Naphtali is Bilhah's second son. Rachel says: "With mighty wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed" (Genesis 30:8). The name comes from niftal, to wrestle, to intertwine: a son born of an inner struggle between two sisters.
Jacob blesses him with a single image: "Naphtali is a hind let loose; he gives words of beauty" (Genesis 49:21). The struggle of the name becomes lightness and speech.
Moses adds: "Naphtali, sated with favor and full of the blessing of G-d, take possession of the sea and the south" (Deuteronomy 33:23). It is one of the simplest blessings of the chapter: nothing is lacking.
On the breastplate, according to the Targum attributed to Jonathan, his stone closes the second row, the yahalom (Exodus 28:18). It is sometimes translated as diamond, sometimes otherwise; the identification remains uncertain. In the desert Naphtali encamps to the north, third in Dan's camp (Numbers 2:29), with Ahira son of Enan as prince. The Midrash cited by Ramban explains his place: next to Asher stands Naphtali, "master of blessing," which echoes the verse of Moses. According to Rashi, his banner had the color of his stone.
According to the order of the banners, Naphtali receives Adar, the month of the letter Kuf (Sefer Yetzirah 5:2); in the Vilna Gaon's version, Kuf rules over laughter. The Pri Tzaddik writes it explicitly: the Ari linked the months to the twelve tribes following the order of the banners, "and Adar goes to Naphtali." He adds that this is why Sefer Yetzirah makes Kuf rule over laughter, for it is written of Naphtali "sated with favor," and he cites the Raavad, who also links laughter to Naphtali. The attribution of months varies with the order followed, as the introductory entry recalls.
Keep this: Naphtali begins with a struggle and ends sated. The joy of Adar, for the Pri Tzaddik, is that of a full blessing, not of carelessness.
