Response [ibility] Time
Last week, we opened the portion, in an enigmatic and a disquieting manner; וַיְהִ֕י מִקֵּ֖ץ שְׁנָתַ֣יִם יָמִ֑ים It was at the end of two years…and Pharaoh dreamt. This resonates and continues to cry out. Whilst we are very cognizant of the tragic associations that are evoked through “after two years”, the Torah perplexingly does not provide the starting point that leads to Pharaohs sleepless nights. Inevitably this invites various postures from the commentaries, but the text itself is silent.
The timeless detail affords the possibility that both in Miketz and in this week’s portion of Vayigash, it is the act of accounting rather than counting that is the crucial concern. The brothers are seeking to resolve the pain and suffering caused, and in doing so they are taking responsibility. Something so contemptibly lacking in our reality. The narrative is rich in detail, and yet the Midrash goes to remarkable lengths to provide additional insights and details, because our foundational stories are not only descriptive but also prescriptive. Let us open with the opening וַיִּגַּ֨שׁ אֵלָ֜יו יְהוּדָ֗ה And Judah drew near, he took a position.
So who was Judah drawing close to? Three possibilities; To himself, a deep internal reckoning, to God, in prayer and supplication, and to Joseph. All of these require a particular approach, a Gisha and a deep appraisal of how I need to show up. The approach is centered on owning that which has been perpetrated and facing the consequences. Judah demonstrates this in the emotional lead up מַה־נֹּאמַר֙ לַֽאדֹנִ֔י מַה־נְּדַבֵּ֖ר וּמַה־נִּצְטַדָּ֑ק What can we say to my lord? How can we plead, how can we prove our innocence? Justice, Tzedeck, has been infringed, using the same phrase to recognize that he has wronged Tamar Judah exclaims … צָֽדְקָ֣ה מִמֶּ֔נִּי -She is more in the right than I…
Later in the poignant narrative, after Joseph has revealed his true identity, Judah and the brothers face further accusations and Cheshbon Nefesh, an accounting for the soul, not only theirs but more poignantly the soul and the wretchedness of their father, that nefesh has been cruelly deceived; 45:3
וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יוֹסֵ֤ף אֶל־אֶחָיו֙ אֲנִ֣י יוֹסֵ֔ף הַע֥וֹד אָבִ֖י חָ֑י וְלֹֽא־יָכְל֤וּ אֶחָיו֙ לַעֲנ֣וֹת אֹת֔וֹ כִּ֥י נִבְהֲל֖וּ מִפָּנָֽיו׃
Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, so dumbfounded were they on account of him.
When Joseph finally discovers the pretense, the fabricated story of his death, one can almost feel him crying out, as Sforno depicts, how could my father have survived so many years of worry over my fate? Additionally Joseph is suspicious that lying has become normative and perhaps they also deceived him in an emotional ploy to gain sympathy, but the stark reality may be that his father in fact died. That stringent enquiry was deserving, might we suggest, commissioned. That is what Teshuva – remorse demands. It is this raw revelation that is required when truly showing up as guilty, rather than hiding in callous and arrogant blamelessness.
The Vayigash of Judah is an exemplar of the conduct that is so missing in our reality. These timely and timeless qualities are in his and our name; Yehudah and Yehudim. The verb L’hodot to be grateful was the motivation of Leah in so naming her son. More significantly L’hodot also means to admit. A trait that as a people is core and finds expression in the act of Teshuva.
There are too many that need to be reminded of these essential attributes. Their Vayigash moment demonstrated and voted for, this of all weeks, is despicable..
