ייִדישער מחשבֿה אויף בראשית 49:10

(Gen. 49:10) “nor a lawgiver from among his descendants” -- In the line of Yesod this is said about Mashiach ben Yosef. This is the explanation of the Gaon in Tikunei Hazohar (p. 36). There it is written: “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from among his descendants” refers to the fact that both meshichim will exist in every generation.

And He informed him also that in leaving the land of Israel he required greater protection than when he was in the land. This is to be inferred from the verse (Genesis 28:16): "And I will be with you, and I will protect you wherever you go, and I will return you to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you." Every "until" in Scripture denotes one of two things: either the cessation of something at a particular time, as in (Exodus 24:14): "And to the elders he said: 'Wait for us here until we return to you,'" the implication being that they should not wait after their return (this being the sense of "until" in the preponderant number of instances in Scripture), or (in a case where something should more likely obtain beyond that particular time), the obtaining of that thing even up to that time (and needless to say, beyond that time, when it is more likely to obtain). Of this second variety is (Genesis 49:10): "The staff shall not depart from Judah, nor the scepter from between his feet, until Shiloh comes," in which the meaning is that even when the kingdom "hovers" between the tribes and it be dictated that the tribe of Judah have no kingship whatsoever, still, so long as there is a king in Israel, Judah's punishment will not be so great as to divest him entirely of the staff of kingdom — until Shiloh, the anointed king [Messiah] comes, at which time the kingdom will even more obviously not depart from him. And of this variety, likewise, is the "until" in "for I will not leave you until I have done…" For the meaning cannot be: I will not leave you until then, but afterwards I will leave you. The meaning, rather, is as follows: G-d informs Jacob that the union between the righteous and the Blessed One being stronger in the chosen land than outside it, it should follow that He leave him [now that Jacob is leaving the land], but his going being for the purpose of fulfilling his father's command, viz. (Genesis 28:6): "Do not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan," the Blessed One will protect him and be with him [even there], for one who cleaves to good people inclines his heart to service of the L-rd and one who does not do so causes his seed to be removed from Him.

And this is as the Midrash (Eichah Rabbah 2:17) concludes: "When the day arrives, 'The L-rd alone will be exalted on that day'" (Isaiah 2:17). This refers to the time of our Messiah. And this is what was intimated by Jacob (Genesis 49:10): "The staff shall not depart from Judah nor the sceptre from between his feet until Shiloh shall come, and his shall be the gathering of the peoples." As Onkelos translated "…forever, until Messiah comes, to whom the kingdom belongs, and to whom the peoples will give obedience." The intent of "and his shall be the gathering of the peoples" is that all will be gathered to him and he will teach them his judgments. The interpretation of the verse is as follows: "The staff shall not depart from Judah" to one of his brothers, for the kingdom in Israel will always be with the tribe of Judah. Similarly, the sceptre shall not depart from between his feet to be given to a different tribe. For so long as there is rule in Israel, Judah will be the ruler, until the advent of Messiah, the last of the kings of Israel. The idea is not that kingship shall never depart from Israel, for it is explicitly stated (Deuteronomy 28:36): "The L-rd shall bring you and the king whom you have set over you to a nation…," and the prophet [Jacob] would not assure the Jews that they would under no circumstances go into captivity so that Judah could reign over them. The meaning is, rather, that it will not depart from him to another of his brothers, and as long as there will be kingdom in Israel, it will reside in no other tribe but that of Judah.