Vayeira 19:33 · unit 2

Parashas Vayeira · Passuk 19:33

The Complete Passuk

וַתַּשְׁקֶ֧יןָ אֶת־אֲבִיהֶ֛ן יַ֖יִן בַּלַּ֣יְלָה ה֑וּא וַתָּבֹ֤א הַבְּכִירָה֙ וַתִּשְׁכַּ֣ב אֶת־אָבִ֔יהָ וְלֹֽא־יָדַ֥ע בְּשִׁכְבָ֖הּ וּבְקוּמָֽהּ׃

And they made their father drink wine that night, and the first-born went in and lay with her father, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose.

Chabad / Judaica Press

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to Nazir 23b.

TT lemma: ותבא הבכירה.

Sefaria — Nazir 23b

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text
וַתָּבֹא הַבְּכִירָה. אָמַר רַבִּי חִיָּיא בַּר אָבִין אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן קָרְחָה, לְעוֹלָם יַקְדִּים אָדָם לְדָבָר מִצְוָה, שֶׁבִּשְׁבִיל לַיְלָה אַחַת שֶׁקָּדְמָה בְּכִירָה לִצְעִירָה זָכְתָה וְקָדְמָה אַרְבָּעָה דּוֹרוֹת בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל לַמַּלְכוּת.

English: “And the first-born went in.” Rabbi Chiyya bar Avin said in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korchah: A person should always hasten to perform a mitzvah, for because of one night by which the first-born preceded the younger, she merited and preceded her by four generations in Israel for the kingship.

On the daf / in context: The seniority of the first-born’s action is rewarded with the earlier appearance of the Davidic line through Ruth the Moabitess.

Type of Learning

Derash on the verse (Bavli sugya) — not a formal named middah of the 13. Priority in action yields historical priority in reward.

What Is Learned

Hasten to perform a mitzvah; the first-born daughter’s one-night precedence earned her line a four-generation head-start toward the monarchy in Israel.