Vayechi – Firstborn Reuven Correcting Firstborn Cain

"And the days of Jacob, the years of his life." Why "the days?" To understand this, we need to look at Proverbs.

King Solomon said, "Fear of God adds days, but the years of the bad people are cut off." A righteous person re-thinks his deeds daily as if tomorrow he will die. It happens then that every successive day of his life is a present, and this is the "Fear of God adds days." However, evil people never think about their death, which is always unexpected for them; thus, their "years are cut off." Jacob lived every day of his life as a present.

Reuven was a reincarnation of Cain. This is why his mother called him "Reu" (see) and "ben" (son) – see my firstborn son, who is going to correct the deeds of another firstborn, Cain. Indeed, instead of killing his brother Joseph, Reuven intended to save him.

However, the fight between Cain and Abel was because of Abel's twin sister, and Reuven did not fix that. Instead, he removed his father's bed from its tent. The right of the firstborn was taken away from him, and the next reincarnation of Cain was Jethro.

Art: The Bedroom by Vincent Van Gogh