Closing Message - Rabbanit Bracha
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Cain and Abel, Yitzchak and Yishmael, Yaakov and Eisav, Yosef and his brothers.
The stories we have been reading about brothers so far in the book of Breishit have been disheartening and discouraging.
The first three words of this week's Parasha, VaYigash, mark a monumental shift in brotherly relations. וַיִגַשׁ אֵלָיו יְהוּדָה
Yehudah approached Yosef, physically and emotionally stepping up, shouldering the responsibility of Binyamin’s welfare just as he had promised his father Yaakov.
Yehudah offered his own life in exchange for Binyamin’s release and safe passage home. His passionate plea to release Binyamin touched Yosef’s heart, leading him to reveal himself to his brothers and to reconciling with them.
Rav Sarotsken, in his book Oznayim LaTorah, points out that with this one unselfish and courageous act, Yehudah established a friendship between himself and Binyamin that had far-reaching effects on these two brothers and their descendants along the path of Jewish history.
God clearly approved of this friendship and helped foster and sustain it. When the Israelites emerged from the desert and completed their conquest of Cana’an, they used a lottery system to divide up the land between the tribes. Seemingly by coincidence, Yehudah and Binyamin were allotted adjoining lands, sharing a border with each other and deepening their special bond of brotherhood. Perhaps to honor this remarkable harmony between them, the Beit HaMikdash in Jerusalem, the heart and soul of the Jewish people, was built partly on Yehudah’s land and partly on Binyamin’s land. And, when the kingdom of David was split in two, Yehudah and Binyamin remained loyal to each other and together they created Mamlekhet Yehudah - the Kingdom of Yehudah.
Let us follow this model of camaraderie and alliance, friendship and fellowship with our community and with our neighbors. Whether it is offering a meal for someone sitting shiva, donating to support POTS, joining an in-person minyan, or making phone calls to help alleviate loneliness, we can all do our part to foster brotherhood and sisterhood, erasing the borders between us.
Reminder to all to take good care of ourselves and each other. Try to do something specific today that strengthens you, and something else that strengthens someone else.
