The Return of Yehudah
Most of us know that King David, and as an extension Moshiach, come from the tribe of Yehudah.
Yehudah was a strong and powerful leader who shined even among all the other sons of Yaakov. However, what makes him so great isn’t just his ability to lead, it’s his ability to admit when he messes up.
Nobody is perfect; we all make mistakes. The only question is if we can own up to our mistakes and course correct.
This is the power of Yehudah.
The power of the Baal Teshuvah!
When his daughter in law Tamar was about to be killed for harlotry, he could have stayed quiet and let her die. Nobody would have ever suspected that Yehudah was the father of these seemingly illegitimate children.
Yet Yehudah not only comes forward and admits that he messed up by sleeping with Tamar, he even seizes the moment to admit that he messed up by not letting Tamar marry his youngest son.
He comes completely clean, owns up to everything, and doesn’t let any negative emotions of “lower self” cloud his judgment.
This was an incredible spiritual feat accomplished by Yehudah and we again see him pulling off a similar accomplishment in the beginning of Parshath Vayigash.
Having already admitted to himself that he sinned against his father by selling Yosef, he now takes a strong stand to protect Binyamin. In this short passage is hidden deep secrets of Messianic Teshuvah and redemption.
Sometimes we know that we’ve messed up in the past, and yet somehow, beyond our very control, we seem to be back in the same predicament.
Not always do we even have the strength and power necessary to win the battle.
So we look up to Hashem and we say:
״אדני שאל את עבדיו לאמר היש לכם אב או אח״
“My Lord asked his servants if we have a father or brother.”
Hashem, You set us up! You put us in this predicament; You placed us on this world in the situation that we’re in.
My Lord, please don’t let me repeat the mistakes of the past. Hashem Help Me!
It is at that moment that we manage to reveal the deepest depth of revelation, the revelation that God is there with us. The revelation that the one who has been pressuring me is really my brother.
That we aren’t being punished, just realigned and repositioned in order to access our true selves.
In that moment, what we thought was the hardest test suddenly becomes the most magnificent gift. We see the purpose of it all and our own personal growth through it; we see how it’s all meant to be. In that moment we say ברוך הטוב והמטיב even on death itself. We reveal the inner essence of Hashem and are subject to a complete paradigm shift.
It is through this shift that the Talmud states:
״אמר ריש לקיש, גדולה תשובה שזדונות נעשות לו כזכויות״
Raish Lakish says, “Great is redemption, that the wicked deeds become like righteous deeds.”
Indeed, we see this reality playing out by both scenarios of Yehudah’s teshuvah. The moment Yehudah admits that he made a mistake with Tamar, these two seemingly illegitimate children become his two sons!
The second Yehudah’s repentance is accepted by the viceroy of Egypt, he finds out that the viceroy is really his long lost brother!
It is often through the very problem that we find a deeper truth; a realization that the problem is actually a gift through which we grow.
May we all be able to own up to our mistakes, and through it achieve lofty levels of consciousness.
