The 12 tribes of Israel Thepeople who inherited the Torah and its traditions, the Jewish community, is made up of 12 tribes, coming from 3 patriarchs and 4 matriarchs. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, are the patriarchs. Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah, are the matriarchs. This shows us a significant relationship between 7 and 12, which we find in Sefer Yetzira. The week has 7 days and the year has 12 months. These are the fundamental axes of temporal practice according to the Torah. We keep the “mekadesh and hazezmanime” time holy, first with the weekly Shabbat, as well as the feasts counted among the 12 months of the Jewish year. The Tefillin express this initial structure by showing a 3-branched Shin for the patriarchs, and a 4-branched Shin for the matriarchs.
Judah, son of Leah, is the 4th son of the 3rd matriarch. He embodies all the tribes on his own, in the sense that converts join his tribe. They become Yehudim ’, that is, included in the tribe of Judah. Thus we see Ruth when she is converted, joining the tribe of Judah when she married Boaz. From his descendants will be born David, Solomon and all the kings of Judah. The names Jew, Jew, Jude, Judea are references to the tribe of Judah. Joseph, Rachel’s son, is double in the sense that he becomes 2 tribes: Ephraim and Menasse. He becomes the father of the other 10 tribes, the kingdom of Israel, distinctive from the kingdom of Judah. Levi goes out of the count of 12, as he becomes a tribe of priests. Among his descendants will come Moses, Aaron, Elijah, and many prophets.
Nowadays, the Jewish people are considered Yehudi ie coming from Judah.
From the time of Esther, we see that the name Yehudi was applied even for the descendants of other tribes. This is an indication that the Messiah will come from this tradition. And also that the enmity will be against this name, and will try to smear this word by any means possible. Because Judah means to be grateful to Hashem. So whoever becomes attached to him recognizes Hashem. As we see for Haman in the Megillah, the forces of enmity do everything against this recognition, for this faith denies their greed for power. But, as the Jamaican cantor Ras Michael sings so well, “the Lion of the tribe of Judah will break all chains”. That is, the recognition of Hashem is an inevitable process, which awaits humanity at the turn to make it discover that without charity, justice, and generosity, any edifice of stability is illusory. The 12 tribes in their wanderings through history are eyewitnesses to this.
The fundamental axes of temporal practice according to the Torah.
