Betach Badad ein Yaakov

Torah Study 3.1.08 R. Marder:

It is always amazing that we can discuss one small phrase for the whole class and get so much meaning from it!

Deuteronomy 33

v. 28

betach badad ein Yaakov

Betach: Free - Assured - Strong - Safe - Trustworthy

Badad: Untroubled - Alone - Solitary

“Thus Israel dwells in safety, Untroubled is Jacob’s abode, In a land of grain and wine, Under heavens dripping dew” (Plaut Translation)

Another translation: “sure, alone is the eye of Jacob."

Interesting link that shows the numerology of this part

Different ways of looking at this:
Alone – unmolested by others
Alone – set apart or different from others
Alone – preserving the integrity of our people

Rashi: Each individual will sit under his own vine / fig tree.
R. Yochanan: (Talmud) Promise that Israel will dwell in safety if they follow the mitzvot.
19th Century interpretation: Safety and tranquility of the soul. Absolute separate and distinctive. A deterrent to intermingling with others outside the community.
This phrase is also referenced in a link that relates to Pesach .

Ein Yakov - ‘Fountain of Jacob’, "Land of grain and wine, Under Heaven’s dripping dew"

This image of water and flourishing was especially positive to these people who had lived in the desert.
But the image is also tied to the moral conduct of the people.
There evolved a different interpretation in the diaspora.

There is an organic connection between the condition of the land and how we behave in a collective way. And now we come to discover how true this view is especially in the ecological sense.

The prophets set an ideal that we should live together in peace. The voice of longing for home pervades the Torah. As the Bible was written most likely from the point of view of those who were in exile.