Why Reuvain is considered the Tribe of Teshuva
Historical Background of Jewish Settlement in Jordan
As the Jewish people stand on the eastern banks of the Yarden River, gazing at the culmination of a forty-year journey, the impending division of the Land of Israel is at hand. Yet, just before the conquest begins, the tribes of Reuvain and Gad approach Moshe with an unexpected petition. Possessing massive herds of livestock, they ask to settle in the rich, newly conquered pasturelands of the Transjordan rather than crossing into Cana’an proper.[i]
Moshe’s initial reaction is one of sharp rebuke[ii], challenging them: האחיכם יבאו למלחמה ואתם תשבו פה – Shall your brothers go to war while you sit here?
In response, the two tribes offer a sweeping compromise. They will build homes and leave their families behind, but the men of fighting age will march at the very head of the Jewish army until the rest of the nation has secured their inheritance in the Land of Israel.
Moshe accepts this compromise and administers a conditional oath on the two[1] tribes: If they fulfil their obligations, then they shall indeed inherit the land Transjordan. But, if not, then they shall inherit the land of Israel like all the other tribes.
And indeed, when it came time for Yehoshua to conquer the land of Israel, he held these tribes to their oaths – and they fulfilled it enthusiastically. In fact, the Midrash[iii] notes that the vast majority of the Jewish army was not even involved in the war, and that there was only sixty[2] thousand active soldiers, which would be covered by the men of Reuvain and Gad.
In considering the entirety of what took place, an obvious question comes to mind.
- Why did Reuvain volunteer to be at the front lines of the army?
Gad was the tribe known for their military prowess, as we know from the verse[iv] וטרף זרוע אף קדקד – and they tear the arm with the head.[v] Why then would Reuvain volunteer for that.
And we can’t say that only the war was important, or only the war was included in the conditions that Moshe set, since the men of Gad and Reuvain remained in Israel until dismissed by Yehoshua – for the entire duration of the seven-year war, as well as, the seven years it took to divide up the land.
And, considering it took an equal amount of time to divide the land as it did to fight the war, we can assume that the administrative tasks required in doing so were just as time-consuming and important as the war. Since the tribe of Gad were the ferocious soldiers, why would Reuvain volunteer to be on the front lines? Or in the alternative, why did Moshe insist on that when administrative work was just as time-consuming and necessary?
The Echo of the Pit
We can understand the perspective of the tribe of Reuvain by considering the one of their founder’s defining moments. When the other brothers conspired against Yosef to kill him, it was Reuvain who stepped in with subterfuge and saved Yosef’s life by suggesting the brothers not spill blood directly but instead cast Yosef into the pit. As G-d himself testifies to Reuvain’s intentions[vi] למען הציל אתו מידם להשיבו אל אביו – in order that he [Reuvain] save him [Yosef] from their hands to return him to their father.
However, notwithstanding his intentions, Yosef was not returned to their father. Instead, while Reuvain was gone, the brothers sold Yosef to passing merchants, who in turn eventually brought Yosef to Egypt starting the entire process of the Egyptian exile. But where was Reuvain? Why wasn’t he there to prevent the sale of Yosef?
Rashi offers two explanations:
- Reuvain wasn’t present, as that was his day to serve their father, so he went home to deal with those household needs.
- Reuvain wasn’t present, because he was donning sackcloth and fasting for having personally sinned with his father’s bedroom arrangements.
In either scenario, Reuvain was not there to save his brother from being sold into slavery. The Lubavitcher Rebbe offers this as a tremendous lesson – Reuvain wasn’t spending time in frivolous pursuits like his brothers who the Torah notes וישבו לאכל לחם – they sat down to enjoy a meal. Reuvain was busy either performing the Mitzva of כיבוד אב or Teshuva. And yet, he ignored the plight of his brother in distress, and the entire Egyptian exile came about as a result.
It is for this reason that Reuvain lost the firstborn rights. He trusted circumstance rather than personally seeing the rescue through to completion. One cannot be a leader when ignoring the plight of your brethren, even if you are doing so to focus on your own spiritual service.
Because Reuvain’s Teshuva was tainted by the suffering of his brother, it was not considered complete. And accordingly, Yaakov took the birthright away from him. Seemingly this decision is well founded when we consider there were several problems caused by the men of that tribe during the initial years in the wilderness: the consummate troublemakers, דתן ואבירם came from that tribe.[3]
And yet, forty years later, during the final census, the Torah restored the title of first born to Reuvain[vii] and accordingly counted that tribe first, notwithstanding the troublemakers (and their sins) enumerated by name within that very census.
- What happened in the interim?
Marching Ahead of the Miracles
On the banks of the Yarden River, the tribe of Reuvain engages in complete communal Teshuva. This time, they refuse to walk away. They will not leave their brothers’ fate to the physical strength of Gad.
More importantly, they refuse to passively rely on divine miracles. When the Jewish people finally cross the Yarden and begin the conquest of Yeriĉo, Yehoshua describes the procession[viii]: והחלוץ הלך לפני הכהנים – and the vanguard walked in front of the Kohanim[4], followed by the blowing of the shofars by the Kohanim and the Ark of the Covenant. The tribe of Reuvain was marching ahead of the Ark.
They could have easily argued that since the Ark of G-d was present to miraculously level the walls of their enemies[ix], they could safely march behind it. Instead, they placed their own physical bodies between the enemy and the Kohanim. Their willingness to fight for their brethren – refusing to rely on miracles to do the work for them – earned them the unparalleled merit of marching in front of the Ark itself. They stayed on the front lines, exposed to danger, until they personally ensured that every Jew could sit safely “under their grape vine, and under their fig tree.”
And it is this change in attitude, this Teshuva, that the Torah was aware of which is why Reuvain was once again counted as the firstborn right before their entry into the land. And this change of attitude was also revealed to Moshe when they pledged themselves, their entire adult male population, to the front lines for fourteen (14) years; leaving their families and livelihoods behind to ensure the welfare of their brethren at war.
The Final Blessing
The recognition of this act of Teshuva is obvious when we contrast Moshe’s blessing to the tribe vs. Yaakov’s rebuke. One could have expected Moshe’s final words to Reuvain at the end of his life to mirror Yaakov’s harsh rebuke, especially considering the trouble from דתן ואבירם. Yet, Moshe blessed the tribe[x] with יחי ראובן ואל ימות, as Rashi explains[xi], the sin of Reuvain with Bilha should thenceforth be completely forgiven and should not even be mentioned to him. Moshe’s blessing was the definitive proof that Reuvain’s historical repentance was fully accepted.
Why is Moshe suddenly happy with the tribe of Reuvain? Moshe witnessed Reuvain’s transformation at the Yarden River. He saw a people who had overcome their legacy of irresponsibility, taking ultimate physical and spiritual responsibility for their brothers, even when it was logical to assume they had no need to do so. Reuvain teaches us that true teshuvah is not just a feeling of regret. It means stepping onto the front lines, refusing to walk away, and personally ensuring a fellow Jew is protected and safe.
[1] Moshe provides half the tribe of Menashe with Transjordan land as well, even though they didn’t ask for it. The members of the tribe of Menashe had the strongest love for the Land of Israel, and their presence amongst Reuvain and Gad would serve as the starting point of the final redemption when G-d promised to expand the borders of the land of Israel.
[2] Another opinion is the count was only forty thousand, and that these soldiers were entirely from the tribe of Reuvain. This is based on the verse [Yehoshua 4:13] in which the count is listed as “about” forty thousand soldiers, and the total census of fighting men identified in the final count in the wilderness, only a few months before the war, was [Bamidbar 26:7] forty-three thousand, seven hundred and thirty. Implying that the entirety of the vanguard was made up of the men of the tribe of Reuvain. It should be noted that Gad too had a count of forty thousand five hundred, and yet Rabbi Yehuda in the name of Rabbi Ĉizkiya ignores Gad and identifies the “about” forty thousand in the vanguard as being associated with the tribe of Reuvain. On the other hand, the Midrash Agada [Beraishis 49:19] indicates that it was only Gad in the vanguard.
[3] The בכור שור argues that the vast majority, if not all, of the two hundred and fifty men killed for joining Koraĉ’s rebellion were from the tribe of Reuvain.
[4] In fact, Yehoshua’s command was even more explicit. He ordered והחלוץ יעבר לפני ארון ה’ – the vanguard shall pass in front of the Ark of G-d. Normally, even the Kohanim who “carried” the Ark were forbidden from turning their backs to it. Here the entire vanguard was placed before the Ark.
[i] Bamidbar 32:1-5
[ii] Bamidbar 32:6-15
[iii] Shir HaShirim Rabba 4:4 quoting Yehoshua 6:9
[iv] Devarim 33:20
[v] See Yalkut Shimon’I 161b – it was known who was slain by the men of Gad as their bodies were torn apart. See also The Ramban [Bamidbar 32] who notes a textual anomaly: throughout this narrative, Gad is consistently listed before Reuvain, even though Reuvain is the firstborn. The Ramban explains that Gad was the military powerhouse of the nation, blessed with the “strength of a lion.” Gad spearheaded the vanguard because they were physically built for it.
[vi] Beraishis 37:22
[vii] Bamidbar 26:5
[viii] Yehoshua 6:9 and also 6:13 as commanded by Yehoshua in 6:7
[ix] See Sifri on Bamidbar 10:35 and Gem. Sota 35a
[x] Devarim 33:6
[xi] See also Targum Yonasan ben Uziel, who expands Moshe’s blessing to: “Let Reuvain live in this world and not die the second death… because he confessed to the incident and did Teshuva.”