The following is a brief summary of a thought said over by R' Frand in his shiur this evening. I have attempted to reproduce this vort to the best of my ability. Any perceived inconsistencies are the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Frand.
Parshas Vayeishev contains one of the more famous biblical stories - the brothers' sale of Yosef. As detailed in Bereishis 37:18-36, the Torah relates that originally the brothers wished to kill Yosef, but they were persuaded by Reuven to put him in a pit. In pasuk 22, the Torah states that Reuven told them to put Yosef in the pit "so that he could rescue [Yosef] and return him to their father." Rashi states that the Torah was actually testifying that this was Reuven's intention.
When Reuven returns to the pit he sees that Yosef is no longer there. Rashi on pasuk 29 offers two explanations as to why Reuven was not there when the brothers sold Yosef. The first explanation is that the brothers had taken shifts assisting their father and that the sale took place during Reuven's shift with his father. The second explanation offered by Rashi is that Reuven was fasting and seeking Heavenly forgiveness for his act in Bereishis 35:22 of moving his father's bed out of Bilhah's tent and into Leah's.
R' Frand asked in the name of the Adir Ya'acov - since the incident when Reuven moved the tent happened nine years prior to the sale of Yosef, why was Reuven involved with fasting and penitence? Surely he had not been doing these acts for the last nine years!
R' Frand answered that the Adir Ya'acov explained that Reuven had an epiphany when he saw what his brothers sought to do to Yosef. He realized that the brothers believed they were doing the right thing in proposing to kill Yosef as they were unable to distinguish between mitzva and meesa. How did this happen? Because the brothers were so blinded by jealousy that they lacked the ability to look at the situation objectively. Reuven then began a course of introspection, looking at whether his action in moving the bed was truly for the right reasons, or perhaps only for his own purposes. At once, Reuven left his brothers and sought atonement for that act.
We see another example in the parsha of the importance of acting without influence or thoughts of one's own best interests. When Tamar is to be taken out to be killed at Bereishis 38:24-26, she sends out a message to Yehuda that the father of her unborn children owns these possessions. Yehuda then stands up and states that she is correct ('tzadka memeni"). R' Frand explained that Yehuda could have stood silent or allowed the court case to drag on for months before a "key piece of evidence" disappeared. Yehuda could have rationalized these acts as necessary to prevent chillul Hashem or embarrassment for his father. Yehuda did not think of his own interest and stood up and stated that Tamar was correct.
R' Frand then quoted the Targum Yonasan Ben Uziel on Bereishis 49:8 that Yehuda was rewarded with the kingship of Israel because he stood up and stated that Tamar was correct. As a result his children became kings and the Jews became known as Yehudim. The reason this quality was so valued is that a king possesses great power, but [as noted by Uncle Ben] "with great power comes great responsibility." Yehuda demonstrated that he could act without thinking of his own interests. As such he was rewarded with the melucha.
If you have seen this post being carried on another site such as JBlog, please feel free to click here to find other articles on the kosherbeers blogsite. Hey its free and you can push my counter numbers up!
Parshas Vayeishev contains one of the more famous biblical stories - the brothers' sale of Yosef. As detailed in Bereishis 37:18-36, the Torah relates that originally the brothers wished to kill Yosef, but they were persuaded by Reuven to put him in a pit. In pasuk 22, the Torah states that Reuven told them to put Yosef in the pit "so that he could rescue [Yosef] and return him to their father." Rashi states that the Torah was actually testifying that this was Reuven's intention.
When Reuven returns to the pit he sees that Yosef is no longer there. Rashi on pasuk 29 offers two explanations as to why Reuven was not there when the brothers sold Yosef. The first explanation is that the brothers had taken shifts assisting their father and that the sale took place during Reuven's shift with his father. The second explanation offered by Rashi is that Reuven was fasting and seeking Heavenly forgiveness for his act in Bereishis 35:22 of moving his father's bed out of Bilhah's tent and into Leah's.
R' Frand asked in the name of the Adir Ya'acov - since the incident when Reuven moved the tent happened nine years prior to the sale of Yosef, why was Reuven involved with fasting and penitence? Surely he had not been doing these acts for the last nine years!
R' Frand answered that the Adir Ya'acov explained that Reuven had an epiphany when he saw what his brothers sought to do to Yosef. He realized that the brothers believed they were doing the right thing in proposing to kill Yosef as they were unable to distinguish between mitzva and meesa. How did this happen? Because the brothers were so blinded by jealousy that they lacked the ability to look at the situation objectively. Reuven then began a course of introspection, looking at whether his action in moving the bed was truly for the right reasons, or perhaps only for his own purposes. At once, Reuven left his brothers and sought atonement for that act.
We see another example in the parsha of the importance of acting without influence or thoughts of one's own best interests. When Tamar is to be taken out to be killed at Bereishis 38:24-26, she sends out a message to Yehuda that the father of her unborn children owns these possessions. Yehuda then stands up and states that she is correct ('tzadka memeni"). R' Frand explained that Yehuda could have stood silent or allowed the court case to drag on for months before a "key piece of evidence" disappeared. Yehuda could have rationalized these acts as necessary to prevent chillul Hashem or embarrassment for his father. Yehuda did not think of his own interest and stood up and stated that Tamar was correct.
R' Frand then quoted the Targum Yonasan Ben Uziel on Bereishis 49:8 that Yehuda was rewarded with the kingship of Israel because he stood up and stated that Tamar was correct. As a result his children became kings and the Jews became known as Yehudim. The reason this quality was so valued is that a king possesses great power, but [as noted by Uncle Ben] "with great power comes great responsibility." Yehuda demonstrated that he could act without thinking of his own interests. As such he was rewarded with the melucha.
If you have seen this post being carried on another site such as JBlog, please feel free to click here to find other articles on the kosherbeers blogsite. Hey its free and you can push my counter numbers up!
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