Powtórzonego Prawa 33:16 Midrasz: Bereshit Rabbah

“And the sons of Benjamin: Bela, and Bekher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Eḥi, and Rosh, Mupim, and Ḥupim, and Ard” (Genesis 46:21).
“And the sons of Benjamin: Bela…” – when Joseph stood with Benjamin, he asked him: ‘Do you have sons?’ He said to him: ‘Yes.’ He said to him: ‘How many?’ He said to him: ‘Ten.’ He said: ‘What are their names?’ He said to him: ‘I had one brother. His actions were fine and pleasant, and he was taken captive from me, and I gave them names based on his experience. “Bela” – as he was swallowed [nivla] up from me; “Bekher” – as he was my firstborn [bekhor] [brother]; “Ashbel” – as he was taken captive [nishba] from me; “Gera” – as he resides [gar] in another land; “Naaman” – as his actions were fine [na’im] and pleasant [ne’imim]; “Eḥi” – as he was my full-fledged brother [aḥi]; “and Rosh” – as he was a leader [rosh] for me, and he was the head [roshan] of his brothers, as it is stated: “May his blessing rest on the head of [lerosh] Joseph” (Deuteronomy 33:16); “Mupim” – as he was very fine [yafeh] in all respects, and all the halakhot that Shem and Ever transmitted to Jacob, he transmitted to him.¹⁷Mupim – mo pihem – directly from their mouths. “And Ḥupim” – as he did not see my wedding canopy [beḥupati] and I did not see his wedding canopy [beḥupato], and they concealed [veḥipu] matters in his regard and said: “A savage beast devoured him” (Genesis 37:33). “And Ard” – as he was like a rose [vered]. “And Ard” – after: [Jacob said:] “For I will descend [ered] mourning to my son to the grave” (Genesis 37:35).’
“And the sons of Naphtali: Yaḥtze'el, and Guni, and Yetzer, and Shilem” (Genesis 46:24).
“And the sons of Naphtali” – their [creations] were twisted [muftalin] on seventy-two heddles;¹⁸A heddle is an integral part of a loom. as they twisted [potelin] the work of heddles.¹⁹They were expert weavers. “Yaḥtze'el” – they broke [sheḥitzu] the gods in their hand and they cut [metzaḥtzeḥin] with their teeth and would sneer with their lips.²⁰They would break idols, and make cutting remarks and disdainful facial expressions about idolatry (see Yefeh To’ar; Etz Yosef). However, see Matnot Kehuna, where these statements are interpreted to mean that they fashioned idols and made disparaging comments toward God. “And Guni” – they spoke in derogatory [megunim] language. “And Yetzer” – their [evil] inclination was stronger than that of all [other] people. “And Shilem” – they were devoted [mushlamim] to their inclination²¹Alternatively, they were devoted to God despite their strong evil inclination (Yefeh To’ar). and would repay [umshalmin] goodness with evil.

“His bow [kashto] sat firm [be’eitan], and the arms of his hands were golden, by the hands of the mighty One of Jacob, from there, from the Shepherd of the stone of Israel” (Genesis 49:24).
“His bow sat firm” – this is Aksilo, which produces during the sign of Sagittarius.¹¹⁰Aksilo – until [ad] Kislev
Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Who caused you to be rejected from the mighty ones [ha’eitanim]?¹¹¹That you are not included as one of the patriarchs (Maharzu; cf. Matnot Kehuna, Etz Yosef). It is the passion [kashyut] that you experienced with your master’s wife.¹¹²This is according to the opinion that initially Joseph wished to consort with her. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: The bow was drawn until taut and was then loosened.¹¹³Joseph experienced arousal for Potifar’s wife but then subdued his passion and became relaxed once again. That is what is written: “His bow [kashto] sat firm” – his passion [kashyuto].
“And the arms [zero’ei] of his hands were golden [vayafozu]” –Yitzḥak said: His seed [zaro] scattered [nitpazeru[ and emerged through his fingernails.
“From the God of your father, and He shall help you, and the Almighty, and He shall bless you; blessings of the heavens above, blessings of the depths lying beneath, blessings of breasts and of womb” (Genesis 49:25).
“By the hands of the mighty One of Jacob” (Genesis 49:24) – Rav Huna in the name of Rav Matana: He saw the image of his father’s face, and it cooled his blood. Rabbi Menaḥama said in the name of Rabbi Ami: He saw the image of his mother’s face, and it cooled his blood. “From there, from the Shepherd of the stone of Israel” (Genesis 49:24) – he saw the stone of Israel,¹¹⁴A reference to his mother, Rachel, who was the cornerstone of the home of Jacob, i.e. Israel (Matnot Kehuna). and it cooled his blood. Who caused this? “From the God of your father.”
“Above [me’al]” – this is Azkarot that is in Baal.¹¹⁵The reference is to a location of high altitude at the edge of the border of the territory of Joseph in the Land of Israel (Etz Yosef). “Lying beneath” – this is Beit She’an, in Beit HaSherai.¹¹⁶A low-lying area in the territory of Joseph. Both Azkarot and Beit She’an had excellent produce (Etz Yosef; cf. Rabbi David Luria).
“Blessings of breasts and of womb” – Rabbi Luleyani ben Turin in the name of Rabbi Yitzḥak: He blessed him with the offspring of animals. You [must] say [so]: Go out and see, whose udder is in the place of its womb? You find it only in an animal. Rabbi Abba bar Zutera said: Come and see to what extent our patriarch Jacob was fond of Rachel. Even when he came to bless her son, he made him secondary to her: “Blessings of breasts and of womb” – may the breasts that nursed this one and the womb that produced this one be blessed.
“The blessings of your father surpass the blessings of my parents until the edge of the eternal hills; they shall be on the head of Joseph, on the head of the elect among his brothers” (Genesis 49:26).
“The blessings of your father” – those who taught me and those who conceived me.
“Until the edge [taavat] of the eternal hills [givot olam]” – what the hills of the world [givot olam]¹¹⁷The patriarchs. desired [nitavu].
“They shall be on the head of Joseph” – here it says “they shall be,” but elsewhere it says: “It shall come [tavota] [upon the head of Joseph]” (Deuteronomy 33:16). Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: You will eat its produce [tevuata] in this world, and the principal is intact for the World to Come.
“On the head of the elect [nezir] among his brothers” – as his brothers distanced him and caused him to be isolated [nazir].¹¹⁸The term nazir can mean separating, or something that is separated (see, e.g., Leviticus 22:2; Isaiah 1:4), and so too, Joseph was separated from his brothers. Rabbi Yitzḥak of Migdal said: You are the crown of your brothers. Rabbi Levi said: He was an actual nazirite, as Rabbi Levi said: All twenty-two years that he did not see his brothers, he did not taste the taste of wine. They, too, did not taste wine until they saw him. That is what is written: “They drank and became intoxicated with him” (Genesis 43:34) – with him they drank; without him they did not drink.

“Joseph said to them: Fear not, for am I in place of God? You intended me harm; God intended it for good, in order to engender as it is today, to keep many people alive. And now, fear not; I will sustain you, and your children. He comforted them, and spoke to their heart” (Genesis 50:19–21).
“Joseph said to them…You intended me harm…And now, fear not…and spoke to their heart” – is there any person who speaks to the heart? It is, rather, words that comfort the heart. He said to them: ‘You were likened to the dust of the earth. Just like the dust of the earth; can anyone eliminate the dust of the earth? You were likened to the beasts of the field; can anyone eliminate the beasts of the field? You were likened to the stars; can anyone eliminate the stars? Ten stars sought to eliminate one star and were unable to overcome it. Can I change the natural order of the world [and eliminate] twelve tribes? For they correspond to the twelve hours of the day and correspond to the twelve constellations in the firmament.’
Rabbi Simlai said: [Joseph said to them:] ‘You are the body and I am the head – “it will come upon the head of Joseph” (Deuteronomy 33:16). If the body is taken, what good is the head? Moreover, before you descended to here, they would call me a slave. After you descended to here, I informed them of my distinguished lineage. If this is so, would I kill you? Could that be? If I were to kill you, they would say: This one cannot be trusted. He did not keep faith with his brothers; with whom will he keep faith? [Or] they would say: They were not his brothers, but a group of lads whom he saw and called his brothers. Know that this is so, for ultimately he concocted a pretext and killed them.’
[Joseph] said: ‘Shall I become an antagonist to my father; my father begets and I bury? Shall I become an antagonist to the Holy One blessed be He; the Holy One blessed be He blesses and I diminish?’ That is what is written: “He comforted them.”
The matters may be inferred a fortiori: If Joseph, who spoke gentle words to the heart of the tribes, was able to comfort them so, when the Holy One blessed be He will come to comfort Jerusalem, all the more so. That is what is written: “Comfort, comfort My people…” (Isaiah 40:1).