2023/5783

Parashat VaYechi, the last Parashah in Sefer BeReishit, marks the culmination of the story of the Avot and springs forward into the story of Yaakov Avinu’s children. Before Yaakov dies, he gives a Berachah to his descendants, first to his grandchildren Ephraim and Menasheh and then to his sons. Although most of Yaakov’s Berachot seem to be wonderful blessings, some of them appear to be rebuke more than a Berachah. However, it is challenging to believe that Yaakov’s final words to his children would be harsh. Therefore, we must take an in-depth look at his words to understand the deeper meaning of his Berachot.

Especially when looking at the Berachot of Shimon and Levi, Yaakov seems to be scolding his sons. A particularly troublesome part of their Berachah is when Yaakov tells them, “Achalekeim BeYaakov,” “I will separate them throughout Yaakov” (BeReishit 49:7). Although this phrase seems to be a blatant curse, Rashi (ibid. s.v. Achalekeim BeYaakov) interprets this phrase to be a complement by which Yaakov is informing Shimon and Levi that their descendants will be great people in Eretz Yisrael, and therefore, they will scatter throughout the land to have a positive influence on the rest of the Jews. Why do Shimon and Levi deserve to merit this great Berachah, especially after Yaakov cursed their bad tempers?

The meaning of Yaakov’s words to Shimon and Levi is a bit misleading at first. Although one might erroneously conclude that Yaakov Avinu is cursing them for their anger, he is really cursing the attribute of anger, not his sons. He tells his sons, “Arur Apam Ki Az,” “Anger should be cursed, for it is mighty” (ibid. 49:7).  Perhaps Yaakov is trying to teach his sons about the importance of avoiding rage.

Whereas Levi’s temper is apparent early in his life when he wipes out the city of Shechem, it seems that he did Teshuvah and learned to use his anger positively. After the Cheit Ha’Eigel, Shevet Levi uses their “anger” to exact justice upon all who sinned. Although we can see that Yaakov’s words to Levi became a Berachah, it is not apparent that Shimon took his father’s words to heart. Why is there such a drastic difference between Shimon and Levi’s outcomes if they both received the same message from their father?

Rav Shmuel Kamenetsky explains that Yaakov’s Berachot to his children were not just blessings, but they also pointed out his children’s strengths, weaknesses, and uniqueness. Each of his children had a choice to use his talents to serve Hashem or for other destructive purposes. When Yaakov granted his Berachah to Shimon and Levi, he praised their passion in everything they did. The question was whether they would use their passion and zeal for good or bad. We see that Shevet Levi successfully controlled their rage and used it for good, but we do not see the same regarding Shevet Shimon.

We can learn a very important lesson from the Berachah of Shimon and Levi. Each of us is given different attributes, which can be used for good or bad. We must try to limit our bad characteristics and try to develop our good characteristics. More importantly, we must train ourselves to use our negative attributes for good. Hopefully, in doing so, we will fulfill the wish of Yaakov Avinu and merit many Berachot.