Dan's Directive
Adapted by Channie Koplowitz Stein
As Yaakov Avinu is nearing the end of his life, he wants to tell the Tribes when Moshiach will come. While Hashem prevents him from disclosing this, Yaakov still wants to give the Tribes some guidelines that will help them navigate history, He blesses each of his sons by telling them, by inference, what their essence is and what their mission will be in moving our history forward. In this shiur, we will focus on Yaakov's message to Dan, and how we can also grow from these insights.
Dan's brachah differs from those Yaakov bestowed on the other tribes in that it is the only blessing that includes within it a prayer," לישועתך קויתי ה /For Your salvation do I long, Hashem." Many commentators note that Shimshon, from the Tribe of Dan, who was a judge in Israel and vanquished many Philistines, called out to Hashem to take his revenge on the Philistines. Robbed of his strength earlier and blinded, this was Shimshon's final attack and retribution, although he himself died in the process. Perhaps Yaakov thought Shimshon would be the Moshiach and bring the final salvation, but his death erased that possibility.
But Yaakov's messages, although they could also apply to individuals, were addressed to the whole tribe. Perhaps we can get some insight from Dan's name as we examine Rachel Imenu's reason for giving him the name Dan.
Rachel Imenu had been childless. In an attempt to become a mother in Israel, she gave her maidservant Bilhah to Yaakov as a wife. Dan was born from this union. Upon his birth, Rachel Imenu proclaims, "Danani /God has judged me, He has also heard my voice and given me a son," So she named him Dan. As the Midrash explains, Rachel Imenu said that Hashem judged me and found me wanting, but then He judged me again, listened to my prayers [and gave me this son].
There is another element of Yaakov's blessing to Dan that also demands examination. While Yaakov compares many of the shevatim to different animals, the snake seems particularly abhorrent. What did Yaakov see in Dan that precipitated this comparison?
From the very beginning of creation, the snake is associated with the yetzer horo and with idolatry. In fact, the very first idol established in Eretz Yisroel was Pesel Michah in the portion of Dan, and when the Kingdom of Israel split after the death of King Solomon, Yerovom ben Nevat, the king of the Northern Kingdom, established altars of worship in Dan so the ten tribes would not go to Jerusalem. In fact, writes Rabbi Adler in Parsha Illuminations, When Avraham Avinu went to war to retrieve Lot, he went only as far as Dan, for through Divine inspiration, he foresaw the idol worship that would happen there. At this revelation, Avraham's strength failed him.
Dan's territory was in the northernmost part of Eretz Yisroel. Rabbi Adler cites the medrash that proposes that Hashem left a section of the world incomplete, giving man free choice to worship idols. The section that was left incomplete was the north, and so Dan was vulnerable to avodah zara. This vulnerability was already manifest in the desert where Dan was the final, northernmost tribe in the cavalcade of tribes as they journeyed through the desert. Again in the desert, it was the son of Shlomit bat Divri of shevet Dan who cursed Hashem, and it was members of the Tribe of Dan who succumbed to the idolatry of Amalek.
But if Dan was the one who introduced avodah zarah/idol worship into Bnei Yisroel, he would also be the one who would eradicate it, for it was Dan's son Chushim who slew Esau, the human symbol of the yetzer horo. Dan is judgment, is tremendous strength necessary to overcome evil. It is Dan who will lead the way to the perfection of the world.
The snake can also be a positive symbol for Dan, writes Rabbi Lopiansky. All other animals walk in pairs, but the snake slithers along alone. In a sense, as Hashem is independent and Singular, acting alone, so too is the snake. This is the quality required of the warrior for God. This was the quality Shimshon exhibited, and this is a quality that will be needed to eradicate evil from this world.
But, Rabbi Lopiansky continues, no war can be won only by use of external force, whether it is an argument, a war of nations, the individual's internal conflict, or the war between good and evil. The weakness must exist in the arguments or armies of the enemy that then causes it to topple upon itself. But because evil has the ability to infect all around it, the core must remain strong and uninfected. In the desert, some of Dan's camp was within the clouds of Glory while the remainder of the tribe was camped outside. This explains the role of Dan, both in the desert, in the present, and in the future.
Dan was partly outside the camp, in a perfect position to return the stragglers to their proper places, whether these were just slow moving individuals or people who were lagging behind to test any strange waters outside the camp. Dan, already partially outside the camp, could connect with them. Shimshon himself, to destroy the Philistines, had to enter their camp and become part of them, even marrying one of them. He had to move fearlessly and independently, like a snake, So too today, the most effective emissaries of kiruv, of returning straying Jews to the fold, are those who themselves had at one point been part of that counter culture and can point out its weaknesses.
Dan himself was perhaps the most alone of all the shevatim. He had only one son, and that son was a deaf mute, unable to communicate effectively with the rest of the world, notes Rabbi Schorr in Halekach Vehalebuv. Dan represents that aloneness, collecting the stragglers and returning with them to still be part of Kllal Yisroel. Every individual has that same power within himself to kill the internal Esau and eradicate the yetzer horo within himself.
And yet Chushim son of Dan is considered by some of our commentators as the seventieth soul who descended to Mitzrayim. However, this is only possible if he is counted twice. This is the exact message for us, writes Rabbi Wolfson zt”l in Feasts of Faith. Shevet Dan, half within the camp surrounded by the Clouds of Glory and half without, is the tribe that will gather up the lost souls of Bnei Yisroel as Dan gathered up the stragglers in the desert, the last leg of the camp of Bnei Yisroel. In this role, Dan represents all of us, the last chapter in our history. We too are deaf and dumb to the words of Torah. We are lost. Our generation is bringing them back, bringing them to teshuvah and to the ultimate Geulah. So while the first counting of Chushim among sixty-nine souls refers to those who descended to Egypt, the second counting, the seventieth soul refers to our generation.
While every individual has the power to vanquish the yetzer horo, he needs the support of the community, his tzibur. Each of us is a Chushim ben Dan with our own challenges. As the verse in Tehillim says, "גדלו לה' אתי /Declare the greatness of Hashem with Me [as an individual], and let us exalt His Name together."
Let us now move to the second half of Rachel Imenu Imenu's declaration, "He [Hashem] has heard my voice..." Rachel Imenu is the paradigm of the voice that never gives up. Her desire for motherhood never stops, she never despairs, despite all indications to the contrary. She keeps praying, and she appreciates that Hashem has listened to her prayers.
This is the message Yaakov Avinu was imparting to Dan and to all of us, never to despair, always have faith, for, "For Your salvation do I long, Hashem" writes the Tosher Rebbe zt”l, this is how we bring Moshiach. This is the message we recite daily in Shemoneh Esrai. We begin that brachah with את צמח דוד... the prophecy that David's descendant should come speedily, and continue with the hope that we have never lost to this day, the very verse of Yaakov's blessing, and conclude with the acknowledgment and faith that Hashem is the source of our salvation. The Beit Hamikdosh will be built with our desire, for desire is the beginning of reality. Our lives must be filled with the desire for connection to Hashem.
This precept is so fundamental to our faith that we are told it is one of the questions we will be asked at our final judgment after 120 years, "Did you anticipate salvation, did you long for it?" If the longing is strong enough, Hashem will grant it even if we are otherwise unworthy, writes the Nesivos Shalom, the Slonimer Rebbe zt”l. This is the secret to redemption. Rachel Imenu's total devotion to her desire for children, her willingness to die to achieve that goal [indeed she did die at the birth of her second child CKS] is what brings the salvation. It is a lesson we must incorporate into our personal lives as well. In every dire situation, physical, spiritual, strengthen your faith in Hashem. adds Halekach Vehalebuv. And especially, do not give up on any individual Jew who is lost.
We can tap in to the power of these words every day during our morning prayers, writes Rabbi Elias. When we focus on these words, we realize that our distress is just part of the general malfunctioning of the world, and that Hashem Himself feels this distress. That reframing alone alleviates some of the pain we are feeling.
It is appropriate to remember to use our verse to yearn for the redemption particularly this week, since erev Shabbat is the Tenth of Tevet, the date that the siege of Yerushalayim began, and the first step in the destruction of our Beit Hamikdosh. As the Chazon Lamoed writes, citing the Chasam Sofer zt”l, each year on this date the Heavenly Court sits in judgment. Are we worthy of the redemption? Do we really long for redemption? And each year when our Beit Hamikdosh is not rebuilt, it is as if it was destroyed in our day. Therefore, our rabbis have ruled that if the Tenth of Tevet should fall out on Shabbat, we would even fast on Shabbat, to show how much we desire the redemption.
The power of longing is reflected in our tefillah. But, as Rabbi Mintzberg zt”l writes, even when Hashem does not grant what we ask, we accept His decree. That is what Rachel Imenu was saying in the second half of her declaration. Yes, I was willing to accept Hashem's judgment, but I still continued to pray, וגם/and He also listened and heard my prayer.
We should never say that our prayers are ineffective, that if Hashem wants something to happen, it will happen anyway, and if He doesn't want it to happen, it won't. Prayer is very powerful. As Rabbi Scheinerman points out in Ohel Moshe, we see that Leah Imenu is buried in Meorat Hamachpelah alongside Yaakov Avinu, while Rachel Imenu Imenu is buried on the crossroads. What were the forces behind these results? Because Rachel Imenu was always secure in her future marriage to Yaakov, she did not pray. In contrast, Leah felt destined to be married to the evil Esau. Therefore she prayed constantly to avoid that fate, and she merited being married to Yaakov Avinu, to be the mother of the majority of the tribes, and to lie beside him for eternity. She took nothing for granted. This was the message of Yaakov Avinu to Dan and to us; don't just yearn, but couple that yearning with prayer.
It is an absolute mitzvah to pray, but that does not mean we have fulfilled our obligation with our morning ritual. As Rabbi Pincus zt”l points out, citing Ramban and the Chinuch, we have an obligation to pray whenever we find ourselves in distress. Rabbi Pincus notes that the Brisker Rav zt”l would constantly recite our verse in prayer during conversations. Why? Because people were relying on him for reliable advice, and he felt the obligation to give sound advice so strongly that he always asked Hashem for help.
It is human nature to call out for help when in distress, hoping someone nearby will hear. Make it our second nature to call out to Hashem, for He is always nearby. In an interesting imagery, Rabbi Pincus writes that while it appears that we are rushing toward Hashem with our prayers, in fact, He is rushing toward us to save us. And in a beautiful interpretation based on grammar itself, the Modzitzer Rebbe zt”l turns our phrase around and says that Hashem Himself is yearning for our salvation.
Hope must spring eternal in the Jewish heart. When accompanied by prayer, Hashem will always listen. Therefore, we must never lose hope.