We read the Torah with great care. It is necessary to understand why the Torah included certain details. There are many examples where the narrative could have read smoothly without a particular piece of information. We must then understand why it was included. One such example is included below:

בראשית מו:כח

וְאֶת־יְהוּדָ֞ה שָׁלַ֤ח לְפָנָיו֙ אֶל־יוֹסֵ֔ף לְהוֹרֹ֥ת לְפָנָ֖יו גּ֑שְׁנָה וַיָּבֹ֖אוּ אַ֥רְצָה גּֽשֶׁן:

Bereisheet 46:28

And he sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph, to direct him to Goshen, and they came to the land of Goshen.

Though various commentators explain the practical reason why Yehudah went ahead, many do not address why Yehudah was chosen specifically. The Midrash however raises this question:

מדרש אגדה (בובר) בראשית מו:כח

ואת יהודה שלח – ולמה שלח [את] יהודה, ולא ראובן ולא שמעון ולא לאחרים אמר יעקב, יהודה מלך, ויוסף מלך, לא אשלח אל פני מלכים אלא מלך.

Midrash Aggadah (Buber) Beresheit 46:28

And he sent Judah – and why did he send Yehudah (specifically) and not Reuven or Shimon or others. Yaakov said, Yehudah is a king, and Yosef is a king, and I will not send an emissary to greet a king except a king.

Yosef at this point had the status of a king. He was in command of the nation of Egypt, at the height of his power. But in what sense was Yehudah a king?

Let us examine Yehudah’s evolution. He was not the first born. But he did play a prominent role during the sale of Yosef. He had made the suggestion to sell Yosef, hoping it would save his life.

רש"י בראשית לח:א

ויהי בעת ההיא – למה נסמכה פרשה זו לכאן, והפסיק בפרשתו של יוסף? ללמד שהורידוהו אחיו מגדולתו כשראו בצרת אביהם. אמרו: אתה אמרת למוכרו, אילו אמרת להשיבו, היינו שומעים לך.

Rashi Bereshit 38:1

Now it came about at that time: Why was this section placed here, where it interrupts the section dealing with Joseph? To teach us that his (Judah’s) brothers demoted him from his high position when they saw their father’s distress. They said, “You told [us] to sell him. Had you told [us] to return him, we would have obeyed you.” [from Tanchuma Buber, Vayeshev 8]

It is unclear whether the brothers would have actually listened to Yehudah in the heat of the moment, had he made the suggestion to return Yosef to his father. But that is the claim the brothers made. Yehudah lost his position within the brothers.

The narrative continues and Yehudah is confronted with another situation. He had made a commitment to give his third son to marry his daughter-in-law Tamar, but did not do so. He then inadvertently had a relationship with her, not knowing her identity at the time. He was in a position to hide his error completely, but stood up and took full responsibility for his mistake.

בראשית לח:כו

וַיַּכֵּ֣ר יְהוּדָ֗ה וַיֹּ֨אמֶר֙ צָֽדְקָ֣ה מִמֶּ֔נִּי כִּֽי־עַל־כֵּ֥ן לֹֽא־נְתַתִּ֖יהָ לְשֵׁלָ֣ה בְנִ֑י וְלֹֽא־יָסַ֥ף ע֖וֹד לְדַעְתָּֽהּ:

Then Judah recognized [them], and he said, "She is right, [it is] from me, because I did not give her to my son Shelah." But he no longer continued to be intimate with her.

After the brothers sojourn to Egypt to buy food, Yosef accuses them of being spies and demands that they return with their brother Binyamin in order to prove their innocence. Yaakov refuses to send Binyamin and reject’s Reuven’s guarantee of his safety. Yehudah strategically waits, and when the food had been depleted, makes a case to his father of the necessity to return with Binyamin. Yehudah takes personal responsibility for Binyamin’s safety, and Yaakov relents.

בראשית מג:ט

אָֽנֹכִי֙ אֶֽעֶרְבֶ֔נּוּ מִיָּדִ֖י תְּבַקְשֶׁ֑נּוּ אִם־לֹ֨א הֲבִיאֹתִ֤יו אֵלֶ֙יךָ֙ וְהִצַּגְתִּ֣יו לְפָנֶ֔יךָ וְחָטָ֥אתִֽי לְךָ֖ כׇּל־הַיָּמִֽים׃

I will guarantee him; from my hand you can demand him. If I do not bring him to you and stand him up before you, I will have sinned against you forever.

After returning Egypt, the brothers begin their journey home only to have Binyamin arrested. Yehudah speaks on behalf of the brothers, accepting their lot to be slaves. When Yosef suggests that only Binyamin remain behind, Yehudah makes a personal appeal and demands to stay in place of Binyamin.

בראשית מד:לב–לג

כִּ֤י עַבְדְּךָ֙ עָרַ֣ב אֶת־הַנַּ֔עַר מֵעִ֥ם אָבִ֖י לֵאמֹ֑ר אִם־לֹ֤א אֲבִיאֶ֙נּוּ֙ אֵלֶ֔יךָ וְחָטָ֥אתִי לְאָבִ֖י כׇּל־הַיָּמִֽים׃ וְעַתָּ֗ה יֵֽשֶׁב־נָ֤א עַבְדְּךָ֙ תַּ֣חַת הַנַּ֔עַר עֶ֖בֶד לַֽאדֹנִ֑י וְהַנַּ֖עַר יַ֥עַל עִם־אֶחָֽיו׃

For your servant assumed responsibility for the boy from my father, saying, 'If I do not bring him to you, I will have sinned against my father forever.’ So now, please let your servant stay instead of the boy as a slave to my lord, and may the boy go up with his brothers.

Yehudah exhibits the essential qualities of leadership. He is strategic, take initiative, and takes full responsibility for his commitments. The brothers, and perhaps he himself, did not feel he navigated the situation of Yosef’s sale properly. But he bounced back from this. He stepped up in subsequent episodes demonstrating his leadership capabilities. He is therefore sent ahead as the leader of the Bnei Yisrael, the sons of Israel and the Jewish people.

I worked out these ideas with my good friend Rafi. Wishing his son Judah a Mazal Tov on his Bar Mitzvah this Shabbat.

References

Rosenberg, A. (1980). A new English translation of the Hebrew Bible text and Rashi, with a commentary digest. New York: Judaica Press. Retrieved from: https://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/

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