On this occasion, I summarised a wonderful drashah by Rabbi Yosef Jacobson, which appears on the
chabad.org website. Do go and read it, it
is terrific.
The question that Rabbi
Jacobson asks and then answers is:
Why did Jacob not choose his eldest son Reuben
to be King of Israel - why did he choose his fourth son, Judah, instead?
The Rabbi does not give the usual reason, that it was because Reuben had slept with his concubine Bilhah. Rashi and other sages agree that Reuben did not do so, that he was in fact an intensly spiritual person trying to live his life well. Less well-known stories from Midrash are quoted, fascinating in the way family stories often are.
The Rabbi does not give the usual reason, that it was because Reuben had slept with his concubine Bilhah. Rashi and other sages agree that Reuben did not do so, that he was in fact an intensly spiritual person trying to live his life well. Less well-known stories from Midrash are quoted, fascinating in the way family stories often are.
In his footnotes at the end, Rabbi Jacobson acknowledges two wise men for some of the ideas he
expresses: the Lubavitcher rebbe, which is no surprise, but also Rabbi Jonathan
Sacks, Chief Rabbi of the Commonwealth, for whom I am developping a fondness since reading his book on religious diversity.
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