The Bechorah of Yosef

Based on PG Waxman

Chazal teach that one should always treat his children equally, as we see the colossal tragedy that evolved after Yaakov made Yosef a kesones passim.

The pasuk states that after Reuven sinned and lost the bechorah, it was given to Yosef. Some learn that Yosef had the status of a full bechor; others explain that his bechorah was limited to his children receiving a double portion of inheritance.

The questions arise: Why did Yaakov Aveinu grant Yosef the gift of bechorah and uniquely designate Menashe and Efraim as two shevatim? Furthermore, even if Yaakov was unaware of the tragic ramifications resulting from Yosef receiving the kesones passim, why would the Ribono Shel Olam allow Yaakov to promote Yosef by granting him bechorah and designating his children as two shevatim if it came about in a manner that seemingly violates the directive that children (in this case Yosef and his brothers) be treated equally?

Additionally, why did Yaakov grant Yosef the additional allotment of the city of Shechem without being concerned that this would cause jealousy and friction?

It would seem that there was a clear and compelling reason why Yosef deserved the bechorah, as it never became a point of contention.

These are difficult topics; the following is a synopsis of suggested answers and explanations:

1. The Ibn Ezra and Chizkuni answer that before Matan Torah, there was bechorah to the firstborn of a mother. When Reuven lost the bechorah, it went to Rochel’s oldest child.
2. Yaakov conferred the bechorah to Yosef as a result of being directed to do so through prophecy.
3. The Chizkuni answers that Yaakov gave Rochel three shevatim, one more than the two shevatim that each secondary wife had.
4. Perhaps, Menashe and Efraim joined Binyamin as shevatim of Rochel because she deserved to have at least three shevatim, which is 12 divided by 4 [mothers].
5. The Ohr Hachaim explains that Yosef was both an av, a father [following Avrahom, Yitzchok and Yaakov], and also a ben, a son [of Yaakov], in the category of the other shevatim. Hence, as an av, Yosef merited that his children, Menashe and Efraim, were in the same stratum as the other shevatim who were born to Yaakov.
6. The Ohr Hachaim, Shach, and Ben Ish Chai write that Yosef was always the bechor b’machshavah, as Yaakov initially thought that he was marrying Rochel.
   1. Yosef, the first impression b’machshavah, often preceded final permanence – “sof ma’aseh b’machshavah techilah.” Yosef was the first to go down to Mitzrayim, Yehoshua (from Yosef) was the first leader to enter Eretz Yisroel, Mishkan Shilo (in Yosef’s portion) came prior to the Batei Mikdosh, Shaul (from bnei Rochel) was king before Malchus Bais Dovid (from bnei Leah), and Moshiach ben Yosef will precede Moshiach ben Dovid. Once Reuven lost the bechorah, it was fitting that Yosef, who was already the bechor b’machshavah, receive it.
7. The Gemara expounds that it was appropriate for Rochel to beget the bechor, which would have been Yosef who was Rochel’s firstborn. However, Leah preceded her in davening and had Reuven first. The bechorah reverted to Rochel because of her tznius in not revealing to Yaakov that she gave the simanim to Leah.
8. The Imrei Shefer brings from his father, Rav Moshe Chalava, that Yaakov referenced the burial place of Rochel in conjunction with designating Menashe and Efraim as two shevatim in order to explain his rationale for making Yosef the bechor. Yaakov felt that if Rochel had not died as a result of his unintended klalah, the curse of a tzaddik, she would have given birth to additional children. Therefore, Yaakov designated Menashe and Efraim, children of Rochel’s oldest child, as two shevatim.
9. The Chidah and the Malbim bring from the mekubalim that Menashe and Efraim were meant to come from Yaakov, but it did not occur because Reuven moved Yaakov’s bed after Rochel’s passing. Those neshamos – born to Yosef as Menashe and Efraim – were considered as Yaakov’s children and were accordingly designated as separate shevatim.
10. Possibly, the directive that “one should not differentiate between his children” applies only in cases where the item is divisible, and it is possible to treat all the children equally. For example, if someone wants to gift 10,000 dollars to his four children, he can give each one 2,500 dollars. When Yaakov made a kesones pasim for Yosef, he could have woven one for each of the brothers. When Yosef presented Binyamin with five sets of clothing, he could have given everyone likewise. Even if one has a valuable heirloom that is not divisible, it can be sold and the money divided, transferred on a timeshare basis, or conveyed with the recipients becoming equal partners. Bechorah is different. It is not divisible, nor can it be shared. By definition, it can only belong to one child. Once Reuven lost the bechorah, it had to be transferred to one – and only one – of his siblings. It was Yaakov’s prerogative to give it to the child he felt should receive it. Since bechorah is indivisible and must go to only one child, the remaining siblings would respect Yaakov’s choice and not be jealous. The Divrei Nechemiah mentions this distinction in a case where a man had two sons and their niece was willing to marry one of them. The father of the two brothers would not permit either son to marry her, because he did not wish to differentiate between his children. The Divrei Nechemia contends that it is permitted because she can only marry one of them, not both. I suggest that a similar distinction allowed for the conveyance of the bechorah to Yosef and is the reason why Yosef’s bechorah never became a point of contention.
11. The Torah Temimah and Yabia Omer elaborate that the dictate that “one should never differentiate between his children” did not pertain in Yosef’s case because it does not apply to matters that take effect after the grantor (Yaakov) passes.
12. The Torah Temimah also suggests that the dictate not to differentiate between children did not apply here because the double portion for Menashe and Efraim first took effect prospectively, subsequent to the recipient’s (Yosef’s) death.
13. The Chasam Sofer explains: If the children are equal, they must be treated equally. However, if one child, such as Yosef, “has strong superiority in Torah and wisdom” and must be respected by the other siblings, it is appropriate to give that child more.
14. The Ramban writes that Yaakov “blessed the children of Yosef and made them into two shevatim…to appease Yosef, and because he loved him…telling Yosef, ‘I am giving you the maximum that I am able to give you when I could, without being unfair to your brothers,’ …the bechorah being Yaakov’s to confer as he wants and sees fit.”
15. The Chizkuni and Kli Yakar answer that Yosef was granted two shevatim in appreciation for his feeding and saving everyone.
16. The Daas Zekainim explains that now that Yosef was king, the brothers would not be jealous if he received the bechorah, because it was appropriate to honor him, in particular, as Yosef provided for them.
17. Since Yaakov and the brothers now realized that Yosef’s dreams were in fact prophecies, they recognized that inherent in those dreams was that Yosef would become not only a monarch, but their leader and bechor as well.
18. Rashi explains that Yaakov gave Yosef the city of Shechem where Yosef would be buried because Yosef arranged for Yaakov to be properly buried. The Tiferes Yosef and Nachlas Yaakov learn that Yosef received the bechorah for the same reason, as it is the bechor’s responsibility to make funeral arrangements for a parent.
19. The Gemara says that ayin hara (evil eye) does not affect the children of Yosef because they are compared to fish which swim below the surface, out of sight, and have no ayin hara. Kodshim kalim (such as a Korban Pesach) were eaten within the confines of Machaneh Yisroel in the desert, and within the walls of Yerushalayim later on. The exception was Mishkan Shiloh, where kodshim kalim were eaten within eyesight of the Mishkan. The Gemara explains that Shiloh was unique in that its holiness radius was defined by the visibility of the Mishkan because it was in Yosef’s portion; “since Yosef did not look at what was not his, kodshim kalim is eaten within eyesight [in his portion].” Yosef Hatzadik refused to look at the wife of Potifar or at the daughters of Mitzrayim. Ayin hara comes as a result of one person viewing another negatively. Because Yosef did not look at what was not his, middah k’neged middah, no one looked at what Yosef had – and he was not affected by ayin hara. Unlike when Yaakov gave Yosef the kesones pasim, once Yosef was zocheh to be like the fish and be free of ayin hara, no one looked at him with jealousy or an evil eye, and Yaakov was able to grant Yosef bechorah, designate his children as two shevatim, and give him the city of Shechem as well, without worrying about objections, complaints, or jealousy.