Genesis - Parashath VaYigash.

PARASHATH VAYIGASH. ALIYAH 1 [44:18-30] - JUDAH APPROACHES JOSEPH. Protesting the Egyptian official's demand that the brothers bring back their remaining youngest brother, Benjamin, from Canaan (the Land of Israel), Judah declares that being forced to part with Benjamin will "bring [Jacob's] white head down to the grave in grief" [44:29]. ALIYAH 2 [44:31 - 45:7] - JOSEPH'S BIG REVEAL. Continuing his plea, Judah begs, "let me not see the evil that will befall my father" [45:35]. As Robert Alter observes, "This of course stands in stark contrast to [Judah's] willingness years before to watch his father writhe in anguish over Joseph's supposed death" (p. 176). This moment marks the fulfillment of Judah's penitence and the turning point of the narrative. Unable to restrain himself any longer, the Egyptian official orders all of his attendants to leave the room. He announces to his brothers: "I am Joseph your brother. Does my father still live?" [45:3]. Joseph urges his brothers not to be angry with themselves, because "it was for the sake of preserving life that G-d sent me before you" [45:5]. The question "Does my father still live?" [הַע֥וֹד אָבִ֖י חָ֑י] was transfomred into the declaration "Our father still lives!" [ עוד אבינו חי | 'od avinu chai ] by singer Shlomo Carlebach in 1965 as an anthem of solidarity with Soviet Jewry, expressing kinship with those who are captive in foreign lands. It remains a popular melody in the Jewish world to this day. ALIYAH 3 [45:8-27] - THE BROTHERS RETURN TO JACOB. Joseph sends his brothers back to Jacob, with the news that he, Joseph, is alive and has been made master of Egypt, and that Jacob is to migrate with his family to Egypt at once to avoid the coming famine. ALIYAH 4 [45:28 - 46:7] - FROM BEERSHEVA TO EGYPT. Jacob's family depart for Egypt, making a stop at Be'er-Sheva to offer sacrifices. In a night vision, G-d appears to Jacob and promises to make his household into a mighty and prosperous nation in Egypt. ALIYAH 5 [46:8-27] - SEVENTY NAMES. Seventy members of Jacob's family who went into Egypt are named. ALIYAH 6 [46:28 - 47:10] - SETTLING IN GOSHEN. Goshen was the region of Egypt nearest the border with the Land of Israel. ALIYAH 7 [47:11 - 27] - JOSEPH'S REDISTRIBUTION PLAN FOR EGYPT. Joseph implements his redistribution plan - consolidating the power of the Pharaoh, with ominous implications for future generations of Israelites. Dennis Prager on 47:21: "Why did he move whole populations? Perhaps it was to more effectively distribute seed; alternatively (and more darkly), it could have been done to ensure they understood the land no longer belonged to them" (p. 526). Robert Alter: "The purpose would have been to sever them from their hereditary lands and locate them on other lands that they knew were theirs only to till by the grace of Pharaoh, to whom the land now belonged" (pp. 187 - 188). Adin Steinsaltz: "Joseph thereby granted Pharaoh far greater power and authority than he ever had before" (pp. 258 - 259). Yoram Hazony sees Joseph (like other principal characters in the first half of the Hebrew Scriptures) as representing a particular type of leader and leadership. "... Joseph's burning desire to excel in the service of his superiors is not directed only at Jacob. He excels equally in his service of Potifar, the Egyptian captain who buys him as a slave; then of the master of the Egyptian prison into which he has been cast; and finally of Pharaoh. Joseph's capacity to adapt himself to the needs of his master, which is unmistakably depicted as a great virtue, is thus shown to be a two-edged sword. For it is Joseph's seemingly boundless ability to advance Pharaoh's interests that is blamed, in no small part, for the fact that the Israelites, whom Joseph brings down to Egypt to save them from famine, never leave Egypt again" (p. 71). [656]