Kommentar zu Bereschit 49:9

גור אריה A YOUNG LION — He prophesied this with reference to David who, when he began his military career, was but as a whelp — as it states, (2 Samuel 5:2) “when Saul was king over us it was thou that didst lead out and bring in Israel” — but who later on became as a lion when they made him king over themselves. That is what Onkelos means by translating it “A ruler he shall he בשרויא” — at the beginning

גור אריה יהודה, an expression similar to כפיר אריות, (Judges 14,5) the young, not fully grown lion is called גור, whereas the fully mature lion is known as כפיר as we know from Ezekiel 19,2 בתוך כפירים רבתה גוריה, “a young lioness crouched among the fully grown lions.” The young lion enjoys the advantage of speed and self-confidence, hence more aggressiveness, over an aging lion. It is not surprising therefore that when complimenting Yehudah, Yaakov compares him to a young lion rather than to a fully mature one who is already on the way to decline.

גור אריה יהודה, although Yehudah is not a fully grown lion, i.e. not enjoying the trappings of royalty, possessing a land, etc, he is at least comparable to a lion cub, preeminent among his brothers. In the future he will rule as king in the full meaning of the word. All this, in spite of the fact that

גור אריה יהודה, "Yehudah is a lioncub." The Zohar section 1, page 237 explains that initially Yehudah would be like a cub, גור, whereas later on he would be a fully grown lion, אריה. If this was so, why did Jacob have to tell us that there was a time when Yehudah was still only a cub? Besides, what did Jacob mean when he said: מטרף בני עלית "you removed yourself from my son, from the kill?" According to our sages the word בני may be read both as belonging to what was mentioned before as well as to what follows, i.e. "you my son have arisen." Accordingly, Yehudah had distanced himself from what the brothers had done when Jacob had exclaimed: "my son has been torn to shreds." It is difficult to reconcile this with the facts. Why would Jacob have assumed suddenly that Yehudah had no share in the brothers' plot to deceive him and to make him believe that Joseph had become the victim of wild animals? On the contrary, is it not more likely to believe that Jacob had never suspected any of his sons to have laid a hand on Joseph? We must view the statement of our sages as דברי קבלה, as reflecting insights to which we are not privy. The words כרע רבץ מי יקימנו, also present a difficulty. Not only do these words not make sense as part of the blessing, but why did Jacob suddenly switch to indirect speech when up until now he had addressed Yehudah directly?

גור אריה יהודה; at the beginning of his career he would be only a גור, a cub, one that has not attained maturity. Even so, such a lion is stronger than all the other beasts. Yehudah was also the first of the tribal princes to offer his inaugural sacrifice (Numbers 7,12). When it came to the war against the Canaanites in Judges 1,2 this tribe was the one leading all the others. Again, at Geva in Binyamin (Judges 20,18) the tribe of Yehudah was in the lead in the tragic civil war against the tribe of Binyamin. [at any rate a heavenly voice or the High Priest after consulting the Ephod had announced that Yehudah should be in the lead. Ed.] The first of the Judges who were heads of the nation after the death of Joshua who had failed to appoint a successor, was Othniel son of Knaz from the tribe of Yehudah. (Judges 3,9). Eventually, when David was appointed King of all the Israelites, this גור, “young lion,” became a fully grown mature lion, i.e. אריה,

מטרף בני עלית, “you my son, removed yourself from the prey.” The reason the simile of טרף, prey, is used by Yaakov, is that it is appropriate for someone described as אריה, lion. You got up and removed yourself from treating Joseph as “prey.” The word טרף here is to be understood as a transitive verb. Some commentators understand the word as an intransitive verb, so that the words מטרף בני עלית would be an allusion to David (re-incarnate of Yehudah) standing by the lion that had become his prey. He had succeeded in killing a lion and a bear, which gave him the courage to engage in battle against Goliath. (compare Samuel I 17,34) David’s victory over Goliath was the foundation of his subsequent greatness.

He equated him with a lion which is the strongest of the animals; and compared him to a young lion, regarding his lightness and alacrity [being] beyond the adult lion. That is why he used two nouns, as "cub" alone is also said about other animals when they are small; as it is stated (Lamentations 4:3), "Even jackals offer the breast, and suckle their cubs." And the intention here is cub of the lion species, and it is a construct phrase. And so did Yonatan ben Uzziel translate, "I compare you, Judah, to a cub that is the child of lions." But to me, it appears that gur is an expression of provoking, [like] the expression, "every day, they provoke (yaguru) wars" (Psalms 140:3); [and] "begin to inherit, and provoke (hitgar) war against it" (Deuteronomy 2:24). And the explanation of "gur lion" is a lion that is provoked, as he is at his most dangerous then.

Likewise, when Tamar was sentenced to die... Rashi is saying that “my son” refers to Yehudah, not to Yoseif. [There are two proofs to support this:] First, Yehudah as well was Yaakov’s son, [so the verse would not say, “You (Yehudah) have risen above plundering my son (Yoseif).”] Second, Yehudah removed himself also from the plundering of Tamar, as Rashi explains. If he removed himself from plundering them both, why would it say [only] “my son,” referring to Yoseif? Perforce, “my son” refers to Yehudah.

Du vereinigst den Mut der Jugend und die Besonnenheit des Alters in dir, hast keine Lust an Kampf und Raub um des Kampfes und Raubes willen, bist keine Hyäne und kein Wolf, bist ein Löwe und über gemeinem Raubmord erhaben.

גור אריה יהודה, all young free roaming animals are known as גור. Yehudah is distinguished as being described as a young lion, the king of the beasts. This was a hint that David, in due course, would be descended from him. The numerical value of the first letters in the three words:גור אריה יהודה, is the same as that of the three letters in the name דוד =14.

מטרף בני עלית, “you removed yourself from the temptation to treat my son as your prey.” According to Rashi here; “you did not consider that killing my son Joseph would be an achievement.” Yaakov admits that he had once suspected him of having killed Joseph. In the Talmud Sanhedrin 6 and 7, the expression בצע used by Yehudah when persuading his brothers not to kill Joseph (37,26) is not understood as Yaakov praising Yehudah for not killing; rather it is a compliment to him for admitting to have been wrong when he accused his daughterinlaw Tamar of harlotry when it had been he who had sought out an assignation with someone whom he thought of as a harlot. He had cancelled the decree to execute her and the two fetuses she was carrying, thereby publicly shaming himself. (Genesis 38,26)

מטרף FROM THE PREY (literally, tearing) — From the deed of which I suspected you when I said (Genesis 37:33) “Joseph is torn in pieces, an evil beast hath devoured him” — and by that Judah was meant who was likened to a lion —

מטרף בני עלית, you my son Yehudah, seeing that after you have risen from dealing with the spoils of war you had acquired stature and were held in awe, have lain down like a lion, supremely confident that no one would dare disturb your rest. No enemy will dare to become the one to disturb your sleep and to attack you. This is the plain meaning of the verse repeating the word Yehudah twice in the same sequence. All those who understood Yaakov as referring to the sale of Joseph in this verse do not understand the sentence structure nor paid attention to the tone signs.

מטרף בני עלית, you were spared by my son Joseph who did not kill you in his wrath although he hated you. This is the meaning of the words כרע רבץ כאריה, seeing that at that time he was like a crouching lion, one in repose, i.e. not representing a threat to anyone This is why Joseph did not issue you orders to kill you.

מטרף בני עלית, due to the surfeit of loot you rose to a position of distinction and glory as we know from Samuel II 8,13 “David gained fame when he returned from defeating Edom in the valley of Salt.”

כרע רבץ כאריה, “He will kneel and crouch like a lion.” It is the nature of a lion that after having secured its prey it kneels and crouches, stretching out and not leaving that spot even if danger appears to threaten it. Here too, Yaakov alludes to David, who after securing prey, did not flee the site out of fear of a counter attack (avengers). Some commentators see in the words מטרף בני עלית, a description of how the Jewish people after vanquishing their enemies will arise, and assume a posture of fearlessness, unconcern. [as opposed to Yaakov who, after Shimon and Levi killed the male inhabitants of Shechem, worried about retribution by the surrounding Emorites. Ed.]

In order to understand these verses a short introduction will enable us to gain a deeper insight into the ways of the Torah. We perceive Adam as a tree from which all the holy souls that would ever enter the world were suspended. When Adam sinned, evil assumed a limited rule in our world and captured many of these holy souls. According to our Kabbalists it has been the task of the Jewish people to rescue as many of these holy souls who are kept prisoners within the קליפה (forces of negative spirituality), using the holy Torah and G'd's commandments all of which G'd has implanted in our midst as our weaponry. On occasion, even a close personal attachment such as the rape of a person containing a holy Jewish soul and the impure soul of a Gentile may result in a new life of a positive kind. Shechem's deep-seated attachment to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob whom he had raped may be an example of such a phenomenon (Genesis 34,33). According to Kohelet Yaakov, Dinah infused Shechem with part of her holy soul, something which eventually resulted in the emergence and liberation of the soul of Rabbi Chanina ben Tradyon. This is alluded to in the word רחבת in רחבת ידים (Genesis 34,21) the letters of which are an acronym of the respective first letters in the name דבי חנינה בן תרדיון.

כרע רבץ וגו׳. Nicht in Kampf und Schlachtgewühl wohnt Judas Größe, nicht der aufflackernde Mut, der in der Stunde der Gefahr sich Achtung zu verschaffen weiß und dann erlahmt, ist, was ihn kennzeichnet; selbst wenn er ruht, bleibt er Löwe, die Achtung gebietende Größe, die er in der Ruhe entfaltet, schafft Sicherheit nach außen und gewährt unter seiner Leitung den Frieden, der die bestimmungsgemäße Entfaltung im Innern möglich macht. — Es ist zu bedauern, dass die eigentliche Bedeutung des לביא nicht bekannt ist. Sie ist gewiß so charakteristisch wie גור und אריה. Möglich, dass seine Bedeutung in der Wurzel לבה liegt, die rabbinisch: entflammen, anfachen, gleichbedeutend mit להב, heißt, und hieße לביא der Löwe in seiner Erregtheit, der entflammte Löwe. וכלביא מי יקימנו: wer möchte machen, dass er wie ein entflammter Löwe aufstehe!

מטרף בני עלית, “you removed yourself from the kill, my son;” [our author does not accept this as the appropriate translation. Ed] He interprets the line as a prophecy, i.e. David’s eventually becoming the King of all of Israel, will be based on the skills he will demonstrate in overcoming attacks upon him by a bear and a lion, and his having prevailed in those encounters. (Compare Samuel I 17,36) His performance when facing Goliath was witnessed by many, in addition.

בני עלית THOU WENTEST UP, O MY SON — from that murderous deed you withdrew saying, (Genesis. 5:26) “what profit is it if we slay our brother”, and similarly did he act when Tamar was condemned to death, for he said “She is righteous: mine is the blame” (cf. Rashi on Genesis 38:26), therefore as a reward כרע רבץ HE STOOPED DOWN, HE CROUCHED etc. — as we are told of the days of Solomon (1 Kings 5:5) “[Israel dwelt safely] every man under his vine etc.” (Genesis Rabbah 99:8).

וכלביא מי יקימנו, once Yehudah will attain the position of king, he will be like such a lion who on occasion will lie down languidly just like a lion, a time when no one can frighten him into rising because he has become afraid of the enemy.

כרע רבץ כאריה, my father of blessed memory explained this verse as follows: during the period of David, Yehudah crouched as does a lion who at the time when he is afraid of other ferocious beasts does not lie down and relax, but only crouches. This he does in order to be able to rouse himself at a moment’s notice when attacked. However, at a time when he does not face imminent danger he lies down relaxed. Similarly, David. Seeing that he was involved in wars practically during the entire period of his reign and had to be ready to rise at a moment’s notice to face his enemies and to kill them, he was like a lion concerned about staying alive. However, his son Solomon, could afford to lie down in repose seeing that all the nations were afraid of him and none dared attack him. There was no one around who would rouse him from his slumber.

On other occasions a soul which was taken captive at the time Adam sinned may emerge of its own accord at the time when the forces in charge of the קליפה decide to swamp earth with many new lives (souls). Such formerly captive holy souls who have initiated their own conversion to Judaism will often make every effort to pursue the path of goodness. This explains the phenomenon that converts very often become more meticulous in their observance of Jewish law than natural-born Jews. Ruth the Moabite and Naamah the Ammonite are part of the phenomenon we have just described. Their souls had become captive due to the acts of incest committed by their ancestor when Lot's daughters slept with their father. When their "captor" i.e. the force or angel in charge of releasing impure souls into the world, released a quantity of such souls, hoping to contaminate the earth with still more negative spirituality, two of the souls originally held captive escaped and turned out to become Ruth and Naamah. The fact that Ruth became the ancestor of David whereas Naamah became the wife Rechavam indicate the sins of their ancestor who slept with his daughters. Lot's older daughter who had the effrontery to call the name of her son i.e. מואב, i.e. "from my father," had committed a greater offence than her younger sister who called the child of that union בן עמי. The fact that Ruth was descended from Moab whereas Naamah was descended from Ammon reflects the phenomenon that the greater the spiritual morass that one has emerged from the greater the effort at one's spiritual rehabilitation. This is why David and a whole dynasty of kings is descended from Ruth, whereas Naamah the offspring of Lot's younger daughter is comparativeley less illustrious (compare Baba Kama 38 where the Talmud even attributes G'd's command to treat Ammon more mildly than Moab to the minor difference between the acts committed by Lot's two daughters). It is important to remember that if a person of lesser stature than Lot had perpetrated these acts he would not have had the good fortune that in the cause of centuries at least two good people came out of him. [I have some problem with the whole premise; according to the seven Noachidic laws it was perfectly permissible for a father to sleep with his daughter, all the more so since Lot was not even aware of it. Ed.] Just as there are different levels of righteousness amongst the observant Jews, i.e. goodness is a relative term, so there are different degrees amongst the people whose souls originate in the pool at the disposal of the forces of the קליפה. Amongst the many kings and leaders of Gentile society, all of whose souls originate in the pool of souls provided by the forces of the קליפה, some are models of virtue whereas others are models of debauchery, perfidy, and cruelty. This is the mystical dimension of what we are taught in Sotah 49 that בעקבות משיחה חוצפה יסגא, that "in the days preceding the arrival of the Messiah, effrontery will become prevalent." The sages meant that as the number of holy souls amongst the pool of souls controlled by the forces of the קליפה becomes more and more depleted, the tempering influence exercised on the whole pool of spiritually negative souls by the holy souls held captive will cease. This accounts for the fact that in days of old the souls that found their way back to the realm of holy souls produced spiritual giants such as Abraham, Sarah, Ruth and the like. Even in later generations converts such as Shemayah and Avtalyon are examples of souls who became spiritual giants amongst our people. Onkelos is another such example. Present day converts, however, are the souls who had already been greatly impoverished during their prolonged stay as captives amongst the pool of spiritually deficient souls, a pool which had been more and more depleted of such souls as the one of Abraham, Sarah, etc. The Talmud describes the period preceding the arrival of the Messiah by using the term עקבות, heels. This is an allusion to the pool of the impure souls which by that time will contain only relatively insignificant souls from the pool of holy souls that the forces of the קליפה had captured when Adam sinned. These souls are described as no more than "heels," the lower extremity of the human body, i.e. a relatively derogatory term. We can find confirmation of that thought in the Zohar 1, page 258.

With the help of this introduction we can begin to understand the advice given by G'd to Yehudah when He sent His angel and almost forced him to have intercourse with the woman whom he considered a harlot (as described in Bereshit Rabbah 85,8). On the one hand, according to Torah law, it was not appropriate for Yehudah to have sexual relations with his daughter-in-law. [I have chosen this expression because Noachide law, which Yehudah was subject to, permits relations between a father-in-law and daughter-in-law. Ed.] Inasmuch as Yehudah was unaware of that woman's identity at the time, he did not know that he committed a forbidden act. Moreover, he acted under heavenly compulsion. The combination of all these factors enabled him to release the souls of Peretz and Zerach who were part of the souls captured by the forces of evil at the time Adam ate from the tree of knowledge. We know that these two souls contained within them great spiritual potential since great people are descended from them. The "captor" of such souls, i.e. the forces of the קליפה, can be presumed to have guarded them especially carefully so that they should not escape from his clutches. No wonder then that a great individual of the calibre of royalty such as Yehudah was needed to become the instrument of their release from that captivity. Unless such a soul had been accused of the morally depraved sin of incest (the appearance of it) it might never have been able to escape its original environment amongst the spiritually inferior pool of souls.

This is what the Torah had in mind when it states, using indirect speech, i.e. G'd is speaking: גור אריה יהודה. This means that prior to Yehudah's union with Tamar he had only been a cub. This was also hinted at when his father had said to him previously: אתה יודוך אחיך, up until now you only merited that your brothers deferred to you by dint of some personal stature you possessed; this stature did not yet have historic significance. Yehudah acquired significance as a historic personality only as a result of his divinely induced union with Tamar. If you want proof of this, just search our records and see which great personalities other than Peretz and Zerach are descended from him. Once Yehudah had united with Tamar he qualified for the title אריה, a fully grown lion. Jacob then went on to explain the underlying cause of Yehudah's spiritual rise. It was מטרף בני עלית, "you my son were able to tear yourself away from the prey" i.e. from the pool of captive holy souls that had been snatched by the forces of the קליפה as the result of Adam's sin. Your divinely induced union with Tamar enabled some of these souls to become free once more and join the pool of holy souls. The sons you have acquired for yourself as a result of this union enable you to establish an everlasting dynasty.

When the Torah continued with כרע רבץ, this is a reference to the prey which proved to be the source of Yehudah's spiritual ascent, something G'd had referred to when He told Cain in Genesis 4,7: "sin crouches at its door;" Yehudah had not had a prior opportunity to rescue the precious souls of Peretz and Zerach.

When the Torah continues calling Yehudah both אריה and לביא, this is a hint that these souls were guarded within the קליפה by a power comparable to a לביא, so that only an אריה, a fully grown lion, had the power to rescue them. Yehudah was that "lion" of a holy soul who could perform such a deed successfully. As of that time the sceptre would not depart from Yehudah, i.e. he had laid the foundation for an enduring dynasty. We are still looking forward daily to the resumption of the monarchy by a descendant of Yehudah (the Messiah).