Finding Connections: Banners in the Wilderness

The Israelites shall camp each with their standard, under the banners of their ancestral house; they shall camp around the Tent of Meeting at a distance.

Each banner shall have a different sign — a piece of colored cloth hanging on it, the colour of the one not being the same as the colour of another, but the colour of each tribe shall be like that of his stone that is fixed in the [High Priest's] breastplate and by this means everybody will be able to recognize their banner (Midrash Tanchuma).

Another explanation: by the signs which their father Jacob gave them when they carried him out from Egypt, as it is said, (Genesis 50:12) “And his sons did for him exactly as he had commanded them.” For he had commanded that Judah, Issachar and Zebulun should carry him, having their position at the east side, Reuben, Simeon and Gad at the south side, etc., — as it is related in Tanchuma on this section.

"Ensigns" - Each standard had its own symbol. Tradition says that the standard of Reuven bore the figure of a man (Based on the "mandrakes" of Gen 20:14), Judah had a lion (see Gen 49:9), Ephraim had a bull (based on Deut. 33:17), and Dan had an eagle, so that they looked like the cherubs seen by the prophet Ezekiel.

God has Moses arrange the divisions accordingly, tell him, "On the east, whence light comes into the world, let Judah be, who possesses kingship. Next to him, Issachar, who possesses Torah, and next to him Zebulun, who possesses wealth...Let this division go first....

South is the direction from which dews and rains of blessing come to the world. Let Reuven, who posses teshuvah, correspond to that direction. For teshuvah is a good quality, and God's compassion descends upon the world whenever people do teshuvah. Next to him, Gad, who possess might. So you have Reuven with teshuvah and Gad with might to make atonement for Shimon, who is in-between them. These shall go second, for teshuvah comes second to Torah.

The west is where the storehouses of snow, hail, cold and heat are found; let Ephraim, Mennasheh, and Benjamin correspond to it. [Note: they are linked in Psalm 80:3, where the midrsash attributes to them the ability to withstand harsh weather.] The Shekhinah is always in the west, the territory of Benjamin: 'Beloved of God, he rests securely beside God.' [Deut 33:12]. These go third, for it is good that Torah and teshuvah should be accompanied by might, so that one might prevail mightily in Torah and have the strength to overcome one's natural impulses.

From the north, darkness comes to the world. Dan corresponds to it, for he darkened the world through the idolatrous golden calves introduced by Yerov'am...Next to him is Asher, who lights up the darkness, "May he dip his foot in oil [Deut 33:23]...and next to him is Naftali, who possesses blessing. They shall go last, for anyone who follows idolatry goes backward, not forward."

On the standards was written the letters of the names of the Patriarchs. And how were they written? On the standard of Reuven were written the first Hebrew letters of the four-letter name of Avram, Yitzchak and Yaakov, on the next batter the second letters of each, on the next the third letters, and on the next the fourth. The cloud shielded them all from above like the Hebrew letter hey, that turned Avram into Avraham.

Under the banners of their ancestral house. The image of a human on Reuven's banner, and is colored brownish-red as it is on the breastplate, a symbol of the mandrakes that he found which have the shape of a person. The image of a lion on Yehudah's banner, who is called a lion; it is colored red. The image of a bull is on the banner of Ephraim, whose ancestors is called a bill; it is colored like onyx. The image of an eagle is on the banner of Dan; it is colored purple. And the mishkan is in the middle of them, hinting at the four-fold holy creatures for the Divine throne, and from them the kingdoms learned to make for themselves many colored cloths with images.