דן ידין עמו כאחד שבטי ישראל יהי דן נחש עלי דרך שפיפן עלי ארח ... לישועתך קויתי ד' “Dan will avenge his people, the tribes of Yisrael will be united as one. Dan will be a serpent on the highway, a viper by the path ... For Your salvation do I long, O Hashem!” (Bereishis 49:16-18)
Shortly before his death, Yaakov gathered his 12 sons, who represent the 12 tribes from which all Jews are descended, and gave each of them a berachah uniquely tailored to their unique role in Klal Yisroel. In his blessing to the tribe of Dan, Yaakov began by stating that he would avenge his nation through his descendant Shimshon, who would punish our enemies like a venomous serpent. Before moving on to the next son in line, Yaakov appended the words, “Hashem, I long for Your salvation.”
This message – oy, Hashem should help you – seems out-of-place and must have been depressing for Dan to hear. What did Yaakov see in Dan’s future that caused him to make this comment?
Rav Yisroel Reisman explains that Dan is the shevet [tribe] who serves Hashem even in lowly and difficult circumstances. In Parshas Beha’aloscha (Bamidbar 10:25), the tribe of Dan is described as מאסף לכל המחנת – the gatherer of all the tribes. Rashi writes that because they traveled behind all the other tribes, they found all the objects that were dropped or lost by those in front of them and returned them to their rightful owners. This was not always the easiest or most desirable assignment, but Dan’s job was to do mitzvos from the unenviable position in the rear.
Similarly, in Parshas Vayakhel (Shemos 35:34), Moshe informed the Jewish people that Hashem selected Oholiav from the tribe of Dan to join Betzalel from the tribe of Yehuda to oversee the construction of the Mishkan. Rashi notes that it is surprising that a member of one of the lowest tribes (Dan) was chosen to work with someone from the great tribe of Yehuda.
Rav Tzaddok points out that just as Yaakov compared Yehuda to a lion when he said גור אריה יהודה (Bereishis 49:9), so too did Moshe later call Dan a lion – דן גור אריה (Devarim 33:22). Chazal say (Ta’anis 31a) that in the future, the righteous will make a circle to dance around Hashem in Gan Eden. In contrast to the desert where they traveled in a straight line, with Yehuda in front and Dan in the back, there will come a time when the ends of the line will join up to form a circle, which means that Yehuda and Dan will be next to each other and hold hands. Each of them served Hashem through the job assigned to them, and as coveted as Yehuda’s position of king surely was, Dan’s less valued focus on picking up and returning lost objects was equally precious to Hashem.
Rav Reisman adds that our generation resembles Dan in the sense that we too come at the end of all those who preceded us. We also live in a time of tremendous difficulty and bitterness. Although we struggle to comprehend why Hashem gives us the challenges we face, we can take comfort in the knowledge that by emulating Dan’s trusting and unquestioning ways, there will come a time soon when the circle will be closed, and we will be connected to our righteous Avos. (R’ Ozer Alport)
