Commento su Deuteronomio 33:23

שבע רצון [NAPHTALI IS] SATISFIED WITH DESIRE — it means that his land was full of everything that its inhabitants could desire.

O NAPHTALI, SATISFIED WITH FAVOR. “[This means] that his land satisfied every desire of its inhabitants.” This is Rashi’s language. The correct interpretation is that it is connected with the Glorious Name [mentioned later in the verse: and full with the blessing of ‘the Eternal’], the verse stating that “Naphtali is satisfied and full of the Will of the Glorious Name and His blessing.” But in the Midrash of Rabbi Nechunya ben Hakanah²⁴⁵Sefer Habahir, 7 and 9. See Vol. I, p. 24, Note 42. the Rabbis commented on this verse: “Rabbi Amora said: What is the meaning of this verse, And full with the blessing of the Eternal; ‘yerashah’ (possess thou) the sea and the south? Thus said Moses: If you will walk in my statutes you will inherit the World to Come which is likened to the sea, as it is said, and broader than the sea,²⁴⁶Job 11:9. and this world which is likened to the south, as it is said, for that thou hast set me in the land of the ‘negev’²⁴⁷Joshua 15:19. [that is, a dry land], and is rendered by the Targum: ‘the southern land.’ And why is it written yerashah [‘possess thou’ — in the feminine], it should have said yerash [in the masculine]? Because even the Holy One, blessed be He, is included [in Naphtali’s inheritance], for the word yerashah consists of two words: resh Y-ah (possess G-d). To what may this be compared? To a king who had two treasures [i.e., the two worlds], and set one of them aside. At the end of many days he said to his son, ‘Take the contents of these two treasures.’ The son said, ‘Perhaps he will not give me the one he set aside.’ Thereupon the father said, to him, ‘Take everything.’ It is this which is written ‘yerashah’ (possess thou) the sea and the south — Y-ah resh. Everything is given you — if only you keep His ways!” They have further said:²⁴⁸Sefer Habahir, 3. “And full with the blessing of the Eternal; possess thou the sea and the south. The ‘sea’ is an allusion to the Torah alone, as it is said, and broader than the sea,”²⁴⁶Job 11:9. and [so they continue] the entire Midrash there. If so, the secret of the verse is as follows: “Naphtali is satisfied with the favor saturated by the blessing of the Eternal, which is ‘the sea’ combined in all [and comprised] of all.”²⁴⁹Reference is to the various attributes of G-d, as the subject is somewhat elucidated by Ramban in Genesis 24:1 (Vol. I, pp. 291-293). It is similar to what Scripture states, All the rivers run into the sea,²⁵⁰Ecclesiastes 1:7. this being “the house of the King.” This is like the parable of those who seek to see the king and ask, “Where is the house of the king?” Then [after finding the house] they ask, “Where is the king?” And even this world which is parched and dry of the favor [of G-d in comparison to the World to Come], Naphtali will inherit with Y-ah [as the word yerashah — resh Y-ah — indicates]. The student learned in the mysteries of the Cabala will understand.

נפתלי שבע רצון ומלא ברכת ה' ים ודרום ירשה, You, Naftali, have become the heir to the west and the east. You have enjoyed so much blessing from the Lord that there is no need for me to pray on behalf of your portion of the land to be blessed. Seeing that the fruits of Ginnosaur, the earliest ripening fruit of the land, grow within your boundaries there is no need for me to pray for such blessings to materialise. When you offer the first and finest of your products as bikkurim they will surely generate much goodwill for you from Hashem.

נפתלי שבע רצון, “Naftali is sated with favour;” Rash understands this phrase to mean that the territory allocated to Naftali would prove to be so well endowed that all its inhabitants would express their satisfaction with it. Nachmanides writes that the words שבע רצון, “well pleased,” refer to Hashem being well pleased with the lifestyle of this tribe and this would express itself visibly through the blessings He would shower upon that tribe.

נפתלי שבע רצון, Naftali, satiated with favour;” according to the plain meaning of the text the reference is to the favour of G’d with which this tribe will be satiated; it is somewhat similar in meaning to the words in verse 16 רצון שוכני סנה, “the goodwill of (the Lord) resident in the burning bush.” He will be full of G’d’s blessing and inherit land in the west and south.

He also took a measure of fully spread fishnet rope, etc. Meaning, he took a measure of fully rope to spread nets and traps. חרמים has the same meaning as מכמורות and is a repetition.

V. 23. ולנפתלי אמר וגו׳ Naftali — wohl im Gegensatz zu Dan und darum ohne Parschaabteilung ihm angeschlossen — ist שבע רצון, ist mit dem ihm gewordenen Gebiete voll befriedigt. So מלמד שהיה נפתלי שמח בחלקו :ספרי. In der Tat war sein — unmittelbar dem nordöstlichen Besitze Dans benachbartes — Gebiet מלא ׳ברכת ד. Es gehörte zu ihm ים כנרת der Genezaretsee, der selbst durch einen seltenen Fischreichtum ausgezeichnet und dessen Umgegend wegen ihres großen Reichtums an den herrlichsten Früchten, פירות גינוסר, berühmt war.

נפתלי שבע רצון, “Naftaly is sated with favour;” its territory produced fruit that ripened earlier than that of the other tribes. According to our author, fruit that ripens early in the season is more satisfying than fruit ripening later in the season. The psychology behind this is explained by the author as the farmer having had to anxiously wait full of desire until he could satisfy his longing.

שבע רצון, Naftaly is satisfied, aware of having been favoured;” the fruit of his orchards is not only of the highest quality, but also ripens ahead of those in other regions of the land. Whenever he tastes them he is gratefully conscious of his good fortune.

ים ודרום ירשה POSSESS THOU THE WEST (lit., the sea) AND THE SOUTH — The sea of Kinneret fell to his portion and he received on its south a ropes length of fishing-coast for spreading out his nets and meshes (Bava Kamma 81:2; cf. Sifrei Devarim 355:17).

A kabbalistic approach: Naftali will be satiated with the favour of G’d in His capacity as the attribute זאת, seeing that portion had commenced with the words וזאת הברכה. The words ים ודרום are an allusion to the world to come which is compared to ים and רחבת ים in Job 11,9. The present terrestrial world is compared to דרום, south, as we know from Joshua 15,19 (where Joshua gave such territory to the daughter of Calev, calling it (ארץ הנגב). This is also what is explained in the Sefer Habahir item 9, that the word ירשה is inappropriate as the word for שבט, tribe, is masculine and Moses should have said ירש, or רש. The addition of the letters י at the beginning and ה at the end are indicative of the blessing this territory enjoyed. We may therefore understand the verse as if Moses had written ים ודרום ויה רש, “he inherited west and south plus the blessing of the Lord.” Moses implied that he hoped that as a result of such blessing Naftali would be meticulous in observing G’d’s ways.

יְרָשָׁה ,ים ודרום ירשה wohl Inf. mit ה parag. העמק שאלה (Jes.7, 11) und zwar in aoristischer Bedeutung. Sein Gebiet liegt im Nordosten, allein durch die Trefflichkeit seiner nur in seinem Gebiete in solcher Vollendung sich findenden Früchte fällt ihm gleichsam auch der Westen und Süden zu, die er fortwährend an sich zieht. Es ist nicht unmöglich, dass diese friedliche Eroberung Naftalis in einer Gegenüberstellung zu der zuvor angedeuteten kriegerischen Dans sich befindet.

'ומלא ברכת ה, “and it is full of the Lord’s blessing.” Anyone visiting the territory of Naftaly during the growing season would bless the Lord when witnessing the produce approaching the harvesting season. Yaakov had already referred to this when he blessed his children in Genesis 49,21. Our sages in the Talmud, tractate B’rachot, folio 51, state that anyone who fills a cup to the brim in order to recite a benediction of thanksgiving (after a meal when saying grace) will inherit both worlds The authors of this saying, Rabbi Yochanan and Rabbi Yossi, who words it slightly differently, base themselves on our verse here, quoting: ומלא ברכת ה' ים ודרום ירשה, “possess you the sea and the south.” Some commentators interpret the word ים as referring to the west, i.e. the present material world, which is compared to night, whereas they understand the word דרום, as the region in the universe housing the sun during the periods between summer and winter. He who fills the cup of benediction to the brim will inherit both this world and the world to come which is compared to day.

'ומלא ברכת ה, “and filled with G-d’s blessing.” Whoever visits his part the land of Israel is amazed at how blessed this tribe is.

ירשה — This word it a form of the imperative, as is the verb in (Deuteronomy 1:21), “Go up and take possession (רַשׁ)”. The accent that is penultimate, on the ר, proves this. Just as in the case of the ordinary imperative forms of the verbs, סלח, ידע, לקח, שמע, when one adds a ה at the end the accent will be penultimate, viz., ,סלחה, ידעה, לקחה, שמעה, here also ירשה is an imperative form. In the Massora Magna we find it included in an alphabetical register of imperative forms the accent of which is on the penultima (next to the last syllable).