Take Responsibility!

by HaRav Zalman Baruch Melamed
Rosh HaYeshiva, Bet El

I would like to discuss a Midrash which is a bit odd.

The Midrash says that Reuven was the first person in history that committed a sin, and afterwards did what we call Teshuva. However, we all know that he wasn’t the first one since we all remember Adam who committed the sin of eating from the prohibited tree and that he did Teshuva and God reduced the severity of his punishment.

Before we start answering we should explain what Reuven’s sin was. When Racheil died Yaakov relocated her bed into Bilha’s (her maidservant’s) tent. However, Reuven was offended on his mother’s behalf, because she was not a slave and she was the one who deserved to have more 'quality time' with Yaakov when Racheil was no longer there, and therefore he decided that he should restore his mother Leah’s dignity and transfer Racheil's bed to her tent. He regretted the rebellion against his father and his own failure to honor him, as the Torah commands us.

This is just the first part of the story and not the main part. Others had also done Teshuva in this way.
What the Midrash really talks about is the moment Reuven looked at the empty pit and realized that Yosef wasn’t there. At that moment he understood that it could be that he had prevented Yaakov from having his twelve tribes. It's not only that he didn't rescue Josef from his brothers, but it could probably be that Yaakov deserved another child instead of Yosef to preserve the lineage through Racheil's side, and the only way of doing it would have been by having a child with Bilha, which was no longer possible because Yaakov would only be with Leah since both Leah and Racheil beds were in Leah's tent.

This meant that his actions had a bigger impact than what he thought would be the case, and he realized that one sin - of disrespecting his father - had led to a bigger shaming of his father who would not have his the continuity of his lineage fulfilled.

The new thing that Reuven is trying to teach us, is that Teshuva is not just understanding the immediate and first result, it is understanding that every bad thing we do has its consequences, and what we do could be much more harmful than what we think.

When Reuven arrives at the understanding that he has harmed Josef, he understands that what is happening is much more significant. Yosef signifies the nation of Israel and harming him is harming the continuity of the nation.

This is what we learn from Reuven's experience, that even the tiniest acts we do as the People of Israel, are acts that affect the whole nation and the whole world, and not just each one of us as private individuals, here in this world.