Vayomer Yehudah el ehchav mah betza ki naharog et achinu v’chisinu et damo. L’chu v’nim’ch’renu laYish’m’eilim v’yadeinu al t’hi vo ki achinu b’sareinu hu vayish’m’u ehchaiv.
And Judah said to his brothers, “what do we gain by killing our brother and covering up his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, but let us not do away with him ourselves. After all, his is our flesh, our brother.”
Have you ever wondered why we are called Jews, Yehudim? “Vayomer Yehudah… and Judah said…” Jews, from the name Judah. We are known by our leaders- b’nei Avraham, the sons of Avraham, b’nei Yisrael, Israelites, and Yehudim, the descendents of Judah.
It can be said that the best mentors are those who have been where we stand, and have come out positively. Avraham, Jacob/Israel, and Judah, none were perfect, yet from all we have much to admire. It may be difficult to accept this from the verses above. Just prior to this the brothers had thrown Joseph into a pit and sat down to eat. Their anger at Joseph so great that they were indifferent to his needs or cries. Just beyond is the story of Judah and Tamar, another mixed story in Judah’s life. One may wonder if this isn’t Judah hitting rock bottom, but I would rather look at it as a turning point in Judah’s life. We could focus upon “what do we gain…” or upon “let us not do away with him ourselves. After all, he is our flesh, our brother.”
In parashat Vayeshev Judah is struggling, but there is honour in struggling. Judah is self-differentiating. He is emerging as the leader, moving beyond the influence of anger and hatred, working to become better. For so few of us is the path to righteousness a straight upward line. There are bumps, and there are dips and there are mistakes. Sometimes even, the path of righteousness comes from below. If we seek to move ever forward, to improve ourselves, and to help others where we can, perhaps we too will be lucky enough to live on through the righteousness of our descendents.
No comments:
Post a Comment