[Avodah] Shim'on veLevi achim...

[Saul Mashbaum]

RMB
>>>

 I just realized something else (aside from Yaaqov's berakhah quoted in
the subject line) that connects Levi to Shim'on.

Levi has no cheileq venachalah.

Shim'on failed to conquer their nachalah ....

>>

R. Menachem Leibtag in his shiur on VZot Habracha explains that the key to
the order of b'rachot in that parsha is *geographical*. Moshe Rabbenu,
standing on the border of EY and looking in, sees the country as divided
among the shvatim, and blesses them and their nachala, from Yehuda in the
south, working north , concluding with the northern tribes of  Dan, Naftali,
and Asher. (RML explains clearly how Reuven and Levi fit into this
framework)
 This accounts for Shimon's puzzling omisssion from Moshe's brachot; this
shevet had not nachala of its own, but was included in the nachala of
Yehuda.
RSRH in his commentary to the Torah alludes very briefly to this concept.

The entire shiur, most highly recommended, is at
http://www.tanach.org/vzot.htm
Saul Mashbaum
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.aishdas.org/pipermail/avodah-aishdas.org/attachments/20081113/f4f41899/attachment-0002.htm>