Most of us know the story of Joseph by heart: the favored son, the coat of many colors, the dreams that made his brothers seethe. But hidden inside that famous story is a quieter one that is easy to miss. Joseph’s brothers threw him into a pit and sold him into slavery. Yet the brother with the most reason to hate him, the one who lost his entire inheritance to Joseph, was the only one who fought to rescue him. Rabbi Elie Mischel explores this remarkable story in The 12 Tribes of Israel, his new course on Bible Plus.
That brother was Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn. In the Bible, the firstborn holds the bechorah (birthright), a double share of the inheritance and a place of honor in the family. As Rabbi Mischel points out, Scripture tells us that Reuben’s birthright was taken from him and given to the sons of Joseph. Everything Reuben should have inherited went to his younger brother.
So when the brothers saw Joseph approaching in the wilderness and began plotting to kill him, you would expect Reuben to lead the charge. Instead the Bible tells us:
Rabbi Mischel turns to Rashi, the great 11th-century commentator, to explain Reuben’s plan. Outnumbered by his angry brothers, he was buying time. He meant to return later, pull Joseph out of the pit in secret, and bring him home safely to Jacob.
Rabbi Mischel shares a beautiful teaching of the sages about this moment. They imagine Leah, Reuben’s mother, comparing her son to another firstborn in the family: Esau. Esau sold his birthright to Jacob willingly, for a single bowl of stew, and still hated Jacob so fiercely that he planned to kill him. Reuben lost his birthright against his will, and he answered with kindness. He protected the very brother who received it.
Two firstborn sons lost the same blessing. One chose bitterness. The other chose grace.
What made the difference? Rabbi Mischel teaches that Reuben had stumbled in his own life, and his failure made him humble. A man who knows his own mistakes has no room left for jealousy. Reuben’s brokenness became his strength.
And what was the mistake that cost Reuben his birthright? The answer the sages give is not what most readers expect, and Rabbi Mischel’s lesson on Reuben shows how it changes the way you read his whole story.
Every one of us will one day lose something we believe is ours: a position, an inheritance, the recognition we deserve. Reuben shows us that loss can poison us or purify us. The choice is ours.
Reuben is just the beginning. Rabbi Mischel opens the course with a question most of us have never thought to ask: Why did God build Israel from twelve different tribes instead of one? That introduction is free to watch on Bible Plus. From there, he brings Jacob’s sons to life one by one: Reuben’s turbulent heart, Simeon’s dangerous fire, and the moment Levi turned that same fire into holiness. Each tribe walked its own path to God, and each one still has something to teach us today.
Watch the Introduction to the Twelve Tribes, here.
