When Yaakov Avinu was on his deathbed, preparing to leave this world, he gave blessings to all of his sons. He turned to them and with his last breaths he spoke to each one words of prophecy; to each son a different blessing. And after he finished speaking, the Torah sums it up as follows: ר∆ׁ ֲ̆‡ ̇‡ֹז¿ו ם∆יהƒבֲ‡ ם∆הָל ר∆ּבƒּ„ – And this, all the words said above, is what their father spoke to them,םָ ֹ̇ו‡¿ך∆רָב¿יַו – and he gave them his blessing,םָֽ ֹ̇‡¿ךַר≈ּב ֹו ָ̇כ¿רƒב¿ּכ ר∆ׁ ֲ̆‡ ׁ ̆יƒ‡ – each man according to his blessing, he blessed them (Bereishis 49:28).
And so, in pashtus, the plain meaning is that what he had said before to each one of his sons or concerning each one of his sons was the blessing. It could be that in addition to that he blessed them with other blessings but the plain meaning is that what he said to his sons as recorded in the pessukim, that is the blessing.
Curses and Punishments
But if you look at the words, you see he didn’t bless all of them; there were exceptions. Because Shimon and Levi, he didn’t bless them at all. On the contrary, they were cursed. Yaakov said, םָּפַ‡ רּרוָ‡ – Your anger is cursed (ibid. 7). It means they have a hot temper, these two. They almost brought catastrophe upon the whole family when they destroyed the people of Shechem. It was a rash and foolhardy undertaking that was conceived in anger, Yaakov said, and so there’s something in their personalities that needs to be adjusted and perfected. And so he cursed their wrath.
But not only their wrath. He cursed them with a punishment, a prophecy of retribution: בֹ ֲ̃ﬠַי¿ּב ם≈ ̃¿ּלַחֲ‡ – “I’m going to separate them in Yaakov,ל≈‡ָר¿ׂ ̆ƒי¿ּב ם≈ˆיƒפֲ‡ַו – and disperse them among Yisroel” (ibid.). It means these two families, Levi and Shimon, I’m not going to let them remain together in one place. If these hotheaded people, these kaasanim, will be together in one place, it’s too dangerous; who knows what they can do. They’ll make fights and revolutions; even worse troubles they’ll make. And so I must separate them from each other and from themselves too. They have to be scattered throughout the land. It means that even in their own land, they’ll always be in golus, in exile.
Prophecy Fulfilled
And that prophecy was fulfilled because when the land was divided by Yehoshua, these two tribes weren’t given a portion like all the other tribes. Levi received only arei halevi’im, individual towns here and there, scattered across the country. They didn’t live together in one place; they didn’t have a district for themselves.
And Shimon also had no territory of its own. At first they lived as guests with Yehuda, scattered across shevet Yehuda’s portion. Later they went elsewhere but it was always as a guest with no territory of their own. They had to dwell on the land of some other shevet; some here, some there.
And so, the prophecy came true. The tribes of Shimon and Levi remained separated and scattered, just like Yaakov had said it would be.
Hidden Blessings
Now, there’s a question here because to us this whole thing – “You’ll be dispersed and scattered” – seems to be a curse, a punishment. So what does it mean that ֹו ָ̇כ¿רƒבּ¿כ רׁ∆ ֲ̆‡ ׁ ̆יƒ‡ – every one according to his blessing, םָ ֹ̇‡¿ךַרּ≈ב – he blessed them. Here we have two sons who remain unblessed. On the contrary, they were cursed. The others, we can discern a bracha in what their father said to them, but here it’s not apparent. It’s a plain question: Where’s the blessing here?
Therefore we must say, whatever Yaakov Avinu said to his sons, to Shimon and Levi too, was a blessing. But it was like a physician’s prescription. Sometimes it’s a bitter prescription and at the moment it seems like a curse – and if he misuses the medicine it’ll remain a curse – but if the patient pays attention when the instructions are being given, then it turns out to be a blessing.
That’s why Yaakov Avinu made a preface to his blessings. It’s noteworthy that he said בֹ ֲ̃ﬠַי י≈נּ¿בּעו¿מׁƒ ̆¿ו - “Listen, sons of Yaakov.” And he said again, ל∆‡ּעו¿מׁƒ ̆¿ו ם∆יכƒבֲ‡ ל≈‡ָרׂ¿ ̆ƒי – and listen to your father Yisroel (ibid. 2). A double lashon: “Listen up my sons and listen again.” It means, study these words.
Now, if you go let’s say to a tzaddik for a blessing, a regular blessing, how much do you have to listen already? He gives you a blessing and you walk out. If he has some pull with Hakadosh Baruch Hu, so you’ll be blessed, and if he doesn’t, so you won’t be blessed. That’s all. What’s there to study?
A Different Kind Of Blessing
But Yaakov said,ּעו¿מׁƒ ̆ – “Pay attention” and he said it again:ּעו¿מׁƒ ̆ – “Pay attention.” So we see that Yaakov wasn’t merely handing them a package of blessings. He was giving them a different type of blessing, a blessing that needs your attention in order to be effective. And he was warning them that in order that they should know how to utilize it properly, they must listen while the instructions are being given and then always keep the words in mind and study them forever. That’s the point –ּעו¿מׁƒ ̆! Pay attention! How important it is to listen when a wise man is giving counsel or criticism.
That’s why, let’s say you have an audience with the Lubavitcher Rebbe or with Reb Yankev Kaminetzky or some other adam gadol and they give you a blessing, that’s wonderful. You’re very fortunate. But if it’s the other type of blessing – if it’s counsel and criticism – you should know that you’re even more fortunate. You should sharpen your ears and try to listen to every word, every nuance. And when you leave, don’t walk out in a daze or in a cloud of glory that you’re happy that you visited a great personality. When you leave, immediately try to recall exactly every word and if possible write it down. It’s a big bracha he’s giving you.
It hurts sometimes, that blessing? It’s uncomfortable? Well, just because we like to be complimented and patted on the head, doesn’t mean that the opposite is not a blessing. It’s like the blessing when a surgeon takes out a knife and begins to cut out, to excise the tumor. Only that when the surgeon is giving you that blessing, you can sleep through it. He’ll put a mask over your face, you’ll go to sleep, and the bracha will be chal; it’ll work. But the blessing of criticism and of a curse, like Yaakov gave to Shimon and Levi, that requiresּעו¿מׁƒ ̆ andּעו¿מׁƒ ̆ again and again.
The Greatness of Golus
Now, what was the result of their father’s ‘blessing’ that they’d be scattered and dispersed in Eretz Yisroel? How did not having their own land fit the crime of wrath that they had committed and how did the curse of golus become a blessing for them?
So you have to pay attention now. It doesn’t say the details in the Torah but pay attention to what happened because this was the intention. As the years went by Shimon and Levi and their descendants had plenty of time to meditate, to reflect on what happened to them. Even for the many years in Mitzrayim and for forty years in the Midbar too, they thought about these words, םָּפַ‡ רּרוָ‡.
And then when they entered Eretz Yisroel and all their brothers received a nachlah, a permanent share in the land that they didn’t receive, it made a tremendous impression on them. Everybody was talking about it and they knew the reason why; it was a reminder that the curse of their great-grandfather was being fulfilled and they had to do something about that. And that’s how the curse became a blessing. Because they understood that it can be a blessing, that it’s an opportunity for a different type of achievement.
Greatness in Golus
So what was the opportunity of בֹ ֲ̃ﬠַי¿ּב ם≈ ̃¿ּלַחֲ‡ ל≈‡ָר¿ׂ ̆ƒי¿ּב ם≈ˆיƒפֲ‡ַו – “I’m going to separate them in Yaakov and disperse them among Yisroel”?
Well, with my little head I can only tell you so much but everyone knows when you have your own land and you're independent so you're able to continue in carrying out your own wishes. You don't have the same opportunities for self-control as the man who is a tenant who is suffered by his hosts, those whose land he lives on. When you're not possessed of your own land you're not so arrogant. And so if Shimon lived for some time, let's say, in the land of Yehudah, they had to live in good behavior. If they did anything that displeased their host they could be driven out. So Shimon learned self-control; he had to behave.
Levi also, they didn’t have fields and estates like the other shevatim. They lived primarily in cities and they couldn’t raise their own crops. They didn't have income from their own fields so they had to get much of their parnassah from somebody else. You need help from other people. You have to buy things, trade things; you’re much more dependent on others.
The Teaching Tribes
And therefore Shimon and Levi were poor shevatim; in general they were the poor people of our nation. And poor people need help from the wealthy people and therefore they weren't so ready to get angry. A rich man can get angry more readily than a poor man. So Shimon and Levi were more humble. Their anger was tempered because of their golus.
Not only that, our Sages say that included in the curse of ם≈ˆיƒפֲ‡ַו, our father Yaakov sentenced them they should be melamdei tinokos, that Shimon should spread out across the nation to be teachers of children: ןֹעו¿מƒׁ ̆ ט∆ב≈ּׁ̆ƒמ ‡ָּל∆‡ ֹ̇ו ֹ̃ינוƒּ̆ י≈„¿ּמַל¿מָך¿ל ין≈‡ (Rashi 49:7). And Levi also,ָיך∆טָּפ¿ׁ ̆ƒמּרוֹיו, they were teachers. And so now Shimon and Levi are teaching Jewish children all over Eretz Yisroel.
Now, this I heard from a great man once; he explained, why were they sentenced to become teachers of children? Because if you’re an angry man, you cannot be around children much. At least not a teacher of children.
You know what it means to be a rebbi of children? Boys are always making trouble, all types of mischief. They’re kicking their feet under the table at each other while the rebbi is trying to teach them. That’s why the Gemara (Avos 2:6) says „≈ּמַל¿מ ןָ„¿ּפַַּ̃ה ‡ֹל – if you're impatient, if you get frustrated and angry, so you can't be a teacher of children. If you’ll start smacking all the boys who misbehave, the principal will fire you. If you ever tried teaching the youth, one quality that you’ll have to learn is to be patient. Otherwise, forget about it. Look for another job.
Employment Training
It’s like the man who becomes a grocer because his father was a grocer. Being a grocer also will teach you to be patient. You have to deal with people who are always bringing things back; after they open up the cans, they open up the bags and they want to return it. They come with complaints. You have to be patient. And so a grocery store is a career of character training. There are other professions like that but in those days, this was the one that was most easily available because the Jewish people all studied Torah and all taught Torah and therefore Shimon v’Levi became teachers of the young.
And so in order to keep their jobs, the Shimonites and Levites had to watch their temper; they were forced to practice self-control, humility, tolerating insult and degradation, frustrations. When you are ‘cursed’ to be in that profession, you're forced to contain your temper; and if you continue to force yourself to restrain your anger, in the course of time, you’re going to improve. And as the generations went by these two shevatim were forced by circumstances to mold their personalities more and more perfectly.
