Vayigash 5785 – Jews as Followers of Judah

By Rabbi Alex Freedman.

We are called “Jews” in English because the Hebrew word is “Yehudim.” We are named such because we are the people of Judah/Yehudah. This is true in a technical sense because many Jews are descended from the tribe of Judah, and that was an earlier name for the Land of Israel. But I think there’s a homiletical reason for this particular name as well. There must be something special about Judah for us to be named for him, even more so than for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. What spiritual DNA do we inherit from Jacob’s fourth son Judah?

Judah steals the stage at the beginning of this week’s portion, Vayigash. Joseph, second-in-command of all Egypt and at this point still a stranger to the brothers, has decided to imprison younger brother Benjamin because he supposedly stole the royal goblet (actually, Joseph framed him). It would make sense that the brothers would then return home to Israel without Benjamin, dejected and brokenhearted. What could they do, given that Benjamin was in jail?

But Judah would not accept that ending. Instead, he steps forward, literally. The first word in the portion is “Vayigash,” which means, “he approached/came forward.” With great sensitivity and respect, Judah makes a case to the powerful VP, as it were, to release Benjamin from prison and imprison himself instead, for he has guaranteed his brother’s safety to his father. Couched with delicate language and respect, Judah nonetheless forcefully makes a case that the right thing to do here is to release Benjamin. 

I deeply admire Judah’s courage in speaking up in front of power. Joseph was the second-in-command, and Judah surely knew that he could be executed for challenging royalty. Nonetheless, Judah had the chutzpah to speak up for justice when the natural instinct would be to remain silent. 

Second, the fact that he took seriously his responsibility for a younger brother is remarkable. He was willing to pay a significant personal price to help out his family. Not that we should go around making rash decisions and volunteering to go to jail, but we can admire his fierce commitment to family when things went sideways, not just when they were good. 

Third, we should admire Judah’s personal growth and repentance. It’s easy to forget that it was actually his idea years ago to sell Joseph down to Egypt (Gn. 37:26). Judah learned from his mistake of abandoning a brother in a time of distress, and when the same opportunity faced him, he corrected his error. 

These are admirable traits that express Jewish values then and now. These traits don’t happen automatically, but we have Judah’s example to remind us. Speaking up for justice in a challenging moment; pledging responsibility for a family member; and learning from our mistakes make us more like Judah.