Confrontation – Variations on a Theme

Yosef is probably the most developed character in all of Bereishit and the interplay of Yosef with his brothers is spellbinding. This said, Yehudah’s confrontation with Yosef, in the presence of all of his brothers(!), brought the tension in their relationship to a crescendo.  Yehudah’s incredible monologue where he attempted to convince Yosef not to enslave his brother, Binyamin, on a trumped-up offence conjured up by Yosef, certainly provided a window into Yehuda’s inner thoughts and concerns, yet, we are not similarly privy to Yosef’s mindset:

And Yehudah approached (Vayigash) him (Yosef) and said… (Genesis 44:18)

A midrash clues us in that the word “vayigash” does not, in and of itself, describe the nature of the confrontation between Yehudah and Yosef, but this very ambiguity (polysemy) offered the sages an opportunity for vaeious interpretations of this event:

“Yehudah approached [vayigash] him” – Rabbi Yehuda, Rabbi Neḥemiah, and the Rabbis. Rabbi Yehuda says: An approach for war… Rabbi Neḥemiah says: An approach for conciliation… to placate him. The Rabbis say: An approach for prayer… (Bereishit Rabbah 93:6, Theodore-Albeck ed. p. 1154)

Whatever the sense of this experience, Yehuda’s words bring Yosef to tears:

And Yosef could no longer hold himself in check before all who stood in attendance before him, and he cried, “Clear out everyone around me!” … and he wept out loud… And Yosef said to his brothers, “I am Yosef. Is my father still alive?” (Genesis 45:1-3)

It seems clear from the context of this scene that Yosef was overcome by emotion not only because the moment had arrived for him to reveal himself to his brothers, but also because Yehuda had finally taken responsibility for his father’s wellbeing and for the protection of his younger brother, Binyamin. This point of view is expressed in the following midrash:

Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said: In all the matters that you read that Yehudah spoke to Yosef in the presence of his brothers until you reach: “Yosef could not restrain himself,” there is conciliation for Yosef, conciliation for his brothers and conciliation for Benyamin. Conciliation for Yosef, saying: See how he is giving his life for the sake of Rahel’s sons. Conciliation for his brothers, saying: See how he is giving his life for his brother’s sake. Conciliation for Benyamin, he said to him: ‘Just as I am giving my life for your sake, so I am willing to give my life for your brother’s sake.’ (Bereishit Rabbah 93:9 – printed edition)

Still, since Yehuda’s language to Yosef was quite harsh, it allowed the rabbinic sages to imagine a radically different option for why Yosef acceded to Yehudah’s plea. In the following midrash, the sages imagine that Yehuda’s confrontation with Yosef was actually a dialogue which forced Yosef, the “prime minister” to take into account the potential harm his brothers might bring upon Egypt:

“My lord asked his servants…” – Yehudah said to him: ‘Know that [from the outset] you came against us with malice. How many countries descended [to Egypt] to purchase food? But you did not ask [this of] any of them. [Did we], perhaps, come to ask [to marry] your daughter, or are you asking [to marry] our sister? Nevertheless, we hid nothing from you.’ Yosef said to him: ‘Yehudah, I see that you are a big talker. Is there among your brothers a big talker like you?’ … [Yehudah] said to him: ‘All this that you see is because I became a guarantor for him.’ [Yosef] said to him: ‘Why didn’t you serve as a guarantor for your brother when you sold him to the Yishmaelites for twenty silver pieces, and you brought anguish to your old father and you said to him: “Yosef was surely mauled”?’ (Genesis 37:33) … When Yehudah heard this, he screamed and cried in a loud voice and with great bitterness. He said: “For how will I go up to my father?” (Genesis 44:34) … Immediately, Yehudah said to Naftali: ‘Go and see how many marketplaces there are in Egypt.’ He leapt and returned and said to him: ‘Twelve.’ Yehudah said to his brothers: ‘I will destroy three of them, and each and every one of you take one each, and no man will be left among them’. His brothers said to him: ‘Egypt is not like Shechem. If you destroy Egypt, you will be destroying the entire world.’ At that point, “Joseph could not restrain himself before all those standing before him, and he called: Remove every man from before me. No man stood with him when Joseph revealed himself to his brothers” (Genesis 45:1). (Tanhuma Vayigash 5)

The sages’ close reading of this story forces us to recognize the existential ambiguity Yosef faced. Life’s exigencies are rarely this or that. In our relationships with others, in the decisions we make, we must always factor in unending and often conflicting details. Nothing is ever simple and without an awareness of this, we may be led to disaster. The sages’ sagacious illustration of Yogi Berra’s adage: “Deja Vu all over again” serves us as a valuable reminder.