It would look bad

 Vayigash

Gen. 18 - 48:27

 

Précis: We approach the end of the Joseph saga. Benjamin is being held by Joseph as the alleged thief of a gold cup. Judah comes near (vayigash) Joseph, and begs for his brother’s life, offering himself as a substitute. Joseph is overcome and reveals himself to his brothers, forgiving them for selling him into slavery, stating that it was all part of God’s plan. Joseph sends them back home to bring Jacob and their families down to Egypt in order to survive the upcoming famine. They comply, and Joseph arranges for them to reside in the land of Goshen, living off “the fat of the land” at Pharaoh’s insistence. During the remainder of the famine, Joseph purchases land and cattle for Pharaoh, making serfs of the Egyptian people in exchange for the grain stored during the seven years of plenty. The Israelites prosper and multiply.

 

Gen. 45:1 “Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all of the retainers that stood before him, and he cried, ‘Cause every man to go out from me.’ And there stood no retainer with him, while Joseph made himself known to his brothers.’”         

            The ending of the Joseph saga approaches, as he identifies himself to his brothers, after sending out the Egyptian attendants from the room. Was this merely an insistence on family privacy? As I have mentioned, Rashi suggests that Joseph did not want to reveal to the Egyptians the brothers’ sins against him, and Rashi deduces from that an obligation to resist public shame of others.  

            In these days of increased anti-Semitism, I might suggest another rationale for Joseph’s actions: he did not want to Egyptians to know of the wrongs committed by his family because, as my grandfather would day, “It would look bad for the Jews.” We, as a People who have survived millennia of persecution, remain fearful (perhaps justifiably so) that a wrong committed by any Jew reflects adversely on all of us. This is today seen most commonly in the conflation between those who criticize Israeli policies and Jews I general. Contrary to Joseph’s decision to hide the facts, we need to actively display our belief in Israeli democracy, warts and all, and our support for the State. We may disagree with particular actions of particular Israeli governments, but is that not the mark of true freedom? Is that not the great gift of the Jewish People to the world?