After what appeared to be a successful encounter with the Egyptian ruler, the brothers head home to their father Jacob. But after leaving the city limits, they are accused of larceny. Binyamin Is found guilty and condemned to be a slave. The Torah notes that all the brothers tore their garments in mourning and returned to Egypt together (Beresheit 44:13-14). Yehudah then approaches Yosef and makes an impassioned speech. Yosef responds and reveals his identity and reunites with his brothers. Where were the other brothers during this interaction?

בראשית רבה צ"ג

(ב) כִּי הִנֵּה הַמְּלָכִים נוֹעֲדוּ עָבְרוּ יַחְדָּו (תהלים מ"ח:ה'), כִּי הִנֵּה הַמְּלָכִים, זֶה יְהוּדָה וְיוֹסֵף. עָבְרוּ יַחְדָּו, זֶה נִתְמַלֵּא עֶבְרָה עַל זֶה וְזֶה נִתְמַלֵּא עֶבְרָה עַל זֶה. (תהלים מ"ח:ו'): הֵמָּה רָאוּ כֵּן תָּמָהוּ, (בראשית מ"ג:ל"ג): וַיִּתְמְהוּ הָאֲנָשִׁים אִישׁ אֶל רֵעֵהוּ, (תהלים מ"ח:ו'): נִבְהֲלוּ נֶחְפָּזוּ, (בראשית מ"ה:ג'): וְלֹא יָכְלוּ אֶחָיו וגו', (תהלים מ"ח:ז'): רְעָדָה אֲחָזָתַם שָׁם, אֵלּוּ הַשְּׁבָטִים, אָמְרוּ מְלָכִים מִדַּיְינִים אֵלּוּ עִם אֵלּוּ אָנוּ מָה אִכְפַּת לָנוּ, יָאֵי לְמֶלֶךְ מִדַּיֵּן עִם מֶלֶךְ. וַיִּגַשׁ אֵלָיו יְהוּדָה (איוב מ"א:ח'): אֶחָד בְּאֶחָד יִגַּשׁוּ, זֶה יְהוּדָה וְיוֹסֵף, (איוב מ"א:ח'): וְרוּחַ לֹא יָבֹא בֵינֵיהֶם, אֵלּוּ הַשְּׁבָטִים, אָמְרוּ מְלָכִים מִדַּיְנִים אֵלּוּ עִם אֵלּוּ אָנוּ מָה אִכְפַּת לָנוּ.

Beresheit Rabbah 93

“Behold, the kings convened, passed together” (Psalms 48:5). “Behold the kings” – this is Judah and Joseph. “Passed [avru] together” – this one became filled with fury [evra] against that one, and that one became filled with fury against this one. “They saw it and were astonished” (Psalms 48:6) – “The men wondered to one another” (Genesis 43:33). “They were terrified; they hastened” (Psalms 48:6) – “[Joseph said to his brothers: I am Joseph; does my father still live?] And his brothers could not [answer him because they were alarmed before him]” (Genesis 45:3). “A fearful trembling seized them there” (Psalms 45:6) – these are the tribes. They said: ‘Kings are contending with one another; of what concern is it to us? It is appropriate for a king to contend with a king.’ “Judah approached him” – “One approaches another” (Job 41:8) – this is Judah and Joseph. “Not even a breath comes between them” (Job 41:8) – these are the tribes. They said: ‘Kings are contending with one another; of what concern is it to us?’

The Midrash paints the picture that a debate took place between two kings, Yehudah and Yosef. The other brothers stepped back. It’s hard to read this Midrash as indicating the encounter was of no concern to the brothers. Rather, it seems to convey it was inappropriate for them to get involved. They were spectators.

On a basic level, Yehudah stepped forward to protect his brother Binyamin. He corrected the previous error when the brothers betrayed Yosef and sold him to Egypt. The brothers remained on the sidelines because it was Yehudah’s initiative. He took on personal responsibility for Binyamin’s safety (Beresheit 43:9), and now was following through on his commitment.

On another level, we can see the story related to Jewish history as a whole. The Ramban formulates this as “all that occurs to the forefathers is indicative of [what will occur] to their children” (Commentary on 12:6). According to Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, the Rav, the debate between Yehudah and Yosef centers around the future leadership of the Jewish people.

Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik - Joseph the Ruler

Why did Providence will that Joseph should lose and Judah win? We study the Bible as the book of destiny, determining not only a story of events that transpired thirty-five hundred years ago, but a story of events that are transpiring now and which will transpire in the future. Why, then, did Joseph lose the final battle?

…No matter how lion-like Judah was, he yielded to temptation. On two occasions, he failed miserably to meet the challenge of the horror that confronted him; he acted not like a fearless lion but like a coward. Yet he rose all by himself, without anyone else extending a helping hand. He sinned, but he repented beautifully and heroically with an open mind and contrite heart. In the incident with Tamar, he was not embarrassed to confess publicly, to admit the truth in front of all his friends and associates by saying the unforgettable words, "Tzadekah mimmen-ni, She is more righteous than I" (Gen. 38:26). He was not a natural saint, but the moment he failed, he had the superhuman valor to rise again.

…Joseph belonged to a different moral group, the hasidim who are moral by inclination, people over whom sin has no power. The Satan has no access to them; their lives are not stormy. They do not display the heroism of rising again, because they never fall. They walk along a straight path; they do not roll down a steep incline into an abyss, nor do they perform the miracle of stopping the downward movement at the brink of the cleft. Joseph never sinned; he resisted the charm of the vulgar Egyptian woman.

David could be a king. He resembled Judah; he, too, ascended to the greatest heights and then fell into an abyss. Yet he managed, like Judah, to rise again to still greater heights. David is the great teacher of teshuvah, repentance. Only the ruler who encounters sin, who falls for short intervals but who also knows the art of rising, of lifting himself up only he will understand his people and have compassion for the unfortunate ones who strayed, for those who got lost and fell.

…Providence had finally rendered the decision in the controversy between Judah and Joseph: Judah was declared the winner. He understood that people were frail and that from time to time they would sin. He knew that sinners should not be barred from reaching out for teshuvah; they should be helped to get up and rise again to greater heights (p.41-46).

The Rav explains that Yosef and Yehudah represented two distinct personalities. Yosef is described as “Yosef HaTzadik”, Joseph the Righteous. He receives this title because he refused to bow to temptation. He is the model of one who remains committed and pure from sin. The Rambam describes this personality in his eight chapter introduction to Pirkei Avot as a “Chasid”, one who is not tempted by sin (Eight Chapters, Chapter 6).

Yehudah in contrast made multiple public mistakes. He failed to protect Yosef from the other brothers. He was embarrassed in the episode with his former daughter-in-law Tamar. But he recovered from both errors. He rallied at critical moments. The Rambam describes this as one who “conquers his inclination” (Eight Chapters, Chapter 6). It was this quality of leadership, the ability to admit mistakes and rise from them, that the Jewish people would need throughout the long night of history.

רמב"ם תשובה ז:ד – אל ידמה בעל תשובה שהוא מרוחק ממעלת הצדיקים מפני העונות והחטאות שעשה. אין הדבר כן, אלא אהוב ונחמד הוא לפני הבורא, וכאלו לא חטא מעולם. ולא עוד אלא ששכרו הרבה, שהרי טעם טעם החטא ופירש ממנו וכבש יצרו. אמרו חכמים, מקום שבעלי תשובה עומדין בו אין צדיקים גמורין יכולין לעמוד בו, כלומר מעלתן גדולה ממעלת אלו שלא חטאו מעולם, מפני שהן כובשין יצרם יתר מהם:

Rambam - Laws of Teshuva 7:4

A Baal-Teshuvah should not consider himself distant from the level of the righteous because of the sins and transgressions that he committed. This is not true. He is beloved and desirable before the Creator as if he never sinned. Furthermore, he has a great reward for he has tasted sin and yet, separated himself from it, conquering his [evil] inclination. Our Sages declared: "In the place where Baalei Teshuvah stand, even the completely righteous are not able to stand." The level of Baalei Teshuvah transcends the level of those who never sinned at all, for they overcome their [evil] inclination more.

As the Rambam formulates based on the Gemara in Brachot (34b), those who make mistakes and address them have a certain superiority over those who never erred. Yehudah embodied leadership that may be susceptible to error and confronted by setbacks. But he was distinguished in his ability to respond and ultimately rise to the challenge. This is reminiscent of the verse in Mishlei “for the righteous may fall seven times and [nonetheless] stand back up” (Proverbs 24:16). We can’t always expect perfection from our leaders or ourselves. The quality of leadership we most value is transparent accountability and rallying to a challenge.

References

Maimonides, M., Touger, E., Kaplan, B., Abramson, Z., & Silverstein, S. (2007). Mishneh Torah. New York: Moznaim Pub. Retrieved from: https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/682956/jewish/Mishneh-Torah.htm

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