Gen 49:1 In the last scene on Jacob's deathbed, surrounded by his children, he has a prophetic moment when he desires to tell them the (acharit yamim) end days. In the next verse (Gen 49:2) however, he launches into the blessings for each tribe. What happened between these two verses? Why did he not reveal to them the time of redemption? We tour the midrashic responses then three Hassidic masters and finally a dazzling Zohar that sheds light on the secret of survival during the dark night of exile.
JACOB BLESSING HIS SONS. Jacob's twelve sons gathered to hear their father's prophecies regarding each of them and to receive his blessing (Genesis 49). Woodcut from the Cologne Bible, 1478-1480.