Good Morning. “The archers have bitterly grieved him, shot at him and hated him. But his bow remained in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob.” (Genesis 49:23-24) The Hebrew word translated as “archers” is...

Good Morning. “Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a well; his branches run over the wall.” (Genesis 49:22) The most eloquent blessing was reserved for Joseph who unites the best qualities of Reuben and Judah. He is a dreamer, a visionary some might say,...

Good Morning. “I have waited for your salvation, O Lord!” (Genesis 49:18) At the end of Jacob’s blessing upon Dan, he said something very interesting —“I have waited for your salvation, O Lord.” It is understood in rabbinical sources that Jacob was alluding to...

Good Morning. “Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a serpent by the way, a viper by the path, that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider shall fall backward.” (Genesis 49:16-17) The name Dan means “to judge” and carries the...

Good Morning. “Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between two burdens; he saw that rest was good, and that the land was pleasant; he bowed his shoulder to bear a burden, and became a band of servants.” (Genesis 49:14-15) The prophecy upon Issachar is interesting....

Good Morning. The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the people. (Genesis 49:10) Jacob’s blessing upon Judah established that the tribe of Judah would be the one to rule...

Good Morning. “Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s children shall bow down before you.” (Genesis 49:8) There is a sharp contrast between the word spoken to the previous three sons and the...

Good Morning. “Simeon and Levi are brothers; instruments of cruelty are in their dwelling place. Let not my soul enter their council; let not my honor be united to their assembly; for in their anger they slew a man, and in their self-will they hamstrung an ox. Cursed...

Good Morning. “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity and the excellency of power. Unstable as water, you shall not excel.” (Genesis 49:3-4) In the words spoken to his older sons, Jacob unabashedly rebukes...

Good Morning. And Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days: gather together and hear, you sons of Jacob, and listen to Israel your father. (Genesis 49:1-2) At the end of his life, the patriarch Jacob...

Good Morning. Now when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him; so he took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one...

Good Morning. And he blessed Joseph, and said: “God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has fed me all my life long to this day, the Angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; let my name be named upon them, and the name of my...