VaYigash: (They Long to Be) Close to You

Parashat VaYigash begins with the phrase "VaYigash Yehudah-- and Judah drew close."  After the climax of Joseph's encounter with his brothers ended in a cliffhanger (with Joseph threatening to jail Benjamin) at the conclusion of Parashat Miketz, Judah now will attempt to appeal to Joseph person-to-person, father-to-father in an effort to defuse the situation and calm this Egyptian vizier, whom he does not yet recognize as his brother.

Commentators both classic and modern highlight this episode as proof that Judah (and perhaps Joseph as well) has undergone a dramatic shift in character.  No longer concerned only for the gratification of his personal needs and desires (seen most dramatically in Genesis 38), he is able to appreciate what the imprisonment of his youngest brother would mean to his father, and realizes that he must use all his powers of persuasion to try to resolve things.  Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, in their musical about the Joseph narrative, devotes one line to Judah's transformation: "And Joseph knew by this his brothers now were honest men..."

Certainly, the playwrights have oversimplified the situation in an effort to conclude their show on a happy note.  Neither the musical nor the Torah really take the time to unpack all of the feelings (spoken and unspoken) that would undoubtedly come to light following such a reunion.  We can only imagine that the closeness that Judah has the courage to initiate (which circumvents a decided imbalance of power that must have been palpable in the room) is merely the beginning of a series of conversations that will need to be had over the ensuing days and weeks so that true reconciliation can take hold.

While Carpenters' "Close to You" is speaking of romantic closeness, not a filial bond, it nonetheless feels fitting for this particular parasha.  Had Judah not let his guard down and sought this closeness, who knows how the narrative might have unfolded?

Please note, I do not own-- nor do I claim to own-- these songs.  Copyrights are held by the various artists.  I include them here for illustrative purposes.
(They Long to Be) Close to You- (VaYigash, Genesis 44:18-47:27)
Music and lyrics by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, performed by Carpenters.  From the album "Close to You," A & M Records, 1970.