VaYigash ויגש – Pangs of Conscience

In parshas VaYigash Yehuda offers to take Benjamin's place as a slave in Egypt. The viceroy of Egypt, who is not recognized by his brothers as Yosef, has accused Benyamin of stealing an expensive goblet from his table, thereby incurring the penalty of servitude. Attitudes have rapidly shifted during this episode. When first accused the brothers strongly deny guilt saying that the one that is found with the stolen property should die and the rest should become slaves. When the cup is found in Benyamin's sack, Joseph in the garb of Tsafnath Pane'ach declines the offer saying only the guilty party should be enslaved. He than blithely tells them to return to their father in peace.

Judah reacts with horror to this suggestion. He explains that he has guaranteed Benyamin's safety saying that if he does not safely return him, "I will have sinned against my father for all time", (Genesis 44:32). He continues that Benyamin is the last surviving son of their father's most beloved wife. Ya'akov only consented to release him under the threat of starvation and said that if a tragedy befalls Benyamin it will send his head down to the grave in misery. At this point Yosef reveals himself to his brothers and tells them that he has forgiven them for selling him into slavery. He instructs them to bring the entire family down to Egypt, where he will support them well because there remain five years of famine.

We see from this that Yehuda preferred to be a slave in Egypt rather than return to his father without Benjamin. The Ramban explains he felt that it would better to be a slave the rest of his life rather than see his father constantly crying and in mourning over this. The Targum Yonasan compares it to seeing his father stabbed and strung up. The Sforno comments that Yehuda preferred to be a slave and have Benyamin go free, so he would not have to accept the blame of having sinned against his father for all time.

Essentially what Yehuda is experiencing is a fear of sin. The effects of sin are seen in the story of King Saul. After he violates the word of Hashem in failing to totally destroy Amalek the spirit of Hashem departs from him and a bad spirit from Hashem kicks (ובעתתו) him (1 Samuel 16:14). The Metsudas Tsion explains kicking as frightening and shaking him. The Radak explains it as being kicked until he has lost his mind. Things get worse for Saul. He engages in a mad chase after David, is defeated in battle by the Philistines, and commits suicide to avoid being captured and most likely tortured by a very cruel enemy. Shaul HaMelech, though, is not considered an evil man. On the contrary he is reckoned as a tsadik. The medium for his destruction were feelings of guilt.

The lesson is that there is a power in heaven that fills the world including the recesses of the human heart. The shallow lie that Yosef was killed by an animal created a miserable situation for Yehuda. There was an aspect of kindness in the chastisement from Yosef in that Yehuda learned something. In addition not only was the sin of the sale of Yosef forgiven but he merited also to lead the family to Egypt, and to be the father of the royal line of Israel.

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