Vayechi 48:4 · unit 1

Parashas Vayechi · Passuk 48:4

The Complete Passuk

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֵלַ֗י הִנְנִ֤י מַפְרְךָ֙ וְהִרְבִּיתִ֔ךָ וּנְתַתִּ֖יךָ לִקְהַ֣ל עַמִּ֑ים וְנָ֨תַתִּ֜י אֶת־הָאָ֧רֶץ הַזֹּ֛את לְזַרְעֲךָ֥ אַחֲרֶ֖יךָ אֲחֻזַּ֥ת עוֹלָֽם׃

And said unto me: Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a company of peoples; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.

Chabad / Judaica Press

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to Horayos 6b (and related discussion of “kehal”).

TT lemma: ונתתיך לקהל עמים.

Sefaria — Horayos 6b

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text
וּמַאן אִתְיְלִיד לֵיהּ הַהִיא שַׁעְתָּא — בִּנְיָמִין. שְׁמַע מִינַּהּ הָכִי קָאָמַר לֵיהּ רַחֲמָנָא: מִתְיַלֵּיד לָךְ הַשְׁתָּא קָהָל אַחֲרִינָא. שְׁמַע מִינַּהּ דְּגַם שֵׁבֶט אֶחָד נִקְרָא קָהָל.

English: And who was born to him at that time? Binyamin. Infer from this that the Merciful One said to him: “There will be born to you now another kehilla.” Infer from this that even a single tribe is called a kehilla.

On the daf / in context: The Gemara uses the verse (linked to the earlier promise at Luz) to establish that one shevet alone constitutes a “kehal.” This has implications for the definition of a community in various halachic contexts.

Type of Learning

Derash on the verse (Bavli sugya) — the fulfillment of the promise through the birth of only one additional son (Binyamin) proves that a single tribe is already termed “kehal.”

What Is Learned

A single shevet is called a kehilla. The promise “I will make of thee a company of peoples” was realized with the birth of Binyamin, establishing the minimal size of a kehal.