V'Zot HaBerachah — As I Read It

Deuteronomy 33

1

Here is the blessing of the man of God,

when facing death,

Moshe's blessing of the entire family of Israel.

2

These were his words: HaShem came from Sinai

He broke through to them from Seir,

His light shining to them from Mount Paran

He arrived from amidst holy myriads

holding the fiery rule of law for them in his right hand.

3

Indeed, You are a Lover of a people,

giving them sanctuary, all of them as one,

in the hollow of Your hand.

They flocked to the centre of your footsteps

and are raised up by Your words.

4

Which words? The Torah,

commanded to us through Moshe,

as a matrimonial inheritance

for the corporate assembly of Jacob.

5

Thus, He became King in Jeshurun,

when the heads of the people

unified and assembled

the tribes of Israel as one.

6

May Reuven be rejuvenated and not die

and his count not be as if of corpses

7

All this, he said, centres on Judah

And he said concerning Judah,

Oh HaShem, hear the voice of Judah,

and reconcile him with his people

May he wrestle with his own hands to victory

with his own hands and Your help,

may he gain victory over his adversaries

8

Facing Levi he said

[The voice of] your Tummim and Urim

will be with Your Hassid,

the one You, [HaShem] proved at Massah,

who you tested and proved

through the waters of Meribah

9

He was the one who

said to his father and mother,

I do not belong to you,

Even to his own brothers

he said, I no longer see you

And he did not turn aside

on account of his children

but observed Your word

and kept your covenant

10

They shall educate Jacob in Your judgments

and instruct Israel in Your Torah

They shall place the incense before You

and indeed, the whole burnt offerings on Your altar

11

May HaShem bless his spiritual power

and establish his spiritual efforts and endeavours;

undermining the degenerative power

of those who compete with him

so that they will never defeat him

12

Facing Benjamin he said:

You are beloved of HaShem,

he rests securely beside Him;

He ever protects him,

He holds him between His shoulders

13

Facing Joseph he said,

his land is from the blessings of HaShem,

from the fortunes of the heavens,

from its dew,

and from the deepest depths

that pool below

14

indeed, with the fortune produced by the sun

and with the fortune produced by the moon

15

and the fortune of the most primary mountains

and the fortune of the perennial hills

16

and the fortune of the earth itself and its fullness

due to the desire of the One who dwells

in the thorn bush

that all this should rest on the head

of the one separated from his brothers

17

Like a firstborn bull

glorious and majestic his untamed horns

gathering peoples together

from all the ends of the earth

the myriads of Ephraim

the thousands of Manasseh

18

Zebulun and Issachar, Rejoice!

In your setting out, Zebulun

and your staying, Issachar in your tents

19

Through them, peoples are called by the mountain!

There they offer up a sacrifice of righteousness

For they nursed from the abundance of the seas

and from the sands

20

Facing Gad he said,

Blessed is He who enlarges you, Gad!

like a lion he rips away the scalp and the limb

21

He recognized his inheritance

is first where the lawgiver is concealed

The army of Gad is at the head of the army of Israel

He performed the righteousness of HaShem with Israel

22

Facing Dan he said,

Dan is like a young lion

leaping from Bashan

23

Facing Naftali he said,

You are filled with the fullness

that is from HaShem

Take possession of the northern sea

and the southern shore

24

Facing Asher he said,

yours is the blessing of children

The inspiration of all your brothers,

through Asher anointing the foot with oil

25

Asher’s gates are strong like bronze

and your locks like iron

May your later years

be as in the days of your youth

26

Jeshurun, there is nothing and no one like your God...

riding through the heavens to help you

Through the skies in his majesty

27

The God who is beyond all and in all

Is your refuge

He removed the enemy before you

His commandment destroyed them

28

Israel alone dwells in safety,

safe in the land of grain and wine,

in the land of Jacob’s blessing,

in the land of the dew of heaven

29

Blessed are you, O Israel!

Who else is like you?

You are a people saved by HaShem,

who is your protecting Shield,

your Sword of victory!

Your opponents shall come bowing,

pretending to acknowledge you

But you shall truly stand above them