Ilustration Credit: Rivka Tsinman
Midrash מִדְרָשׁ
When Yosef’s brothers see him coming to meet them, they come up with the idea to kill him.
Reuven tries to stop them.
וַיִּשְׁמַע רְאוּבֵן וַיַּצִּלֵהוּ מִיָּדָם
וַיֹּאמֶר לֹא נַכֶּנּוּ נָפֶשׁ׃
וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵהֶם רְאוּבֵן אַל תִּשְׁפְּכוּ דָם
הַשְׁלִיכוּ אֹתוֹ אֶל הַבּוֹר הַזֶּה אֲשֶׁר בַּמִּדְבָּר
וְיָד אַל תִּשְׁלְחוּ בוֹ
לְמַעַן הַצִּיל אֹתוֹ מִיָּדָם לַהֲשִׁיבוֹ אֶל אָבִיו׃
Reuven heard, and tried to save him from them.
He said, “Let us not take his life.”
Reuven said to them, “Don’t shed blood! Throw him into that pit in the wilderness,
but do not touch him yourselves.”
He intended to save Yosef from them and bring him back to his father.
Reuven intended to bring Yosef home… but we know that didn’t work out. So, what do we think of Reuven? What can we learn from him?
אָמַר רַבִּי יִצְחָק בַּר מַרְיוֹן בָּא הַכָּתוּב לְלַמֶּדְךָ שֶׁאִם אָדָם עוֹשֶׂה מִצְוָה יַעֲשֶׂנָּה בְּלֵבָב שָׁלֵם.
שֶׁאִלּוּ הָיָה רְאוּבֵן יוֹדֵעַ שֶׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מַכְתִּיב עָלָיו: "וַיִּשְׁמַע רְאוּבֵן וַיַּצִּילֵהוּ מִיָּדָם" (בראשית לז:כא)—בִּכְתֵפוֹ הָיָה מוֹלִיכוֹ אֵצֶל אָבִיו.
וְאִלּוּ הָיָה יוֹדֵעַ אַהֲרֹן שֶׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מַכְתִּיב עָלָיו: "הִנֵּה הוּא יֹצֵא לִקְרָאתֶךָ" (שמות ד:יד)— בְּתֻפִּים וּבִמְחוֹלוֹת הָיָה יוֹצֵא לִקְרָאתוֹ.
וְאִלּוּ הָיָה יוֹדֵעַ בֹּעַז שֶׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מַכְתִּיב עָלָיו: "וַיִּצְבָּט לָהּ קָלִי וַתֹּאכַל וַתִּשְׂבַּע וַתֹּתַר" (רות ב:יד)— עֲגָלוֹת מְפֻטָּמוֹת הָיָה מַאֲכִילָהּ.
R. Yitzhak son of Maryon said: The Torah teaches that if a person is going to do a mitzvah, they should do it wholeheartedly.
If Reuven had known that God would write about him: “Reuven heard and tried to save him from them” (Bereishit 37:21)—then Reuven would have picked up Yosef and carried him straight home on his shoulders!
And if Aharon had known that God would write about him: “Here he is coming to meet you” (Shemot 4:14)—then Aharon would have danced out to greet Moshe with drums!
And if Boaz had known that God would write about him: “He gave her roasted grain, and she ate her fill and had some left over” (Ruth 2:14)—then Boaz would have fed Ruth fattened cows!
Our actions may be way more important than we realize. Sometimes, a simple act can even change history. The midrash seems to be suggesting that we should try to always act as if what we are doing will have a major impact, and will be remembered forever.
- Why is it so hard to know how important our actions are? Can you think of some examples of small acts you can do that might have a huge impact on others?
- If you knew that your actions would be written in a book that people would read for thousands of years, how would that change the way you act?
- Can you imagine acting with this kind of intention all the time? What would that feel like?
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