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And Jacob called his sons and said, “Come together that I may tell you what is to befall you in days to come.

Assemble and hearken, O sons of Jacob;
Hearken to Israel your father:

ואגידה לכם THAT I MAY TELL YOU — He wished to reveal to them the end of Israel’s exile but the Shechinah departed from him and he began to speak of other things (Genesis Rabbah 98:2).

באחרית הימים, at the end of the period allocated to life on earth as we know it. Yaakov speaks of the arrival of the Messiah which will signify the end of the existence of the nations that oppose G’d and the Kingdom of G’d on earth. At that time the measure of sin that these nations accumulate will be full to overflowing, so that G’d will feel at liberty to bring about the appropriate retribution. [the concept is as old as Avraham, to whom G’d explained that realisation of his offspring disinheriting the Canaanites will have to await the time when the measure of sin of these people will be full. (Genesis 15,16). Ed.] Our author, drawing on various prophecies of the Books of Prophets to support his interpretation of באחרית הימים, “the end of days,” quotes Jeremiah 46,28: “for I will make an end to all the nations among which I have banished you; but I will not make an end of you!” He also quotes Bileam’s prophecy in Numbers 24,14 detailed in verse 17, in which he prophesies the doom befalling all the nations pre-eminent in his time and describes Israel as triumphant at that time. He adds that his prophecy is not one the fulfillment of which is imminent, but that much time will elapse before it will be realised. Similar prophecies are not only found in Michah 4,1 but even in our chapter when blessing Yehudah in verse 10, Yaakov speaks of the time frame he has in mind as the one when Shiloh will arrive, the one to whom nations will pay homage.

ושמעו אל ישראל אביכם, preserve the teachings Israel taught throughout his life. When you do that you will be entitled to call yourselves בני ישראל, “The Children of Israel.” He, on the other hand, will be proud to call himself “your father.” It means that you as well as I have contended successfully when facing challenges set for you by G’d and by man. As a result, you will not forfeit the good G’d has in store for you.

All these were the tribes of Israel, twelve in number, and this is what their father said to them as he bade them farewell, addressing to each a parting word appropriate to him.

וזאת אשר דבר להם אביהם ויברך אתם AND THIS IS IT THAT THEIR FATHER SPOKE UNTO THEM WHEN (literally, and) HE BLESSED THEM — But were there not some of his sons whom he did not bless but whom, on the contrary, he reproached? But this is the explanation of these words: and this is it that their father spake unto them, viz., all that has been said above in this chapter, whether it be blessing or reproach. You might therefore think that he did not bless Reuben, Simeon and Levi at all — Scripture therefore states, “and he blessed them” (i.e. the 12 tribes alluded to at the beginning of the verse) which implies all of them. (Pesikta Rabbati 7).

אשר כברכתו according to his blessing, etc. Each person received a blessing in keeping with his individual personality and achievements. You must not forget that different souls possess different potentials. Some souls are able to rise to the level of being priests, others to the level of being kings, etc. Still others have the potential to achieve greatness in Torah knowledge, or temporal successes such as wealth, or personal heroism. Jacob endeavoured to match his blessings to what he perceived to be the nature of each of his sons' special attributes.

כל אלה שבטי ישראל שנים עשר, “all these are the twelve tribes of Israel.” We would have expected the Torah to write אלה שבטי ישראל. Why did the Torah add the word "כל?" Seeing that Yaakov had severely criticized Reuven, Shimon, and Levi, I might have thought that the fact they were not given a blessing placed them outside the fold. In order to prevent us from making such an assumption the Torah had to add the word כל to show that all of Yaakov’s sons qualified for becoming founders of the twelve tribes of Israel (Rashi). Personally, I believe that this verse is an allusion that all of existence is due only to the merit of the twelve tribes of Israel. This is the true meaning of the words כל אלה, “all of these.” The same expression has been used by the prophet Isaiah to describe the entire universe (Isaiah 26,2) “all of these My hand has created.” This is also what the sages in Bereshit Rabbah 1,4 had in mind when they said that prior to creating the universe G’d planned the creation of the Jewish people. This may be why the number 12 is so prominent in all three parts of the universe. In the “highest” part of the universe, the throne of G’d is “surrounded” by 12 angels just as Solomon’s throne which represented G’d’s throne on earth was guarded by 12 lions which faced each other on the 6 steps leading up to that throne (Kings I 10,20). Jeremiah added that no such throne was ever made for any other Kingdom. The central part of the universe contains 12 horoscopes which symbolize the forces which govern that part of the universe; finally, in our terrestrial part of the universe the twelve tribes of Israel represent the forces without which this part of the universe would cease to exist. This is the deeper meaning of what Solomon meant when he said in Kohelet 7,14 “the one no less than the other was G’d’s doing.”

§ In continuation of Rav Naḥman’s questions of Rabbi Yitzḥak, the Gemara relates: Rav Naḥman and Rabbi Yitzḥak were sitting and eating together at a meal. Rav Naḥman said to Rabbi Yitzḥak: Let the Master say a matter, i.e., share a Torah idea with me. Rabbi Yitzḥak said to Rav Naḥman that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: One may not speak during a meal, lest the trachea will precede the esophagus. Food is meant to enter the esophagus, and when one speaks his trachea opens and the food might enter there. And therefore, one should not speak during a meal, as he might come into the danger of choking.

After they had eaten, Rabbi Yitzḥak said to Rav Naḥman that Rabbi Yoḥanan said as follows: Our patriarch Jacob did not die. Rav Naḥman asked him in surprise: And was it for naught that the eulogizers eulogized him and the embalmers embalmed him and the buriers buried him? Rabbi Yitzḥak replied to Rav Naḥman: I am interpreting a verse, as it is stated: “Therefore do not fear, Jacob My servant, says the Lord, neither be dismayed, Israel, for I will save you from afar, and your seed from the land of their captivity” (Jeremiah 30:10). This verse juxtaposes Jacob to his seed: Just as his seed is alive when redeemed, so too, Jacob himself is alive.

But you,
Have no fear, My servant Jacob
—declares the LORD—
Be not dismayed, O Israel!
I will deliver you from far away,
Your folk from their land of captivity.
And Jacob shall again have calm
And quiet with none to trouble him;

2 Rabbi Nachman opened [his discourse]: "And you, have no fear, My servant Yaakov" (Jeremiah 30:10) is speaking about Yaakov, as it is written (Genesis 28:12), "He had a dream; a stairway was set on the ground [...]." Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman said, "These [angels that Yaakov saw in the dream] are the ministering angels of the nations of the world." For Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman said, "It teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, showed Yaakov our father, the ministering angel of Babylonia ascend seventy rungs; of Medea, thirty-five rungs; of Greece, one hundred and eighty rungs; and of Edom [he saw] ascend and did not know how many. At that time, Yaakov our father feared. He said, 'Is it possible that this one has no descent?' The Holy One, blessed be He, said, '"And you, have no fear, My servant Yaakov"; even if he comes up and sits with Me, I will bring him down from there.' This is [the understanding of] that which is written (Obadiah 1:4), 'Should you nest as high as the eagle, should your eyrie be lodged among the stars; even from there I will pull you down.'" Rabbi Berakhiah, Rabbi Chelbo and Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai said in the name of Rabbi Meir, "It teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, showed Yaakov the ministering angel of Babylonia ascend and descend; of Medea ascend and descend; of Greece ascend and descend; of Edom ascend and descend. The Holy One, blessed be He said to Yaakov, 'You should also ascend.' At that time, Yaakov our father feared and said, 'Lest, God forbid, just like there was a descent for these, for me too [will there be one].' The Holy One, blessed be He said to him, '"And you, have no fear." If you ascend, you will not ever have a descent.' [But] he did not trust, and did not ascend." Rabbi Berakhiah, Rabbi Chelbo said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai [that] Rabbi Meir expounded, "'Nonetheless, they went on sinning and had no faith in His wonders' (Psalms 78:32). This [refers to] our father Yaakov who did not trust and did not ascend. The Holy One, blessed be He, said, 'If you had trusted and ascended, you would not have descended again. But now that you did not trust and did not ascend, your children will in the future be subjugated in this world with taxes, crop-taxes, penalties and poll-taxes to these four empires. At that time, Yaakov feared. He said in front of the Holy One, blessed be He, 'Master of the world, is it possible it is forever?' He said to him, 'Be not dismayed, Israel, for I will deliver you from far away' (Jeremiah 30:11)." It is like you say (Isaiah 39:3), "They have come to me [...], from Babylon.” "Your folk from their land of captivity" (Jeremiah 30:10), from Gaul, and Spain and its fellows; "and Yaakov shall return," from Babylonia; "and have calm," from Medea; "and quiet," from Greece; "with none troubling," from Edom. "For I will finish all the nations among which I have dispersed you" (Jeremiah 30:11) - the nations of the world that finish their fields, I will finish; but Israel who does not finish their fields - as you say (Leviticus 23:22), "you shall not finish the corner of your field" - "I will not finish; but I will chastise you in measure" - to chastise you with afflictions in this world in order to cleanse you for the future to come. When? In the seventh month.

AND HE EXPIRED, AND WAS GATHERED TO HIS PEOPLE. But the word “death” is not mentioned in his case. Our Rabbis therefore said, “Jacob, our father, did not die.” This is the language of Rashi.
Now according to this opinion of our Rabbis, the difficulty arises: Now Jacob applied the term “death” to himself, as it is written, Behold, I die, but G-d shall be with you! Now perhaps he did not know it himself, or it may be that he did not wish to pay honor to himself. Similarly, with respect to the verse, And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead, we must say that to them he was dead, or it may be that they did not at all know of this. Now the purport of this Midrash [which states that “Jacob, our father, did not die],” is that the souls of the righteous are bound in the bind of life with the Eternal, and his soul covereth him all the day, “wearing a scarlet garment” so that she not be stripped naked, as Jacob’s [soul was privileged to do continually], or which she dons at certain occasions [as do the souls of lesser righteous individuals]. This matter will be understood in the light of what is told in Tractate Shabbath and Tractate Kethuboth.