The first three words of this week's parsha present us with a unique opportunity to gain an insight into the Torah portion by looking at the ta-amei hamikrah, the cantillation notes which accompany the text. For those unfamiliar with these notes, they provide the "melody which the ba-al koreh, or Torah reader, uses to chant the text.
Before going into the explanation, a word of background. For those of you who either skipped shul the last couple of weeks, or who talked or slept through the Torah readings and drash, Parshat Vayigash provides the exciting and moving climax to the very long Joseph saga, which began two weeks ago in Parshat Vayeshev when Joseph started bragging to his brothers about his dreams, in which he dominates them. The brothers sell him to a wandering band of Ishmaelites who eventually sell him to the wealthy Egyptian Potiphar. Joseph is unfairly imprisoned, but because of his powers to interpret dreams, he is ultimately appointed as the second in command of all Egypt, and is specifically in charge of food supplies. When there is a famine in Canaan, his brothers come to him for food, though they have no idea who he is. He manages to get them to bring Benjamin to Egypt, then plants a valuable goblet in Benjamin's bags. As last week's Parsha ends, Joseph announces to the brothers that they are all free to return to canaan with the food, except for Benjamin, who is "guilty" of theft and must remain as Joseph's slave. This puts the brothers in a predicament that reminds them of what they did to Joseph -- should they protect Benjamin or simply go home with the food.
The first three words of our Parsha are vayigash elav Yehuda, "and Judah went up to him." The cantillation notes for these three words are kadma v'azla r'vii. These Aramaic words, which roughly translated mean "the fourth one rose up and went." The word r'vii which means "fourth" seems like a clear reference to Judah, the fourth of Jacob's sons. Thus the Torah cantillation notes, which we hardly ever think of as having some substantive connection to the text which they accompany, here seem to have a specific purpose -- namely to underscore the fact that Judah was the fourth son, not the eldest. Normally, in the society in which these brothers lived, it would have been up to the eldest son, Reuben, to take the lead in pleading with Joseph for Benjamin's freedom. Instead, it is Judah, the fourth son, who delivers a moving and brilliant speech to Joseph, pleading on Benjamin's behalf. The speed, which lasts from verse 18 through verse 34, is so powerful that Joseph is overwhelmed, sends all of his servants out of the room and then reveals himself to his brothers
It is not a coincidence that our religion is not called "Jacobism," or Reubenism," but Judaism. Historians will tell us that the name comes from the tribe of Judah, which separated from the other "lost" tribes. But there is a case to be made for the notion that we are called Judaism because of the man Judah himself. Even though he was not the eldest, and it wasn't necessarily his job to stand up and plead for Benjamin, he did so, and did so brilliantly. Of course, Judah was not perfect. Two weeks ago, in Parshat Vayeshev, the Joseph narrative is interrupted by Chapter 38, an account of events in Judah's life after he left his brothers and went off on his own. I will not summarize the narrative here, but if you don't know the story of Judah, his sons and his daughter-in-law Tamar, please read Chapter 38. It reads like an O. Henry story with delicious irony (although O. Henry stories don't have so much sex). In the end, Judah is exposed as a man who has weaknesses, yet a man who ultimately does what is fair and just. And as we read in the very end of the book of Ruth, Judah's affair with his daughter-in-law ultimately leads to the birth of the Messianic line of King David.
We Jews, like our namesake Judah, are imperfect. Hopefully, like Judah, we can overcome our imperfections and do justice. And just as Judah, the fourth son, had no obligation to plead for Benjamin but did so anyway, may we learn from him to intervene in causes that may not be our obligation, but that nevertheless are the right thing to do.
Shabbat Shalom