Rated R for Responsibility

Rashi (45:27) says the last thing Yaakov taught Yosef was eglah arufah.  Was it just coincidence that this was the last subject they studied together before they were separated or was there a reason why it was the final teaching?   Rav Boruch Ezrachi explains that there was a specific reason why Yaakov taught this parsha to Yosef.  Yaakov was not oblivious to the rift that was growing between Yosef and the brothers.  He was well aware of it and didn't want anything bad to come of it.  In the parsha of eglah arufah we learn that Beis Din must take responsibility for the murder of innocent blood.  We see from here that the leaders must take responsibility for what happens.  That was the message Yaakov wanted to convey to Yosef, you dream of being a leader, if so, you are responsible to keep all the שבטים united.

The following paragraph is stolen from a Conservative Rabbi.  A medieval collection of responsa (Responsa Hokhmei Tzarfat, ed. Cooper, Jerusalem, 1973, No. 181) asks the question: why didn’t Joseph communicate with his father all the while he was in Egypt? The respondent answers that he did not communicate with his father over the two years he was in prison since a message from Joseph would only cause friction in the family. Jacob would blame his sons for Joseph’s predicament and the brothers would blame each other. To avoid family feuding, Joseph remained silent. And once he was released and made viceroy, Joseph still refused to send word back to his family since they would fear his power and disperse rather than risk the wrath of a powerful (and angry) leader who could find them and take his revenge. To avoid the break-up of his family, Joseph remained silent. Joseph’s silence may have been painful to his father but Joseph calculated that any communication would make things worse.

Rav Chaim Shmulevetz elaborates on this point (parshas Mekatz) in explanation of the midrash that Yehuda was rewarded with kingship because he took responsibility for Binyamin.  Why is taking responsibility reason to be reworded with kingship?  He explains that the job of a ruler is to take responsibility for the nation.  The one who can bear the blame for what goes wrong is the one who can take charge.  Only he is fitting to be a leader.  Therefore, it’s only fitting that Yehuda, who was willing to take responsibility should be the ruler.  He explains with the same principle why Yaakov chose of all the שבטים Yehuda to open a yeshiva in Goshen.  Why not send Levi or Yissacher who are known for their prowness in learning and for their many Torah scholars?  A Torah scholar may be able to say masterful shiurim, he may even be a fantastic teacher, but he is no leader.  What happens if the yeshiva is struck by hard times, what if the talmid chacham is aging and no longer can give over pearls of wisdom, how will the yeshiva survive?  To guarantee survival, you need someone to guarantee that no matter what the odds are, the yeshiva will continue.  That's why Yaakov sent Yehuda to establish the yeshiva.  (Obviously, this is very apropos for Rav Chaim Shmulevetz, who indeed took responsibility for the holy Mirrer Yeshiva and guided through the dark days of World War 2, through Shanghai and to Eretz Yisroel.) 

How great is the contrast between the end of last week's parsha where Yehuda seems to admit defeat, he concedes the guilt of all of the brothers and this week's parsha where he is throwing harsh words at the viceroy of Egypt.  What inspired the change?  Rav Shwab quotes from Rav Block that the difference is that at the time of the event, when the goblet was found the focus was on what was the fitting decree and the answer was guilty.  In this week's parsha, Yehuda remembers that he's the man in charge, he promised to bring Binyomin back.  It was the knowledge of this promise that gave him an additional wind of strength, he was going to go all out in order to fulfill his word.  The acceptance of responsibility for Binyomin itself opened up within himself reservoirs of strength.  Rav Bloch said that is the meaning of קבלת עול מצות, it is the קבלה that gives the person the ability to do the mitzvot no matter what is standing is the way. 

Rashi in Vayechi (49:9) says that Yehuda’s descendants merited kingship because of the teshuva that he did in saving Yosef and Tamar.  Reuven also did teshuva, so why wasn’t he rewarded?  The Rebbe (Likutay Sichos volume 15 Vayechi sicha 3) explains that the teshuva of Yehuda helped save lives, the teshuva of Reuvain almost cost Yosef his life.  The teshuva of Yehuda is a ruler's teshuva, it is a teshuva that says I'm responsible, don't blame others.  That is the teshuva of a leader, a king.  The teshuva of Reuven is great on a personal level, but a leader can't walk away from a crisis to fix his personal problem.  That is not only an act of mending, it is the greatest sin of all.  A leader must put everyone before himself.