And
Reuben
Went
and
Lay
with
Bilhah.
Now
the
Sons
of
Jacob
Were
Twelve
203)
“And
it
came
to
pass,
while
Israel
dwelt
in
that
land,”
in
the
Shechina,
called
“land,”
because
Leah
and
Rachel
died
and
the
Shechina
received
the
house.
204)
“And
Reuben
went
and
lay
with
Bilhah.”
Can
it
be
that
Reuben
went
and
laid
with
Bilhah?
Rather,
as
long
as
Leah
and
Rachel
were
alive,
the
Shechina
was
over
them.
But
now
that
they
have
died,
the
Shechina
did
not
part
the
house
and
remained
in
Bilhah’s
abode.
And
even
though
the
Shechina
should
have
received
the
house,
to
properly
unite
with
Jacob
after
Rachel’s
death,
how
is
it
said
that
the
Shechina
was
in
Bilhah’s
abode?
If
Jacob
had
not
been
in
a
coupling
of
Dechar
[male]
and
Nukva,
the
Shechina
would
not
have
openly
been
in
the
house.
This
is
why
the
Shechina
was
in
Bilhah’s
place,
since
there
was
a
coupling
of
Dechar
and
Nukva
there.
205)
Reuben
came,
and
when
he
saw
that
Bilhah
had
taken
the
place
of
his
mother,
he
went
and
confused
the
bed,
meaning
he
took
Jacob’s
bed
from
there.
And
because
the
spirit
of
the
Shechina
was
over
her,
it
is
written
about
him,
“and
lay
with
Bilhah,”
meaning
that
he
slept
on
that
bed
and
was
not
afraid
for
the
honor
of
the
Shechina.
This
is
why
the
text
speaks
of
him
as
if
he
laid
with
her.
And
because
he
did
not
sin,
Reuben
was
not
removed
from
the
count
of
twelve
tribes.
This
is
why
the
text
immediately
calculates,
as
it
is
written,
“Now
the
sons
of
Jacob
were
twelve.
And
because
of
that,
it
immediately
writes,
“Reuben,
Jacob's
first-born,”
for
the
text
had
made
him
head
of
all
the
tribes.
206)
“For
the
ways
of
the
Lord
are
right;
the
righteous
will
walk
in
them,
and
the
transgressors
will
fail
in
them.”
All
the
ways
of
the
Creator
are
right,
and
His
ways
are
true.
And
the
people
of
the
world
do
not
know
and
do
not
notice
what
they
stand
on.
This
is
why
it
is
written,
“the
righteous
will
walk
in
them,”
since
they
know
the
ways
of
the
Creator
and
engage
in
Torah,
and
anyone
who
engages
in
the
Torah
knows
the
ways
of
the
Torah
and
walks
in
them,
and
does
not
stray
right
left.
207)
“And
the
transgressors
will
fail
in
them.”
These
are
the
wicked
ones,
who
do
not
engage
in
the
Torah,
do
not
observe
the
ways
of
the
Creator,
and
do
not
know
where
the
roads
lead.
And
because
they
do
not
observe
and
do
not
engage
in
Torah,
they
fail
in
it
in
this
world
and
in
the
next
world.
208)
Any
person
who
engages
in
Torah,
when
he
passes
away
from
this
world,
his
soul
rises
in
the
ways
and
trails
of
the
Torah.
These
ways
and
trails
of
the
Torah
are
known,
and
those
who
know
the
ways
of
Torah
in
this
world,
walk
in
them
in
that
world
after
they
part
with
this
world.
209)
And
if
they
do
not
engage
in
Torah
in
this
world
and
do
not
know
the
ways
and
trails
of
the
Torah,
when
they
leave
this
world,
they
will
not
know
these
ways
and
trails
and
they
will
fail
in
them.
Then
they
will
walk
in
other
ways,
which
are
not
the
ways
of
Torah,
and
many
judgments
will
awaken
upon
them
and
they
will
be
punished
in
them.
210)
And
one
who
does
engage
in
Torah,
as
it
is
written,
“when
you
lay
down,
it
shall
watch
over
you;
and
when
you
awaken,
it
shall
talk
with
you.”
“When
you
lay”
(in
the
grave),
the
Torah
will
keep
you
from
the
judgment
of
that
world.
“And
when
you
awaken,”
when
the
Creator
awakens
spirits
and
souls
to
revive
the
dead,
then
“it
shall
talk
with
thee,”
meaning
she
will
be
an
advocate
for
the
body
so
that
those
bodies
that
engaged
in
Torah
will
rise
properly.
And
these
will
be
the
first
to
rise
to
everlasting
life,
as
it
is
written,
“And
many
of
them
that
sleep
in
the
dust
of
the
earth
shall
awaken,
some
to
everlasting
life,
and
some
to
shame
and
everlasting
contempt.”
Those
are
to
everlasting
life,
since
they
engaged
in
the
everlasting
life,
which
is
the
Torah.
211)
All
who
engage
in
Torah,
their
body
will
persist
and
the
Torah
will
protect
it.
This
is
because
at
that
time,
the
Creator
will
awaken
one
spirit
that
comprises
four
winds,
which
are
HB
TM,
and
that
spirit,
made
of
four
winds,
will
to
all
those
who
engage
in
Torah
to
revive
them
with
that
spirit
so
they
will
live
forever.
212)
It
is
written,
“with
the
dead
that
Ezekiel
revived.”
“Come,
O
wind,
from
the
four
winds…”
Why
did
they
not
persist?
After
all,
they
all
died
as
in
the
beginning,
and
that
spirit,
which
is
made
of
the
four
winds,
did
not
help
them
live
forever?
When
the
Creator
revived
the
dead
through
Ezekiel,
although
that
wind
consisted
of
four
winds,
it
did
not
descend
to
revive
them
for
everlasting
life
to
begin
with,
but
to
show
that
the
Creator
is
destined
to
revive
the
dead
in
that
way,
and
to
revive
them
in
the
spirit
that
is
included
of
the
four
winds
in
that
manner.
And
although
at
that
time,
the
bones
returned
to
what
they
were,
the
Creator
only
wanted
to
show
the
whole
world
that
He
is
destined
to
revive
the
dead,
that
then
the
Creator
will
revive
them
properly,
in
complete
persistence
in
the
world.
And
those
who
engage
in
Torah
in
this
world,
the
Torah
will
stand
for
them
and
become
an
advocate
before
the
Creator.
213)
All
those
words
in
the
Torah
and
all
of
the
Torah,
meaning
the
mind
in
it,
in
which
a
person
engages
in
this
world,
those
words
and
that
Torah
always
stands
before
the
Creator
and
speaks
to
Him
and
raises
her
voice
and
does
not
grow
silent.
And
at
the
time
of
the
revival
of
the
dead,
she
will
speak
and
say
according
to
the
amount
that
that
person
engaged
in
her
in
this
world.
Hence,
they
will
rise
in
complete
persistence
to
everlasting
life,
as
it
is
written,
“For
the
ways
of
the
Lord
are
right;
the
Righteous
will
walk
in
them,
and
the
transgressors
will
fail
in
them.”
214)
“Now
Eli
was
very
old,
and
he
kept
hearing
all
that
his
sons
were
doing
to
all
Israel,
and
how
they
lay
with
the
women
who
were
gathering
at
the
entrance
to
the
tent
of
meeting.”
Can
it
be
that
the
Lord’s
priests
would
do
this?
After
all,
the
Torah
interprets
their
sin,
that
they
were
punished
for
slighting
the
sacrifice.
This
means
that
they
were
righteous
who
were
being
meticulously
watched
over.
But
here
it
is
said,
“and
how
they
lay
with
the
women
who
were
gathering,”
meaning
that
they
committed
such
a
grave
offence.
215)
But
they
would
not
do
such
a
transgression,
much
less
in
that
holy
place,
without
Israel
rising
and
killing
them.
But
because
they
were
detaining
the
women
from
entering
the
Temple,
they
protested
for
not
being
allowed
to
enter
and
pray
before
the
offerings
were
made.
But
because
they
did
not
bring
offerings,
to
take
part
of
them,
they
were
detaining
them.
And
this
is
why
the
women
asked
to
enter
the
Temple,
but
they
detained
them.
This
is
why
it
is
written,
“and
how
they
lay
with
the
women,”
that
they
detained
them
from
entering
the
Temple.
216)
“…and
lay
with
Bilhah,”
he
detained
her
from
laying
with
his
father
in
a
laying
of
Mitzva
[good
deed],
and
this
is
the
confusion
of
the
bed.
It
is
considered
that
he
did
this
deed
against
the
Shechina
because
wherever
there
is
laying
of
Mitzva,
the
Shechina
is
in
that
place.
And
one
who
causes
detainment
of
a
laying
of
Mitzva
causes
the
parting
of
the
Shechina
from
the
world.
This
is
why
it
is
written,
“Because
you
went
up
to
your
father's
bed,
then
you
defiled
my
bed,
went
up.”
It
is
also
written,
“and
lay
with
Bilhah
…
and
Israel
heard.
Now
the
sons
of
Jacob
were
twelve.”
This
teaches
us
that
they
were
all
counted
and
nothing
of
their
merit
was
withdrawn.
217)
Why
is
it
first
written,
“and
Israel
heard,”
and
then
it
is
written,
“Now
the
sons
of
Jacob
were
twelve?
When
Reuben
came
and
confused
the
bed,
he
said,
“What
is
this?
My
father
had
twelve
tribes
to
sustain
in
the
world,
not
more,
and
now
he
wishes
to
have
more
sons?
Are
we
flawed,
that
he
wishes
to
have
others
in
our
place
as
in
the
beginning?”
He
immediately
confused
the
bed
and
that
laying
was
detained.
It
is
regarded
as
though
he
had
disgraced
the
Shechina,
who
was
on
that
bed.
This
is
why
it
writes,
“and
Israel
heard,”
because
in
that
name,
he
rose
within
the
twelve
degrees
that
were
covered,
which
are
the
twelve
rivers
of
pure
persimmon.
The
name,
“Israel,”
is
above
Chazeh
of
ZA,
where
there
are
four
Sefirot
HB
TM
with
three
lines
in
each
of
them.
These
are
twelve
rivers
of
pure
persimmon,
and
they
were
covered
because
Hassadim
are
covered
from
the
Chazeh
upwards.
And
Jacob
wished
to
beget
twelve
more
sons,
referring
to
the
twelve
in
the
name,
“Israel,”
which
are
covered
Hassadim.
It
turns
out
that
by
Reuben’s
confusion
of
his
father’s
bed,
he
flawed
the
twelve
in
the
name,
“Israel,”
but
not
at
all
in
the
twelve
of
Jacob,
which
were
already
present
and
complete.
This
is
why
it
writes,
“and
Israel
heard.”
But
the
sons
of
Jacob
were
complete
twelve.
218)
“Now
the
sons
of
Jacob
were
twelve.”
These
are
the
twelve
tribes
by
which
the
Shechina
was
erected.
They
are
the
ones
which
the
Torah
counted
in
the
beginning,
before
Reuben’s
sin.
They
are
all
holy,
all
worthy
of
the
Shechina,
to
gaze
upon
the
holiness
of
their
Lord,
because
had
Reuben
done
that
deed,
he
would
not
have
been
counted
among
the
tribes.
219)
Still,
Reuben
was
punished:
his
seniority
was
taken
from
him
and
given
to
Joseph,
as
it
is
written,
“And
the
sons
of
Reuben
the
first-born
of
Israel,”
since
he
was
the
first-born.
“But
because
he
defiled
his
father’s
bed,
his
birthright
was
given
to
the
sons
of
Joseph,
the
son
of
Israel.”
May
the
name
of
God
be
blessed
from
the
world
unto
the
world,
whose
every
deed
is
true,
and
whose
ways
are
judgment,
and
all
that
He
does
is
with
sublime
wisdom.
220)
How
much
do
people’s
actions
cause?
All
that
man
does
is
written
and
stands
before
the
Creator.
This
is
because
when
Jacob
came
to
Leah,
his
heart
and
mind
were
with
Rachel
all
through
that
night,
for
he
thought
she
was
Rachel.
And
from
this
lay,
and
from
that
first
drop
and
from
that
desire
was
Leah
impregnated.
Had
it
not
been
so—that
Jacob
did
not
know
that
she
was
Leah,
but
would
indeed
know
that
she
was
Leah
while
he
was
thinking
of
Rachel—Reuben
would
not
have
been
counted
among
the
tribes,
since
he
would
have
been
replaceable.
However,
it
was
by
mistake.
For
this
reason,
he
did
not
rise
by
a
known
name,
but
his
name
is
only
“Reuben,”
with
the
letters
of
Reu
[look],
Ben
[a
son],
without
a
name.
221)
But
still
the
act
returns
to
its
place.
As
the
first
desire
acted
in
Rachel,
that
desire
returned
to
her
because
his
seniority
returned
to
Joseph,
Rachel’s
first-born,
the
place
where
the
desire
was—Rachel.
Thus,
everything
came
to
its
place,
since
all
the
deeds
of
the
Creator
are
true
and
just.