Julian Ungar-Sargon

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Daf Ditty

A wide-ranging commentary on the daily page of Talmud.

'Jacob and Rachel at the Well' is a painting of unverified provenance that its owner attributes to Rembrandt

Bava Batra 123: וּמַאי צְנִיעוּת הָיְתָה בָּהּ בְּרָחֵל

jyungar October 26, 2024

For the source text click/tap here: Bava Batra 123

To download, click/tap here: PDF

The Gemara discusses the double portion of the firstborn. There could be a number of ways to actualize a double portion. The considerations might be different if there were five brothers or only two brothers involved in the inheritance.

The rabbis consider the experiences of our forefathers - for example, Joseph. Although he was not the firstborn son, he was offered the birthright, which included all of the rights of the firstborn son. Many potential prooftext are offered to demonstrate that Joseph's portion was double the property received by one of the inheritors (his brothers).

We ask why Joseph received his brother's birthright. Is it because Joseph gave so much to his father Jacob that Jacob felt he must repay Joseph in this way? Is it because of Reuven's earlier sin that Jacob gave the double portion to Joseph?

Rabbi Yonatan tells us Leah's son with Jacob should have been given the birthright.

But Rachel's resulting patience and humility warranted Joseph receiving Jacob's birthright.

We explore the characters of these biblical figures.

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Julian Ungar-Sargon

This is Julian Ungar-Sargon's personal website. It contains poems, essays, and podcasts for the spiritual seeker and interdisciplinary aficionado.​