This week’s parasha , VaYigash, presents the story of the reunification of Ya’akov’s sons and the family’s move from the Land of Cana’an to Egypt. At the end of last week’s parasha , Yosef set up a ruse in which Binyamin was accused of stealing a royal goblet. Our parasha opens with Yehuda’s plea to Yosef on behalf of Binyamin in the moments before Yosef’s revelation of his true identity to his brothers. In this moment, Yosef and Yehuda demonstrate that they have become the leaders of b’nei yisrael – Yosef through his position of power in Egyptian society and Yehuda through his commitment to responsibility for Binyamin’s safety and his follow through on that commitment. This week’s haftarah – a passage from Sefer Yechezkel – relates a prophecy that describes a future time for b’nei yisrael . In this famous prophecy, Hashem commands Ezekiel to make a demonstration to the people involving two wooden tablets. On one tablet, Ezekiel is to inscribe, “For Yehuda and the Children of Israel,...
Rabbi Benjy Owen, Dean, Margolin Hebrew Academy-Feinstone Yeshiva of the South, Memphis, TN