Kommentar zu Bereschit 49:15

וירא מנחה כי טוב AND HE SAW THAT REPOSE WAS GOOD — He chose (ראה) as his portion a land that was blessed and well-fitted to produce fruits (cf. Onkelos; so that he need not engage overmuch in business.

וירא יששכר, he realised that to stay home and toil the soil leisurely was preferable, i.e.

וירא מנוחה כי טוב, by pursuing his twin objectives he found true מנוחה, i.e. a kind of being at peace with oneself knowing one has done what is expected of one. The prophet Jeremiah 6,16 describes such a state of mind as ומצאו מרגוע לנפשותיכם, “find tranquility for yourselves.” [He advised people of his time to travel ancient paths, i.e. the path of Torah as it used to be practiced. Ed.]

ויט שכמו לסבול, “so he inclined its shoulder to bear the burden.” The burden referred to is the task of teaching the Israelites the Torah. At the same time for the Israelites on their part, the tribe of Yissachar became a tax burden, מס עובד, as they had to look after these Torah teachers financially while coming to Yissachar’s territory to study Torah. Some commentators understand the words ויהי למס עובד as meaning that these Torah teachers were relieved of the duty of actively doing army duty during wars, paying a tax instead, so as not to appear as freeloaders. Alternatively, it describes a tendency by these members of Yissachar of paying off potential invaders rather than to engage in physical confrontation with them.

וירא מנוחה כי טוב, “He saw that tranquility was good;” Issachar realised that warfare and military activity was far inferior to Torah study, a quiet way of life. Torah study can flourish only when the body is physically as inactive as possible as the mental strain of studying drains the body of its strength. Torah study engages the opposite energies of the pursuit of vocations involving activity of one’s physique. The latter engage the body fully while leaving one’s mental faculties relatively uninvolved. The former makes great demands on one’s mental faculties while leaving the body relatively at rest. It is quite impossible for true Torah study to be successfully carried on by someone whose body has been worn out by physical labour or even by mental anguish and the like. This is one of the reasons that our sages included the request השיבה שופטנו כבראשונה ויועצינו כבתחילה, “restore to us our judges as in former times and our advisors as originally,” in our daily prayers. They added the words והסר ממנו יגון ואנחה, “and remove from us sorrow and anxiety,” as these factors are so inhibiting to anyone who wants to dedicate himself to Torah study. The purpose of this prayer is not that G’d should give us advisors to show us how to escape the burden of taxation, etc. This was not what the prophet Isaiah 1,26 had in mind when he promised that: “I will restore to you your judges as of old and your erstwhile advisors.” The prophet first and foremost had in mind the kind of advisors who had been able to calculate the occurrence of the new moon and other astronomical dates with precision. The judges who were able to do this were the ones who sat in the offices adjoining the Holy Temple. Once these types of judges will be restored to us the entire people would be able to upgrade the level of their Torah study. At that time the prophet’s promise that “the whole earth would possess a knowledge of G’d as the waters which cover the seas” (Isaiah 11,9) would be fulfilled. This is why the sages followed the request to restore these judges to us with the request to remove sorrow and sighing. They hinted that it would be impossible to pursue intensive Torah studies until the requisite conditions had been met with the help of G’d. These conditions include absence of sorrow and physical rest for the body. This benediction was suitably arranged by our sages as the next step following our return to the Holy Land i.e. תקע בשופר גדול לחרותנו, “sound the great horn heralding our freedom!”

In Issachar ist jene Richtung gezeichnet, die gerne arbeitet, aber nur in solcher Weise und in jenem Sinne, wie sie im echten jüdischen Volke Wert hat. Während in Juda der Herrscher- und in Sebulun der Handelsstamm dasteht, erscheint in Issachar der eigentliche Kern des jüdischen Volkes, der jüdische Landmann. Er arbeitet nicht, um unablässig zu arbeiten und zu gewinnen; der jüdische Mann aus dem Volke geht nicht auf in die Last der Arbeit, er arbeitet, um sich מנוחה, um sich Muße zu gewinnen. Er lässt mit seinen Produkten Sebulun Millionen verdienen, bleibt lieber selbst zu Hause und sieht, dass die so gewonnene, die selbständig erarbeitete Muße das höchste Gut ist, das der Mensch mit seiner Arbeit erarbeiten soll; denn in der Muße richtet der Mensch sich auf, hat der Mensch sich selber gewonnen. Darum neigt er seine Schulter zu tragen, lässt Juda den Herrscherstab, Sebulun die Kaufmannsflagge, ihn reizt nicht Kriegerruhm, nicht Handelsgewinn, er kennt andere Eroberungen und anbere Schätze, die nur in Muße errungen und gepflegt werden können. Gerade dieser Stamm wurde dadurch Pfleger der geistigen Schätze der Nation. Als nach Sauls Falle alle Stämme sich um David sammelten, da kamen von allen Tausende und Hunderttausende. Issachar schickte nur Zweihundert, ראשים, die Häupter, — die andern blieben zu Hause und arbeiteten — aber diese waren יודעי בינה לעתים sie brachten בינה mit, eigentlich: Zwischensicht, Erkenntnis der Beziehungen der Dinge und Menschen zu einander und der Resultate ihrer etwaigen Aufeinanderwirkung. Diesen Blick hatte sich Issachar in der erarbeiteten Muße gewonnen, und zwar יודע בינה, konkretes Erkennen, keinen sophistischen Scharfsinn, sondern jenes praktische Verständnis der wirklichen Verhältnisse der Personen und Sachen, welches die wahre הכמת התורה gewährt, und zwar לעתים: in gerechter Würdigung eines Zeitmomentes in seiner Besonderheit. Das waren die: וכל אחיהם על פיהם ,,von deren Munde alle ihre Brüder lebten". Diese Er- kenntnis der תורה und deren Übung in steter praktischer Anwendung auf die konkreten Verhältnisse wird nicht gewonnen bei steter Arbeit im Dienste des Geschäftes, wird nur in den Stunden der Muße gewonnen, die man sich mit der Arbeit erarbeitet, wird daher nur von einem Volke gewonnen, das zu diesem Zwecke וירא מנוחה כי טוב, die Muße als den reinen wirklichen Gewinnst der Arbeit betrachtet, um, wie dies die Weisen ausdrücken, לעשות תורתם קבע ומלאכתם עראי, die Thorawissenschaft als das wesentliche Ziel, die Arbeit als das zufällige Mittel zu schätzen. Und als reinstes, sicherstes und entsprechendstes Mittel zu diesem Ziele erschien Issachar הארץ: der Landbau. Mit Begeisterung gab er sich daher den Lasten des Ackerbaues hin: ויהי למס עובד

וירא מנוחה כי טוב, “he realised that reposing is good;” [Compared to the stormy seas that his brother Zevulun had constantly to contend with? Ed.] Our author sees in this expression a parallel to Proverbs 23,31, אל תרא יין כי יתאדם, which he translates as “do not praise wine though it is red,” i.e. it has hidden features which are far less appealing. Yissachar is conscious of the advantages of residing peacefully on his land, as opposed to his brother Zevulun, who, though in search of great riches, faces many stormy seas and potential pirates before bringing home his spoils. Moses reflects the same thoughts when blessing the two tribes in his parting address to the nation, saying: “rejoice Zevulun at the beginning of your quest, but you, Yissachar באהלך, are content in your tent.”

ויט שכמו לסבול AND HE INCLINED THE SHOULDER TO RECEIVE THE BURDEN namely the burden of tracking the Torah.

ואת הארץ כי נעמה he found that the land he inhabited provided his livelihood without strenuous effort on the part of its inhabitants.

Die Bezeichnung eines Idioten durch "עם הארץ" datiert aus einer späteren Zeit, in welcher längst der ruhige, Muße gewährende Bodenbesitz für den Juden bereits verloren war, in welcher die Wissenschaft und die Geisteskultur sich in den Städten konzentrierte, der Jude auf dem "Lande" sporadisch wohnte und, fern von den Herden der Bildung, unter der Last seiner Arbeit geistig und sehr häufig auch sittlich verkümmerte. In תנ"ך ist עם הארץ stets die "Volksgemeine" in edelster Bedeutung.

ויט שכמו לסבול, “he (Yissachar) willingly bent his shoulder to become a tributepayer.” (agricultural work is deemed the same as paying a tax). The words bracketed refer to the farmer having to fork over a tenth of his hard worked for harvest to the Royal treasury. (Compare Samuel I 8,14-15, where the prophet warns the people that they will have to pay taxes to the king that they so dearly wish to be ruled by.) An alternate exegesis on the line: ויט שכמו לסבול: Yissachar puts up with any of his brethren that pass through his territory on the way elsewhere. This is an exceptional virtue. The result of his tolerance of these inconveniences turns him into a tax paying servant.

ויהי AND BECAME unto all Israel his brethren.

מנוחה כי טוב ואת הארץ כי נעמה, and how such pursuits were very rewarding, (an expression also used in Deuteronomy 12,9 אל המנוחה ואל הנחלה)

ויט שכמו לסבול, he accepted two kinds of burdens, the yoke of Torah and the yoke of public service. This reflects what our sages have said in Moed Katan 6 that young Torah scholars have to accept the burdens of their entire town upon themselves.

למס עובד A SERVANT UNTO TRIBUTE — deciding for them points of Law and the rules with regard to the fixing of leap-years, as it is said (1 Chronicles 12:32) “And of the children of Issachar, men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred” — two hundred heads of the Sanhedrin he provided — “and all their brethren were at their commandment” (Genesis Rabbah 99:10).

ויט שכמו לסבול, he accepted the tax burdens etc , imposed by the kings of Israel

ויהי למס עובד, the general population which carries out the day-to-day mundane tasks involved in a civilised existence will be at the disposal of Issachar who is busy with Torah study instead. The word מס refers to the ordinary working man doing the chores of Issachar being viewed as the tax being paid on behalf of Issachar, seeing that he himself cannot be taxed on non-earned income. In halachah, (Yumah 72) this is described as the ordinary citizen having to perform public service duties from which the Torah scholars are excused.

ויט שכמו AND HE INCLINED HIS SHOULDER — he lowered his shoulder; similar are, (2 Samuel 22:10) “He bowed (ויט) the heavens” and (Psalms 78:1) “Incline (הטו) your ear”. Onkelos, however, explains it differently: HE BOWED HIS SHOULDER to wage wars and to conquer new districts — for he (Issachar) dwelt on the marches — AND the enemy BECAME subject to him AS A SERVANT TO PAY TRIBUTE.

ויהי למס עובד, he dutifully gave part of his harvests to the King’s tax collectors, as predicted by the prophet Samuel when the people demanded to be ruled by a king (Samuel I 8,14-15). This is the plain meaning of the above verse. It contains a promise of material wealth to both tribes, though each tribe’s wealth originates from the pursuit of separate vocations..