18 Judah approached Joseph and said, “Please, my lord, let me, your servant, speak a word that will enter my lord’s ear…
19 My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’
20 We answered my lord, ‘We have an aged father…’
21 You said to your servants, ‘Bring him down here to me, so that I can see him.’
HAFTARAH
Yechezkel (Ezekiel) Chapter 37:15-18
15 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
16 “And you, son of man, take for yourself one stick…”
17 And bring them close, one to the other into one stick…
18 And when the children of your people say to you…
BRIT CHADASHAH
Mark Chapter 7:32-37
32 There some people brought to him a man who was deaf…
33 After he took him aside, away from the crowd…
34 He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said, “Ephphatha!”
35 At this, the man’s ears were opened…
36 Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone…
37 People were overwhelmed with amazement…
Lion Erwteman over Wayigash
When Joseph accuses Benyamin of stealing and condemns him of having to stay behind in Egypt while the brothers are allowed to leave for the Promised Land of Israel, it is Yehudah (Judah) who proves himself to be a good lawyer.
His speech is simple and eloquent and it says in Torah, in chapter 44 verse 18 of Beresheet, that he “approached” Joseph. The verb is: Nagash, from which stems the title of this parasha: Vayigash.
The verb contains the meaning of making the distance smaller between two people, even to the point of having a love relationship. In a sense it is compared with the verb: to receive in the New Testament, dechomai, meaning “to embrace” or “warmly welcome.” In other words: Yehudah knew how to reach the heart of Joseph.
But more important than this is the fact that Joseph allowed Judah to come into his heart. That was a conscious decision of Joseph. People can do or say what they want in order to heal and restore a relationship; it is the conscious decision of the other party to receive it, to embrace and warmly welcome it. It takes two parties to heal and restore relationships. The Lord Almighty has shown His part in restoring our relationship with Him. What are we doing concerning our part?
Part of restoration is the ability of people to turn a new page. We have written about this before and do it again, because it is not easy for some people to do. Turning a new page is exactly what Joseph did. He checked the motivations and positions of the brothers and then opened his heart for his brother Judah and not for himself alone. Great example.
Shabbat shalom,
Lion S. Erwteman,
Rosh Kehillat Beth Yeshua,
Amsterdam, Holland
