Everything Returns to Its Root: The Secret of the Birthright, the Sons of the Maidservants, and Lavan's Plot
Tuesday, Parashas Vayishlach, 13 Kislev 5764 - Distribution of Certificates at Shaarei Torah, Part 2
The argument between Yosef and his brothers revolved around the halachic (Jewish legal) status of the sons of the maidservants. Lavan the Aramean tried to mix up the order of the marriages in order to incite a dispute that would destroy the Jewish people, but ultimately, everything in the world returns to its true spiritual root.
The Jerusalem Talmud notes that initially, the sons of the maidservants were treated literally as slaves, as woodchoppers and water drawers who could be sold. However, the Rambam rules that when examining their status, one looks at the father: if he treated them as sons, then they have the presumptive status of valid lineage (kashrus).
If they have the presumptive status of valid lineage, it is assumed that the father freed the maidservant. Unlike a non-Jewish woman who requires conversion in a Beis Din (Rabbinical Court), a maidservant is freed through a bill of manumission. The halacha (Jewish law) is that there is no need for witnesses or a separate document to free her, since the very act of kiddushin (betrothal) is the emancipation. As the halacha states:
"One who cohabits with his maidservant – her document of betrothal is her document of emancipation."
Even mere speech is sufficient to free a slave. The moment a person says an expression of emancipation to his maidservant or betroths her, she is automatically freed and her holiness rests upon her.
The Argument Between Reuven and Yosef
Against this halachic background, the Maharsha explains the statement of Chazal (our Sages of blessed memory):
"Whoever says Reuven sinned is nothing but mistaken."
The Maharsha clarifies that there was a profound argument between Reuven and Yosef. The brothers, led by Reuven, followed the view that Bilhah and Zilpah remained maidservants, and therefore their sons were slaves who could be subjected to servitude. Yosef, on the other hand, strongly argued that the children were regular sons in every respect, and it was forbidden to treat them as slaves. The holy Ohr HaChaim deduces this from the words "his father's wives" – Yosef argued that they were actual wives, not maidservants.
Based on this perspective, Reuven argued that if Bilhah is a maidservant, then he is permitted to marry her. Reuven never committed a forbidden act; he only argued verbally that he was permitted to marry her. However, since he allowed himself to speak this way and to move Bilhah's bed, the verse considers it as if he had lain with her. The entire matter began from that halachic argument over the status of the sons of the maidservants.
Lavan's Plot and the Secret of the Birthright
The truth is that the true firstborn was Yosef. Although according to the order of birth Reuven was born first, Leah's entire entry under the chuppah (marriage canopy) was only made possible in the merit of the judgment of Rachel, who handed over the signs to her. It turns out that Rachel is the essence of the household, and all of Leah's children came into the world in her merit. Therefore, the true birthright belongs to Yosef, and one cannot change the order and give the birthright to the son of the hated wife over the son of the beloved wife.
Herein lies the hidden intention of Lavan the Aramean. Lavan saw the future through Ruach HaKodesh (Divine Inspiration), and he knew that if he mixed up the order of the marriages and brought Leah in before Rachel, it would create immense confusion. Lavan's entire goal was to mix up the order, knowing that through this they would sell Yosef and banish him from the house. He hoped that these disputes would, God forbid, bring about the destruction of the Jewish people at its very inception.
Everything Returns to Its Root
Yet despite all the twists and confusions that Lavan tried to create, the rule is that everything must ultimately return to its root. It is impossible to change the Divine order. As Ben Azzai says in Tractate Yoma:
"By your name they will call you, in your place they will seat you, and from what is yours they will give you."
Even though the birthright was temporarily taken from Yosef, it ultimately returned to him. The same applies to his sons, Ephraim and Menashe. In Parashas Vayechi, Yaakov Avinu (our Patriarch) crossed his hands and gave the primary blessing to Ephraim, but in the future to come, in the order of the Geulah (Redemption), everything will return to its root. The prophecy will begin with the tribe of Menashe, as it is written, "Gilead is Mine, and Menashe is Mine," and only afterward, "Ephraim is the stronghold of My head, Yehudah is My lawgiver."
No matter how much a person wanders in the world, and no matter how much they try to change the order – nothing will help. In the future to come, everything will be revealed and will return to its true root.
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