As the brothers plotted to kill Yosef, Reuven’s mind flashed back to his own sinful act committed on impulse, and he immediately intervened in an attempt to save his brothers from a similar mistake.
We read in Parashat Vayeshev the disquieting story of mekhirat Yosef, of how Yosef’s brothers conspired to kill him, ultimately selling him as a slave. (According to the Rashbam, the brothers did not actually sell Yosef, as he was lifted out of the pit by passing merchants who then sold him.) As the brothers saw Yosef approaching, they decided they would murder him and then cast his body into a pit, but then Reuven suggested that they kill Yosef indirectly by throwing him into a pit alive. Reuven’s intent, as the Torah itself testifies, was to later come and rescue Yosef from the pit (37:21-22).
Several different approaches have been taken to explain why specifically Reuven, among all the other brothers, intervened to try to rescue Yosef. At first glance, we might assume that he intervened due to his role as firstborn, which entailed a degree of leadership and responsibility. On the other hand, as the firstborn Reuven had more reason to feel resentment over Yosef’s preferential treatment than the others, and we thus might have expected him to be less likely to act on Yosef’s behalf.
Another possibility is alluded to by Seforno, in explaining Reuven’s intervention: “‘He rescued him from their hands’ – by preventing an impulsive action which would result in irrevocable harm, the likes of which can occasionally bring the downfall of even a righteous person, as in the case of Reuven and Bilha.” Seforno explains that the plan to kill Yosef was a rash, impulsive reaction, and impulsive decision-making is a flaw which can ruin even an otherwise righteous person. Reuven experienced this firsthand, having acted rashly in the incident involving Bilha. In chastising Reuven for this mistake, Yaakov described his eldest son as “pachaz ka-mayim” – “frantic like water” – emphasizing the element of impulsivity which is what led Reuven to this mistake. It seems that according to Seforno, it was Reuven who intervened to rescue Yosef because he had himself failed in this area – in undertaking a drastic measure without thinking the issue through rationally. As the brothers plotted to kill Yosef, Reuven’s mind flashed back to his own sinful act committed on impulse, and he immediately intervened in an attempt to save his brothers from a similar mistake.
Seforno’s comments perhaps remind us of how to use our mistakes as lessons for the future. Our failures of the past can and should be used as valuable tools for the future, alerting us of the pitfalls we need to avoid and the mistakes we should never be repeating. Failures can be turned into blessings if we learn from them what we need to change and how to do it better the next time around.