Fish are highly symbolic creatures in Judaism. Fish lack eyelids and so their eyes are never closed. This fascinating phenomenon serves as a reminder that metaphorically God's eyes never close and that his gaze is never averted from His children. Fish also serve as symbol of fertility and continuity of the children of Israel. In Genesis 48:16 Jacob blesses his grandson Efraim in the name of his fathers Abraham and Isaac. Jacob's blessing to Efraim is that his descendents should "grow into teeming multitudes upon the earth." The Hebrew word in that verse that connotes growth is
v'yidgu (וידגו), which is derived from the root word
dag (דג) or fish. Just as fish can birth many young at once, so too does Jacob bless his grandson with fertility and perpetuity.
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