He left Part 4 (Gen 30:14-21)

 

14 In the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found mandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son's mandrakes.”

In the days of wheat harvest—This is stated in praise of the tribes: it was harvest time, yet he (Reuben) did not stretch out his hand upon private property (literally, that which is stolen) by bringing wheat or barley, but only ownerless things about which no one is particular (Bereishit Rabbah 72:2).

Mandrakes are violets: it is a plant. In Arabic it is called jasmine.

Sanhedrin 99b:5

Manasseh said: But did Moses need to write only insignificant matters that teach nothing, for example: “And Lotan's sister was Timna” (Gen 36:22), or: “Timna was a concubine of Eliphaz, Esau’s son” (Gen 36:12), or: “In the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found duda’im in the field” (Gen 30:14)? A divine voice emerged and said to him: “You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother's son. These things you have done, and I have been silent; you would imagine that I was one like yourself. But now I rebuke you and lay the matter before your eyes” (Psa 50:20-21). The verses in the law are not empty matters, with regard to which you can decide their import.

Boy in Wheat Field

Sanhedrin 99b:9

“In the days of wheat harvest Reuben went” (Gen 30:14). Rava, son of Rabbi Yitzḥak, says that Rav says: From here it can be seen that the righteous do not extend their hands to engage in robbery even of small items, as rather than taking wheat, Reuben took only the ownerless duda’im. The verse continues: “And found duda’im in the field.” The Gemara asks: What are duda’im? Rav says: They are a plant called yavruḥei. Levi says: They are mandrakes. Rabbi Yonatan says: They are seviskei.

And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called Edom.) GEN 25:30

17 And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son.

And God listened to Leah—For she desired and sought means to increase the number of tribes (Bereishit Rabbah 72:5).

6 Then Rachel said, “God has judged me, and has also heard my voice and given me a son.” Therefore she called his name Dan.

22 Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb. GEN 30:6, 22

Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, EXO 3:7

Photo by Min An from Pexels

21 Afterward she bore a daughter and called her name Dinah.

Dinah—Our rabbis explained, that Leah set herself up as judge (דָּנָה) against herself saying: “If this be a son, my sister Rachel cannot be even the equal of any of the handmaids.” She, therefore, offered prayer regarding it, and its sex was changed (Berakhot 60a).

Berakhot 60a:12

Is a prayer in that case ineffective? Rav Yosef raises an objection based on a baraita: It is stated: “Afterward she bore a daughter and called her name Dina” (Gen 20:21). The Gemara asks: What is meant by the addition of the word: Afterward? What does the verse seek to convey by emphasizing that after the birth of Zebulun she gave birth to Dina? Rav said: After Leah passed judgment on herself and said: Twelve tribes are destined to descend from Jacob, six came from me and four from the maidservants, that is ten, and if this fetus is male, my sister Rachel will not even be the equivalent of one the maidservants; immediately the fetus was transformed into a daughter, as it is stated: And she called her name Dina; meaning she named her after her judgment [din]. The Gemara rejects this: One does not mention miraculous acts to teach general halakha.

These are the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan-aram, together with his daughter Dinah; altogether his sons and his daughters numbered thirty-three. GEN 46:15