Parashat Vayigash, 5773, Sam Lerman
Parashat Vayigash
December 22, 2012 / 9 Tevet 5773
Sam Lerman
Overview
In the previous Parshot, Joseph was in Israel with Jacob, and instead of working in the fields with his brothers, (as a Midrasha I had read explains) he was learning to read Egyptian with his father. The other brothers did not like Joseph, as they had to compete with him for parental attention. So they threw him into a pit, sold him to Egyptian slave traders, and pretended that he had been attacked by a wolf. In Egypt, he is bought by a government employee called Potiphar, and is Potiphar’s favorite slave, until Potiphar's wife wants to kiss him, but he refuses because he thinks that it is against the rules, so in revenge, she tears out a piece of her clothing to make it look like he assaulted her, and he gets arrested. While he is in jail, by interpreting the other inmates' dreams, he predicts one inmate's release and another's death. Both predictions come true. He asks the inmate that gets released to tell the Pharaoh that he can predict the future by analyzing dreams, which leads to his release. He gets a really important position in the government. One day, the Pharaoh has a dream that involves seven sick cows and seven healthy cows. The sick cows devour the healthy cows, but don't get any healthier. Joseph predicts that there will be a good seven years and a bad seven years, and that during the good seven years, the government must take a bit of everyone's crops and put it in storage, and during the bad seven years, to give it back to the people. Eventually, the bad seven years strike, so Joseph's brothers come in search of food. He knows that they are his brothers, but they don't recognize the fact that he is Joseph. Joseph then plants a cup in Benjamin's bag so that he could arrest Benjamin to see if his brothers were capable of showing care for their family and Benjamin.
My Parshah
In my Parshah, Joseph has just arrested Benjamin on the charge of stealing the cup. One of Joseph's brothers, Judah, steps up, and offers to stay in jail instead of Benjamin, saying that his father, Jacob, would die of sadness if he came home without Benjamin. Jacob believed that his other favorite son, Joseph, had died. Joseph, who knows that the “dead brother” is himself, then reveals that he is Joseph and drops Benjamin’s charges. I believe that the reason why Joseph did this was because he had forgiven his brothers for what they had done to him earlier because he had actually benefitted from what they had done and became a high official in Egypt.
Afterview
Based on the content in this Parshah, we know that every story has at least two sides. You are probably wondering why Judah did what he did. He could have been caring for his father and/or Benjamin, or he might have wanted to make up for what he did to Joseph so many years ago by giving Benjamin some extra attention. A more modern example of the fact that there are two sides to every story is the argument over whether to pass a ballot measure called Measure S in Berkeley, also known as the sit-lie ordinance. This ballot measure would have made it illegal to sit or lie on the sidewalk in Berkeley. Proponents thought that it would help save jobs, as they think that shoppers are driven away from shops by people sitting on the sidewalks, which they believe hurts business, which causes people to lose their jobs, which then causes homelessness. Opponents think that it would cost the city a lot of money in the legal fees involved in issuing a citation, and that it violates people's right to assemble on public property, which is clearly explained in the constitution. This scenario proves that just as the episode with Judah stepping up to serve jail in Benjamin's place has more than one side, the bill has two sides too, as it could have been both to the benefit of the homeless and to the detriment of the homeless.
My Drash also highlights the fact that people can change, be it for better or for worse, and that being able to forgive people and to take responsibility for your actions is important. Joseph knew that his brothers had thrown him into the pit, but he still gave them food because he cared about everyone, and he had forgiven them. It is important to be able to forgive people because you might need help from the people you are angry at in the future. It is also important to take responsibility for your actions. Judah participated in selling Joseph into slavery, but eventually he changed, and took responsibility for not helping his brother in a time of need. When a similar situation confronted him again, Judah did not hesitate to offer himself to go to jail in place of Benjamin. That is the importance of responsibility for your actions and forgiveness, because if you take responsibility for your actions, people will be more willing to forgive you if you angered them. This Parshah helped me learn that as a Jewish adult, you must be prepared to take responsibility for your actions. Also, you must be able to settle arguments without pressing charges, and you must be able to forgive people, as if you are still angry at them, you might feel uncomfortable every time they go near you.
Those are the things my Parshah highlights.