Genesis 49:1

He wanted to reveal the end of days and the Divine Presence left him, so he began saying other matters.

And Jakob called his sons and said to them, Purify yourselves from uncleanness, and I will show you the hidden mysteries, the ends concealed, the recompense of reward for the righteous, the retribution of the wicked, and the bower of Eden, what it is. And the twelve tribes of Israel gathered themselves together around the golden bed whereon he reclined, and where was revealed to him the Shekina of the Lord, (though) the end for which the king Meshiha is to come had been concealed from him. Then said he, Come, and I will declare to you what shall befall you at the end of the days.

IN THE END OF DAYS. These are the days of the Messiah, for Jacob alludes to him in his words, even as he said, Until Shiloh come, and his be the obedience of peoples. Now our Rabbis have said that Jacob wished to reveal the end of Israel’s exile, but the Shechinah (the Divine Presence) departed from him. Thus in the opinion of all scholars, the end of days is a reference to the days of the Messiah.

(1) YA'AKOV CALLED. He sent for them.

(2) COME TOGETHER. For the seventy persons had increased during these 17 years and had become a numerous people, and according to the words of our Sages, to (six) hundred thousand.

(3) WHAT IS TO BEFALL YOU. With respect to their power and their inheritance.

באחרית הימים, at the end of the period allocated to life on earth as we know it. Yaakov speaks of the arrival of the Messiah which will signify the end of the existence of the nations that oppose G’d and the Kingdom of G’d on earth. At that time the measure of sin that these nations accumulate will be full to overflowing, so that G’d will feel at liberty to bring about the appropriate retribution. [the concept is as old as Avraham, to whom G’d explained that realisation of his offspring disinheriting the Canaanites will have to await the time when the measure of sin of these people will be full. (Genesis 15,16). Ed.] Our author, drawing on various prophecies of the Books of Prophets to support his interpretation of באחרית הימים, “the end of days,” quotes Jeremiah 46,28: “for I will make an end to all the nations among which I have banished you; but I will not make an end of you!” He also quotes Bileam’s prophecy in Numbers 24,14 detailed in verse 17, in which he prophesies the doom befalling all the nations pre-eminent in his time and describes Israel as triumphant at that time. He adds that his prophecy is not one the fulfillment of which is imminent, but that much time will elapse before it will be realised. Similar prophecies are not only found in Michah 4,1 but even in our chapter when blessing Yehudah in verse 10, Yaakov speaks of the time frame he has in mind as the one when Shiloh will arrive, the one to whom nations will pay homage.

ויקרא, he called them in to assemble around him

את אשר יקרא אתכם, a reference to future events, מקרה, events that are not the direct outcome of man’s initiatives. The word occurs in this spelling (with the letter א instead of ה at the end) in Jeremiah 13,22 מדוע קראני אלה?, “Why did these things happen to me?” Or, in Isaiah 51,19 שתים המה קוראותיך, “these two things have befallen you.” There are many other examples of a similar nature in Scripture.

The meaning of the words את אשר is the same as כאשר, “when;” the word את frequently means the same as מן, “part of.” Yaakov, after all, did reveal only a very small fraction of what would happen to the tribes in the אחרית הימים, the period when the tribal heads had long died and their offspring had become part of the Jewish nation. Some of what he predicted was to occur relatively soon, other parts much later. When he used the words באחרית הימים he meant that what he spoke about would be as real as what would happen on the morrow. He referred specifically to the period when the Israelites would settle in the Holy Land, describing events that would take place then. Whatever he told them had been inspired by the spirit of prophecy. Parts of the prophecy concerned Israel when settled peacefully on its land, other parts spoke of events occurring during wars which would threaten the nation’s continued existence. He listed the names of his sons in the order of their birth up until Yehudah only.

Then Yaakov called for his son's: He sought to reveal the appointed time for the end but it became concealed from him (Pesachim 56a.) Yaakov asks, "Perhaps there is sin (חטא) among you?" They said, "No, if you examine our names, you will not find the letters ח or ט in them. Then he said unto them, "Arise, there is also no ק or ץ letters (end) in them.

האספו ואגידה לכם, “gather around so that I can tell you, etc.;” in the next verse we read הקבצו ושמעו, “assemble and listen!” Here Yaakov is about to tell his sons that they will go into exile. On the other occasion he refers to the second exile. (B’reshit Rabbah 99,6)

את אשר יקרה אתכם, “what will befall you.” Yaakov referred to what would occur at the end of the 430 years when the people of Israel would be redeemed from slavery and exile. The wording used by Yaakov forces us to give this interpretation to his words. If this is not what he referred to, the Torah should not have added: באחרית הימים, “at the end of the years (that had been predicted),” but באחרית ימים בסוף העולם, “at the end of the history of the present world. I have heard an explanation that understands Yaakov as having alluded to the end of the first 5000 years of human history. (B’reshit Rabbah 98,2 and 99,5) Yaakov therefore was prevented by G–d from revealing whatever he had foreseen concerning that era. Yaakov could not understand why the vision was suddenly concealed from him, and he asked what his sons could be guilty of seeing that the letters ח and ט, both letters of the word חט(א) in the word “sin,” do not appear as part of the names of a single one of them. He was told by the Holy Spirit that at the same time none of the names of his sons contains the letters ק orצ , the letters forming the word קץ, end, (and צדיק, righteous) which are a prerequisite for such “end” being revealed to the bearer of such a name. The Holy Spirit added that as far as his having called upon his sons to gather around him was concerned, how come that he invited only them, but failed to include the Holy Spirit in his invitation? (Compare Isaiah, 43,22) ולא אותי קראת יעקב, “but you have not called upon Me, Yaakov?!” He was told that it was not part of his particular task, (virtue) to go revealing G–d’s secrets. (Proverbs 11,13) When Yaakov heard this, he changed course and began to address each son individually, i.e. ראובן בכורי אתה, “Reuven, you are my firstborn;”