Cytowanie Komentarza do Powtórzonego Prawa 33:6

A kabbalistic approach: the paragraph describing a levirate marriage was appended to the paragraph describing the sale of Joseph as both paragraphs deal with the subject of גלגול, a form of reincarnation, complete transformation of one’s fate. It is a fact that the sin committed by the brothers was of the type that could be atoned for by nothing less than reincarnation of their souls in different bodies. This is also the mystical dimension of the levirate marriage (widow of a brother who died without having sired children to one of the surviving brothers, compare Deut. 25:5-10). The mystical dimension of the levirate marriage is the same as the mystical dimension of reincarnation of the souls in a new body. The ten martyrs whom the Romans chose to expiate for the sin of the brothers having sold Joseph were none other than reincarnations of the brothers’ souls in different bodies. By dying a martyr’s death the millennia-old sin overhanging them was finally expiated. Er and Onan, the sons of Yehudah who died prematurely for committing a sin, were similarly reincarnated in the bodies of the twin sons Peretz and Zerach whom Tamar bore for Yehudah (verse 29). This is the deeper meaning of the sequence (Numbers 26:19-20) “Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan and the sons of Yehudah were , etc.” All this is alluded to here through the sequence in which the Torah relates these events, something which the intelligent reader will comprehend. As to the problem that there were ten such martyrs at the hands of the Romans whereas only nine of the brothers were actively involved in the sale of Joseph, seeing that Reuven had been absent at the time of the sale and had previously expressed disapproval of the brothers’ treatment of Joseph, we would have to say that the tenth person was Joseph himself who was guilty of providing the brothers with cause to hate him to such a degree that they committed this crime against him. Seeing Joseph had been an inseparable part of the sin he also became part of the method of expiation.
Another way of answering the problem of why the Romans chose ten martyrs [and why G’d allowed this, Ed.] is that certainly Joseph was not held responsible in such a fashion but that Reuven was. Reuven was punished in that way not because of his share in the sale of Joseph, something he had had no share in, but he had not been punished yet for his misdemeanour involving the couch of his stepmother Bilhah. We even have an allusion to this in Moses’ blessing for Reuven at the end of his life (Deut. 33:6) ויהי מתיו מספר, “may his population be included in the count,” the count being the ten martyrs who would absolve the ten brothers from their sin in the future.

A kabbalistic approach: the wording of our text suggest that the sons of Aaron died two deaths seeing that the Torah writes וימותו, They died,” having already said it was after their מות, “death.” We have a somewhat similar construction where the word “life” is repeated as if it meant that someone should have two lives. Moses said in Deut. 33,6 יחי ראובן ואל ימות, “may Reuven live and not die.” These words are allusions to the transmigration of the souls, i.e. the implied multiple deaths of one and the same soul in different bodies. The subject as far as it concerns Nadav and Avihu is hinted at by he words “and they had not had any children” (Numbers 3,4).
You are aware that if someone dies without having had children, his soul is potentially reincarnated in a different body. The Torah provides a clear hint of this when it writes in Leviticus 22,13: “and the daughter of a priest who will either become widowed or divorced and she had not had any (seed) children (from that husband) will return to her father’s house as in her youth and eat from the table of her father.” [The plain meaning of this is that she will be allowed to resume her status as priestess. Ed.]
Our author, having introduced this commentary as kabbalistic, views the words בת כהן in that verse as a reference to the soul (any soul) inasmuch as the soul descends from the emanation בינה on the left via the emanation (or attribute) חסד on the right. The meaning of the words: “she will become widowed,” is that her soul will become widowed from its body, lose it, as a result she will be like a גרושה, a divorced woman, who cannot return to her roots in the event she does not have absorbed any seed from her husband. If she had absorbed seed from her husband she could not be totally divorced from her “husband,” i.e. soul. When the period of her enforced separation from her original partner (the body assigned to her soul originally) has been completed, she will return to her “father,” i.e. the source at G’d’s side whence all souls originate and she will partake of the “food” she used to feed on at that time, i.e. enjoy the outpourings of the Shechinah.

Superior in rank and superior in power. The commentators raised a difficulty that according to the plain meaning of the passage, Jacob did not bless Reuben at all, yet the verse states each according to his blessing he blessed them. I say that Jacob blessed him similar to Moses’s blessings, as it is said May Reuben live and not die, and may his population be counted (Deuteronomy 33:6). The Abarbanel explained that since Reuben was obligated to go at the forefront of the army into battle, and typically those who die in battle are the ones in front, therefore he blessed him May Reuben live and not die. It appears to me that he blessed him regarding strength and might, that he should be mighty in the land and give strength and power to the people, because those who go at the front of the army need to be mighty, and every mighty person is called a man of life, of many accomplishments, as opposed to the weak who is considered like dead. Therefore it says May Reuben live. And regarding what is said and may his population be counted, it seems to explain that victory over enemies through natural means depends on two things: either through having many people, or through having men of strength and might, and both together are good. Since Reuben caused Jacob to lose the Divine Presence, it is likely that his punishment would be measure for measure — that in his battles the Divine Presence would depart from him and he would need to wage wars through natural means. Therefore, he needed these two blessings: that his men should be mighty [regarding this it says May Reuben live and not die], and that they should also be numerous to the point of requiring counting, because a small nation is called “few in number” as their number is known to many, but a large nation needs to be counted. Regarding this it says may his population be counted, as the phrase may his population be indicates that they will be numerous and require counting. Thus Jacob blessed him with these two blessings and gave him “rank” and “power.” The “rank” refers to the numbers, which is essentially the blessing of may his population be counted and the “power” refers to strength and might, which is alluded to in the blessing May Reuben live and not die.