ואני נתתי לך, “I have given (allocated) to you;” Rabbi Moshe raises the point that Yaakov was directly responsible for fuelling jealousy between the brothers, commencing already with giving his son Joseph a garment that was visibly more expensive than those worn by his brothers. On account of this error in judgment, the whole family descended to Egypt, only to become enslaved for hundreds of years after initially having been welcomed there. (Compare Talmud, tractate Shabbat folio 10) We must also marvel that Joseph followed in his father’s footsteps by giving his full brother Binyamin far more valuable gifts than he gave to his other brothers (Genesis 45,22). In order to answer these questions we must remember that what Yaakov gave to Joseph was done while he was relatively young and immature, younger than 17 years old, an age at which Ishmael in Genesis 21,14 has still been described by the Torah as a ילד, “a child;” at that time the brothers who were jealous of him had reason to be so. What had he done to deserve preferential treatment by his father? Now that his dreams had come true, not only did they not feel jealous of him, but they were grateful and proud of his achievements. Moreover, they had become economically dependent upon him. Even if he had not treated them well, they were legally obligated to honour him on account of his position. If he gave Binyamin more gifts, that was easily explained by the fact that he was his only full brother. However, what bothers me is that at a time when he had not yet revealed to the brothers who he was, (Genesis 43,34) the brothers of Binyamin must have asked themselves for the reason that this ruler of Egypt who had –according to their assumption- never previously laid eyes on Binyamin, should have given him five times as much as he gave to them. Surely, this would have aroused the other brothers’ jealousy of Binyamin. However, the brothers found a reason for this also, as they considered it as Joseph compensating Binyamin for having insisted that he make the journey to Egypt just because he had not trusted the brothers’ statement that he even existed. Furthermore, I believe that Joseph, already at that point, had decided to reveal his true identity. He was certain that as soon as they would find out that he, Joseph, was a full brother of Binyamin, they would not begrudge him the additional gifts. Some commentators explain the words: שכם אחד, in our verse, the extra portion of ancestral parts of the land of Israel, allocated by Yaakov to Joseph, as referring to the grave in that city in which the remains of Joseph would be interred after the Israelites taking over that country. (Compare Joshua 24,32) The matter can be compared to a parable of thieves who had robbed the owner of a vineyard of a full casket of wine when they were found out by the owner. That owner asked the thieves to do him one favour; seeing that they had already emptied the casket of its contents he asked them to at least return the empty casket to him. Joseph had been sold in Sh’chem. The time had come to at least bring his remains back there. (Compare B’reshit Rabbah, 85,3).
Was it a place, the blessing of the bchor or just an extra portion of something?
וַאֲנִ֞י נָתַ֧תִּֽי לְךָ֛ שְׁכֶ֥ם אַחַ֖ד עַל־אַחֶ֑יךָ אֲשֶׁ֤ר לָקַ֙חְתִּי֙ מִיַּ֣ד הָֽאֱמֹרִ֔י בְּחַרְבִּ֖י וּבְקַשְׁתִּֽי׃ {פ}
And now, I assign to you one portion more than to your brothers, which I wrested from the Amorites with my sword and bow.”
שכם, חלק, כמו כי תשיחמו שכם (תהלים כ"א), ולעובדו שכם אחד (צפניה ג׳:ט׳).
שכם, another word meaning חלק. The word occurs in the same sense in Psalms 21,13 כי תשיתמו שכם, as well as in Tzefania 3,9 ולעבדו שכם אחד.
שכם אחד על אחיך. שְׁכֶם מַמָּשׁ, הִיא תִּהְיֶה לְךָ חֵלֶק אֶחָד יְתֵרָה עַל אַחֶיךָ:
שכם אחד על אחיך Jacob meant by the word שכם the actual city of Shechem and said: this shall be to you one portion additional to what you will receive together with your brothers.
ואני נתתי לך. הקשה הרב רבי משה והלא מטיל קנאה ביניהם והוא היה יודע שבשביל משקל שני סלעים מלת שהוסיף לו על אחיו נתגלגל הדבר וירדו למצרים. וגם על יוסף יש תימה שנתן לבנימין שלש מאות כסף וחמש חליפות שמלות ולאחרים לא נתן אלא חליפות שמלות. ותירץ כי מה שנתן יעקב ליוסף בעודו הדיוט וקטן בזה היו מתקנאים בו כי היה נראה להם שלא היה לו לכבדו יותר מפני שהם גדולים ממנו אבל עכשיו שהיה מלך לא היו מתקנאים שהדין לכבדו מפני כבוד המלכות, וגם שנתקיימו החלומות והיו צריכים לו וגם מה שהיה יוסף מכבד לבנימין יותר מהם לא היו מתקנאים כי אמרו הדין עמו לפי שהוא בן אמו. אמנם מה שריבה משאות בנימין קשיא לי כי אז היו סבורין שלא יהא מכיר אותו והלא היה מטיל קנאה בסעודה ביניהם ונ"ל שגם בזה היו סבורים שהדין עמו לפי שאמר להם להביאו ויש לו לחבבו יותר מן האחרים. ועוד נ"ל כי מאותה שעה היה דעתו של יוסף להתגלות לאחיו וכשידעו שהוא בן אמו לא יתקנאו בו. ויש מפרשים שכם אחד היינו קבר שבשכם כדכתיב ואת עצמות יוסף קברו בשכם משל לגנבים שגנבו חבית מלאה יין ומצאם בעל החבית אמר להם בחסדכם לאחר שתשתו היין החזירו החבית למקומה כך יוסף בשכם גנבוהו ובשכם החזירוהו בעצמות:
ואני נתתי לך שכם אחד על אחיך אחרי שבירך את בני יוסף ועשאם שני שבטים חזר על יוסף ואמר לו הנה אנכי מת והיה אלהים עמכם בגלות להציל אתכם מכל צרה ותפרו ותרבו מאד וישיב אתכם אל ארץ אבותיכם לנחול אותה ואני כבר נתתי לך בארץ ההיא החלק האחד אשר בידי לתת והוא חלק הבכורה להיותך בו יתר על אחיך מיום שלקחתי אותו מיד האמורי בחרבי ובקשתי וזה כלו פיוס ליוסף ואהבתו אותו כי הודיעו שנתן לו הבכורה להיות בניו מעתה מתברכים להעשות שני שבטים גם בדגלי המדבר וחנוכת הנשיאים וגם החלק אשר לו בנחלה נתן לו שיזכה בו כאשר יכבשו הארץ בחרב ובקשת ובמלחמה והנה אמר לו עשיתי עמך כל הטובה שיכלתי לעשות לך לעת שהייתי יכול לעשותה כי אין ברשות יעקב בארץ רק שכם אחד שאין בידו לגזול מאחד מבניו את נחלתו רק הבכורה היתה לו לתת אותה לטוב בעיניו והנה נתן אותה אליו:
MOREOVER I HAVE GIVEN TO THEE ONE PORTION ABOVE THY BRETHREN. After he had blessed Joseph’s children and made them two tribes, he returned to Joseph and said to him: “Behold, I die; but G-d will be with you in exile in order to save you from all trouble, and you will increase and multiply exceedingly, and He will bring you back to the land of your fathers to inherit it. I have already given you the one portion in my power to bestow — namely, the portion of the birthright — to be yours above that of your brothers, right from the day that I took it out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.” All this is a conciliation to Joseph and a manifestation of his love for him, for he informed him that he gave him the birthright, meaning that his sons will henceforth be blessed by becoming two tribes, also in the banners which were assigned in the desert, and in the dedication of the Tabernacle by the princes of the tribes. He also gave him his portion in the inheritance which he would acquire when the children of Israel will conquer the Land by sword and bow and war. Jacob thus told him: “I have done for you all the good which I was able to do for you as long as it was in my power to do it.” Jacob’s right in the Land was but one portion for he had no right to divest any of his sons of his inheritance. Only the birthright was his to give to whomever he pleased, and it was to Joseph that he gave it.
בחרבי ובקשתי. כְּשֶׁהָרְגוּ שִׁמְעוֹן וְלֵוִי אֶת אַנְשֵׁי שְׁכֶם נִתְכַּנְּסוּ כָּל סְבִיבוֹתֵיהֶם לְהִזְדַּוֵּג לָהֶם, וְחָגַר יַעֲקֹב כְּלֵי מִלְחָמָה כְּנֶגְדָּן; דָּבָר אַחֵר שְׁכֶם אַחַד הוּא הַבְּכוֹרָה, שֶׁיִּטְּלוּ בָנָיו שְׁנֵי חֲלָקִים, וּשְׁכֶם לְשׁוֹן חֵלֶק הוּא, וְהַרְבֵּה יֵשׁ לוֹ דּוֹמִים בַּמִּקְרָא כִּי תְּשִׁיתֵמוֹ שֶׁכֶם (תהילים כ"א) – תָּשִׁית שׂוֹנְאַי לְפָנַי לַחֲלָקִים; אֲחַלְּקָה שְׁכֶם (שם ס'), דֶּרֶךְ יְרַצְּחוּ שֶׁכְמָה (הושע ו') – אִישׁ חֶלְקוֹ; לְעָבְדוֹ שְׁכֶם אֶחָד (צפניה ג'):
בחרבי ובקשתי WITH MY SWORD AND WITH MY BOW — When Simeon and Levi slew the inhabitants of Shechem all the surrounding nations gathered together to join in battle against them and Jacob girded on his weapons to war against them (cf. Genesis Rabbah 80:10) Another explanation of this verse: שכם אחד ONE PORTION [ABOVE THY BRETHREN] — this refers to the birthright (Genesis Rabbah 97:6): that Joseph’s children should receive two portions when Canaan would be divided amongst the tribes (cf. Deuteronomy 60:17; Joseph therefore was to be regarded as the first-born). The word שכם signifies portion. “For thou wilt make them שכם” i.e. thou wilt place my enemies before me in portions (thou wilt scatter them before me); (Deuteronomy 60:8) “I will divide שכם the portion”; (Hosea 6:9) “on the way they murder שכמה” i.e. each man kills someone as his own portion; (Zephaniah 3:9) “to serve him as though they were all but one portion (שכם)” i.e. to serve him unitedly.
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