AVROHOM YAAKOV
After the passing of Rachel, the Torah tells us of the actions of Reuven, Yaakov’s firstborn.
“Yaakov was settled in that land. Reuven went and lay near Bilhah, his father's concubine ...” (35:22)
Since Reuven was still counted as Yaakov’s first born and one of the twelve tribes, clearly he did not actually commit the immoral act referenced. Rather, as Rashi explains, he moved his father’s bed without permission.
“... because when Rachel died, Yaakov took his bed, which had been regularly placed in Rachel’s tent and not in the other tents, and moved it into Bilhah’s tent. Reuven came and protested his mother’s humiliation. He said, ‘If my mother’s sister was a rival to my mother, should my mother’s sister’s handmaid [now also] be a rival to my mother?’ For this reason, he disarranged it. — [from Shabbos 55b]”
At the time, Reuven was in his early teens.
Why did the Torah describe Reuven’s actions in such serious terms?
The Alter of Slobodka explains that certain heinous behaviours start from the smallest indiscretion. Immorality may start from interfering in the sleeping arrangements of parents. Theft and murder stem from not respecting the possession of others.
The Torah is using the example of Reuven’s blunder to highlight how one can go from something relatively insignificant to the extreme.
Unfortunately, society is encouraged to look the other way when people commit actions that appear to be relatively trivial. The minor indiscretions are put down to youth, inexperience, mean parents, socio-economic problems and culture.
Fast forward and the trivial rule breaker is a serious criminal and we wonder why?
