Parashat Miketz tells the story of Yosef's rise to power in Egypt, followed by the famine that ravages the region and brings Yosef's own brothers before him to ask to purchase grain. Yosef, whose true identity remains a secret even to his brothers, accuses them of working as spies, takes Shimon hostage, and orders them to return to Canaan and bring back the youngest brother, Binyamin. The brothers, not suspecting that the Egyptian viceroy understands their language, attribute their travails to their mistreatment of Yosef: "Alas, we are bring punished on account of our brother, because we looked on in his anguish… " (42:21). At this point, the eldest brother, Reuven, makes a puzzling and even disturbing comment: "Then Reuven spoke up and said to them, 'Did I not tell you: Do no wrong to the boy? But you paid no heed. Now comes the reckoning for his blood."
Two questions immediately arise from Reuven's remark. First and foremost, what did Reuven possibly think he could contribute with such a statement? Does this not sound like a childish, "I told you so"? Secondly, Reuven appears to speak dishonestly. He did not, according to the Torah's account (37:21-22), urge his brothers to "do no wrong." He advised them to cast Yosef into a pit and let him perish there rather than actively killing him. True, his intentions, as the Torah itself emphasizes, were to later save Yosef from the pit. But, as far as we know from the Torah's account, he never tells this to the brothers.
Regarding the second question, we might explain that the narrative in Parashat Vayeshev omitted details of the brothers' discussion in decidingwhat to do with Yosef. It is very likely that Reuven lobbied on Yosef's behalf and urged his brothers not to do him harm; in the end, he managed to persuade them to at least refrain from killing him directly, which he had hoped would allow him to save Yosef later.
But why would specifically Reuven come to Yosef's defense? In fact, if any brothers had a "score to settle" with Yosef, it was Reuven. As the firstborn, he deserved the honor and distinction his father bestowed upon Yosef. Why, then, was it Reuven who argued on Yosef's behalf?
The answer to this question is given by Rabbi Nechemya, cited by the Midrash Bereishit Rabba in Parashat Vayeshev (84). According to Rabbi Nechemya, Reuven had vested interest, so-to-speak, in the fulfillment of Yosef's dreams of leadership. As we know from Sefer Divrei Ha-yamim I (5:1), Reuven forfeited his right to the birthright as a result of his sin with his stepmother, Bilha (according to Chazal, he moved his father's bed out of Bilha's tent), and Yaakov transferred the birthright to Yosef. Reuven thought that perhaps he was ousted not only from the birthright, but from the developing Nation of Israel, as well. Yosef, however, dreamt of twelve sheaves of grain and twelve stars bowing down to him – indicating that Reuven retains his membership in the family.
We may speculate, then, that Reuven disagreed on fundamental grounds with his brothers as to how they should respond to Yosef's dreams of leadership, and how they should deal with Yosef in general. The brothers were appalled by Yosef's aspirations and saw his dreams as a threat to the family and the nation in the process of formation. Reuven, by contrast, pinned his hopes on Yosef's dreams, as their fulfillment would mean his eternal inclusion within the family of Israel despite his grave transgression. Indeed, when Reuven returns to the pit and discovers that Yosef is gone, he declares, "What am I to do" (37:30) – which Chazal (Midrash Lekach Tov) explain to mean, "I thought I had found a remedy to the incident of Bilha, but now, what am I to do?" Yosef's absence meant for Reuven the loss of hope for his future membership in the family. Reuven therefore argued all along that the brothers should accept Yosef, and that his dreams are indeed prophetic, whereas they insisted that his dreams pose a threat to the family and he must be eliminated.
With this in mind, we may now return to the harsh exchange between Reuven and his brothers in our parasha. As the brothers recognize the fact that they are now punished for their mistreatment of Yosef, Reuven sees this as an opportunity for vindication, to prove to his brothers the correctness of his stance in his fundamental dispute with his brothers. True, Reuven does, in effect, say, "I told you so," but this relates to a longstanding difference of opinion on the crucial issue as to whether Yosef's dreams were to be seen as prophecy or as just his megalomaniac aspirations of power. The brothers' travails in Egyptproved that Reuven was correct in his opposition to the other brothers' position, they should not have persecuted Yosef, and that somehow, Yosef's dreams may yet be fulfilled.