sin, it would never have been possible ‎to feel “at home” on earth, the final redemption will follow in its ‎wake.

An alternate explanation of the line commencing with: ‎גור ‏אריה יהודה מטרף בני עלית‎. We base this on a statement of our sages ‎in Midot 4,7 where the Mishnah says: “just as a lion is ‎broad in front and narrow in its rear, so the main structure of the ‎Holy Temple, the one known as ‎היכל‎, Sanctuary, was broad at its ‎entrance, whereas the two Sanctuaries, including the ‎קדשי קדשים‎ ‎at the rear of the structure, was narrow.” The symbolism derived ‎from this appearance of the Temple is that when G’d appears to ‎shower the gentile nations with all kinds of material blessings, the ‎reason is that He wishes to reward them for whatever good they ‎have done while on earth before they die, so that He does not ‎have to recompense them in the Hereafter. The very opposite is ‎the case in G’d’s relations with the Jewish people. G’d wishes to ‎store up as much of the reward due to his faithful Jews for the ‎Hereafter as is compatible with their lives on earth remaining ‎tolerable. When Yaakov says to Yehudah that he had arisen, i.e. ‎done repentance from his misguided treatment of his brother ‎Joseph whom he had treated as if he were the loot captured in a ‎hunt, this assured him of ample reward in the hereafter. We have ‎confirmation of that concept when the Talmud in B’rachot ‎‎34 states that the ethical platform occupied by repentant sinners ‎is far higher than the platform occupied by people who have ‎never sinned, and who therefore never had to repent.‎