Commento su Deuteronomio 33:12

לבנימן אמר OF BENJAMIN HE SAID — Because the blessing given to Levi referred to the Temple service and that of Benjamin to the Temple being built in his territory he mentioned one after the other. He placed Joseph immediately after him (after Benjamin), for he too had a Sanctuary in his territory: the Tabernacle at Shiloh was erected in his territory, as it says, (Psalms 78:67) “And he rejected the Tabernacle of Joseph” (v. 60 speaks of God forsaking the Tabernacle of Shiloh, the two verses being parallel). Because the “Eternal House” (the Temple) was more endeared to God than the Tabernacle of Shiloh, therefore he mentions Benjamin before Joseph (although Joseph was the elder),

THE BELOVED OF THE ETERNAL SHALL DWELL IN SAFETY BY HIM. He called Benjamin the beloved of the Eternal, saying: “Benjamin, who is the beloved of G-d, will dwell in his land in safety relying on G-d and G-d will shelter him always and cause His Divine Presence to rest in his land.” And He dwelleth between his shoulders — this alludes to what the Rabbis have derived from this expression.¹⁹³When making plans for the building of the Sanctuary — which was to be in Benjamin’s territory — David felt that it should be built on the highest elevation of the Land. Then he and Samuel the prophet decided to built it on a lower point, for the verse before us says, and He dwelleth between his shoulders, and the shoulders are lower than the head. (Zebachim 54 b).
By the way of the Truth, [the mystic teachings of the Cabala], the verse states: the Beloved, the Eternal,¹⁹⁴The word yedid (beloved) does not refer to Benjamin, describing him as “the beloved of G-d.” Instead it is a descriptive noun referring to G-d — “G-d, the beloved” — as in the verse, Let me sing of my Beloved (Isaiah 5:1 — Ha’kthav V’hakabalah). will dwell over Benjamin, and this is the assurance to the Benjaminites that they may trust in the Eternal forever, for the Eternal is G-d, an everlasting Rock.¹⁹⁵Isaiah 26:4. And He will shelter and protect Benjamin all the day, and they shall not be ashamed at the time of trouble,¹⁹⁶Psalms 37:19. and between the shoulders of Benjamin He will dwell forever. It is from this verse that Solomon was called Yedidiah [i.e., the beloved of the Eternal], for the Eternal’s sake,¹⁹⁷II Samuel 12:27. and he built His lovely dwelling-place,¹⁹⁸See Psalms 84:2. just as he was called Shlomoh, also meaning to say that his nature was perfect (shleimah) in peace (shalom), and therefore it is spelled with the letter hei [at the end, in order to indicate that he is shleimah — “perfect”]. And the Rabbis said in the Midrash of Rabbi Nechunya ben Hakanah:¹⁹⁹Sefer Habahir, 65. See Vol. I, p. 24, Note 42. “The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him [Solomon]: Since your name is like the name of My Glory I will give you My daughter, for it is written, And the Eternal gave Solomon wisdom etc.²⁰⁰I Kings 5:26. But it did not become manifest [to others]. And where did it become manifest? Further on, [where it is said], for they saw that the wisdom of the Eternal was in him, to do justice,²⁰¹Ibid., 3:28. etc.”
It is correct to interpret that with his three references in this verse to the Divine Presence, Moses alludes to the three Sanctuaries. Of the First Sanctuary he says, He shall dwell in safety by him, similar to what is stated, and the Glory of the Eternal filled the House.²⁰²II Chronicles 7:1. Of the Second Sanctuary he says, He covereth him all the day, since the Divine Presence did not dwell there,²⁰³Yoma 21b. See Vol. III, p. 473, Note 165. but only sheltered and protected it. Or it may be that it [the Divine Presence] literally “hovered” over it, as is mentioned in Pirkei Heichaloth.²⁰⁴Heichaloth Rabboth, 29. See above, Note 149. [The third reference,] and He dwelleth between his shoulders alludes to the days of the Messiah, for at that time they shall call Jerusalem The throne of the Eternal.²⁰⁵Jeremiah 3:17. It is interpreted in the Sifre in this manner.²⁰⁶Sifre, Brachah 352.

'ידיד ה, as our sages interpret this compliment (Shabbat 55) that Binyamin died only because of the venom of the original serpent, which brought death for human beings into this world. He, personally, had not committed any deed which would have warranted his death otherwise.

לבנימין אמר, Concerning Benjamin, he said, etc. The word לבנימין was said by Moses, whereas the word אמר is the Torah speaking. If it were not so how could we understand these two words? The following verse in which we have וליוסף אמר, or ולזבולון אמר must also be understood in this way.

ידיד ה', “Hashem’s beloved;” Benjamin, G’d’s beloved, will dwell securely on his land.

לבנימין אמר, “to Binyamin he said:” according to the plain meaning of the text the preposition ל here must be understood as בעבור, “for the sake of, on behalf of;” Moses means that seeing Binyamin is a favourite of the Lord, He will make His residence (Temple) in the territory of that tribe. The tribe will dwell in security, trusting the Lord, the Lord His G’d dwelling between his shoulders.

Because Levi’s blessing was concerned with the sacrificial services, etc. Rashi is answering the question that if he was the youngest, why is his blessing given precedence?

V. 12. לבנימין וגו׳. Juda, der Träger der Macht, Levi der Pfleger der Gesetzeslehre und des Heiligtums, ihnen schließt sich Benjamin an, in dessen Gebiet das Heiligtum oder vielmehr der geheiligtste Teil des Heiligtums seine Stätte fand (siehe Wajikra 1, 5). Das Bedeutungsvolle, dass Altar, Hechal und Debir nicht auf dem Gebiete des mächtigen Königsstammes, sondern auf dem Gebiete Benjamins, des jüngsten und schwächsten aller Stämme sich befanden, haben wir dort entwickelt. ספרי z. St. weist noch auf die Vorgeschichte des Vaters dieses Stammes hin. Benjamin war der Einzige unter Jaakows Söhnen, der im heiligen Lande geboren worden, der nicht von dem Makel der an Joseph geübten Unbrüderlichkeit betroffen, und der Stütze und Pfleger des Vaters in seinem Greisenalter war, dessen Andenken somit von jedem gegenteiligen trübenden Anhauch frei, den Tugenden entsprach, deren Pflege die Stätte des Heiligtums geweiht war.

לבנימין אמר, “to Binyamin he had said: Binyamin is m entioned by Moses im mediately after the tribe of Levi, seeing that the major part of the Temple building was situated on its ancestral land, and the Levites and priests therefore were moving on that soil when they performed their priestly duties.

Regarding Binyomin. Moshe’s blessing to each tribe begins with the letter ‘vav’, meaning, “And.” Binyamin is the only tribe that does not have “and” because he was the only tribe that did not sin. Therefore. Let him live secure. That he will not have to roll through underground tunnels at the time of the resurrection. And certainly worms will not eat his corpse.

חפף עליו means, He covers him and protects him,

ישכון לבטח עליו, Moses prays that this tribe should not join the rebellion against the dynasty of the house of David and become part of the Northern Kingdom.

עליו, “over him;” guarding the habitat of Hashem in the Tabernacle or Temple. Hashem’s Presence, in turn will hover over him (Benjamin) in turn all of his days and allow His glory on his territory,

And because the Eternal Sanctuary is more cherished than Shiloh, etc. Rashi is answering the question: The verse should at least have given precedence to Yoseif because he too had the tabernacle of Shiloh in his territory! Therefore he explains, Because, etc.

ישכון לבטח עליו, "may he dwell safely alongside Him." Seeing that the Temple was in the territory of Benjamin it is natural that that tribe should enjoy the greatest feeling of security. After all, who would dare attack the king? [G'd who dwells in the Sanctuary. Ed.]

חפף .חפף וגו׳, die Wurzel von חֻפָה und חף Hafen, bedeutet ein schützendes und abschließendes Umgeben. חפה ist Ps.19, 6 und Joel 2, 16 der spezifische Name für den symbolisch abgegrenzten Raum, in welchen Braut und Bräutigam zum Vollzug ihrer Eheverbindung zusammentreten. Auf die Verbindung zwischen Gott und Israel übertragen, eine Übertragung, die in den Schriften des Gotteswortes so gewöhnlich ist, wäre חֻפָה ein sehr sprechender Ausdruck für die Räume des Heiligtums, in welchem in täglich sich wiederholenden bedeutungsvollen Handlungen die immer zu erneuende Verbindung Israels mit Gott zum Ausdruck gelangt. Von dieser Anschauung aus dürfte hier der Ausdruck חופף עליו zu fassen sein. So Sebachim 118 b: בג׳ מקומות שרתה שכינה ׳על ישראל ,בשילה ונוב וגבעון ובית עולמים ובכולן לא שרתה אלא בחלקו של בנימין שנא .חופף עליו כל היום כל חפיפות לא יהו אלא בחלקו של בנימין

'ידיד ה, “the beloved one of the Lord;” he is called the beloved one because ישכון לבטח עליו, “seeing that the protective Presence of the Lord which resides in the Temple is constantly manifest on his ancestral land.” The term: עליו, in the sense of “by Him,” is also found in Numbers 2,20, ועליו מנשה, where it describes the location of the tribe of Menashe as next to Ephrayim, both parts of the tribe of Joseph.

כל היום ALL THE DAY — i.e., forever. From the day that Jerusalem was chosen as the seat of the Temple, the Divine Glory has never dwelt at any other place.

ובין כתיפיו ישכון, “and he will feel at home between his shoulders.” An allusion to what our sages explained that during a competition as to who would be the first one into the Sea of Reeds, Binyamin did not wait for the argument to be settled but jumped in (Sotah 36) [first version of that argument. Folio 37 there has a different version. Ed.] Another allusion contained in this simile is that our verse contains references to all three Temples and the respective significance of each one. The statement about “dwelling securely,” would apply to the period of the first Temple, whereas the statement about “hovering all day long,” would refer to the period of the second Temple, a period during which the Jewish state was a vassal state, and many of the symbols of our close connection with the Shechinah were absent, the Tablets and the Holy Ark being some of these symbols. The description of “residing between its shoulders,” is an allusion to the third Temple, the one that will be built after the arrival of the Messiah.

Eternally — once Jerusalem was chosen, etc. [Rashi says this] to exclude that you do not explain this as referring to the World to Come. Rashi is answering the question: Jerusalem is destroyed, so how can it be forever?! He answers, Once Jerusalem was chosen, etc. meaning that the sanctity was [indeed only] temporary, and [will return only to Jerusalem] in the future. Also, the Shechinah did not rest elsewhere afterwards. This is not the case regarding Gilgal, Nov and Shiloh.

ובין כתפיו שכן wie Sebachim 54 b erläutert wird, nicht auf der höchsten Bergspitze בעין עיטם, wo die Etamquelle liegt, sondern etwas tiefer am Abhange, dem Ausdruck בין בתפיו, zwischen den Schultern, dem Verhältnis der Schulternhöhe zu der Kopfhöhe entsprechend.

חופף עליו כל היום, “G-d’s manifestation covers him (Binyamin) all day long;” it saves him from potential attackers.

ובין כתפיו שכן AND BETWEEN HIS SHOULDERS SHALL HE DWELL — On the highest spot of his (Benjamin’s) land was the Temple built (cf. Sifrei Devarim 352:9), except that it was twenty-three cubits lower than En Etam (Yoma 31a), and originally indeed David's intention was to build it there, as it is stated in the Treatise "on the slaughter of the holy sacrifices" (Zevachim 54b): People said him (David), Let us place it a little lower, because it states, "and between his shoulders (which are lower than the head) shall he dwell" – and you have no finer part of an ox than his shoulders.

At the pinnacle of his territory, etc. This is the meaning of shoulders, which are the highest of all the limbs. You might ask that if so, he should have built it at the top of the mountain which is even higher? Therefore Rashi explains, Except that it was, etc. below, etc. I.e., the place where the Beis Hamikdosh stood was twenty-three amos below Eitam spring. Therefore it is written between his shoulders and not on his head. You might ask how Rashi knows this. Therefore Rashi explains, It was there that David had intended to construct it. And why did he not do so? [But] they remarked, etc. This indicates that the Holy One did not want it built at the highest point of His land. Rashi [then] writes, why did He not want to build it at the highest point of His land but only between his shoulders? Because Nothing is pleasing, etc. (I found this in the name of Maharitz)

ובין כתפיו שכן, ”and He dwells between his shoulders.” The word כתף, “shoulder,” is used by Moses as a metaphor, similar to Numbers 34,11, where it describes the slopes leading to the sea of Galilee as “shoulder.” The reason why this tribe received such a complimentary title is that its founding father was the only son of Yaakov who had not been involved in the sale of their brother Joseph. This is why G-d’s Presence could feel so at home on its territory that the Temple was located on it.