"According to the midrashic Book of Jasher, Yissakhar, literally meaning man of hire, though some Jewish sources take it instead to mean reward or recompense, married Aridah, the younger daughter of Jobab, a son of Yoktan; the Torah states that Issachar had four sons"
"Yissakhar is a bony donkey, lying between the boundaries. He saw a resting place, that it was good, and the land, that it was pleasant, and he bent his shoulder to bear [burdens], and he became an indentured laborer (Beretshiite 49:14-15).
"Yissakhar is a bony donkey: Heb. חִמֹר גָרֶם, a bony donkey. He bears the yoke of the Torah, like a strong donkey which is laden with a heavy burden" (Rashi from Gen. Rabbah 99:9).
"lying between the boundaries: like a donkey, which travels day and night and does not lodge in a house, but when it lies down to rest, it lies between the boundaries, in the boundaries of the towns where it transports merchandise (Rashi from Zohar vol. 1, 242a).
"He saw a resting place, that it was good: He saw that his territory was a blessed and good land for producing fruits (Rashi from Targum Onkelos , Bereshith Rabbathi).
"and he bent his shoulder to bear [burdens]: [I.e., the yoke of Torah.]- (Rashi from Gen. Rabbah 98:12).
"and he became: for all his brothers, the Israelites-" (Rashi).
"an indentured laborer: to decide for them instructions of Torah [law] and the sequence of leap years (1 Divrei Hayamim 12:32). He (Issachar) provided two hundred heads of Sanhedrin. 'And all their brethren obeyed their word' (ibid. 12:32)" (From Gen. Rabbah 98:12).
"and he bent his shoulder: Heb. וַיֵּט, he lowered his shoulder, similar to 'And He bent (וַיֵּט) Shamayim' (2 Sam. 22:10, Ps. 18:10), 'Incline your ear (הַטּוּ)' (Ps. 78:1). Onkelos, however, rendered it in a different manner: and he bent his shoulder to bear wars and to conquer regions, for they dwelled on the border; the enemy will be vanquished under him as an indentured laborer" (Rashi).
"And of the sons of Yissakhar, those who had an understanding of the times, to know what Israel should do; their chiefs were two hundred, and all their brethren obeyed their word" (1 Devrei Hayamim 12:32).
"those who had an understanding of the times: They knew how to give counsel appropriate to the incident; David had to take counsel on how to strengthen the kingdom against B'nei Seoul (or Hell or Paul or Saul or Sheol)" (Rashi).
"In the Midrash, it is said that Yissakhar were the most influential in proselytism,[5] and that Jewish religious scholars were either from the tribe of Levi or that of Yissakhar" (Yoma 26a).
"Since B'nei Zevulun (Druze Jews) are traditionally seen as migratory merchants and Yissakhar as religious teachers, Yissakhar and Zevulun are considered to have a symbiotic relationship, whereby Yissakhar devote its time to the study and teaching of Torah, while Zevulun provide the financial support, in exchange for a share of Yissakhar's spiritual reward . Such is the tradition of this symbiosis, that anyone engaged in such a partnership is termed Yissakhar and Zevulun respectively."
"And to Zevulun he said: 'Rejoice, Zevulun, in your departure, and Yissakhar, in your tents. They will call peoples to the mountain; there, they will offer up righteous sacrifices. For they will be nourished by the abundance of the seas, and by the treasures hidden in the sand'" (Devarim 33:18-19).
"And to Zevulun he said: These five tribes whom [Moses] blessed last, namely, Zevulun, Gad, Dan, Naftali and Asher, have their names repeated [e.g., 'And of Zevulun he said: Rejoice, Zevulun…'], in order to instill them with strength and power, for they were the weakest of all the tribes. And indeed [for this reason,] they were the ones Yosef introduced to Pharaoh, as it is said, 'And from among his brothers, he took five men' (Gen. 47:2). [Yosef took these brothers and not the others,] because they looked weak, so that Pharaoh should not appoint them as his war officers (Rashi from B.K. 92a).
"Rejoice, Zevulun, in your departure, and Yissakhar, in your tents: Zevulun and Yissakhar entered into a partnership [with the following agreement]: Zevulun would dwell at the seashore and go out in ships, to trade and make profit. He would thereby provide food for Yissakhar, and they would sit and occupy themselves with the study of Torah. Consequently, Moses mentioned Zevulun before Yissakhar [even though the latter was the elder of the two], because Yissakhar’s Torah came through [the provisions of] Zevulun" (Rashi from Gen. Rabbah 99:9).
"Rejoice, Zevulun, in your departure: Prosper when you go out to trade" (Rashi).
"and Yissakhar: Prosper when you sit in your tents to study the Torah, to sit [in the Sanhedrin] and to [calculate and] proclaim leap years, and to fix the months, as it is said, 'And from the sons of Yissakhar, those who had an understanding of the times' (1 Divrei Hayamim 12:32) [and then the verse continues,] 'their chiefs were two hundred'-the chiefs of the Sanhedrin occupied themselves with this, and in accordance with them, the seasons and leap years were fixed [for all Israel]" (Rashi).
"Peoples: of the tribes of Israel" (Rashi).
"They will call [peoples] to the Mountain: I.e., [people from the tribes of Israel] will assemble at Mount Moriah [on the Pilgrimage Festivals]. Every assembly took place through a 'calling' [i.e., a summoning of the people. This is why the verse speaks of the assembly of the people in terms of 'They will call']. And there [at Mount Moriah, in the Holy Temple], the people will offer up righteous sacrifices on the Pilgrimage Festivals" (Rashi).
"for they will be nourished by the abundance of the seas: i.e., Yissakhar and Zevulun [will be nourished], and thereby, they will have spare time to study the Torah" (Rashi).
"and by the treasures hidden in the sand: Things covered up and hidden by the sand-the tarit [or 'torino,' a kind of fish], the snail [from which a sky-blue dye was obtained], and 'white glass,' all of which come from the sea or the sand. These were found in the territory of Yissakhar and Zevulun, as is taught in Tractate Megillah (6a): [Scripture says, 'Zevulun is a people who jeopardized his life to die' (Jud. 5:18). [And why?] Because [as that verse continues], 'Naftali is on the high places of the field,' i.e., Zevulun complained [to G-d] about his territory, saying, 'To my brothers, You have given fields and vineyards [… while to me, You have given seas and rivers]!' [In reply, G-d told Zevulun that the other brothers will seek him out because of the hidden treasures contained within the seas and the sands.]" (Rashi).
"the treasures: Heb. וּשְׂפֻנֵי An expression meaning a covering, as it is said, 'And he covered (וַיִּסְפֹּן) the house' (1 Kings 6:9); and, וְסָפֻן בָאֶרֶז, which the Targum renders as: 'And it was covered with a covering of cedar' (1 Kings 7:3). Another explanation: they will call people to the mountain: Through Zevulun’s commerce, merchants of the world’s nations will come to his land. Now Zevulun is located at the border, so these merchants will say, 'Since we have taken so much trouble to reach here, let us go to Yerushalayim and see what the G-d of this nation is like and what they do.' And they see all Israel worshipping one G-d and eating one kind of food [i.e., only what is permissible to them, and they will be astonished], because [among] the nations, the deity of one is not like the deity of another, and the food of one is not like the food of another. So they will say, 'There is no nation as worthy as this one!' Consequently, they will convert to Judaism there, as our verse says, 'there, they will offer up righteous sacrifices' [and all of this will be due to Zevulun’s commerce] (Rashin from Sifrei 33:19).
"for they will be nourished by the abundance of the seas: Zevulun and Yissakhar [will be nourished], that is to say, the sea will lavish them with wealth" (Rashi).
Rabbi Akiva Joseph Shlesinger Z"L, son in law of the great Gaon Rabbi Hillel of Kalamai Z"L wrote in his book Shamru Mishpat the following: In the year 5620, Pesach's eve, a man called Rabbi Eliezer Bar Rabbi Shimon from Tibet came to see my father-in-law. He spoke only lashon Hakodesh (Hebrew), and asked my father-in-law R'Hillel, to let him spend Pesach with him with the condition that the visitor would do his own Seder on a table especially for him, and that he would give him the Matzot and every thing else needed. My father in law agreed, and so it happened. On the seder's night, he ate only the strictly required measure of Matzah, and he did not eat Matzah for the rest of Pesach; he just ate fruits, potatoes and almonds, and would not accept any gift, money or food for the journey... What I heard from him I will try to remember and write.The Seder went over enthusiastically, every verse the visitor said, he translated to his mother tongue, which was strange for us, and just few things mentioned from the Zohar and Midrashim were known to us. We listened. He prayed full of joy, for about 2 to 3 hours, and then, ate potatoes, fruits and similar foods, and he ate no meat and no matzah. There was no time for questions. Only in Chol Hamoed and Yom Tov was I able to ask the meaning of all his customs; he replied he was sent and came for a secret issue, by order of the president of his land. There are 96,000 Jews where Rabbi Eliezer Bar Rabbi Shimon of Tibet comes from, and they all comply with the law of Maaser, and as per the Torah, they have rulers for every 10 people, every 50, 100 and 1000... The president is a holy man well versed in Kabballah. He directs the entire town. He is a Tzaddik fearful of G-d and not only serves justice to his people... but like the tribe of Yissakhar he knows the destiny of Israel throughout the Galut and he has a book called SEFER HA ABIB (BEGINNING LETTERS OF: ACHENU BENE ISRAEL BAGOLA), (Our brothers The sons of Israel in exile).
...The Man came walking, and left walking the day after Pesach (isru chag) right after Shachrit. We wanted him to take the train, but he would not receive money. He left a written notice saying he accomplished his mission, to spend Pesach with us, and return through the path of Cashwa, across Poland, Russia and Tibet.
There are ≈54,225,450 Tibetan Exiles.
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