It's All About the Benjamins

Have you ever wondered why the first king of Israel was chosen from the tribe of Binyamin (Benjamin)?  Well, here's a clue.  In Shemuel I (I Samuel) 15:17 we read Shemuel's admonition of Shaul (Saul) for sparing the animals of Amalek.  Shaul defended himself, saying that it was the people who spared the animals, with intent to sacrifice them to HaShem.  Shemuel rejects Shaul's defense that the people, and not he, were responsible:

 

"ויאמר שמואל: 'הלא אם קטן אתה בעיניך, ראש שבטי ישראל אתה, וימשחך ה' למלך על ישראל!'"

 

"Shemuel said, '[Even] if you are small in your eyes, [yet] you are the head of the tribes of Israel, and HaShem has anointed you king over Israel!'"

 

This translation (my own) seems rather repetitive.  Why repeat that Shaul was king over Israel – "you are the head of the tribes of Israel, and HaShem has anointed you king over Israel!"

 

The Targum, however, has a much more enlightening translation of this verse:

 

"ואמר שמואל: 'הלא מן שריותך הויתא שיט וחלש בעיני נפשך, ברם זכות שבטא דבנימין אבוך גרמא לך, די בעו למעבר בימא קדם בני ישראל; בדיל כן רביך ה' למהוי מלכא על ישראל.'"

 

"Shemuel said, 'Behold, from the outset you were low and weak in your own eyes, however the merit of the tribe of Binyamin, your forefather, has brought this about for you, for [the tribe of Binyamin] wanted to cross the [Red] Sea in front of the Children of Israel; because of this HaShem has elevated you to be king over Israel!'"

 

According to the Targum, the tribe of Binyamin was the first to cross the Red Sea during the Exodus from Egypt, and on that merit was privileged to be chosen as the tribe from which the first king of Israel would be chosen.  What exactly happened at the Red Sea?  How was Binyamin the first the cross?  Why was this such an achievement?

 

Additionally, this week's parshah (Torah portion) tells of the dedication of the Mishkan, the Tabernacle that the Israelites built during their trek through the desert.  At this dedication, the nesiim, the leaders of each of the tribes, brought impressive offerings for the glorification of the occasion.  The first nasi to bring his offering was that of the tribe of Yehudah, Nachshon ben Aminadav.  The Midrash Rabah (B'Midbar Rabah 13:4) examines by what merit Nachshon became the first to bring his offering at this momentous event:

 

 "R' Yehudah bar R' Ilai said: 'When Israel stood by the sea, the tribes contended with each other.  One said: 'I will descend [to the sea] first!'  Another said: 'I will descend [to the sea] first!' Nachshon [ben Aminadav] jumped [first] into the waves of the sea . . .  Therefore HaShem elevated the name of Nachshon in Israel, for he merited to bring his offering first [at the dedication of the Mishkan], as it states: 'On the first day, Nachshon ben Aminadav of the tribe of Yehudah brought his offering' (B'Midbar 7:12).'"

 

We have here an apparent contradiction between the Targum and the Midrash Rabah as to the identity of the first to enter the sea.  What really happened?

 

The Talmud in Sotah 37A records the events at the scene of the Red Sea as a matter of dispute between two sages:

 

"היה ר' מאיר אומר: בשעה שהיו ישראל עומדים על שפת הים היו שבטים מנצחין זה עם זה. זה אומר: 'אני יורד תחלה לים!' וזה אומר: 'אני יורד תחלה לים!' קפץ שבטו של בנימין וירד תחלה לים, שנאמר (תהלים סח:כח):'שם בנימין צעיר רדם.' אל תקרי 'רדם' אלא 'רד ים.'  והיו שרי יהודה רוגמין אותם, שנאמר (שם): 'שרי יהודה רגמתם.' לפיכך זכה בנימן הצדיק ונעשה אושפיזכן לגבורה וכו'. אמר לו ר' יהודה: לא כך היה מעשה, אלא זה אומר: 'אין אני יורד תחלה לים!' וזה אומר: 'אין אני יורד תחלה לים!' קפץ נחשון בן עמינדב וירד לים תחלה, שנאמר (הושע יב:א): 'סבבוני בכחש אפרים ובמרמה בית ישראל ויהודה עוד רד עם א-ל ועם קדןשים נאמן.' וכו'. לפיכך זכה יהודה לעשות ממשלה בישראל וגו'"

 

"R' Meir said: 'When [the nation of] Israel stood on the shore of the sea, the tribes contended one with the other.  One said, 'I will descend to the sea first!' and the other said, 'I will descend to the sea first!'  The tribe of Binyamin took the initiative and descended first to the sea, as it states: 'There Binyamin the younger ruled over them (רדם)' (Tehilim 68:28).  Read not, 'ruled over them (רדם);' rather, read, 'descended to the sea (רד ים).'  Meanwhile, the officers of Yehudah (Judah) pelted them, as it states: 'The officers of Yehudah pelted them' (ibid).  Therefore the righteous Binyamin merited becoming the host for the Mighty One (i.e. the chamber of the Holy of Holies was built in the territory of Binyamin). . . .'  R' Yehudah said to him: 'That's not how it happened!  Rather, one said: 'I'm not descending to the sea first!' and the other said: 'I'm not descending to the sea first!'  Nachshon ben Aminadav (the leader of the tribe of Yehudah) took the initiative and descended to the sea first, as it states: 'Ephrayim has surrounded me with falsehood, and the House of Israel [has surrounded me] with deceit, but Yehudah yet rules (רד) with G-d and with the Holy One is loyal' (Hoshea 12:1) [NOTE: The Hebrew word רד in this verse meaning "ruled" is related to the word ירד meaning "descended" and is therefore understood as a reference to Yehudah's "descent" to the sea.]. . . . Therefore Yehudah merited to rule over Israel . . ."

 

The opinion of R' Meir appears to align with that of the Targum that Binyamin was first.   R' Yehudah in the Talmud is synonymous with R' Yehudah bar R' Ilai of the Midrash Rabah, and therefore we are not surprised that their opinions match that the tribe of Yehudah, not Binyamin, was first.  An interesting discrepancy, however, is that in the Midrash Rabah, the tribes vie for the privilege of entering the sea first, while in the Talmudic version of R' Yehudah, the tribes vie not to be the first into the sea.  Also puzzling is that the rewards for the respective tribes do not line up in any of these differing accounts.  According to the Targum, Binyamin merited kingship while R' Meir in the Talmud has Binyamin merit to host the Divine Presence in the Holy of Holies that is built in his portion.  According to R' Yehudah in the Midrash Rabah, Yehudah's nasi merits to bring the first offering, while according to the same R' Yehudah in the Talmud, Yehudah merits dominion over Israel! [NOTE: This was fulfilled when David, from the tribe of Yehudah, a descendant of Nachshon ben Aminadav, succeeded Shaul as king over Israel.] Let us return to these discrepancies later.

 

Indeed, these are not the only variants of this event in history found in our literature.  There are actually several midrashim that recount this stage of the Exodus that seem to differ from one another.  Let us examine a few of them and try to discover the nature of the dispute.

 

We have already seen the Targum's translation of the verse in Shemuel.  The Targum of the Neviim (the books of the Prophets) was written by Yonathan ben Uziel, a sage of the late Second Temple Period (~1^st century C.E.) who was the "greatest" of the disciples of Hillel the Elder, the nasi ("prince"), religious leader of the Jews at that time.  The Talmud (Megilah 3A) says that Yonathan ben Uziel wrote his Targum based on a received tradition of the meaning of the verses that stemmed back to the prophets Chagay, Zecharyah and Malachi (~4^th century B.C.E.).  This translation, therefore, bears great authority.

 

The Talmudic version cited above expresses the opinions of R' Meir and R' Yehudah, sages of the post-Second Temple Mishnaic period (2^nd century C.E.), who were disciples of R' Akiva who was a disciple of R' Eliezer the Great (ben Hyrcanus) and R' Yehoshua (ben Chananyah) who were in turn disciples of Raban Yochanan ben Zakay, a contemporary of Yonathan ben Uziel and also a disciple of Hillel the Elder (although R' Yochanan ben Zakay is called the "least" of Hillel's disciples).  Raban Yochanan ben Zakay also served as nasi during the period immediately following the destruction of the Second Temple.  As noted earlier, R' Yehudah quoted in the Midrash Rabah is the same as that of the Talmud.

 

There are two additional accounts that we shall examine:

 

            Targum Tehilim – Like the Targum of Yonathan ben Uziel, this Aramaic interpretive translation of the book of Tehilim (Psalms) reveals hidden depth in the verses.  Unlike the books of the Neviim, however, this Targum was not written by Yonathan ben Uziel but by later sages.

 

            Pirkey d'Rabi Eliezer – A Midrash authored by R' Eliezer (the Great) ben Hyrcanus (whom we mentioned above was one of the principal disciples of Raban Yochanan ben Zakay and one of the masters of R' Akiva) along with his disciples.

 

In the Talmudic version of the events at the Red Sea, R' Meir identifies Binyamin as the first to enter the sea based on a verse in Tehilim.  Let us examine this verse in context and the Targum there. In Tehilim Ch. 68 we read:

 

V. 25: "They saw your steps, O G-d, your steps, my G-d, my King, in holiness."

 

Targum: "The House of Israel saw the steps of your Presence (Shechinah) upon the sea, O G-d.  They said: 'You have walked, O G-d, King of the entire world, in holiness.'"

 

V. 26: "The singers began after the players, amidst drumming maidens."

 

Targum: "They began to proclaim a song [of praise] after Mosheh and Aharon who played before them, amidst the righteous women who were with Miriam, drumming.

 

V. 27: "In gatherings they blessed G-d; HaShem, from the source of Israel."

 

Targum: "In gatherings they blessed G-d; embryos exalted HaShem in their mothers' wombs, the seed of Israel."

 

V. 28: "There Binyamin the younger ruled over them; the officers of Yehudah pelted them; the officers of Zevulun, the officers of Naphtali."

 

Targum: "There Binyamin, the youngest of the tribes, descended to the sea first.  Therefore he received kingship first.  After him the officers of Yehudah descended.  The [other] tribes pelted them with stones and they received leadership after them.  The officers of Zevulun became their merchants.  The officers of Naphtali became their warriors." 

 

[NOTE: Although I translated 'שרי יהודה רגמתם' as "the officers of Yehudah pelted them," the Targum splits this phrase into two and relates "the officers of Yehudah" to the tribe of Binyamin, hence having them follow Binyamin's action, leaving the act of pelting to be taken up by the other tribes.  The Targum's use of pronouns in the phrase, "The [other] tribes pelted them with stones and they received leadership after them," leaves the identity of "them," "they," and "them," ambiguous, however it makes sense that the first "them" could be both Binyamin and Yehudah, while "they" refers to Yehudah and the second "them" refers to Binyamin.  Hence the phrase means that the remaining tribes, jealous that they were not leading the charge into the sea, pelted those that did, while those that did merited leadership over Israel, first Binyamin who produced Shaul, the first king of Israel, and then Yehudah, from whom David descended.  The other tribes, however, merited lower positions in the kingdom.]

 

This Targum's version of the story, for the first time, appears to be something of a synthesis between some of the versions we have seen thus far, with some interesting differences of its own.  Binyamin, here too, is considered the first to jump into action at the Red Sea.  Yehudah is described as following Binyamin's action while both tribes are pelted by the others and both receive kingship as a reward.  The other tribes, not acting as quickly, receive positions of lower stature.

 

Let us examine one more version and see if we can tie up all the loose ends.  In Pirkey d'Rabi Eliezer, Ch. 42, we read the following:

 

"R' Akiva said: 'Israel was about to enter the Red Sea, but turned back, afraid lest the waters return upon them.  Binyamin, however, ran to enter, as it states: 'There Binyamin the younger ruled over them (רדם)' (Tehilim 68:28) – ]Read: 'There Binyamin the younger] 'descended to the sea'' (יורד ים).  The tribe of Yehudah began to pelt them, as it says: 'The officers of Yehudah pelted them' (ibid), and Nachshon [ben Aminadav] took the initiative and entered the sea first, sanctifying [HaShem]'s Great Name in the eyes of all.  Under the leadership of the people of Yehudah, all Israel followed them into the sea.'"

 

Astounding!  Here again we read that both entered the sea, one after the other, but with a very significant twist.  While Binyamin ran first to enter the sea, he was halted by the diversion of Yehudah.  Yehudah, then, it seems, under the leadership of Nachshon, gained the lead over Binyamin, entering the sea first with the rest of the nation following.  Can all of these versions be brought to terms with one another?

 

I believe that they can.  It would seem that at the Red Sea there were two groups of tribes.  One group, consisting of Binyamin and Yehudah, wanted to cross the sea first and vied with one another for the privilege, as in R' Meir's version of the story and R' Yehudah's version in the Midrash Rabah.  The second group, consisting of the remaining tribes, were afraid to cross, as Pirkey d'Rabi Eliezer tells us, and none wanted to go first, as R' Yehudah in the Talmud tells us.  Suddenly, Binyamin takes the initiative over Yehudah to be the first to cross, beginning his descent toward the sea first, as in the Targumim, R' Meir's version in the Talmud, and Pirkey d'Rabi Eliezer.  Yehudah, however, under the leadership of Nachshon, gets the jump on Binyamin, as it were, pelting them with stones to halt their advance, as in the Talmudic story and that of Pirkey d'Rabi Eliezer.  In fact, if one pays careful attention to the Targum of Shemuel, where this all began, it says that the tribe of Binyamin "wanted to cross the [Red] Sea in front of the Children of Israel," but not that they did cross in front. Indeed, although Binyamin begins the charge, Yehudah takes the lead in the race into the sea with Binyamin close behind.  The other tribes now, seeing the initiative and loyalty to G-d of Yehudah and Binyamin, are inspired to press into the sea as well, regretting not having taken the initiative themselves.  They too begin to pelt the leading tribes, as in the Targum of Tehilim, but by now fail to stop them.  The entire nation crosses, Yehudah in the lead, Binyamin a close second, followed by the remaining tribes, as Pirkey d'Rabi Eliezer concludes.

 

What then is the dispute between R' Meir and R' Yehudah in the Talmud?  If everyone agrees on what happened, why does R' Yehudah say to R' Meir, "That's not how it happened"?  If the tribe of Yehudah did indeed cross first, what is R' Meir saying?  It would seem that R' Yehudah and R' Meir argue as to which tribe is considered to have crossed first.  In other words, even though Yehudah ultimately led the nation through the sea, Binyamin did begin the charge.  Binyamin was the first to take the initiative.  For having initiated this momentous undertaking of the people of Israel, Binyamin is credited by R' Meir as being the leader in this national act.  R' Yehudah responds to him: "But that's not how it happened!"  In Hebrew this line is, "לא כך היה מעשה", which can be translated as, "the deed was not so."  R' Yehudah tells R' Meir that although Binyamin's heart was in the right place, the act, the deed of leading the people, was ultimately performed by Yehudah, and Yehudah is therefore the rightful holder of the title of leader.  Yehudah's physical effort was greater than that of Binyamin, so great as to have been able to completely overtake the more enthusiastic tribe of Binyamin.

 

That said, all the different rewards mentioned by the variant versions of the story fit beautifully.  Both Binyamin and Yehudah received two rewards, one physical and one spiritual.  Binyamin, although his physical accomplishment was less than Yehudah's as R' Yehudah pointed out, his spiritual accomplishment was greater, for he mustered up the greater faith in G-d to be the first to take the plunge into the sea despite the danger it presented.  For this great spiritual accomplishment, Binyamin merited a great spiritual portion, to have the Chamber of the Holy of Holies built in his territory in the Land of Israel.  His physical accomplishment, being the first to make a move, although not ultimately the first to achieve the goal of crossing the sea, was not ignored, for he received the physical reward of having the first king chosen from his tribe, although this kingship was but temporary, Shaul being the first and last king from Binyamin.  Yehudah, on the other hand, had the greatest physical achievement, overcoming his rival to become the leader in the march through the Red Sea.  For this great physical accomplishment, this tribe was given the greatest physical reward, having a permanent dynasty of kings over Israel emerge from his stock, beginning with David and ending with the ultimate rule of the Messiah, a descendant of David.  Yehudah's spiritual achievement, his faith in G-d and consequent will to cross the sea first, although it only followed Binyamin's will, was also not ignored.  Therefore Yehudah, too, received a great spiritual portion, albeit not as great as that of Binyamin, being the first tribe to be represented in the presentation of offerings at the inauguration of the Mishkan, the place where the Divine Presence rested during Israel's temporary sojourn in the wilderness.  Incidentally, even the permanent Beth HaMikdash, with the exception of the Chamber of the Holy of Holies, was built in the territory of Yehudah.

 

May it be HaShem's will that we too may achieve greatness of spirit and deed and merit the arrival of Mashiach, son of David, and the rebuilding of the Beth HaMikdash speedily in our days, and to see the Divine Presence rest once again in our midst.