Today’s Sidra begins with a long and passionate speech by Judah in which he pleaded with Joseph on behalf of Benjamin. He was scared. He wasn’t sure if it was correct protocol to address such an important man without specific permission, nor was he at all sure how Joseph would respond to him. But he was encouraged by Joseph’s final words in the previous Sidra, after the discovery of the silver cup. Joseph said to the brothers that he would take Benjamin as a slave, but wished all the others all the very best in their return journey to their father.
Judah expressed his anxiety by saying to Joseph that we shouldn’t be angry because he was treating him with the greatest respect, as due to a King. His words in Hebrew were: KI KAMOCHA KEPHAROH. It is striking that Rashi, following our ancient rabbis, offers an alternative interpretation by taking the view that Judah was not at all scared but spoke in great anger, threatened Joseph with revenge and said to him that he would suffer like Pharaoh had suffered when he abducted Sarah. Rashi interprets the speech as an accusation; Judah accused Joseph of being untrustworthy and causing the crisis by making false allegations and totally unreasonable demands on them.
Judah found it particularly difficult to make this speech in view of the fact that he knew, with absolute certainty, that Benjamin had not stolen the silver cup and that the accusation was a total fabrication. The reason why he knew this was because Joseph had earlier put all their money in their bags. Joseph wanted his brothers to know that his accusation was false because he wanted to cause them maximum distress.
Yet, despite the fact that Judah knew that Benjamin was completely innocent, he offered to take Benjamin’s place as a slave because he couldn’t prove anything. He told Joseph that he had guaranteed the safety of his younger brother and that his father would die if anything happened to him. Judah argued that if he would remain as a slave instead of Benjamin; Joseph would not suffer any loss, but would rather benefit because he was older and stronger than Benjamin. Thus, everyone would be better off.
Judah’s selfless and generous offer and his loving concern for his father’s health and safety softened Joseph’s heart and he felt that he could no longer conceal his identity. In addition, it is clear, that, by now, Joseph realised that his brothers had undergone complete transformation and that they regretted, most profoundly, what they had done to him. One of Joseph’s purposes was to give them the opportunity to repent fully, and now they had reached that point
Chapter 45 begins with Joseph’s heart rending revelation of his identity. There were many people around him, but now he did not want them to be present. He instructed his servants to tell everyone to leave the room. According to Rashi, he didn’t want to embarrass his brothers. Nachmanides suggests that the people who were there were urging him to forgive Benjamin because they were moved by Judah’s speech. But Joseph had no patience to listen. As they were going out he started weeping so loudly many people could hear him. In this way his brothers’ arrival became public knowledge and spread like wildfire.
As soon as he revealed his identity, Joseph asked: Is my father still alive? Clearly, it was a rhetorical question. He couldn’t understand how his father had survived all the years of grief over his disappearance. It was an expression of relief and gratitude that God had spared his father for all these years. Some commentators suggest that the question implied a concealed rebuke to his brothers. He said to them: How is it possible that you sold me as a slave when you knew how much my father loved me! It is true that you didn’t like me, but where was your compassion for your father?
At first the brothers were so alarmed that they were not able to respond. They retreated to the back. It was difficult for them to take it all in. They did not want to stand near him. But Joseph spoke to them with sensitivity and love and asked them to come near. He felt for them very deeply. He reassured them by repeating that he was, indeed, Joseph, their brother, whom they had sold to Egypt. He reminded them of this fact not with the intention of reprimanding them for their crime but in order to remove any doubt as to who he was. After all, there was no one else present when he was sold.
Joseph told his brothers not to be sad about what had happened, since the Almighty had transformed their evil intentions into an act of salvation.
The brothers left Egypt, returned home and told their father the great news. Their first report was brief and to the point. In one sentence they told him that Joseph was alive and that he was the ruler over the whole of the land of Egypt. Jacob could not believe them and fainted. Their story sounded completely absurd to him. But, after he regained his composure, they told him what they had experienced in greater detail and showed him the wagons which Joseph had sent in order to transport him to Egypt. At this point he became a very happy man. He said just one single word to express his feelings. That word was RAV. I am so very happy.
The next scene was in Be’er Sheva, on the way to Egypt, with 70 members of his family. He had a vision in which the Almighty addressed him and said: Don’t be afraid to go down to Egypt. Rabbi Joseph Ber Soloveitchik offered the following interpretation, which is a lesson for us: God revealed to Jacob the secret of the Jewish people’s exile. He said to him that in Egypt his descendants would grow into great nation and that the teachings of his grandfather Abraham and the hopes of his father Isaac would not be forgotten. To the contrary, he reassured him that his great-grandson, Moses, would develop into the greatest Prophet that the world would ever see. God told Jacob: perhaps you are sceptical wondering how such a man would be able to be born into such an immoral place is Egypt. But, “Joseph will place his hand on your eyes”-Joseph, who left your house as a child, is the best proof that your descendants can grow into a great nation even in exile.