Many of Jacob’s children had acted terribly enough to deserve complete disinheritance:
- Reuben slept with one of his father’s wives.
- Simeon tried to kill Joseph and, together with Levi, killed all the men of Shechem.
- Levi went with Simeon to kill all the men of Shechem, and I would not be surprised to learn that the attack was his idea.
- Judah sold Joseph as a slave, married a Canaanitess, and mistreated his daughter-in-law.
- Most of the brothers participated in some way in staging Joseph’s death and selling him into slavery.
Yet here at the end of the Torah, we see blessings bestowed on all of them. Yom Kippur is coming up this weekend. It’s a time for purification and repentance. God has prophecied blessings for his people in the end. As the Day of Atonement follows the Day of Trumpets, so will the repentance of Israel follow the return of her King. Whatever came before, His blood washes it all away, bringing blessing in place of curses despite our lack of merit.
(If you’ve never read The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, I highly recommend it.)
Update October 10, 2007: I made a mistake. Simeon is not included in these final blessings. The most commonly profered reason is Simeon’s participation in the slaughter at Shechem. Levi is included despite that event because of their faithfulness in the matter of the golden calf.
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