Reuven

Reuben

“behold, a son”

…harnessed properly, the ‘bechor’/Reuven energy can change worlds…

Reuben – the first-born (‘bechor’) – represents the powerful energy of everything that comes first. The first fruit, the first moments of the day, the beginning of every creation – has enormous amount of energy. “Unstable like water,’ this power can go either way: If harnessed properly, the ‘bechor’/Reuven energy can change worlds; if abused it can destroy. Like water, it can be the source of life, but if left unchanneled, it erodes its environment and can flood its surroundings.

Genesis 49 Names of God Bible (NOG)

Jacob [Israel] Blesses His 12 Sons

49 Jacob called for his sons and said, “Come here, and let me tell you what will happen to you in the days to come.

2 “Gather around and listen, sons of Jacob.
Listen to your father Israel.

3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn,
my strength, the very first son I had,
first in majesty and first in power.
4 You will no longer be first
because you were out of control like a flood
and you climbed into your father’s bed.
Then you dishonored it.
He climbed up on my couch.

Reuben was cursed by his father because he slept with Jacob’s concubine Bilhah.

Month of Kislev

Reuben was born on the fourteenth day of the 9^th Kislev in the year 2122 after the Creation (Book of Jubilees, xxviii.

Shimon

Simeon

“HE (YAH) has heard of my suffering”

/

“he who listens to the words of God”

/

“OBEDIENT”

Genesis 49 Names of God Bible (NOG)

Simeon is aggressive gevura – the antithesis of Reuven’s chesed/water. The fierce anger and cruel wrath that can result from unbridled gevura must be eliminated lest it turns into weapons of violence that consume the person and all those he comes in contact with. [The lesson of this today is self understood].

Jacob [Israel] Blesses His 12 Sons

49

5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers.
Their swords[a] are weapons of violence.
6 Do not let me attend their secret meetings.
Do not let me join their assembly.
In their anger they murdered men.
At their whim they crippled cattle.
7 May their anger be cursed because it’s so fierce.
May their fury be cursed because it’s so cruel.
I will divide them among the sons of Jacob
and scatter them among the tribes of Israel.

Month of Tevet

According to the Book of Jubilees, Simeon was born on 21 Tevet, and according to the book of Genesis he had six sons

Levi

Levi

“ATTACHED” or “JOINED”

Levi is the tribe chosen to serve in the Temple. “Levi” also means ‘attached’ or ‘joined’. Levi is the personality of dedicating your life to serving a higher calling. Of freeing yourself from your bounds to material survival and attaching yourself to Divine service (see Rambam, end of Hilchot Shemittahv’Yovel).

Genesis 49 Names of God Bible (NOG)

Jacob [Israel] Blesses His 12 Sons

49

5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers.
Their swords[a] are weapons of violence.
6 Do not let me attend their secret meetings.
Do not let me join their assembly.
In their anger they murdered men.
At their whim they crippled cattle.
7 May their anger be cursed because it’s so fierce.
May their fury be cursed because it’s so cruel.
I will divide them among the sons of Jacob
and scatter them among the tribes of Israel.

Month of Nissan / Abbib

In the Book of Jubilees 28:14-15; it says that Levi was born “in the new moon of the first month” which means that he was born on 1 Nissan.

Simeon and Levi slay Hamor and Shechem …

YAHUDAH

Judah

“YAH BE PRAISED”

.Judah means acknowledgement (‘hoda’ah,’ as in ‘modeh ani’). Judah’s name also includes the four letters of the Divine name Havaya. Judah is the leader; his descendants would be the kings of Israel, beginning with King David and concluding with Mashiach. Judah is the path of selflessness (‘bittul’) – the most vital ingredient in true leadership.

Genesis 49 Names of God Bible (NOG)

Jacob [Israel] Blesses His 12 Sons

49

8 “Judah, your brothers will praise you.
Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies.
Your father’s sons will bow down to you.
9 Judah, you are a lion cub.
You have come back from the kill, my son.
He lies down and rests like a lion.
He is like a lioness. Who dares to disturb him?
10 A scepter will never depart from Judah
nor a ruler’s staff from between his feet
until Shiloh comes
and the people obey him.
11 He will tie his donkey to a grapevine,
his colt to the best vine.
He will wash his clothes in wine,
his garments in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyes are darker than wine.
His teeth are whiter than milk.

Month of Sivan

1565-1446 BCE

Judah, the fourth son of Jacob and Leah, was born in Charan on the 15th of Sivan, of the year 2196 from creation (1565 BCE).

He passed away on the same date 119 years later, in Egypt.

Judah took the leadership role both in selling Joseph into slavery and in the brothers’ later attempts to find him and free him, and to protect Benjamin.

Z’vulun / Zevulun

Zebulun

“ honour ” / “Gift

Zebulun is the merchant, the businessperson personality. His role is to enter the marketplace and redeem the Divine sparks within the material world (the ‘secret treasure hidden in the sand’ (Deuteronomy 33:19)). Zebulun complements Issachar; they forge a partnership: Zebulun supports the scholar, he funds houses of scholarship, which earns him a right to partake in the reward of Issachar’s studies.

Genesis 49 Names of God Bible (NOG)

Jacob [Israel] Blesses His 12 Sons

49
13 “Zebulun will live by the coast.
He will have ships by the coast.
His border will go as far as Sidon.

Month of Sivan

The sixth and last son of Jacob and Leah, and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Zebulun

Yissakhar/Yissachar

Issachar

“there is recompense”

/

“Reward”

Issachar is the scholar. Scholarship provides wisdom, clarity and direction. It is the foundation of any system. Issachar is the dedication to immerse in study and education.

Genesis 49 Names of God Bible (NOG)

Jacob [Israel] Blesses His 12 Sons

49

14 “Issachar is a strong donkey,
lying down between the saddlebags.
15 When he sees that his resting place is good
and that the land is pleasant,
he will bend his back to the burden
and will become a slave laborer.

Dan

Dan

“judgement” or “he judged”

Dan is the path of law and order (‘dan’ means to judge). Objective justice is the heart of any civilization.

Genesis 49 Names of God Bible (NOG)

Jacob [Israel] Blesses His 12 Sons

49

16 “Dan will hand down decisions[b] for his people
as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan will be a snake on a road,
a viper on a path,
that bites a horse’s heels
so that its rider falls off backwards.

18 “I wait with hope for you to rescue me, O Yahweh.

Gad

Gad

A Mighty Tribe

“Fortune”

/

“Good Fortune”

“Gad” means Mazal Tav, “good luck” (Rashi). According to another opinion (Ibn Ezra), “Gad” means a “troop” (as Gedud), and this is what Leah meant when she said Ba Gad-for her sons now made up a whole “troop” (Gen. 3 0:11) .

Gad is the warrior archetype. Expanding on the justice of Dan, Gad is ready to fight for his beliefs. The warrior is necessary to both defend our cherished values and to protect our freedoms.

At the time when Jacob and his family of seventy souls came to live in Egypt, Gad was the father of seven sons. When our Patriarch Jacob blessed his sons before his death (Gen. 49:19), he prophesied that the tribe of Gad will provide brave troops who will lead the children of Israel to victory in the conquest of the Promised Land, then return to their inheritance on the eastern side of the Jordan.

Genesis 49 Names of God Bible (NOG)

Jacob [Israel] Blesses His 12 Sons

49

19 “Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders,
but he will strike back at their heels.

Moshe, when blessing the Tribes before his death, likened Gad to a lion. This was an allusion to the mighty warriors of this tribe who will strike down Israel’s enemies. He also prophesied that in Gad’s portion would be hidden his (Moshe’s) grave (Dent. 33:20-21).

It was especially important for the tribe of Gad to be strong, for it received its share of land on the border, and guarded the north-eastern flank of the country.

Month of Cheshvan

According to tradition, Gad was born (and died) on the tenth day of this month, Cheshvan

Asher

Asher

“Happy one”

/

“a son”

Asher is both prosperity and pleasure. Asher is the dimension of blessing beyond the norm – to be given more than what is necessary for survival. Asher is the personality of not just getting what you need, but also enjoying it.

Genesis 49 Names of God Bible (NOG)

Jacob [Israel] Blesses His 12 Sons

49

20 “Asher’s food will be rich.
He will provide delicacies fit for a king.

Naphtali

Naphtali

“Crafty cunning one”

“my wrestling”

Naphtali is the free spirit personality. Like a ‘deer running free’ – breaking out of the status quo – independence is a necessary component in growth. Yet, this free spiritedness must always take care to ‘deliver words of beauty.’

Genesis 49 Names of God Bible (NOG)

Jacob [Israel] Blesses His 12 Sons

49

21 “Naphtali is a doe set free
that has beautiful fawns.

Yoseph

Menashsheh

Efrahyim

Joseph

Menasseh

Ephraim

“he increases”

“Causing to forget”

Joseph is the element of suffering in life.

Joseph is the element of suffering in life.

Joseph is the element of suffering in life. Yet, he not only survives; he thrives. He achieves greatness through his challenges. He overcomes all adversaries and becomes a great leader, saving his entire generation. Despite his corrupt environment, he maintains his spiritual integrity. The powerful light that emerges from darkness in Joseph divides into two dimensions – his two sons: Menashe and Ephraim:

Menashe represents the ability to not succumb to the powers of the Egypt/‘mitzraim -constraints’ that want to make you forget your spiritual roots. To remain connected regardless of the challenges.

Ephraim takes it even further. It is not enough to just survive in an alien environment, but to thrive – to ‘be fruitful in the land of my affliction.’ Ephraim is the power to transform the difficulties into Divine power.

Genesis 49 Names of God Bible (NOG)

Jacob [Israel] Blesses His 12 Sons

49

22 “Joseph is a fruitful tree,
a fruitful tree by a spring,
with branches climbing over a wall.
23 Archers provoked him,
shot at him,
and attacked him.
24 But his bow stayed steady, and his arms remained limber
because of the help of the Mighty One of Jacob,
because of the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
25 because of the El of your father who helps you,
because of the Shadday who gives you
blessings from the heavens above,
blessings from the deep springs below the ground,
blessings from breasts and womb.
26 The blessings of your father are greater than
the blessings of the oldest mountains
and the riches of the ancient hills.
May these blessings rest on the head of Joseph,
on the crown of the prince among his brothers.

Binyamin

Benjamin

“son of (the) right hand,”

Benjamin is hungry, hungry for the Divine sparks in all of existence. So, like a ‘ravenous wolf’ Benjamin recognizes that his mission is to passionately seek out the Divine energy embedded in matter, devour it, consume and elevate it.

Genesis 49 Names of God Bible (NOG)

Jacob [Israel] Blesses His 12 Sons

49

27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf.
In the morning he devours his prey.
In the evening he divides the plunder.”

Genesis 49 Names of God Bible (NOG)

Jacob [Israel] Blesses His 12 Sons

49

28 These are the 12 tribes of Israel and what their father said to them when he gave each of them his special blessing.

29 Then he gave them these instructions, “I am about to join my ancestors in death. Bury me with my ancestors in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite. 30 Abraham bought the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, east of Mamre in Canaan, from Ephron the Hittite to use as a tomb. 31 Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried there. Isaac and his wife Rebekah are buried there. I also buried Leah there. 32 The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites.”

33 When Jacob finished giving these instructions to his sons, he pulled his feet into his bed. He took his last breath and joined his ancestors in death.