Vayeishev 38:25 · unit 4

Parashas Vayeishev · Passuk 38:25

The Complete Passuk

הִ֣וא מוּצֵ֗את וְהִ֨יא שָׁלְחָ֤ה אֶל־חָמִ֙יהָ֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר לְאִישׁ֙ אֲשֶׁר־אֵ֣לֶּה לּ֔וֹ אָנֹכִ֖י הָרָ֑ה וַתֹּ֙אמֶר֙ הַכֶּר־נָ֔א לְמִ֞י הַחֹתֶ֧מֶת וְהַפְּתִילִ֛ים וְהַמַּטֶּ֖ה הָאֵֽלֶּה׃

As she was being brought out, she sent this message to her father-in-law: “It’s by the man to whom these belong that I’m pregnant.” And she added, “Examine these: whose seal and cord and staff are these?”

Chabad / Judaica Press

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to Sotah 10b.

Sefaria — Sotah 10b

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text
לְאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר אֵלֶּה לּוֹ — וְתֵימַר לֵיהּ מֵימַר? אָמַר רַב זוּטְרָא בַּר טוֹבִיָּה אָמַר רַב: מְלַמֵּד שֶׁנּוֹחַ לוֹ לְאָדָם שֶׁיַּפִּיל עַצְמוֹ לְתוֹךְ כִּבְשַׁן הָאֵשׁ וְאַל יַלְבִּין פְּנֵי חֲבֵרוֹ בָּרַבִּים.

English: “To the man to whom these belong” — and should she have said it to him explicitly? Rav Zutra bar Toviyah said in the name of Rav: this teaches that it is preferable to cast oneself into a fiery furnace rather than to shame one’s fellow in public.

On the daf / in context: Tamar’s indirect wording is the proof-text for the prohibition of public humiliation.

Type of Learning

Derash on the verse (Bavli sugya) — not a formal named middah of the 13. Silence and indirect speech become the model of protecting another’s dignity.

What Is Learned

Even when her life was at stake, Tamar avoided naming Yehudah in public; that restraint is the source of the law against public shame.