This week’s parsha is parshas Vayeitzei. With immense pleasure, we will focus on the birth of the first of the twelve, holy shevatim. Here is the pertinent passuk (Bereishis 29, 32): "ותהר לאה ותלד בן ותקרא שמו ראובן כי אמרה כי ראה ה' בעניי"—Leah conceived and bore a son; she named him Reuven, as she said, “Because Hashem has discerned my humiliation.” Rashi comments: Our Rabbis explained (Berachos 7b): She said, “See the difference between my son (Reuven) and the son of my father-in-law (Eisav), who sold the birthright to Yaakov. But this one (Reuven) did not sell his to Yosef and did not protest against him (Yosef ). Instead, he sought to extricate him from the pit.”
The commentaries are baffled by this comment, seeing as the Torah tells us explicitly why Leah named him Reuven. So, what prompted our blessed sages to suggest a different rationale for her giving her son the name Reuven? Undoubtedly, our sages were taught this rationale in Torah she’b’al peh. Hence, it is incumbent upon us to explain why Leah disregarded this reason and provided another one: "כי ראה ה' בעניי"—because Hashem has discerned my humiliation.
Rabbi Eliezer a Gilgul of Reuven Who Rescued Yosef Was Rescued from a Pit when He Was Caught by the Authorities
I would like to propose a wonderful solution to this apparent discrepancy. We will begin by introducing an intriguing “remez” (allusion) presented in the sefer Lev Aryeh (Chukas 9) in the name of the distinguished Rabbi Yisrael of Ludmir, ztz”l, regarding Leah’s declaration when Reuven was born: "כי ראה ה' בעניי". This “remez” is based on a teaching in the Zohar Chadash (end of Eichah 111b) that the Ten Martyrs executed by the Romans were reincarnations of the ten shevatim who participated in the sale of Yosef (including Yosef himself who provoked his brothers). Binyamin was with his brothers at the time; he was with his father Yaakov and was not involved in the sale.
According to the Zohar Chadash, Reuven reincarnated into the Tanna, Rabbi Eliezer the Great. Since Reuven was not involved in the sale of Yosef, his gilgul, Rabbi Eliezer, was not among the Ten Martyrs. The Torah’s narrative informs us (ibid. 37, 21): "וישמע ראובן ויצילהו מידם ויאמר לא נכנו נפש, ויאמר אליהם ראובן אל תשפכו דם, השליכו אותו אל הבור הזה אשר במדבר ויד אל תשלחו בו, למען הציל אותו מידם להשיבו אל אביו". Reuven heard, and he rescued him from their hand; he said, “Let us not kill him.” Reuven said to them, “Do not commit bloodshed! Throw him into this pit in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him”—his aim was to rescue him from their hands and return him to his father. Even though Reuven planned to rescue him; nevertheless, HKB”H is extremely exacting with tzaddikim. Consequently, Rabbi Eliezer, his gilgul, was thrown into a pit and saved. The Gemara (A.Z. 16b) recounts how he was apprehended so that he would be coerced to worship avodah-zarah and was miraculously saved.
Based on this, the Lev Aryeh explains that Leah Imeinu perceived via her “ruach hakodesh” that her son Reuven would reincarnate into Rabbi Eliezer and be spared from death. Accordingly, she then proclaims: "כי ראה ה' בעניי"—the word רא"ה is interpreted as an acronym for ר'בי א'ליעזר ה'גדול—Rabbi Eliezer the Great.
Reuven Shall Not Die a Second Time
We find a fascinating insight from our illustrious teacher, the Arizal, in Sefer HaGilgulim (Chapter 5) related to the gilgul of Reuven into Rabbi Eliezer. When Moshe Rabeinu blesses the shevatim prior to his death, he says (Devarim 33, 6): "יחי ראובן ואל ימות"—may Reuven live and not die. The Targum Onkelos renders this as: Let him not die a second death. He cites the Gemara (Sanhedrin 64b) where the sages teach that whenever the Torah says "מות יומת", the first term refers to death in Olam HaZeh, while the second refers to a death in Olam HaBa. A person’s first death is inevitable. However, occasionally, a person must return as a gilgul and die a second time—an unusual death to atone for a transgression he was guilty of. That is the meaning of the second term "יומת"; it refers to a death in a future life. This did not apply to Reuven, since his intentions were commendable and good. As such, he was not condemned to death like the other shevatim who reincarnated into the Ten Martyrs. This is the implication of Moshe’s pronouncement: “May Reuven live and not die”—that he should live in Olam HaBa, i.e., in his next incarnation.
The Arizal adds another chiddush regarding the appellation Rabbi Eliezer HaGadol (see Yoma 54b, Ta’anis 31a, Archin 17a). He asserts that since Reuven was the “bechor”—Yaakov’s firstborn—hence, Rabbi Eliezer was also referred to as “gadol,” alluding to his special status, like a Kohen Gadol, who is superior to his priestly brothers.
Leah Imeinu Foresaw that Reuven Would Be Spared the Fate of the Ten Martyrs
Now, we have a basic principle that the “pshat”—the simple rendering of a passuk—and its interpretation based on “remez” go hand in hand. Thus, it is incumbent upon us to explain how the simple rendering of Leah’s pronouncement and the “remez” complement each other. In other words what is the connection between Hashem discerning Leah’s humiliation and the mystical allusion to Rabbi Eliezer HaGadol?
To explain the matter, let us refer back to Rashi’s comment: She said, “See the difference between my son (Reuven) and the son of my father-in-law (Eisav), who sold the birthright to Yaakov. But this one (Reuven) did not sell his to Yosef and did not protest against him (Yosef ). Instead, he sought to extricate him from the pit.” According to this comment, Leach saw via her “ruach hakodesh” that Yaakov was destined to transfer the birthright from Reuven to Yosef. Not only would Reuven not harbor any jealousy or resentment against Yosef, but he would even attempt to save him from his brothers’ scheme. Therefore, she named him Reuven, because she wanted everyone to see the distinct difference between Reuven and Eisav.
Initially, she was distressed by the fact that the birthright would be taken away from Reuven and bestowed upon Yosef. Subsequently, however, she was consoled by the knowledge that Reuven would reincarnate into the renowned Tanna, Rabbi Eliezer HaGadol for two reasons: (1) Because Rabbi Eliezer would not be killed among the Ten Martyrs, in the merit of Reuven showing Yosef compassion rather than harboring resentment toward him and (2) because Reuven’s wrong would be rectified in his gilgul as Rabbi Eliezer, and the birthright would ultimately be returned to him. As we learned, this is why the Tanna was called Rabbi Eliezer HaGadol—because he was once again afforded elite status like a “bechor.”
This illuminates for us the meaning of the passuk: "ותקרא שמו ראובן". She was initially distressed by the fact that the birthright would be taken away from her son and would be given to Yosef. She was consoled afterwards by the knowledge that Reuven would reincarnate into Rabbi Eliezer HaGadol. In other words, because “Hashem discerned my humiliation”—my distress concerning the forfeiture of Reuven’s birthright—HKB”H consoled me by showing me that he would reincarnate into Rabbi Eliezer HaGadol. Furthermore, his gilgul would not be killed and martyred along with the others, since Reuven did not participate in the sale of Yosef. Additionally, he was called HaGadol, because he made amends for Reuven’s flaw, and Reuven’s birthright was restored to its rightful place.
We can now explain very nicely how Chazal arrived at their novel explanation for why Leah named her first son Reuven. According to the text, the reason she gives is: "כי ראה ה' בעניי". They interpreted the term רא"ה as an acronym for ר'בי א'ליעזר ה'גדול—alluding to the fact that Leah foresaw that Reuven would reincarnate into Rabbi Eliezer, who was spared the fate of the martyrs. From this, they deduced that when Leah said, “See the difference between my son and the son of my father-in-law,” she was referring to the fact that because Reuven did not harbor any jealousy toward Yosef, in that merit, his gilgul was not killed along with the Ten Martyrs. Understood this way, both the reason written in the text: "כי ראה ה' בעניי"—and the reason given by Chazal: "ראו מה בני לבן חמי"—go hand in hand.
