Vayigash

Judah & Joseph

Judah is the right candidate to speak up for Benjamin. He had a pivotal role in selling Joseph into slavery, and the burden of guilt is especially hard on his shoulders. Furthermore, he has lost two sons already — Er and Onan - and is more aware of the intensity of the pain of losing a child than his brothers are. From his personal guilt involving Joseph and his heightened awareness of the pain of the loss of children, Judah is the man to take the leadership role protecting the life of Benjamin and through this, the emotional health of his father

Tamara Silberman (Contemporary)

In later Israelite history, Judah and Joseph will come to represent Israel’s two kingdoms: Judah in the south, and Joseph through his son Ephraim, in the north, thus fulfilling the divine promise to Abraham and later to Jacob that kings shall issue from them.

Neil Gillman (Contemporary)

The Zohar thinks our tale is about two complementary extremes: selfless goodness and raw power. Joseph is the former; Judah is the latter. Joseph, is most self centered of all Jacob’s sons has apparently outgrown his youthful narcissism…Now he disavows all thought of vengeance, assuring the brothers who sold him into slavery that their callous act was part of a divine plan…Not in the usual sense of a perfectly righteous person but in a more realistic sense of someone who has matured beyond –ego-centeredness…Judah represents royalty, for out of the tribe of Judah, King David will be born…So, the Zohar says, the most important line in the entire parsha is the first one: “Judah approached” Joseph. Cosmic betterment happens when power approaches goodness, and the two realms merge into a single entity.

Lawrence Hoffman (Contemporary)

Judah's approaching Joseph describes the merging of two essentially different ways of serving G-d. "Judah", comes from the Hebrew word "hodaah", meaning praise and nullification, referring to the quality of a person who "serves G-d with his body" - by making his physical needs submit to G-d's Will by focusing on the observance of the commandments. "Joseph", means "adding" and represents a different manner of serving G-d - that of "serving G-d with his soul". This Jew cleaves and unites to G-dliness by immersing himself more and more in Torah study. When Judah approached Joseph, the aspect of "Judah" was elevated to the level of "Joseph". Thus, what had been elevated through transforming the mundane to the holy, was then processed a second time, causing these same elements to descend and reveal their spiritual light in the world. One who works elevating the material is essentially at war with physicality, whereas the one whose service is more learning-centered can not help but be transformed to a higher spiritual level. This combination of efforts is the ultimate service of every Jew. Each person has to work to see both aspects expressed in his life.

Shalom Dov Ber of Lubavitch (20^th Century)