Rebbetzin Chava Kuperman
Let us continue examining the names of the tribal leaders and the information hidden within them about each tribe's mission:
The Tribe of Gad
The leader is Eliasaph, son of Deuel. In Hebrew, Eliasaph means “The Almighty has added.” Members of the tribe of Gad requested territory on the other side of the Jordan that was not originally included in the Promised Land. This territory was “added” to Eretz Yisrael. (Interestingly, the Almighty had promised these lands to Abraham as well—that is, the territory of 10 nations—whereas He promised Moses the lands of only 7 nations. According to His covenant, we will receive all of it with the coming of Mashiach.)
In describing the request for the eastern bank of the Jordan, the Torah curiously uses a singular verb: “And Gad and Reuven said…” Not “they said,” but “he said.” Gad is mentioned first. This means that he initiated the request—he was the one through whom the Almighty “added.”
Eliasaph's father is Deuel, which translates as “know the Almighty.”
The Book of Joshua (chapter 22) recounts how the tribes of Gad and Reuven built an altar exactly matching the shape of the altar erected in Shiloh. Very soon, the other tribes, who had settled the territory west of the Jordan, sent a delegation to investigate: what was going on?! There was already an altar in Shiloh! Building altars anywhere else is forbidden by the Almighty and is considered idolatry. “Yes!” the tribes of Gad and Reuven answered them. “This altar is the same shape as the one in Shiloh, but it was built not for sacrifices, only as testimony that we too are part of the Jewish people. In time, your children will tell our children that they are not Jews at all. So it will serve as proof that they are indeed Jews (who know the Almighty)!” The name Deuel can also be translated as “knowledge of the Almighty.”
Interestingly, there is a place in Scripture where the name Deuel is written as Reuel.
The letters “resh” and “dalet” look very similar. The difference is that resh has a little “tail” at the back, while “dalet” has none. These letters are easy to confuse. And confusing them can have unacceptable consequences, distorting the meaning. That is why, in important passages where they must under no circumstances be confused, the Torah emphasizes these letters by making them large.
The Torah does this in the Book of Deuteronomy (6,4): “Shema Yisrael, Hashem is our G-d, Hashem is one (echaD).” The word echad means “one,” but if, G-d forbid, dalet were confused with resh, it would become acher, meaning “other.” The word “other” usually has a negative meaning, symbolizing what lies on the “other side” (in essence, “other” is a symbol of dark forces, and since we try not to speak of bad things aloud, we say “another force”).
/It is known that entering Pardes—the deepest immersion in Torah study—left its mark on the four great sages who did so: Rabbi Akiva, Rabbi Shimon ben Azzai, Rabbi Shimon ben Zoma, and Elisha ben Avuyah. Rabbi Akiva entered and left in peace, both Rabbi Shimons died fairly soon afterward, and Elisha ben Avuyah, it is said, emerged different, acher. That is what he is called: “the other one”/.
The fact that the tribe of Gad wanted land on the other side of the Jordan could have led to something very good (the Almighty’s oneness spreading throughout the world), but also to something entirely different (the tribe remaining on the other side, becoming cut off from the children of Israel).
The Tribe of Ephraim, Son of Joseph
The leader was Elishama ben Ammihud.
Elishama means “He listened to Me.” This refers to Joseph listening to G-d and obeying Him alone, rather than the mistress of the house. Ammihud means “Splendor is with Me.”
That is, with the Almighty, rather than with evildoers (Midrash Tanchuma). The Or HaChaim says that Joseph’s trials of temptation began as soon as he arrived in Egypt and were repeated many times. Egyptian men and women made ever more attempts to lead him astray. The trial involving his seductive mistress proved the most difficult. There are allusions to other such incidents in various places. For example, when Jacob blesses Joseph, he says: “The young women walked along the walls.” Jacob knows that when the Ishmaelites brought Joseph into Egypt, everyone who saw his beauty threw small objects at him to attract his attention.
The Tribe of Manasseh, Son of Joseph
The leader was Gamaliel, son of Pedahzur.
The name Gamaliel consists of two parts and means “The Almighty has shown me kindness.” The name Pedahzur means “redeemed.” Here the Almighty is called the Rock, which carries a particular allusion: it was G-d who gave Joseph the strength not to sin, to stand firm like a rock. And when Joseph was slandered and thrown into prison, the Almighty sent him a reward—freedom, wealth, and the position of ruler of Egypt. It looks as though Joseph earned his deliverance.
In fact, all of this is the Creator’s kindness!
There is a midrash that reveals the secret of Joseph’s steadfastness. Look at how the setting of this drama is described. It says: “None of the household members were in the house, only Joseph and the mistress.” But why does it not say more simply, “No one was in the house”? Why make the sentence more complicated? Tradition tells us that none of the household members were indeed there, but this did not apply to someone who was not a resident of the house. G-d caused Jacob’s image to appear in the window before Joseph’s eyes, helping him restrain himself from sin.
The Tribe of Benjamin
The leader was Abidan, son of Gideoni.
“Avi dan” means “Father of Judgment.” Abidan’s father’s name was Gideoni, meaning “cutting off.” Thus, among other things, Abidan is the son of Cutting Off.
The first and most obvious force affecting the tribe of Benjamin is Judgment. By the end of the Book of Judges, almost the entire tribe has been wiped out (which also corresponds to the concept of cutting off).
This name also alludes to the first Jewish king, Saul (who belonged to the tribe of Benjamin), who was supposed to cut off (destroy) Amalek completely, but did not finish the task and paid the price: the Almighty judged him and deprived him of his kingdom (cut him off, severed him from the throne). The judgment the Almighty passed on Saul was all the more terrible because a king’s role and purpose is to be the father of the nation. King Saul’s descendants were almost completely wiped out.
Outstanding members of the tribe of Benjamin were Mordechai and Esther. They, too, fought Amalek and made every effort to destroy him. Mordechai and Esther also have no descendants.
The Tribe of Asher
The leader was Pagiel, son of Ocran.
The name Pagiel divides into two parts, and these two words mean “The Almighty has touched.” Asher’s children were granted a special blessing—abundance (which we discussed in detail above).
The Tribe of Dan
The leader was Ahiezer, son of Ammishaddai.Ahiezer means “My brother is a helper.” Dan was the firstborn of Jacob’s secondary wife, hence his mission to help. Oholiab, son of Ammishaddai, fulfills this most fully when he works alongside Bezalel (“a man from the tribe of Judah,” as the Torah calls him), who is building the Mishkan. The name Oholiab means “father of the tent,” and the name Ammishaddai means “brother and support.”
The mission of helping others always rests upon the tribe of Dan, whatever historical era we consider. Time will pass, and Samson will be born into this tribe. Helping the Jewish people will become his life’s main task. He will help and give, never taking anything in return, not even support.
The Tribe of Naphtali
The leader was Ahira, son of Enan.
Ahi means “my brother”; ra means “bad.”
This means that “my brother has it worse than I do”—in other words, a complete absence of envy. Sadly, far more often we encounter people who need to overcome their tendency to see things differently: “Everything someone else has is better...” (Ordinary, even banal, envy.) But for Naphtali, this is impossible: “Everything others have is always worse than what I have!”
Enan (from the root ayin—eye). His eye was fully satisfied with what he saw among his own possessions and never lingered over what belonged to others.