Parashat HaShavua - VeYechi
Sometimes there is a word or phrase that first catches your attention for how it sounds, not what it means. One of my favorite examples is in this week’s reading VaYechi, when Yaakov is blessing each of his children. To Gad he says: “Gad gedood yegoodenu, ve’hu yagood akev / גָּ֖ד גְּד֣וּד יְגוּדֶ֑נּוּ וְה֖וּא יָגֻ֥ד עָקֵֽב.” (Gen. 49:19) The first part especially is well worth repeating.
Now that we’ve had our fun, what does it actually mean? The first phrase is especially fun to say because Yaakov conjugates the name Gad as a noun and then a verb. (How many of us have a name that can do that?) For many, the noun and verb are “raiders” and “raid,” as in “As to Gad, raiders (gedood) will raid him (yegoodenu), and he will then raid (yagood) at their heels.” Another similar interpretation is that a gedood is a troop, as in a group of soldiers. With regard to the second part, one can imagine Yaakov taking particular pride in ascribing his this trait to his son, as Yaakov himself gets his name from that same root akev/עקב for grabbing at his brother’s heel as they were born.
However, if we look back at the origins of the name Gad, the words “raid” and “raider” are nowhere to be found. When he is born to Zilpah, Leah’s maidservant, “Leah said, ‘Luck has come,’ so she named him Gad / וַתֹּ֥אמֶר לֵאָ֖ה בָּ֣א גָ֑ד וַתִּקְרָ֥א אֶת־שְׁמ֖וֹ גָּֽד. (Gen. 30:11) There Gad means luck, which casts the blessing of Yaakov in a very different light: luck, not raiders, will pursue Gad; and he in turn will pursue luck!
What are we to make of such different interpretations of essentially the same word? A beautiful explanation of this phenomenon is offered by Rabbi Asher Wallfish: “The same word in different contexts can have completely different meanings and it is only when you put the two together that you know how to interpret things… The context is composed of words and the words have meaning only within the context. So where do you begin? The simple practical solution...is you do a little of both… We are always interweaving the meaning of the words with the context.” Thus can the greatest ambiguity offer us the grandest invitation to examine our texts, an opportunity to broaden our minds and the minds of others even more.
Rabbeinu Bachya, in his commentary on VaYechi, actually offers an interpretation of this blessing offered by Yaakov to Gad that can help us blend the ominous (raiders) and the reassuring (luck). He quotes Bereishit Rabbah to explain that Yaakov here is prophesying that Elijah from the territory of Gad will ultimately be sent by God to save the Jewish people: “‘Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet,’ (Mal. 3:23) who was from Gad / ׳הנה אנכי שולח לכם את אליה הנביא,׳ שהוא מגד.”
May we also, through the lens offered by Rabbenu Bachya, feel as blessed as Gad, by being able to turn the tables on those who might pursue us, and in those moments and others feel blessed by our ancestors and by God.
Shabbat shalom!
Rabbi Jack Nahmod
Middle School Judaic Studies Head
Rabbinic Advisor