창세기 38:7의 주석

רע בעיני ה' WAS WICKED IN THE EYES OF THE LORD — like the wickedness of Onan, and committing the same sin. This must have been the case because of Onan it is said, (v. 10) “And the Lord slew him also — Onan’s death was for a similar reason as Er’s death. Why did Er commit this sin? So that she should not bear children and her beauty thereby become impaired (Yevamot 34b).

AND ER, JUDAH’s FIRSTBORN, WAS WICKED IN THE SIGHT OF THE ETERNAL. Scripture does not specify the nature of his wickedness as it did in the case of his brother.¹⁴⁸Verse 9 here. Instead, it simply states that he died for his own sin. It informs us that this was not by way of punishment of Judah for his role in the sale of Joseph, since the saving of Joseph’s life by Judah compensated for his role in the sale. There was no case of death of a child in the house of the patriarchs except this one who was wicked in the sight of the Eternal, since the race of the righteous is blessed. This is why Jacob mourned many days for his son Joseph, and he refused to comfort himself,¹⁴⁹Above, 37:34-35. for he considered this to be a great punishment to himself, quite apart from his love for him.

ויהי ער רע בעיני ה', the words “in the eyes of G’d,” are mentioned to tell us that he was not evil to his fellow human beings.

'רע בעיני ה, the addition of the words “in the eyes of G’d,” is needed, seeing that no one else was aware of Er’s sin, something committed in the privacy of the bedroom. Our sages in Yevamot 34 said that the reason why Er ejaculated outside his wife’s vagina was in order for her to retain her beauty and not become pregnant.

ויהי ער רע בעיני ה' וימתיהו ה', “Er was wicked in the eyes of the Lord and He killed him.” Some scholars ask how it is possible that someone as young in years as Er could be held responsible for his deeds by the Heavenly tribunal, which supposedly does not judge anyone under 20 years of age. The forced answer given to this question is that if a youngster is intellectually developed to the level of a 20 year old, he is held responsible in spite of his being a minor in terms of years. According to what I have written earlier, about Yehudah having separated from his brothers and married prior to the sale of Joseph, it is quite possible that Er was 20 years old at the time of his death. Nachmanides draws attention to the fact that the Torah did not spell out Er’s sin, even though we have been told about Onan’s sin. Presumably, the words: “he was wicked in the eyes of the Lord and He killed him,” mean that he died on account of his own personal sin, and not as a punishment for Yehudah for his having sold Joseph. Yehudah was saved from his penalty for having saved Joseph’s life by the very act of selling him. Among all the families of the patriarchs the only one who had to bury his children was Yehudah.

Why did Er waste his seed? However, it is understood why Onan wasted his [seed], as the verse explains: the son is called by the name of his deceased brother, and Onan did not want to do this.

וימיתהו, “He killed him.” The sin was that he did not sleep with his wife in such a way that she could become pregnant with his semen. Tamar had remained a virgin even after having been married to Onan, so that Yehudah was not guilty of sleeping with a close relative whose previous marriage had been consummated, so that she would have been forbidden to him on that score. Our author, at this point raises the same question this Editor had raised at the end of 38,1, i.e. that they should not have been culpable until the age of 20.