Aggada -- Translations into English; Bible. Old Testament -- Legends; Jewish legends; Midrash -- Translations into English
When Joseph and his two sons left Jacob, his brethren, envious of the
bountiful blessings bestowed upon the three, said, "The whole world
loveth a favorite of fortune, and our father hath blessed Joseph thus
because he is a ruler of men." Then spoke Jacob: "They that seek the
Lord shall not want any good thing. I have blessings enough for
all."[381]
Jacob summoned his sons from the land of Egypt, and bade them come to
him at Raamses, first, however, commanding them to make themselves
clean, that the blessing he was about to bestow might attach itself to
them. Another one of his commands was that they were to establish an
Academy, by the members of which they were to be governed.
When his sons were brought into his presence by the angels, Jacob
spoke, saying, "Take heed that no dissensions spring up among you, for
union is the first condition of Israel's redemption," and he was on the
point of revealing the great secret to them concerning the end of time,
but while they were standing around the golden bed whereon their father
lay, the Shekinah visited him for a moment and departed as quickly, and
with her departed also all trace of the knowledge of the great mystery
from the mind of Jacob.[382] He had the same experience as his own
father Isaac, who also had loss of memory inflicted upon him by God, to
prevent him from revealing the secret at the end of time to Esau, when
he summoned him to receive his blessing.
The accident made Jacob apprehensive that his sons were not pious
enough to be considered worthy of the revelation concerning the
Messianic era, and he said to them, "Ishmael and the sons of Keturah
were the blemished among the issue of my grandfather Abraham; my father
Isaac begot a blemished issue in Esau, and I fear now that among you,
too, there is one that harbors the intention to serve idols." The
twelve men spake, and said: "Hear, O Israel, our father, the Eternal
our God is the One Only God. As thy heart is one and united in
avouching the Holy One, blessed be He, to be thy God, so also are our
hearts one and united in avouching Him." Whereto Jacob responded,
"Praised be the Name of the glory of His majesty forever and
ever!"[383] And although the whole mystery of the Messianic time was
not communicated to the sons of Jacob, yet the blessing of each
contained some reference to the events of the future.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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