Maharal on the Sedra

Where is Yehuda's Rod Today?

B’reishit 49:10 - The rod shall not depart from Yehuda nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shilo arrives, and his will be an assemblage of nations.
Rashi: The rod, that is, the rulership, shall not depart from Yehuda from King David onward. This refers to the exilarchs in Bavel who ruled with the rod, for they were appointed by royal authority. “Lawgiver” refers to the princes, teachers of the students [from Hillel onward]. Shilo refers to the King Mashiach, for the kingship is his [shelo], as Onkelos renders. The aggadic midrash [Yalkut Shimoni 160] explains Shilo as a contraction of shai lo, a gift to him, as it says [T’hilim 76:12], “They will deliver a gift [shai] to the revered one.”
Gur Arye: Rashi means Yehuda, that is, the Kingdom of the House of David, shall rule from the ascension of David onward up to and including the days of King Mashiach. Ramban, in his disputation with the apostate Jew and Catholic priest, Don Pablo Christiani, in Barcelona in 1273 [Kitvei Haramban 1, 304:11 and 13] is asked, if this account of Yaakov’s blessing is true, how do the Jews account for the absence of Yehuda’s rule now? The princes no longer rule in the Land of Israel, nor do the exilarchs in Bavel! The answer lies in a careful reading of the text - it does not say, “the rod will not pass from Israel.” Israel, on account of its sins, is not fit to have its king, but when their true ruler returns, he will be from Yehuda, for the rod will never pass from Yehuda. The Kingdom of the House of David is waiting, rod in hand, for the coming of Shilo and the ultimate redemption.
A complementary approach to account for the validity of Yaakov’s blessing of Yehuda in our time takes note of the irreversibility of the verb yasir [permanently depart]. The Kingdom of the House of David is called “fallen” because it stands ready to be rebuilt. The pieces lie there in a heap, not like a mansion that requires construction from the foundation up, but like a booth [succa] that can simply be erected from the pieces in the heap. In the words of the prophet [Amos 9:11], “On that day I will erect the fallen succa of David.” The King Mashiach waits, holding the rod that never was removed from Yehuda. May the Merciful One erect for us the fallen succa of David, speedily in our time.

Dr Kuhr is the author of Lion Cub of Prague - Genesis. The next volume on Exodus and Leviticus is in press.

• Other Maharal on the Sedra
• The Command to Teach Your Children the Holy Tongue
• The Impact of a Righteous Person on a Place
• The Blessings of Sara