How hard did he work? – Vayyeshev
One of the lowest points in his career was the moment when, out of jealousy, his brothers seized him and determined to kill him. The fact that Reuben, the oldest brother, tried to prevent the murder is impressive, but reread the story and Reuben is seen in a less pleasant light.
What actually did he say to his brothers? He told them not to kill the youth but to cast him into a pit; the commentators remark that the pit was full of snakes and scorpions. So Joseph would still have died had they left him there! What improvement was that?
Some say Reuben was being a diplomat, trying to find a less public way of disposing of his brother; he would still be dead, but their hands would not have shed his blood.
More charitably, the Torah itself says Reuben intended to come back when the others had left, to save Joseph. In fact he did return, but in the meantime the others had taken Joseph and sold him to passing travellers, and Reuben was distraught.
So why did he not stand by all the time, hiding if necessary, and watch to see that no harm befell the lad? Did he not realise to what danger he was exposing his brother? Indeed why did he not take a more forceful line with the others and tell them that brothers do not kill brothers? Surely the family knew what sorrow had been caused when Cain killed Abel, and when there was fraternal tension among the sons of Abraham and Isaac.
The answer may be that when faced with an emergency a person does not always show leadership, moral courage and decisiveness. But being a leader rules out the soft options. You have to know when it is a time to stand up and speak up, even if you lose points in the public opinion popularity stakes.
