At the beginning of the Parsha we read about the dramatic climax of the battle of minds between Yosef and his brothers.
Yehuda, who was the leader of the brothers, spoke to Yosef, and his words had the desired effect.
ולא יכול יוסף להתאפק
After hearing Yehuda, Yosef was no longer able to retain his secret any longer. What was it about Yehuda’s words that forced Yosef to reveal himself?
If we look back in previous פרשיות we find a fundamental difference between the mothers of Yosef and Yehuda, Rochel and Leah. When describing them the פסוק says
ועיני לאה רכות ורחל היתה יפת תואר ויפת מראה
Something was lacking from Leah’s vision, while Rochel’s vision was perfect. Yet, it is Leah who ends up being the primary builder of Klal Yisrael, as she gave birth to 6 of the שבטים. How do we understand the difference between Rochel and Leah?
This can be compared to a man planning the building of a home. The 1st person to consult with would be the architect, who designs and plans the layout of the house. He draws the pictures of how it will look. The next person to consult with is the actual builder. He’s the 1 who carries out the plans on the ground and brings them to fruition.
Rochel, with her perfect look is compared to the planner of כלל ישראל. Leah, with her poor vision can be compared to the actual builder.
The difference between these 2 types of people is that the architect is not necessarily skilled in actual building. His skills lay in seeing the broad picture. The builder on the other hand, while not a visionary, is the 1 who gets things done.
Another difference is that the visionary cannot allow any mistakes in his planning as it will ruin the outcome of the plans. Whereas the builder can afford to make mistakes, as he can always fix them at a later time.
Rochel was the visionary, while Leah was the actual builder.
These 2 forces of Rochel and Leah were transmitted to each of their descendents. Yosef received the beauty and vision of his mother Rochel, while Yehuda received the practicality of Leah. As the son of Rochel, Yosef could not afford any mistakes in his conduct, needing to remain perfect. That is why Yosef is known as the צדיק יסוד עולם. The perfect צדיק.
Yehuda however, as the son of Leah, knows that man is not created to be perfect, and as long as you’re able to own up to them, mistakes are an inevitable fact of life. As such, when confronted by Tamar, he was able to acknowledge his error; צדקה ממני. She is right and I was wrong.
These 2 qualities are further developed by their future descendents. מלכות ישראל comes from Yosef and מלכות בית דוד from Yehuda. The 1st king that Klal Yisrael had was שאול המלך, who is a decendent of בנימין and Rochel. He instituted מלוכה in Klal Yisrael and paved the way for his successor דוד המלך. Shaul played a big role in the history of Klal Yisrael. However, it’s only מלכות בית דוד that will ultimately endure.
In practical terms too, while remaining perfect is certainly a remarkable feat, it is even greater to make mistakes and then own up to them.
We can now understand why Yosef was so astounded by Yehuda’s plea and couldn’t hold himself back any longer. Yehuda owned up to his responsibilities as the guarantor of Binyamin and declared to Yosef that he is willing to take on the responsibility of remaining behind instead of Binyamin. The great צדיק Yosef, who does everything perfectly, is astounded that his brother can state ” If my brother made a mistake by stealing the goblet, I’m taking full responsibility for him.” Seeing the ability of making mistakes and then owning up to them, is what causes the perfect Yosef to finally give in.
Every member of Klal Yisrael is called יהודי- after Yehuda. We look up to Yosef as the picture of perfection, and gain inspiration from him. Yet we know that in practical terms, it’s Yehuda who’s path we can connect with the most. Trying our best, but realizing that mistakes are an inevitable part of the process of growth. By strengthening ourselves through learning from our mistakes, we are following in the footsteps of our namesake Yehuda.
May we be זוכה to see the fulfillment of the פסוקים which we read in this week’s Haftara from the יחזקאל הנביא:
כה אמר ה’ אלוקים הנה אני לוקח את עף יוסף אשר ביד אפרים ושבטי ישראל חבריו ונתתי אותם עליו את עץ יהודה ועשיתים לעץ אחד….ועבדי דוד מלך עליהם
Both Yosef and Yehuda will merge together as one, with דוד being the leader of all Klal Yisrael, with the coming of Mashiach, במהרה בימינו אמן
Based upon Shiur from Harav Aharon Lopiansky שליט”א
Weekly Parsha Shiur 