For your servant became a guarantor for the lad unto my father, saying: If I bring him not unto you, then I shall have sinned against my father forever. (Bershith 44:32)
According to Rashi the words in the portion's opening verse, "... and let not your anger burn against your servant" (Bereshith 44:18), suggest something about the way in which Judah presents his case before Joseph on Benjamin's behald. Rashi explains, "From this we learn that Judah spoke to him harshly." Judah's need to stand up to Joseph himself and present his case so firmly, to the point of having to excuse himself for his strong tone, is etched in the nature of the commitment he had toward both Benjamin and his father, Jacob.
The concept of collective responsibility is a cornerstone in the social structure of our people. As the Talmud in Shavuot (39a) teaches, "All of Israel are responsible for one another." The Chafetz Chaim z"l illustrates by way of example the nature of this mutual responsibility: Reuven lends Shimon money, and Levi signs as a guarantor for Shimn. After some time, Levi finds out that Shimon is about to invest the money unwisely. Levi is convinced the investment will be lost and that he will have to pay Reuven in Shimon's place. He tries to discourage Shimon, and when this fails, confronts him forcefully. When Shimon rebuts that he never borrowed anything from Levi and owes him nothing, Levi continues to protest for he knows that, as guarantor, he will have to cover Shimon's debt.
The Chafetz Chaim sees this as being parallel to the Jewish people's collective responsibility. If one's friend is about to commit a sin, that person is to feel personally responsible, as if he or she was a guarantor for that person's conduct.
If a fellow Jew falters, each one of us has a stake and a share in that failure. This was the passion with which Judah confronted Joseph, as someone who had a personal stake in Benjamin's fate, as if he were a guarantor on a loan document who saw an investment about to go bad. This sense of commitment, collective responsibility, and passion, was what drove Judah, in Rashi's view, to speak to Joseph in such harsh tones.
The Hebrew word for guarantor, AREV, derives also from the root of the word meaning sweet, desirable. This was an added dimension to Judah's plea before Joseph. Here Judah alluded to the loving relationship, the mutual interdependence that characterized his bond with Benjamin. This kind of plea, founded on firm conviction and couched in human fragility, was more than Joseph could withstand. It ultimately led to Benjamin's release, and Joseph's revealing himself to his brothers with the words, "I am Joseph."
With those words, everything suddenly became clear to the brothers. In that single moment, all mysteries, past and present, were resolved. So too, the Chafetz Chaim teaches us, when the day comes that God will reveal himself to us with the words "I am God," all of our questions regarding events, past, present, and future will find answers.
