{"id":39106,"date":"2018-09-02T13:09:14","date_gmt":"2018-09-02T10:09:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=39106"},"modified":"2022-03-27T23:26:22","modified_gmt":"2022-03-27T20:26:22","slug":"reubens-failure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/reubens-failure\/","title":{"rendered":"Reuben\u2019s Failure"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[366,523,562],"acf":{"old_id":"39106","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":38220,"related_cahpter":"37","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"In the end, he wasn\u2019t even worried about Joseph, but about something - someone - else entirely","content":"

Why did Reuben\u2019s plan to save his brother fail? I believe a little geography and a little psychology can help solve the riddle.<\/span><\/p>\n

After casting Joseph into the pit, the brothers sit down to eat. Judah notices a caravan of Ishmaelites carrying spices to sell in Egypt. He sees an opportunity and suggests they sell Joseph. This is followed immediately by the following verse:<\/span><\/p>\n

Midianite merchant-men passed by and they pulled and lifted Joseph from the pit and <\/span>they<\/b> sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty silver. And they brought Joseph to Egypt.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most of us understand the subject of \u201cthey sold Joseph\u201d as the brothers\u2014the Midianites being the middlemen.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rashbam, Rabbi Shmuel ben Meir (Rashi\u2019s grandson), offers an alternative interpretation: \u201cThey\u201d is referring to the Midianites. They sold Joseph before the brothers even reached the pit.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how we would understand the story based on Rashbam: From the vantage point of Dothan (<\/span>located in the mountains with a clear view of the Via Maris, an ancient trade route)<\/span> Judah noticed a caravan of Ishmaelites and saw an opportunity to sell Joseph. The trek down from the mountains to the valley to meet up with the caravan can take some time and as the brothers finished their meal and prepared to make their way, Reuben ran ahead to the pit to save Joseph. But, he was too late. Before he arrived a group of Midianite merchants who were passing by found Joseph in the pit and sold him to the Ishmaelites before the brothers were able to.<\/span><\/p>\n

Reuben\u2019s <\/span>reaction to discovering Joseph\u2019s absence seems to suggest that his failure was not just in being too slow. After tearing his clothes (in anger? in mourning?) he says:<\/span><\/p>\n

The boy is not (<\/span>hayeled enenu<\/span><\/em>), and I (<\/span>va\u2019ani<\/span><\/em>), where will I go? (<\/span>anah ani va?<\/span>)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Reuben realizes that as the oldest brother the weight of the blame will fall on his shoulders. How can he return to his father? Something, however, seems off. Joseph\u2019s just been sold as a slave and Reuben is only thinking about what\u2019s going to happen to him.<\/span><\/p>\n

This self-centeredness comes across even clearer in the Hebrew. In addition to repeating the word <\/span>ani<\/span><\/em>, <\/span><\/i>I, twice, Reuben uses two other words to express his dismay that sound an awful lot like the word <\/span>ani<\/span>: <\/span>enenu<\/span><\/em>\u2014he\u2019s gone! <\/span>Anah<\/span><\/em>\u2014where? It almost sounds like Reuven is saying <\/span>ani, ani, ani, ani<\/span><\/em>! Woe is me, woe is me, woe is me, woe is me!<\/span><\/p>\n

Reuben failed to save Joseph, but his true failure was in being a brother.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":56224,"id":56224,"title":"jud16-selfimage","filename":"jud16-selfimage.png","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-selfimage.png","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/samson-a-lot-like-us\/jud16-selfimage\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"jud16-selfimage","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":56223,"date":"2019-05-26 21:35:32","modified":"2022-03-30 21:07:29","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":241,"height":232,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-selfimage-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-selfimage.png","medium-width":241,"medium-height":232,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-selfimage.png","medium_large-width":241,"medium_large-height":232,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-selfimage.png","large-width":241,"large-height":232,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-selfimage.png","1536x1536-width":241,"1536x1536-height":232,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-selfimage.png","2048x2048-width":241,"2048x2048-height":232,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-selfimage.png","post_full_size-width":241,"post_full_size-height":232,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-selfimage.png","home_baner-width":241,"home_baner-height":232}},"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"Reuben\u2019s Failure","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"In the end, he wasn\u2019t even worried about Joseph, but about something - 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