GENESIS 35 - What did Reuven do?
What did Reuven do?
The Torah tells us (Gen. 35:22) that Reuven lay with Bilhah, his father’s concubine. The Mishneh in Megilla 25a, states that this story, when it is to be read, is not to be translated to the public, in deference in Reuven. Rashi here explains (following R. Shmuel bar Nachmani TB Shabbat 55b) that Reuven didn’t actually sleep with her; he simply rearranged his father’s beds. With Rachel’s death, Reuven assumed that Jacob would spend time with Leah – when he didn’t, Reuven took it upon himself to avenge his mother’s honour.
Rashi’s reading, however, is not unanimously accepted. Radak and Rashbam both accept the literal reading as correct. Even in the Talmud, R. Shmuel bar Nachmani’s statement is immediately held to be an argument among the Tannaim, with R. Eliezer and R. Yehoshua holding that he sinned. Ibn Ezra’s ambiguous interpretation – “And well did our Rabbis interpret” quoting Proverbs 12 – “and covered the shame of his nakedness”, can be read both ways.
In halachic sources, we find the story as being understood literally, as the Rambam wrote (Laws of Sotah 3:2):
“They say to her (the woman under suspicion, in an attempt to get her to confess), ‘My daughter, many who preceded you, greater than you, have fallen prey to their desires – and they read the stories of Reuben, Yehudah, and Amnon before her.”
What I find fascinating and instructive about this issue is how we are able to openly confront the failings of our ancestors. To me, the willingness of the Torah to discuss our forefathers’ mistakes, and not to sweep them under the carpet, provides our tradition with additional credibility and trustworthiness. No other people dealt so candidly with their leaders. I was gratified to discover this written explicitly this weekend, in the Midrash Rabba (87:10):
A Roman matron challenged R. Yosi – is it feasible, is it possible that Joseph, a strapping young man of seventeen, hormones raging, would be able fend off the advances of Potiphar’s wife (even then, they knew the mindset of the average teenage male!!) R. Yosi responded by opening the book of Genesis in front of her and began to read the stories of Reuben, the stories of Yehudah and Tamar. If the Torah didn’t hide the misdeeds of the older brothers while in their father’s house, why would it hide the younger one now?
The Torah tells us (Gen. 35:22) that Reuven lay with Bilhah, his father’s concubine. The Mishneh in Megilla 25a, states that this story, when it is to be read, is not to be translated to the public, in deference in Reuven. Rashi here explains (following R. Shmuel bar Nachmani TB Shabbat 55b) that Reuven didn’t actually sleep with her; he simply rearranged his father’s beds. With Rachel’s death, Reuven assumed that Jacob would spend time with Leah – when he didn’t, Reuven took it upon himself to avenge his mother’s honour.
Rashi’s reading, however, is not unanimously accepted. Radak and Rashbam both accept the literal reading as correct. Even in the Talmud, R. Shmuel bar Nachmani’s statement is immediately held to be an argument among the Tannaim, with R. Eliezer and R. Yehoshua holding that he sinned. Ibn Ezra’s ambiguous interpretation – “And well did our Rabbis interpret” quoting Proverbs 12 – “and covered the shame of his nakedness”, can be read both ways.
In halachic sources, we find the story as being understood literally, as the Rambam wrote (Laws of Sotah 3:2):
“They say to her (the woman under suspicion, in an attempt to get her to confess), ‘My daughter, many who preceded you, greater than you, have fallen prey to their desires – and they read the stories of Reuben, Yehudah, and Amnon before her.”
What I find fascinating and instructive about this issue is how we are able to openly confront the failings of our ancestors. To me, the willingness of the Torah to discuss our forefathers’ mistakes, and not to sweep them under the carpet, provides our tradition with additional credibility and trustworthiness. No other people dealt so candidly with their leaders. I was gratified to discover this written explicitly this weekend, in the Midrash Rabba (87:10):
A Roman matron challenged R. Yosi – is it feasible, is it possible that Joseph, a strapping young man of seventeen, hormones raging, would be able fend off the advances of Potiphar’s wife (even then, they knew the mindset of the average teenage male!!) R. Yosi responded by opening the book of Genesis in front of her and began to read the stories of Reuben, the stories of Yehudah and Tamar. If the Torah didn’t hide the misdeeds of the older brothers while in their father’s house, why would it hide the younger one now?
posted by Rav Yaakov Beasley at 6:12 AM
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