Following the flag – Naso
In the Israelite camp the tribes all had their flags and rallied behind them with pride. They discovered that a flag speaks volumes. It represents identity, history, pride, morale.
According to the Midrash, each tribe had a flag with a different colour and symbol. Each flag proclaimed what that tribe stood for and contributed to the totality of the nation.
Let us examine three flags – those of Judah, which was blue and bore the symbol of a lion; Issachar, which was black and bore the sun and moon; and Z’vulun, which was white and bore a ship.
Judah was called by his father gur aryeh, a young lion (Gen. 49:9). The lion of course has strength and power, but everyone knows that power corrupts. Hence Judah’s background of blue represented heaven, to teach that there is a Power above who is the judge of the judges, the ruler of rulers.
Z’vulun, said Jacob, would “inhabit the coast of the sea” (Gen. 49:13). The Z’vulunites were a seafaring and commercial tribe. But commercial life can tempt you to take advantage of others. Hence the white background, as a reminder that business dealings must be clean and honest.
The tribe of Issachar were “men that had understanding of the times” (I Chron. 12:33). But intellectual capacity can be a source of conceit. Hence a black background to blot out the showy tinsel of any possible self-pride.
