Aliya Summary: Jacob's family continued on towards Chevron. While en
route, Rachel, Jacob's beloved wife, passed away while giving birth to
her second son, Benjamin. Jacob buried her on the spot, on the roadside
leading to Bethlechem. They traveled yet further, and Jacob's eldest
son, Reuven, interfered with his father's marital life. At long last,
Jacob arrived in Chevron. Isaac died, and was buried in the Cave of
Machpelah alongside his wife and parents. The Torah now lists the wives
and descendents of Esav, who left Canaan and settled in Se'ir.
Some
say that Reuven moved Yakov's bed from the tent of Bilha - where Yakov
had placed it after Rachel's death - into his mother's tent. The Torah's
cryptic description of what he did is considered a sharp rebuke for his
actions, which were disrespectful to his father. What type of "rebuke"
is it for us to read it thousands of years later? Unless the legacy of
Reuven takes a hit when we think of him negatively (as does anyone's
legacy), to which the Torah is (and by extension we should be) sensitive
to.
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