On his deathbed, Jacob gathers all of his children and blesses them, each according to his unique characteristics and the characteristics of his descendent tribes.
To the tribe of Naphtali, Jacob says the following cryptic words: “Naphtali is a hind sent off who delivers beautiful sayings.”
The reference to the tribe of Naphtali delivering beautiful words has been explained several ways by our Bible commentators.
According to Onkeles, the “beautiful words”” are those words of praise and thanksgiving that the members of this tribe offered to G-d in expression of gratitude for the fruit that his land would yield. The Midrash interprets the “beautiful words” as a reference to the song of triumph that Deborah sung after the victory the tribe of Naphtali had a hand in bringing about.
Another Midrashic commentary, focuses on the Hebrew word for beautiful, “shefer,” cognate to the word shofar. This, the Midrash states, is an allusion to the words of Torah that were given with the accompaniment of the shofar, the ram’s horn.
One may ask, why are Naphtali’s words — whether words of praise or words of Torah — described as shefer, which means beautiful but is related to the shofar? There are other words the Torah could have used that convey the message of beauty. Why does the Torah use a word that relates to the shofar. The fact that the Torah was given with the accompaniment of the shofar, does not adequately explain why this term is used. After all, the shofar was only a secondary aspect of the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai? What is it about the shofar that defines the way the tribe of Naphtali communicates its message of Torah or praise?
The metaphor of a shofar is one that is employed by the prophet Isaiah to describe the words of rebuke that he conveys to the Jewish people. “As a shofar, raise your voice to tell my nation their iniquity and the House of Jacob their sins.”
R. Shmuel Shmelke, one of the early Chassidic masters explained that when a person offers words of criticism to another, the recipient of the criticism will invariably put up resistance to hearing about their own shortcomings. How does one break through the barrier that makes people incapable of accepting valid and constructive criticism?
To this end, the prophet declares that one who offers criticism should be like the shofar. An instrument has no ego, vested interest, personal agenda or any ulterior motive when it makes it sounds. It is simply is, as its name suggests, an instrument. A message that comes from one whose ego is muted while he conveys it, is a message that will be received and will have its intended effect. In the words of our Sages, “Words that emanate from the heart will enter the heart and have their desired effect.” When one’s words, even harsh words of rebuke, are reflections of one’s purist feelings and intentions and not expressions of self-righteous indignation — as the shofar — they will penetrate even the most hardened individual and touch his/her core of sincerity and purity.
This then explains why Naphtali’s words of praise and Torah are likened to a shofar.
Naphtali’s distinction was that when the Israelites traveled in the desert in formation, the very last tribe to move was that of Naphtali. Naphtali’s position of being last reflected its self-effacing character. When Naphtali spoke, be it words of praise or words of Torah, including the parts of Torah that provide tough words of reprimand, they were all beautiful words, because they were not colored by ego and selfish interests. Whatever Naphtali spoke came straight from the heart and were like the shofar that had no personal agenda.
Our prophetic literature is also replete with references to the shofar as the means by which the coming of the Moshiach will be heralded. Why is the shofar employed as the metaphor of G-d’s way of announcing the Messianic Age?
When a person hears the sound of the shofar, it awakens them, arouses and even jolts them into realizing that something significant has happened. In this pre-Messianic era, we are prone to falling asleep, not realizing what is important in our lives and what can be dispensed with.
But the use of the shofar metaphor with respect to Moshiach also conveys that Moshiach’s message is beautiful because it is like the shofar. Whatever words Moshiach will utter comes straight from the heart. It is beautiful precisely because it is not embellished with fancy musical notes and harmonies. It is not evocative of an ego that wishes to assert itself on others, rather it is evocative of a pure, selfless desire to bring beauty and purity to the world. This is the beauty of the shofar, of Naphtali and Moshiach.
Our contribution to the process of bringing Moshiach is commensurate with the outcome. We too should dedicate our lives to the delivering of beautiful words to others, words that emanate from the heart, even as we sometimes have to awaken and jolt others into reorienting their priorities in life. Our words should not be condescending and harsh, rather like the shofar expressive of the purist of our soul’s intentions. This will certainly contribute to the sounding of the “Great Shofar” that will herald the imminent coming of the Moshiach, who will usher in an age of shofar-beauty, when we will all express our gratitude to G-d for the end of exile and the beginning of the Age of Redemption.