The Birth of the Tribes of Israel and the Birth of Joseph

In seven years one household in a foreign country becomes a nation. Leah, "the unloved," bears first: Reuben — "God has seen my affliction"; Simeon — "He has heard"; Levi — "now my husband will be joined to me"; and Judah — "this time I will thank the Lord." The Talmud notes that no one had thanked God as Leah did, and from Judah the royal line will come. Childless Rachel gives Jacob her maid Bilhah, and Dan and Naphtali are born; Leah gives Zilpah, and Gad and Asher follow. Leah then bears Issachar, Zebulun and a daughter, Dinah. At last "God remembered Rachel," and Joseph is born in 2199. Benjamin, the twelfth, will be born in Canaan at the cost of his mother's life. The Torah barely comments: it shows rivalry, the pain of barrenness, the bargain over mandrakes, tears and prayers — and out of all this the tribes take shape, each with its own character and future portion.