#zevulun

Visitor: I like that cage at the end that says ‘World’s most dangerous animals’ and it’s just a mirror in it.

מִשְׁפְּחֹת בְּנֵי קְהָת יַחֲנוּ עַל יֶרֶךְ הַמִּשְׁכָּן תֵּימָנָה (במדבר ג, כט) THE FAMILIES OF THE SONS OF KEHOS SHALL CAMP TO THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE MISHKAN. (BAMIDBAR 3:29) 

The families composing the tribe of Levi camped on all four sides of the Mishkan. Around them, the other twelve tribes camped, three tribes on each side. Rashi notes that the tribe of Reuven were particularly influenced by the Levite family of Kehos (of which the rebellious Korach was a member), next to whom they camped. In Rashi’s words,“Woe is to the wicked and woe is to his neighbor. This is why Dasan, Aviram and two hundred and fifty others (of the tribe of Reuven) were smitten with Korach and his band; they were drawn with them into the dispute.”

The Midrash (Tanchuma, Bamidbar 12) makes a similar observation, saying, “‘Woe to the wicked, and woe to his neighbors! …Korach’s neighbors in the south were lost along with him in his rebellion.” But unlike Rashi, who emphasizes that many Reuvenites joined Korach’s rebellion, the Midrash implies that they were merely punished alongside him. In other words, according to the Midrash, the effects of a wicked neighbor are definite but limited. An evil person could cause his innocent neighbor to be punished alongside him by association, or, at most, to be dragged along to participate in his criminal acts, but he does not necessarily cause the innocent neighbor to become an evil person himself.

Concerning a good neighbor, however, even the Midrash agrees that the benefits are more than incidental. As our sages taught, “any quality is more powerful when it is used for good than when it is used for evil” (Sotah 11a). Thus, the Midrash observes that “Moshe, along with Aharon and his sons, encamped in the east, and next to them were Yehudah, Yissachar and Zevulun. On this basis it was said: ‘How fortunate is the righteous, and how fortunate are his neighbors!’ This refers to these three tribes, who were adjacent to Moshe and Aharon, and became great in Torah.” These tribes were impacted by their close proximity to the righteous in a meaningful and life-altering way; in the words of the Midrash, the tribes of Yehudah, Yissachar and Zevulun themselves “became great in Torah.”

וַתֹּאמֶר לֵאָה . . הַפַּעַם יִזְבְּלֵנִי אִישִׁי כִּי יָלַדְתִּי לוֹ שִׁשָּׁה בָנִים וַתִּקְרָא אֶת שְׁמוֹ זְבֻלוּן (בראשית ל, כ)AND LEAH SAID... “NOW MY HUSBAND WILL RESIDE WITH ME, FOR I HAVE BORNE HIM SIX SONS,” SO SHE NAMED HIM ZEVULUN. (BEREISHIS 30:20)

When our matriarch Leah bore her sixth son, she named him Zevulun, a derivative of the word zevul—place of residence, saying, “Now, my husband will reside with me”. As Rashi explains, “His [Yaakov’s] principal residence will be only with me, because I have as many sons as all his other wives combined.”

According to the Kabbalah, your given name is not merely a product of your parents’ personal preference. Rather, G-d endows parents with the wisdom to choose names that are uniquely associated with their child’s soul (Shaar Hagilgulim 23).

As such, the name Zevulun signifies not only the milestone that Leah reached with his birth, but also the nature of this specific child. (Moreover, the change that Zevulun’s arrival precipitated—i.e., Leah’s tent becoming Yaakov’s primary home, was due not only to Zevulun’s status as Leah’s sixth son, but also to his distinct character. Since he was associated with the idea of zevul, a place of primary and permanent residence, his arrival brought similar blessing to his mother’s life.)

Zevulun’s association with “places of residence” can be explained in light of the well-known arrangement that the tribe of Zevulun had with the tribe of Yissachar. “Zevulun and Yissachar established a partnership: Zevulun will dwell at the seashore and go out in ships, to trade and make profit. They will thereby provide food for the tribe of Yissachar, who will sit and occupy themselves with the study of Torah” (Rashi on Devarim 33:18).

The tribe of Zevulun’s immersion in commerce afforded them unique opportunities to infuse G-dly meaning into the material world and its ways. Their dealings “for the sake of Heaven,”—in their case, to support Torah study, and their utilization of material means for the fulfillment of G-d’s commands, transformed this lowly physical world into a G-dly place to an even greater degree than was accomplished by the Torah study of their partners, the tribe Yissachar, who hardly engaged in worldly affairs.

Hence, the name Zevulun. For it is specifically the Zevulun, the businessperson, who has the greatest potential to develop this world into a zevul, a place that G-d can call home.

וַתֹּאמֶר לֵאָה . . הַפַּעַם יִזְבְּלֵנִי אִישִׁי כִּי יָלַדְתִּי לוֹ שִׁשָּׁה בָנִים וַתִּקְרָא אֶת שְׁמוֹ זְבֻלוּן (בראשית ל, כ) And Leah said, “...now my husband will reside with me, for I have borne him six sons,” so she named him Zevulun. (Bereishis 30:20)

When our matriarch Leah bore her sixth son, she named him Zevulun, a derivative of the word zevul, a dwelling place, saying, “Now, my husband will reside with me”. As Rashi explains, “his [Yaakov’s] principal residence will be only with me, because I have as many sons as all his other wives combined.”

According to the Kabbalah, your given name is not merely a product of your parents’ personal preference. Rather, G-d endows parents with the wisdom to choose names that are uniquely associated with their child’s soul (Shaar Hagilgulim 23).

In view of that, we must say that the name Zevulun signifies not only the milestone that Leah reached with Zevulun’s birth, but also the nature of this specific child. Thus, the change that Zevulun’s arrival brought about in Leah’s life, causing her tent to become Yaakov’s primary home, was due not only to Zevulun’s status as Leah’s sixth son, but also to his distinctive character. Since he was associated with the idea of zevul, a place of primary and permanent residence, his arrival brought a similar blessing to his mother’s life as well.

Zevulun’s association with “places of residence” can be explained in light of the well-known arrangement that the tribe of Zevulun had with the tribe of Yissachar: “Zevulun will dwell at the seashore and go out in ships, to trade and make profit. They will thereby provide food for the tribe of Yissachar, who will sit and occupy themselves with the study of Torah” (Rashi on Devarim 33:18). The tribe of Zevulun’s immersion in trade and commerce afforded them unique opportunities to infuse G-dly meaning in the material world and its ways. Their dealings “for the sake of Heaven,”—in their case, to support Torah study—and their utilization of their material means for the fulfillment of G-d’s commands, thus transformed this lowly physical world into a G-dly place to an even greater degree than the Torah study of their partner tribe Yissachar.

Hence, the name Zevulun. For it is specifically the Zevulun, the businessperson, who most develops this world into a zevul, a place that G-d can call home.

הַפַּעַם יִזְבְּלֵנִי אִישִׁי כִּי יָלַדְתִּי לוֹ שִׁשָּׁה בָנִים וַתִּקְרָא אֶת שְׁמוֹ זְבֻלוּן  - בראשית ל, כ 

"...Now my husband will reside with me, for I have borne him six sons", so she named him Zevulun. (Bereishit 30:20)

From now on, his principal residence (Zevul) will be only with me, because I have as many sons as all his other wives combined. —Rashi

Yaakov and Zevulun represent two opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to Torah study. Yaakov is called "an innocent man, who dwelled in tents (25:27)," referring to his extended studies in the "tents of Shem and Ever (Rashi)," the academies of Torah study of his time. Zevulun, on the other hand, famously arranged with Yissachar that "Zevulun will dwell at the seashore and go out in ships, to trade and make profit. They will thereby provide food for the tribe of Yissachar, who will sit and occupy themselves with the study of Torah (Rashi, Devarim 33:18)." If Zevulun represents the worldly businessman, and Yaakov represents the studious Torah scholar, how can it be – from a spiritual perspective – that it was specifically the arrival of Zevulun that caused his mother's tent to become Yaakov's primary place of residence?

We similarly find that although Yaakov spent many years studying in the academies of Shem and Ever, yet his great years of success, when he became "extraordinarily and exceedingly prosperous (30:43)" – materially, and understandably, spiritually – were specifically when he was working and living with Lavan.

From here we see the unparalleled importance and value of a working person dedicating time in his day for Torah study. For the Torah, represented by Yaakov, does not have the "stability" of a permanent home, until it is hosted and accommodated in the busy schedule of the working person, Zevulun. The diligent Torah studies of those removed from worldly interaction do not have this promise of "tried and tested" stability. The strength and endurance of the Jews' love for G-d and His Torah is revealed when a Jew who is occupied in worldly affairs nevertheless sets aside time for Torah study. Only then does the home that the Jew creates for G-d in this world pass the test of consistency and guarantee its permanence.

הַפַּעַם יִזְבְּלֵנִי אִישִׁי כִּי יָלַדְתִּי לוֹ שִׁשָּׁה בָנִים וַתִּקְרָא אֶת שְׁמוֹ זְבֻלוּן - בראשית ל, כ 

"...Now my husband will reside with me, for I have borne him six sons", so she named him Zevulun. (Bereishis 30:20)

From now on, his principal residence (Zevul) will be only with me, because I have as many sons as all his other wives combined. —Rashi

Your name reflects more than just your parents' feelings and whims at the moment you were born. According to the teachings of Kabbalah, parents are endowed by G-d with the wisdom to choose names that are associated with the unique source from which their child's soul stems. Hence, though Leah attributed her choice of the name Zevulun to the milestone she reached by having her sixth child, but  the change that this brought about in her life was essentially due to the uniqueness of this new arrival, whose distinctive character is expressed in the name Zevulun. As this child (and eventual tribe) was associated with the idea of "Zevulun", meaning "a place of primary and permanent residence", his arrival brought a gift in kind to his mother's life as well; Leah's tent became her husband's primary home.

Where do we find that Zevulun excelled in developing places of residence? In the arrangement that the tribe of Zevulun made with the tribe of Yissachar: "Zevulun will dwell at the seashore and go out in ships, to trade and make profit. They will thereby provide food for the tribe of Yissachar, who will sit and occupy themselves with the study of Torah (Rashi, Devarim 33:18)."

Zevulun's business successes were not only financial. Their immersion in trade and commerce afforded them unique opportunities to infuse G-dly meaning in the ways and goods of the material world. More so than by the Torah study of their partner tribe Yissachar, the tribe of Zevulun's dealings "for the sake of Heaven", in their case, to support Torah study, and their utilization of their material means for the fulfillment of G-d's commands, transform this lowly physical world into a bastion of G-dliness. Like the name Zevulun, meaning "principle residence", it is specifically the businessperson who develops this world into a place that G-d can call home.