We read in Parashat Vayeshev of Reuven’s limitedly successful attempt to rescue his brother, Yosef, as the other brothers conspired to kill him. Reuven managed to convince his brothers to cast Yosef into a pit and let him die of starvation, rather than to kill him directly. His plan was to then lift Yosef from the pit later. Afterward, however, Yosef was lifted from the pit and sold as a slave (either by the brothers, or, according to the Rashbam, by Midyanite merchants who had passed by unbeknownst to the brothers). When Reuven returned to the pit to rescue Yosef, he found that Yosef was not there, and he naturally assumed that his brother had died. He exclaimed, “The boy is gone, and I – where can I go?” (37:30).
The Midrash Lekach Tov explains Reuven’s lament as a reference to the sin he had committed with Bilha, as we read in Parashat Vayishlach (35:22). Reuven thought that his efforts to rescue Yosef would serve as atonement for his sin with Bilha, but now that his efforts have failed, the stain of that misdeed remained on his record.
The obvious question arises, what connection might there be between these two incidents – Reuven’s sin with Bilha and his rescue of Yosef? Why did Reuven hope to rectify the mistake he had made by intervening to save Yosef?
Chazal (as cited by Rashi to 35:22) famously explain the incident of Reuven and Bilha as Reuven’s misguided attempt to defend the honor of his mother, Leah. After Rachel’s death, the Sages teach, Yaakov moved his bed into the tent of Bilha, Rachel’s maidservant whom he had married, indicating that she would now become Yaakov’s primary wife. Reuven saw this move as a grave insult to his mother, Leah, and, as firstborn, felt it was his responsibility to defend his mother’s honor and protest his father’s decision. He erred, of course, in overstepping his bounds, and the bounds of propriety, by intervening in his father’s intimate affairs.
As Reuven heard his brothers plotting Yosef’s murder, he found himself in a situation that indeed called for strong leadership, and warranted bold action and intervention. Once again, he observed what he deemed a gravely egregious decision being made, and as firstborn, it was his duty to step in and protest. Indeed, the Midrash (Bereishit Rabba 84:15), as Rashi cites, explains that Reuven intervened to rescue Yosef because he anticipated being blamed for the tragedy once the brothers recognize their mistake. Reuven erred in the incident with Bilha by acting in an inappropriately bold fashion, and as Yosef approached the brothers in Dotan, Reuven knew that bold action was precisely what was demanded of him. He thus saw this occasion as the opportunity to rectify his failure with Bilha by displaying responsible leadership and intervening. Whereas with Bilha he intervened when intervention was unwarranted, here he would intervene when such intervention was necessary.
This explains Reuven’s anguish upon discovering that his plan had failed, that Yosef was not in the pit. He had hoped to rectify his sin with Biha, but in the end, his actions only magnified that sin. In the incident with Bilha, Reuven acted too boldly; in the incident with Yosef, he did not act boldly enough. Rather than appearing to play along with his brothers’ scheme and then secretly rescuing Yosef, Reuven should have had the courage to explicitly protest and thwart the brothers’ murderous plot. He did not display the strength and courage that was necessary to do what was needed to prevent an act of fratricide. And thus when humble deference was warranted, Reuven inappropriately intervened and moved his father’s bed; but when bold, courageous action was necessary, he made a feeble effort. He had sought to rectify his sin with Bilha, but in the end, he made it appear even more grievous.