“Zevulun shall dwell by seashores”—Where the Sea Wants to Inundate the Entire World
At this point, I am eager to offer “chizuk”—moral support—to every Jew who fulfills the role of Zevulun in Olam HaZeh—i.e., someone who must work for a living to support his family and to support those who study Torah full-time, the Yissachars of the world. Fortunately, many of them should be applauded for also establishing fixed times for their own Torah-study. So, let us focus on the berachah Yaakov Avinu bestowed on Zevulun (Bereishis 49, 13): "זבולון לחוף ימים ישכון והוא לחוף אניות וירכתו על צידון".—Zevulun shall dwell by seashores; and he shall be at the ship’s harbor, and his end is at Sidon.
Here Rashi comments: His land will be on seashores . . . “And he” will constantly be found at “the shore of ships,” at the harbor, where ships bring merchandise. For, Zevulun would engage in commerce, and provide food for the tribe of Yissachar, while they would engage in Torah-study. This is the meaning of Moshe’s statement (Devarim 33, 18): “Rejoice Zevulun in your going forth, and Yissachar in your tents.” Zevulun would go out to engage in commerce, and Yissachar would engage in Torah-study in tents.
We will endeavor to explain the profound intent of Yaakov Avinu when bestowing this specific berachah on Zevulun: “Zevulun shall dwell by seashores”—that his livelihood would be specifically associated with seashores. It seems obvious that there is an intimate relationship between Zevulun’s role providing financial support for Yissachar, enabling him to devote himself to the study of Torah, and Zevulun’s “parnasah” at the seashores. To explain the matter, let us consider the Gemara’s teaching above that HKB”H says to Yisrael, “My son, I created the yetzer hara, and I have
