The Legends of the Jews by Ginzberg recounts this scene, drawing from various rabbinic sources. Zebulon, at the ripe old age of 114 – two years after Joseph's death – calls his sons together. He begins with a reflection, a kind of personal introduction. "I am Zebulon," he says, "a precious gift for my parents." He recalls how his birth brought prosperity to his father Jacob, thanks to those famously streaked rods and flourishing herds.
He then turns to a confession, a burden he seems to have carried for many years. He acknowledges the "unwitting sin committed against Joseph." You see, he knew what his brothers had done to Joseph, but he kept silent, fearing their wrath. "I feared my brethren," he explains, "because they had agreed that he who betrayed the secret should be slain with the sword." Imagine the internal conflict! He admits mourning Joseph’s fate in secret, and even pleading with his brothers to not harm him, but ultimately his fear kept him from revealing the truth to Jacob.
Now, Zebulon shifts to his exhortation, his core message for his children. "Hearken unto me," he urges. "Observe the commands of the Lord, and have mercy upon your neighbors." It's a call to piety, but also, and perhaps more importantly, a call to compassion. He stresses acting compassionately, "not only toward men, but also toward dumb brutes." Why this emphasis on compassion?
Zebulon attributes his own blessings to his merciful nature. He boasts that while his brothers were often sick, he remained healthy. He connects their suffering to their lack of pity towards Joseph. "But my sons were preserved in perfect health, as ye well know," he says, drawing a direct line between compassion and divine favor.
He then recounts a story from his time in Canaan, fishing for his father. He was the first, he claims, to build a boat and ply the seas, providing for his family. But he also shared his catch with the poor and needy, preparing food for the sick and elderly. "Therefore the Lord brought numerous fish to my nets," Zebulon declares, "for he that gives aught to his neighbor, receives it back from the Lord with great increase." It's a powerful illustration of the principle of gemilut chasadim (acts of loving kindness) bringing divine reward.
"Now, my children," he continues, "have pity and compassion on all men, that the Lord may have pity and compassion on you, for in the measure in which man has mercy with his fellow-men, God has mercy with him." It’s a stunningly simple, yet profound equation.
Zebulon then brings the story back to Joseph. Despite the wrongs done to him, Joseph showed them mercy in Egypt. "Take him as your model," Zebulon urges, "and remember not a wrong done unto you, else unity is rent asunder, and the bonds of kinship are torn, and the soul is disquieted." He warns against division, using a powerful metaphor: "Observe the water! If it runs on undivided, it carries down stone, wood, and sand along with it. But if it is divided and flows through many channels, the earth sucks it up, and it loses its force."
He concludes with a prophecy, a glimpse into the future divisions within Israel that he had read about in the writings of the fathers. These divisions, he warns, will bring suffering. Yet, he also offers words of hope: "Be not grieved over my death, and do not lose heart at my departure from you, for I shall arise again in the midst of you, and I shall live joyously among the people of my tribe, those who observe the law of the Lord."
Finally, with a call to fear God and a promise of eternal rest, Zebulon dies. His sons, we are told, placed him in a coffin and later buried him in Hebron, alongside his fathers.
Zebulon's final words are a potent reminder that compassion, unity, and remembrance of God are the keys to a blessed life. They're lessons that resonate just as powerfully today as they did centuries ago. So, what kind of "streams" are we creating in our lives? Are we fostering unity or division? Are we showing compassion to those around us, both human and animal? These are the questions Zebulon leaves us to ponder.