First, "Naphtali is a doe let loose [sheluḥa]." The Rabbis connect this to the land of Naphtali being full of irrigated fields [beit hashelaḥin]. They point to Deuteronomy 3:17, which describes the boundaries of the region, stretching "from Kineret until the sea of the Arava." Kineret, of course, is the Hebrew name for the Sea of Galilee.

But what is Kineret, exactly? Here, we get a flurry of opinions. Rabbi Elazar calls it Yeraḥ. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman says it’s Beit Yeraḥ. Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon offers Sennaberis and Beit Yeraḥ. Rabbi Levi chimes in that it's the environs of Beit She’an, which is called Kineret. And Rabbi Berekhya states that the entire coast of the Sea of Tiberias is Kineret!

Then, there's the question of Ginosar. Why else is it called Ginosar? The Rabbis suggest that the gardens of princes [ganei sarim] once flourished there. Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon connects it to I Chronicles 12:35: "From Naphtali one thousand captains [sarim]." So, the land itself is blessed with fertility and leadership.

The Midrash doesn't stop there. Remember the phrase "Naphtali is a doe let loose?" It also alludes to the story in Judges 4:6-7, where Deborah sends Barak from Kedesh-Naphtali to fight the Canaanites near the Kishon Stream. The fighters of Naphtali were "sent" [nishleḥu] into battle by Deborah. The loose doe represents swiftness and military might!

And what about the "pleasant sayings?" The school of Rabbi Natan says this refers to the song Deborah sings after the victory (Judges 5). It's a song of triumph, a testament to their bravery.

But Rabbi Yosei son of Rav Yaakov bar Idi, in the name of Rav Aḥa, offers a completely different, but equally compelling take. He connects the "pleasant [shafer] sayings" to the sound of the shofar. The people would beautify [meshaprin] the words of the Torah, which, as we find in Exodus 20:15, was given amidst the sound of a shofar blast. So, Naphtali's blessing is linked to the very giving of the Torah itself!

Finally, the Midrash recounts a story about Jacob's burial. When the sons of Jacob went to bury him, the Hittites tried to stop them. But Naphtali, swift as a doe, ran to Egypt, retrieved the deed to the burial plot, and overcame [veshiper] the Hittites.

So, what do we take away from all this? Is Naphtali blessed with fertile land? Military prowess? A connection to Torah? The ability to overcome any obstacle?

Perhaps it's all of the above. The beauty of Midrash, as we see here in Bereshit Rabbah, is that it allows for multiple layers of meaning, enriching our understanding of the text and of ourselves. It invites us to see the depth and complexity within what might initially seem like a simple blessing. And it reminds us that even the most ancient words can still speak volumes today.