במדבר ב,ז : מַטֵּה זְבוּלֻ ן וְנָֹש ִּיא לִּבְנֵי זְבוּלֻן אֱלִּיאָֹב בֶּּן-חֵלֹן
Baal HaTurim: By the other three times that the third tribe is mentioned (verses 14,22,29) there is a conjunctive letter Vov added as a prefix (this is logical since the third tribe joins the first two). However, by Zevulun there is no Vov. This is due to the unique relationship between the tribe of Yissochar (which is mentioned immediately prior) which devoted itself to Torah study, while the tribe of Zevulun was involved in commerce to support both of them. Thus, the two tribes are considered as one tribe to share equally the reward of the Torah study.
The Torah left off the letter “vav” so that we realize that Zevulun was no regulated to a secondary rank. Even more, the Gemara (Bava Basra 9a) stated that “greater is the enabler that the actual doer.”
The Sefer “Growth Through Torah” comments that just as those who support Torah financially share the merit of the Torah study, so too anyone who influences another person to study Torah shares in the merits of that person.
