11 Cheshvan – Yahrzeit of Benjamin ben Yaakov Avinu

11 Cheshvan – Yahrzeit of Benjamin ben Yaakov Avinu

Benjamin was the son of the patriarch Yaakov and the matriarch Rachel. He was the progenitor of one of the twelve tribes. Benjamin's mother, Rachel, died while giving birth to him—he was born and departed this world on 11 Cheshvan at the age of 111. All the founders of the tribes were born outside the Land, except for Binyamin, who was born in the Land of Israel. A twin sister was born with each of Yaakov's sons. With Benjamin, two more sisters were born—they were triplets. (Bereishit Rabbah 82:8) Yosef was destined to father twelve sons, but he fathered two; the others were born to his brother Benjamin, and they were all named in his honor [Yosef]. (Sotah 36b) Four died because of the sin of Nachash, not because of their own sins; Benjamin, son of Yaakov, was one of them. (Shabbat 55b) Worms had no power over seven people—their bodies did not decay—including Moshe, Aharon, Miriam, and Benjamin, son of Yaakov. (Bava Batra 17a) Nine entered Gan Eden alive; Benjamin, son of Yaakov, was among them. (Pirkei deRabbi Eliezer, Likkutim 3) Benjamin, who did not participate in the sale of Yosef, ascended the mountain that the L-rd chose as His dwelling place. (Tehillim 68:17) He alone merited having the Holy Temple built in his territory. (Bereishit Rabbah 99:1) Part of Judah's inheritance [the land] passed to Benjamin. The Temple was to be built on this [portion of land]. [Foreseeing this,] the pious Benjamin suffered every day [desiring] to unite it with his portion, as it is written regarding Benjamin: “He is restless all day long”. (Devarim 33:12). Therefore, Benjamin merited receiving the Divine Presence [by having the Temple on his land]. (Megillah 26a) Who has no slander on his tongue? (Tehillim 15:3) This refers to Benjamin, son of Yaakov, who knew about the sale of Yosef but did not reveal it to his father. (Shocher Tov 16:6) When Yosef HaTzadik was sold into Egypt, his righteous brother Benjamin took his [spiritual] place so that it would not remain vacant. (Zohar 1:259a) When Yosef saw his brother after a long separation, he fell upon the neck of his brother Benjamin [literally, “necks”] and wept. (Bereishit 45:14) How many necks did Benjamin have? Rabbi Eliezer says: “He wept over the two Temples that would be built and destroyed in the land of Benjamin.” (Megillah 16b) The story of Yaakov's family meeting Esav is well known. The youngest of the brothers, Benjamin, suffered the least from it, and this is connected with his special holiness. All eleven brothers were forced to bow to Esav. Bowing—or, more precisely in this case, falling facedown—causes Divine power to descend from Above. By prostrating themselves before Esav, the brothers transferred this power to him, thereby establishing his dominion over the attribute of Netzach. Regarding Yaakov himself, the holy Zohar asks how it was possible for him to bow before the wicked Esav. It answers that during this encounter, the presence of the Shechinah was revealed, and it was before Her that he bowed seven times. No such explanation exists regarding the brothers. Consequently, they bowed directly before Esav. Only Benjamin did not participate in this, because he had not yet been born at that time. Therefore, his connection to Netzach remained the strongest. This power—to subdue the power of Esav through his descendant Amalek—passed to King Shaul, a descendant of Benjamin. May the zechut of the tzadik Benjamin ben Yaakov Avinu protect us all. Amen! (Tzadikim.com)