Vayiggash: Torah Portion for 12/26
Maimonides, the brilliant 12th-century rabbi who compiled the first rabbinic code, the Mishne Torah, wrote in his Laws of Repentance: the true test of whether someone has done teshuvah or changed is whether, when faced with the same situation where they did wrong before they make the right choice the next time. In this week’s parashah Joseph has challenged his brothers, by framing their youngest brother Benjamin for stealing a silver cup. Joseph says they may return but Benjamin must stay behind as his slave. Joseph knows that Benjamin, like him, is the son of Rachel and is his father Jacob’s favored son. He wants to know if his brothers, who once sold him into slavery because of their jealousy toward him, will do the same with Benjamin to save themselves, or whether they have changed. Then Judah says to Joseph, “please let your servant [Judah] remain as a slave to my lord instead of the boy [Benjamin], and let the boy go back with his brothers. For how can I go back to my father unless the boy is with me?” (Genesis 44:33-34) Seeing that his brother Judah has put his jealousy aside and has grown in compassion makes it possible for Joseph to forgive all his brothers and say to them, “God has sent me ahead of you to ensure your survival on earth, and to save your lives in an extraordinary deliverance.” (Genesis 45:7) This week’s Torah portion shows us that the courage to change, personal growth, compassion, and empathy are human behaviors that make God manifest in the world.
~Rabbi Dean
