Parsha Illuminated - Vayechi: Reuven's Rebuke

What’s said in this shiur

The opening of this shiur, in Rabbi Hillel Shaps’s own words — taken from the captions, so names and Hebrew terms may be approximate.

okay para illuminated for par I think uh we have an interesting Shear that's for sure uh for today um exploring it we're going to explore something that is uh controversial and uh difficult and that is the topic of ruu so Yakov as he his the end of his life is approaching he gathers his sons life is approaching he gathers his sons together and he gives them either a braa or you know a blessing or a rebuke or both and the Torah actually at the end of all the blessings calls them all blessings it says he he blessed them all and then the commentaries have to deal with well some of them don't seem like blessings they just seem like rebukes and one of those is what he says to ruin so uh he ruen is the is his oldest son and therefore Ruan is the one who he and therefore Ruan is the one who he addresses first and this is what he says to Ru chapter 49 verse three R you are my you are my firstborn um my strength and uh the first of my might yes you have you're Superior yes you have you're Superior in um here they trans as rank yes or Superior in power you are here they translate you have the restlessness of water alar you will not continue to have those things mentioned before for you ascended upon your father's here they translate as couch then you profu Allah againu is like the sheets or the bading of Allah and here they translate him who ascended upon my bed and uh all the blessings are poetic and uh difficult difficult to parse uh just uh on a simple level um so we have to try to understand what is it the Yakov is telling ruing what is he talking about what is he referring to

Jump to a moment

1. 0:04okay para illuminated for par I think uh we have an interesting Shear that's for sure…
2. 4:46translate Superior in in being elevated being lifted up meaning you were fit to be elevated…
3. 10:01doing the wrong thing so kind of lets it leaves it to Yakov I think at…
4. 15:11of insult and uh and so he took the bed and he he seems I guess…
5. 20:25uh they're divided into two groups and and and six of the tribes are on one…
6. 25:40they say contemptuously meaning you like mael you you disgraced but that doesn't mean that he…
7. 30:24so it's it's very peculiar right right yeah um okay okay now what about the other…
8. 35:31says the Rama that uh that it's forbidden to have relations if there's somebody else around…
9. 40:39and the sages is that he did not do that what he did was maybe tant…
10. 45:49with restlessness you uh you you acting impulsively um so so why is the why is…

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