Zebulun and Issachar in Partnership of Trade and Torah

"Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the seas" (Genesis 49:13) — in his commerce, and Issachar in his Torah, and these two were partners in this world and in the world to come. What did our father Jacob see, that he blessed Zebulun before Judah... that he blessed Zebulun before Issachar, though Issachar was greater than he? Rather, our father Jacob foresaw and saw that Jerusalem was destined to be destroyed, and the Sanhedrin destined to be uprooted from its place in the tribe of Judah and to be fixed in the portion of Zebulun. For at first the Sanhedrin went into exile and sat in Yavneh, and from Yavneh to Usha, and from Usha to Shefaram, and from Shefaram to Beit Shearim, and from Beit Shearim to Tzippori, and Tzippori is the portion of Zebulun; and afterward it went into exile from Tzippori to Tiberias. And so Isaiah said, "He brings it low, down to the ground, He lays it low to the dust" (Isaiah 26:5). Rabbi Yohanan said: Tiberias is the lowest, ready for the Messiah, as it is said, "the foot shall trample it, the feet of the poor, the steps of the needy." What is written after it? "And a throne shall be established in kindness" (Isaiah 16:5). At that hour the Holy One, blessed be He, exacts from the wicked a great punishment that has no interruption or end, and brings them down to Gehinnom, and they are judged there for generations of generations, as it is said, "And they shall go out and look upon the corpses of the men." And why all this? Because the Holy One, blessed be He, set a limit in this world for the sufferings of the righteous; at that hour the punishment of the wicked arrives, which has no end ever, while the sufferings of the righteous the Holy One, blessed be He, removes from the world, as it is said, "He sets an end to darkness" (Job 28:3). There was a certain man who said: I dwell by the seashore. When he came, they examined and found that he descended from Zebulun, as it is written, "Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the seas." The livelihood of Issachar — from where does it come? From Zebulun, who occupies himself with his commerce and feeds Issachar, who is a man of Torah. This is what is written, "Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the seas"; on this account "Issachar is a strong-boned donkey" (Genesis 49:14). And when Moses came to bless the tribes, he placed the blessing of Zebulun before the blessing of Issachar, as it is written, "Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out, and Issachar in your tents" (Deuteronomy 33:18). You find that Issachar was ninth among the tribes, yet he offered second to the king, as it is written, "on the second day Nethanel son of Zuar, prince of Issachar, offered," because he was a man of Torah. Rava said: You do not find a young scholar who issues rulings unless he comes from Levi or from Issachar. From Levi, as it is written, "They shall teach Your judgments to Jacob" (Deuteronomy 33:10); from Issachar, as it is written, "And of the sons of Issachar, men who had understanding of the times" (1 Chronicles 12:33). And say it is from Judah, as it is written, "Judah is my lawgiver" (Psalms 60:9)? I am speaking of concluding a teaching in accordance with the law. Happy is the righteous and happy is his neighbor. Judah and Issachar and Zebulun, who were near to Aaron and Moses, as it is said, "and those who camp before the Tabernacle eastward," became great in Torah, as it is said, "Judah is my lawgiver," and likewise, "And of the sons of Issachar, men who had understanding of the times," "and from Zebulun those who handle the pen of the scribe" (Judges 5:14). But from the south were the sons of Kohath, and near them Reuben and Simeon and Gad, and they dwelt with Korah, a man of dispute, and perished with him in their dispute. From here they said: Woe to the wicked, woe to his neighbor; good to the righteous, good to his neighbor.