Stepping Up To
Destiny
D’var Torah for
Parashat Vayigash
By Rabbi Boaz D.
Heilman
Stepping up to one’s destiny is the theme of this week’s
Torah portion, Vayigash (Gen.
44:18-47:27). It is in this portion that
the story of Joseph and his brothers reaches its climax and conclusion. It’s also here that the foundation for the
rest of Israel’s story—its destiny of slavery and redemption—is laid.
The story of Vayigash
picks up at the point where Joseph orders the arrest of Benjamin on the
trumped-up charge of stealing Joseph’s Cup of Divination. This is the ultimate test of the brothers’
honesty. If they abandon Benjamin, they
will be repeating history all over again.
Coming up with a way of saving him, however, might signal a new beginning,
a chance for healing and redemption.
It is Judah’s place to speak up; he was the one, after all,
who came up with the idea of selling Joseph to slavery in the first place. Through the years, however, he has matured. He has come to understand the results of his
treachery. He has seen the fall of the
family, the sorrow that flowed unabated from Jacob, the guilt that spread like a
poison among them all. The death of two
of his own sons taught him to understand a father’s grief. His guilty conscience could bear no
more. Vayigash Yehuda, and so Judah stepped up. Mustering all his courage, overcoming misery
and despair, Judah approaches Joseph and lays his heart open before him: “For how will I go up to my father if the boy is not with me? Let me not
see the misery that will befall my father!"
(Gen. 44:34).
It is at this point that Joseph breaks
down and tearfully reveals his true identity to his brothers.
It is a heartbreaking moment. As the carefully built dam of forgetfulness gives
way and collapses, a flood of repressed memories and emotions rushes and overcomes
Joseph. Joseph forgives his brothers and
commands them to bring their father Jacob and his whole household down to
Egypt, promising to settle them in the fertile region called Goshen, where he
will sustain and take care of them all.
Without a moment’s hesitation, as he
receives the news that Joseph is alive and well, Jacob leaves his homeland for
the second and last time. He knows he
will never return—at least not during his lifetime. Yet the chance to see Joseph one last time
more than compensates for any sadness he might be feeling.
Encouraged by God, Jacob sets Judah at
the head of the procession, l’horot l’fanav,
“to show the way before him to Goshen” (Gen. 46:28). Jacob’s gesture shows his full confidence and
regained trust in Judah. But the literal
meaning of l’horot, showing direction,
is amplified by an early (3rd century) Rabbinic midrash, which teaches that Jacob’s intention was for Judah “to
establish a house of study for him, from which teaching [l’horot Torah] would emanate.”
Judah’s future role in Israel’s history
is thus set in its twin purposes: to lead and to teach. This is indeed the Judah whose –ism Jews have been following for over
3000 years. Starting from deep
depravity, Judah has found his way and come to find new purpose and meaning in
life. For Judah, stepping up to his historic
role was an individual act of contrition, a deeply personal act of acceptance
of responsibility. For his brothers and
for the nation that would follow him, this act would forever serve as an
example and a teaching. When called
upon, we step up; when needed, we respond.
As for Joseph, however, the story leads
to a different ending. Having fulfilled
his mission of reuniting and saving the family, Joseph returns to his first
calling—the quest for fame and glory. As
the famine continues unabated, Joseph exacts any and all payment for the food
he rations out. When the money runs out,
he takes work animals as compensation, then land and homes. Finally, when all the wealth that could
possibly be collected is gone, he takes the people themselves as slaves. All Egypt becomes, quite literally, Pharaoh’s
possession.
Ironically, Joseph, too, fulfills the
task he was called upon to accomplish. But whereas Judah’s “stepping up” will
ultimately lead to redemption and freedom, Joseph’s acts lead to enslavement,
followed by social upheaval, revolution, and finally to disaster.
Greatness is the consequence of the
choices we make—to be there for one another, or selfishly to seek and accumulate
wealth, power and glory, to fill our own coffers at the expense of everyone
else. History is the ultimate judge.
But for the time being, the Israelites
in Goshen grow numerous and successful; they multiply and are fruitful.
And so the scene is set for the next
act is Israel’s long journey through history.
©2012 by Boaz D. Heilman
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