Rosh Chodesh Tribe - 011 Shvat | Asher

The Month of Shevat Corresponds to the Tribe of Asher

Each of the 12 months of the Jewish calendar corresponds to one of the 12 tribes. The month of Shevat corresponds to the tribe of Asher.

The Qualities of Asher

Yaakov Avinu’s blessing to Asher was, “From Asher, his bread will have richness, and he will provide kingly delicacies.”[1] In Moshe’s blessing to Asher, Moshe said, “The most blessed of children is Asher, he shall be pleasing to his brothers and dip his feet in oil.”[2]

Let us try to understand, with the help of Hashem, about the spiritual power of Asher.

Chazal state that at first, no one was aware of how Asher was the most blessed from all of the tribes, but after Moshe revealed in his blessing to Asher that Asher will “dip his feet in oil”, it was now made known that Asher possessed certain spiritual qualities that the other tribes did not have. What exactly was this unique quality of Asher, that he will “dip his feet in oil”?

Asher/Eitz HaChaim vs. Asheirah/Eitz HaDaas

In the side of impurity, Asher is countered by the force known as “asheirah”, a form of idol worship. The Gemara says that asheirah was a tree which used for idol worship.[3] It follows, then, that “Asher” is the force of holiness which counters the impurity of the “asheirah” idol worship. Thus, the “asheirah” on the side of evil is a “tree” of ruination, whereas “Asher” represents the opposite of the evil “tree” of asheirah. Hence, Asher is like a “tree” on the side of holiness, a “tree” that brings rectification.

Clearly, these two “trees” on the sides of holiness and impurity are rooted in the two root trees in Creation, the Eitz HaChaim (the Tree of Life) and the Eitz HaDaas Tov V’Ra (the Tree of Knowledge).

The Gemara says that when Adam HaRishon sinned by eating from the Eitz HaDaas, he is either regarded as an apostate (min) or as a heretic (kofer)[4]. When Adam ate from the Eitz HaDaas, it was like eating from an asheirah tree, a tree of idol worship and heresy. Had Adam eaten from the Eitz HaChaim, it would have been an act of holy eating, like the blessing given to Asher: “His bread will have richness, and he will provide kingly delicacies.”

The “kingly delicacies” of Asher represent the holy act of eating, eating from the Eitz HaChaim. The word that the Torah uses for “delicacies” here is “maadanei”, which is from the word “Eden”, a hint to the state of Gan Eden. Had Adam eaten from the Eitz HaChaim, he would have remained in Gan Eden. When Adam sinned and was subsequently sent out of Gan Eden, he essentially lost the maadanim, the kingly delicacies of Gan Eden – he essentially lost the Eitz HaChaim. When Adam was removed from Gan Eden, he was essentially removed from the very perspective that he had in Gan Eden.

Chazal state that Asher’s portion in Eretz Yisrael was greater than Yehudah’s, even though Yehudah had the status of king. This is really because Asher’s blessing is that he is able to “eat” from the Eitz HaChaim, and therefore Asher’s portion in Eretz Yisrael resembles living in Gan Eden. In a sense, it is considered as if Asher was never sent out of Gan Eden, since Asher retains the level of eating from the Eitz HaChaim that was in Gan Eden.

Thus, Asher represents the state of before the sin of Adam.

How The “Fatty Bread” of Asher Repairs The Sin of Adam

Going deeper into this discussion, part of Asher’s blessing is “fatty bread”, which the Torah calls shemainah lachmo, “fatty is his bread”. The word shemainah is from the word shemoneh, which means the number 8. The Sages explain that this is a hint to the eight special garments worn by the Kohen Gadol. Let us now see the depth of this.

After Adam sinned by eating from the forbidden tree, the Torah says that Adam made clothing to cover himself. The word for “clothing” in Hebrew is “begadim”, from the word begidah, “betrayal”, for clothing implies the man’s betrayal to G-d that came about through the first sin. The clothing which Adam made was a result of sin, and therefore all clothing (begadim) is impaired. In contrast to this, the eight special garments of the bigdei kehunah repairs the begidah/betrayal that came about through Adam’s sin.

Thus, the blessing of shemainah lachmo given to Asher which alludes to the eight special garments of the Kohen Gadol is, that Asher contains the spiritual power to return to the level of before the sin.

The Fatty Bread of Asher – A Hint To The Shtei HaLechem

Going deeper with this, Asher’s blessing of shemainah lachmo (his “fatty bread”) refers to the offering of the Omer, which was brought on the festival of Shavuos along with the offering of the shtei halechem, and the grains used for this offering came from Asher’s portion of the land.

The shtei halachem is remembered today through the lechem mishneh [by taking two challah-loaves of bread at the Shabbos meal]. The lechem mishnah is also in commemoration of the double portion of manna which would come in the desert every Friday, which came in preparation for Shabbos. The lechem mishnah are two loaves of bread which are lifted together, thereby becoming connected together, as if they are one piece.

The Omer offering was brought from animal food (barley) which became elevated to human food (for it was eaten afterwards by the Kohanim), and this was made possible through the two loaves of the Shtei HaLechem.

“Blessed From All The Children Is Asher”

Moshe’s blessing to Asher was, “Blessed from all the children is Asher.” Rashi cites the words of the Sifri that from all of the 12 sons of Yaakov, it was Asher who had the most children. [We shall now explain that there is more depth to this matter].

The Baal HaTurim says that when the brothers came back from Egypt after they had met with Yosef, they didn’t want to tell Yaakov yet that Yosef was still alive, because they didn’t know how to break the news to him properly without shocking him. Asher told his daughter Serach that Yosef was alive, before the brothers told Yaakov about the news, and Serach devised a way to inform Yaakov of the news about Yosef being alive, without shocking him. But the brothers became angry at Asher for telling Serach of the news before Yaakov was told, so they placed a cherem (excommunication) on Asher, forbidding him from marital relations so that he shouldn’t beget any more children.[5]

Thus, the depth of the blessing of Moshe to Asher, “Blessed from all children is Asher”, is that Asher’s children are blessed - meaning that the cherem which the brothers placed on Asher was now removed.

The depth behind this matter is as follows. Yaakov had thought Yosef was dead, and therefore he thought that he wouldn’t go to the Next World [because he knew that his life’s mission was to bring the 12 tribes into the world, and since he thought that Yosef was dead, he only has 11 tribes and he can’t fulfill his life’s mission]. However, by way of Serach bas Asher – the daughter of Asher - Yaakov was able to know that Yosef wasn’t dead. Therefore, it is through “Asher” that Yaakov is informed that Yosef is alive and that he can go to the Next World.

Asher’s blessing of shemainah lachmo also refers to the word Mishnah, “double”, which alludes to the shtei halechem, which comes from the Omer offering that comes from Asher’s portion of land. The word mishnah is also found in term mishnah l’melech, when Yosef was “second in command” to Pharoah. Asher’s blessing of shemainah lachmo is thus a revelation of how Yosef is really mishnah l’melech, meaning that Yosef is still alive. Thus, Asher’s blessing (and Asher’s daughter Serach) represents the revelation to Yaakov Avinu that Yosef wasn’t dead, that Yosef still lives. Hence, due to the revelation of Asher (through his daughter Serach), “Yosef” is not dead.

Understanding this deeper, this means that Asher reveals how the sof, the “end”, isn’t really the end – instead of there being a sof/end, there is a tosefes, an “addition” of life, to Yosef. That was the depth revealed through “Asher”, whose name contains the word she’air, “remainder”, implying that Yosef still remains alive.

The word “Asher” also contains the word rosh, head, because Asher reveals how Yosef is still the “head”. Asher represents the idea that Yosef isn’t dead, and that instead, Yosef is still alive, he remains at the head, and instead of being dead, he is the mishnah l’melech in Egypt.

The root of the matter is as follows. Asher, whose name contains the word rosh, has the same root letters as the word Yisrael, which is from the word “li rosh”, “A head unto Me.” The revelation of Asher’s revelation is contained in the word “Yisrael”, in the words li rosh, which can also read “li asher”. When Yaakov overcame the angel of Esav, his name was now called Yisrael.  Yaakov couldn’t completely overcome the angel of Esav, and the angel of Esav attacked Yaakov’s thigh. It was Serach the daughter of Asher who revealed to Yaakov that Yosef was alive, and therefore Asher is called “blessed from all children”, because through Asher, it was revealed that Yosef (the primary child of Yaakov) was not dead.

Asher - Bringing The Highest Point Into The Lowest Point

Asher’s portion of land is blessed with oil. When the Kohen Gadol is anointed with oil, the oil is placed on the head. But Asher’s blessing is that “his feet is dipped in oil”, and the feet are at the lowest point of the body, which implies that Asher’s blessing is that he can extend the highest point (the head) all the way down until the lowest point. Asher can reveal the “head” even in the “feet”, he can reveal the highest point within the lowest point. Through Asher, it was revealed how Yosef (the “head” of all the brothers) was really in Egypt, the most depraved place on earth, the lowest point.

As mentioned before, the impure force which counters the holiness of “Asher” is the asheirah, a form of idol worship. The word asheirah is also from the word Ashur (Assyria), a depraved country which built several cities that were deserving of annihilation, including the city of Ninveh. Ashur came from the Generation of the Dispersal, the generation which sought to rebel against Hashem, when they tried to build a tower to the heavens. In other words, Ashur was the impure force of trying to get to the highest point, to the “head” - the evil use of the power of Asher.

Asher Symbolizes The Power of Complete Shirah/Song

The word “Asher” is from the word shirah, song. Therefore, Asher represents the concept of shirah/song.

The root of shirah is in the name “Sarah”. What is the connection between shirah and Sarah? Before Sarah’s name was changed, when she was called Sarai, she had given Hagar to Avraham so that she could enable children to come from Avraham. Hagar was the daughter of Pharoah, the kind of Egypt. On a deeper level, when Sarai had given Hagar to Avraham, this was the roots of the Egyptian exile taking hold upon the Jewish people. Later, when Sarai gave birth to Yitzchok, and her name was changed to Sarah, the roots of the redemption for the Jewish people began. Therefore, when Sarai’s name was changed to Sarah, this was a cause for shirah/song, because it symbolized the redemption.

Furthermore, Sarah was a cause for shirah because it is well-known in the sefarim hakedoshim that Avraham and Sarah’s deeper spiritual task was to repair the sin of Adam and Chavah. Since Avraham and Sarah achieved a repair of the first sin [Adam and Chavah ruined the world, whereas Avraham and Sarah fixed the ruination of the world, to a large extent, by teaching the world about G-d].

There are different levels of shirah/song, but the complete level of shirah/song was symbolized by the change of name from Sarai to Sarah. Once her name was changed from Sarai to Sarah, due to the birth of Yitzchok, there could now be a true and complete cause for shirah/song.

After the exodus from Egypt, there was the song of “Az Yashir” which was sung by the sea. These words contain the same letters as the word “Asher”, for it is Asher who reveals the true, complete level of shirah. The song of Az Yashir, the song at the sea, was rooted in the shirah of Serach the daughter of Asher, when she sang a song the Yaakov that his son Yosef is still alive. The song of Serach, the daughter of Asher, represented the root of the redemption from Egypt. The bones of Yosef were with the people at the splitting of the sea, and this was because Yosef’s presence symbolizes redemption. Since it was Asher’s daughter Serach who revealed to Yaakov that Yosef was still alive, it is through Serach the daughter of Asher that the true and complete level of shirah was revealed. Hence, the concept of shirah is symbolized by Asher.  

At the song at the sea, there were two songs – one song was sung by Moshe, and the other song was sung by Miriam. These were two songs at once, but it wasn’t on the level of the song represented by Asher. The word “Asher” contains the words “shar aleph”, “one song”, a more perfect level of song that implies oneness. Therefore, the song at the sea, sung by both Moshe and Miriam, wasn’t yet the complete level of song.

The complete level of shirah/song revealed through Asher, which is one complete song, will once again return when we will sing by the future and complete Redemption for the Jewish people, and it will be the most complete level of song, when “Hashem will be One, and His Name will be one”.