Rebbetzin Chava Kuperman
Dan's stone—leshem—is jacinth. An interesting story about this tribe's migration is connected with it.
Dan was not especially fortunate in the allotment he received. These were lands in the southwest, where the Pelishtim (Philistines) lived. The Philistines gave the tribe no peace, and Dan's descendants went in search of another territory. They went beyond the borders of the part of Israel that had already been conquered and conquered the as yet unsettled north. The Book of Judges (ch. 18) says that the place was called Laish, while in the Book of Joshua (ch. 19, verse 47) it is called Leshem. According to one opinion, Dan's descendants decided to conquer this territory and secure it for themselves because this was where their stone, leshem, was mined.
One of the properties of jacinth is that it inverts a person's face in its reflection. Reversal is characteristic of Dan.
The fact that the tribe of Dan set up an idol in its northern territory (we discussed this earlier) is a striking example. They reversed things: in place of the Almighty they installed an idol—first the one stolen from the prophet Micah, and later a golden calf. Light does not reach the north; that is where idolatry is most likely to arise. Dan's task is to eliminate this evil both within his own tribe and in the world. But since like is cured by like, he must go through it.
Another name for the territory settled by Dan is Laish, “lion.” Moses compares the tribe of Dan to a lion.
The stone of the tribe of Benjamin—yashfeh—is jasper. Its main color is black, though it can also be red or green. Jasper has the special property of stopping bleeding and having a calming effect.
Benjamin was given jasper because of his anguished heart. When he learned that his brothers had sold Joseph into slavery, he was tormented, unable to decide whether to tell his father. Yet he restrained himself, for which he received this stone. (The word yashfeh can be divided into two parts: “yesh” and “peh,” which means “there is a mouth”; the point is that a person may refrain from speaking for two reasons: either he has no words (no mouth), or he is restraining himself).
We are not discussing the stones of all the tribes here for two reasons: some of them were discussed earlier; and, in addition, many scholarly books have been written about the tribes' stones. Those who wish to explore this subject in greater depth and detail can consult them.
To be continued