Midrasz do Rodzaju 46:28

Regarding that which the verse states: “Shaḥarayim begot children in the field of Moav [after he had sent them away, Ḥushim and Baara his wives]” (I Chronicles 8:8), Elijah, of blessed memory, asked Rabbi Nehorai, he said to him: ‘What is this that is written: “Shaḥarayim begot in the field of Moav”?’ [Rabbi Nehorai] said to him: ‘A great man begot in the field of Moav.’ “After he had sent them away” (I Chronicles 8:8) – as they were from the tribe of Benjamin, as it is written: “The tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying” (Judges 20:12).¹⁴³Just as the term “sent” appears in Judges regarding the tribe of Benjamin, the verse in Chronicles is hinting to the fact that the man’s wives were from the tribe of Benjamin.
Another interpretation, “Shaḥarayim,” this is Boaz. Why was his name called Shaḥarayim? It is because he was free [meshuḥrar] of iniquities. “Begot in the field of Moav,” as he begot from Ruth the Moavite. “After he had sent them away,” as he was from the tribe of Judah, as it is stated: “And he sent Judah before him to Joseph” (Genesis 46:28). “Ḥushim and Baara his wives,” does a man beget his wives? Rather, he was swift like a leopard and articulated the halakha:¹⁴⁴He expounded the verse: “An Amonite and a Moavite shall not enter the congregation of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 23:4). An Amonite but not an Amonite woman, a Moavite but not a Moavite woman. “He begot from Ḥodesh his wife” (I Chronicles 8:9) – it should have stated only, “from Baara his wife.” Rather, in his days, the halakha of an Amonite but not an Amonite woman, a Moavite and not a Moavite woman, was introduced [nitḥadsha].
One verse says: “Yitra the Ishmaelite” (see I Chronicles 2:17), and one verse says: “Yitra the Israelite” (II Samuel 17:25). Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: He is Yitra the Ishmaelite, he is Yitra the Israelite.¹⁴⁵Both verses refer to the same person. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman and the Rabbis: Rabbi Shmuel said: He was an Ishmaelite, and you say Israelite? Rather, he was an Ishmaelite. He entered the study hall and found Yishai sitting and expounding thus: “Look to Me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth…” (Isaiah 45:22).¹⁴⁶Anyone from all the ends of the earth can look to God and be saved. He converted, and [Yishai] gave him his daughter. The Rabbis say: He was an Israelite, and you say Ishmaelite? Rather, he was an Israelite and he girded his sword like an Ishmaelite. He stuck his sword in the middle of the study hall and said: I will either kill or be killed until I establish the halakha for the multitudes, so that anyone who abrogates this halakha, I will behead him with this sword: An Amonite but not an Amonite woman, a Moavite and not a Moavite woman.

And he sent Judah before him (Gen. 46:28). May our master teach us: When is the blessing over the light offered at the expiration of the Sabbath? Thus do our masters teach us: The blessing over the light (i.e., the Havdalah ceremony) is not pronounced until one benefits from the light (for reading). Whence do we learn this? From the Holy One Himself, blessed be He, as is said: And God saw that the light was good (Gen. 1:4). After that Scripture states: And God divided the light from the darkness (ibid.). R. Ze’era the son of Abahu said: Thus we learn that we do not bless the light at the expiration of the Sabbath until one can benefit from the light.

And he sent Judah before him (Gen. 46:28). Scripture says elsewhere in reference to this verse: The wolf and the lamb shall feed together (Isa. 65:25). Observe that whomever the Holy One, blessed be He, afflicts in this world, He heals in the world-to-come. The blind, for it is written: The eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of deaf shall be unstopped (Isa. 35:5); the lame: Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall speak (ibid., v. 6). In the same way all others shall be healed.

And he sent Judah before him (Gen. 46:28). Scripture states elsewhere in reference to this verse: The envy also of Ephraim shall depart … Ephraim shall not envy Judah (Isa. 11:13). Jacob our patriarch sent Judah before him because he believed that Judah had killed Joseph at the time he brought him the coat of many colors, as it is said: And he knew it, and said: “It is my son’s coat; an evil beast hath devoured him” (Gen. 37:33). An evil beast refers to Judah, since it is said: Judah is a lion’s whelp. And Jacob said to Judah: “Thou art the one who hath rent him asunder.” Whereupon Jacob rent his garments … and all his sons and daughters rose up to comfort him (ibid., vv. 34–35).

(Gen. 46:28:) NOW HE HAD SENT JUDAH AHEAD OF HIM UNTO JOSEPH. This text is related (to Is. 65:25): THE WOLF AND THE LAMB SHALL FEED TOGETHER….³⁰Tanh., Gen. 11:8; Gen. R. 95:1. Come and see how whatever the Holy One has smitten in this world is healed in the world to come. The blind are healed, as stated (in Is. 35:5): THEN THE EYES OF THE BLIND SHALL BE OPENED. The lame also are healed, as stated (in vs. 6): THEN THE LAME SHALL LEAP LIKE A HART. And the dumb shall be healed, as stated (ibid., cont.): AND THE TONGUE OF THE DUMB SHALL SHOUT FOR JOY. Everyone shall be healed, but just as one goes (to the grave), so he comes < back >.³¹Sanh. 91b; Eccl. R. 1:4:2; see yKil. 9:4 (32b). If he goes blind, he comes < back > blind. If he goes deaf, he comes deaf. If he goes lame, he comes lame. If he goes dumb, he comes dumb. Just as one goes clothed, so one comes clothed. Thus it is written (in Job 38:14): IT IS CHANGED LIKE CLAY UNDER A SEAL; THEY STAND FORTH AS < IN > A GARMENT. From whom do you learn this? From Samuel. When Saul raised him, what did he say to the woman (of Endor)? He said to her: What do you see, AND (according to I Sam. 28:14) SHE SAID: IT IS AN OLD MAN RISING, AND HE IS WRAPPED IN A ROBE; for he had been so clothed, as stated (in I Sam. 2:19): HIS MOTHER WOULD MAKE A LITTLE ROBE FOR HIM. So why is it that, just as one goes (to the grave), so one comes < back > ? So that the wicked of the world will not say: After they died, would the Holy One have healed them and later brought them < back >? It would seem that these are not the same ones (who died), but others. The Holy One said: If so, let them rise just as they went (to the grave), and afterwards I will heal them. Thus it is stated (in Is. 43:10): < SO THAT YOU MAY KNOW THAT > … BEFORE ME NO GOD WAS FORMED. Then later the beasts are healed, as stated (in Is. 65:25): THE WOLF AND THE LAMB SHALL FEED TOGETHER…. And why? Because it (the serpent)³²For this interpretation, see Gen. R. 95:1 and also 20:5. has brought everything to dust.

Another interpretation (of Is. 65:25): THE WOLF AND THE LAMB SHALL FEED TOGETHER, < AND THE LION LIKE THE OX SHALL EAT STRAW >. (Ibid.:) THE WOLF: This is Benjamin, as stated (in Gen. 49:27): BENJAMIN IS A RAVENOUS WOLF. (Is. 65:25, cont.:) AND THE LAMB: This represents the tribes, as stated (in Jer. 50:17): ISRAEL IS A SCATTERED FLOCK…. (Is. 65:25, cont.:) SHALL FEED TOGETHER: When? When Benjamin went down with them, and Jacob said (in Gen. 42:38): LET NOT MY SON GO DOWN WITH YOU. When the hour arrived for him to go down with them, they placed him in their midst and watched over him. And so Joseph (in Gen. 43:29): LIFTED HIS EYES AND SAW HIS BROTHER BENJAMIN, THE SON OF HIS MOTHER…. (Is. 65:25, cont.:) THE LION: This is Judah, as stated (in Gen. 49:9): JUDAH IS A LION'S WHELP. (Is. 65:25, cont.:) LIKE THE OX: This is Joseph, since it is stated (in Deut. 33:17): LIKE A FIRSTLING BULL HE HAS MAJESTY. (Is. 65:25, cont.:) SHALL EAT STRAW, when they have been found eating together, as stated (in Gen. 43:33): AND THEY SAT DOWN BEFORE HIM FROM THE FIRST-BORN ACCORDING TO HIS BIRTHRIGHT. Therefore (in Gen. 46:28): NOW HE (Jacob) HAD SENT JUDAH AHEAD OF HIM.

And he sent Judah before him (Gen. 46:28). Scripture states elsewhere: Behold, I send My messenger, and he shall clear the way before Me (Mal. 3:1). Observe that every misfortune that occurred to Joseph likewise befell Zion. It is written of Joseph: and Israel loved Joseph more than all his children (Gen. 38:3), and of Zion it is written: God loves the gates of Zion (Ps. 87:2). Concerning Joseph it is stated: And they hated him (Gen. 37:8), and about Zion: She hath uttered her voice against Me, therefore I have hated her (Jer. 12:8). With reference to Joseph it is said: For behold, we are binding sheaves (Gen. 37:7), and in regard to Zion: Ye shall come home with song, bearing sheaves (Ps. 126:6). It is written of Joseph: Shalt thou indeed rule over us? (Gen. 36:8), and of Zion: That sayeth unto Zion: “Thy God reigneth” (Isa. 52:7). Joseph: And Joseph dreamed a dream (Gen. 37:5), and Zion: When the Lord brought back those that returned to Zion, we were like unto them that dream (Ps. 126:1). Joseph: Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down to thee? (Gen. 37:10), Zion: They shall bow down to thee with their face to the earth (Isa. 49:23). Joseph: And his brothers envied him (Gen. 37:11), Zion: I am jealous of Zion with great jealousy (Zech. 8:2). Joseph: Go now, see whether it is well with thy brethren (Gen. 37:14), Zion: Seek the peace of the city (Jer. 29:7). Joseph: They saw him from afar off (Gen. 37:18), Zion: Remember the Lord from afar off (Jer. 51:50). Joseph: And before he came near unto them they conspired (Gen. 37:18), Zion: They hold crafty converse against the people (Ps. 83:4). Joseph: And they stripped Joseph of his coat (Gen. 37:23), Zion: They shall strip thee of thy clothes (Ezek. 23:26). Joseph: They took him and cast him into the pit (Gen. 37:24), Zion: They have cut off my life in the dungeon (Lam. 3:53). Joseph: And the pit was empty (Gen. 37:24), Zion: And in the pit there was no water (Jer. 38:6). Joseph: And they sat down to eat bread (Gen. 37:25), Zion: We have given the hand to Egypt, and to Assyria, to have bread enough (Lam. 5:6). Joseph: And they drew near and lifted up Joseph (Gen. 37:28), Zion: Ebed-Melech the Cushite drew him up (Jer. 38:13). Joseph: And Jacob rent his garments (Gen. 37:34), Zion: And in that day did the Lord, the God of hosts, call to the weeping (Isa. 22:12). Joseph: All his sons and all his daughters rose to comfort him (Gen. 37:35), Zion: Strain not to comfort me (Isa. 22:4). Joseph: And the Midianites sold him into Egypt (Gen. 37:36), Zion: The children also of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the sons of the Jevanim (Joel 4:6).

[Gen. 46:28:) NOW HE HAD SENT JUDAH.] The text is related (to Is. 11:13): THEN EPHRAIM'S JEALOUSY SHALL DEPART.³³Tanh., Gen. 11:9; Gen. R. 95:2. < He was sent > because our father Jacob thought that Judah had killed Joseph because he had brought him the tunic, about which it is stated (in Gen. 37:33): HE RECOGNIZED IT AND SAID: MY SON'S TUNIC! AN EVIL BEAST HAS EATEN HIM. Now AN EVIL BEAST is nothing but a lion.³⁴According to Gen. 49:9, JUDAH IS A LION’S WHELP. So Jacob said to him: You have torn him to pieces, and you are going to tear his brother to pieces. You would not have torn him to pieces except out of jealousy. Immediately (there follows in Gen. 37:34): THEN JACOB RENT HIS GARMENTS….

(Gen. 37:35, cont.:) SO HIS FATHER WEPT FOR HIM. What is written next (in vs. 36)? BUT THE MIDIANITES SOLD HIM INTO EGYPT. The Holy One said to Judah: You have no children; therefore you do not know what the pain of children is. Now you have deceived your father and told him: Your son is dead. By your life, when you take a wife you shall bury your sons in order that you may know the pain of children. What is written next (in Gen. 38:1-10): NOW IT CAME TO PASS AT THAT TIME THAT < JUDAH >…. (The verses continue with the story of Judah's marriage to Shua, the birth of three sons, and the death of two of them.) It is also written (in Gen. 46:12): < AND THE SONS OF JUDAH: ER, ONAN, SHELAH, PEREZ, AND ZERAH >; BUT ER AND ONAN HAD DIED < IN THE LAND OF CANAAN >. Now all those years that Joseph had been away from his father, Jacob's mind had been against Judah.³⁶Tanh., Gen. 11:9, specifically states in the parallel account, “It was in Jacob’s heart that Judah had killed him.” See also above. From where do you learn that? From Benjamin, about whom Judah said to Joseph (in Gen. 44:32): FOR YOUR SERVANT HAS BECOME SURETY FOR THE LAD. Then, as soon as he had set his mind on Benjamin and Joseph had made himself known, Judah was found to be innocent, as stated (in Is. 11:13): THEN EPHRAIM'S JEALOUSY SHALL DEPART, < AND THOSE WHO HARASS JUDAH SHALL BE CUT OFF >…. Therefore (in Gen. 46:28): NOW HE HAD SENT JUDAH AHEAD OF HIM UNTO JOSEPH.

And he sent Judah before him (Gen. 46:28). Jacob sent Judah before him to establish an academy wherein he might teach the Torah as he had previously done for the tribes. You know that he taught his sons earlier from the fact that Jacob remembered the chapter of the Torah that Joseph was studying with him at the time of his disappearance. When Joseph’s brothers returned and told him: “Joseph is yet alive” … his heart fainted, for he believed them not (Gen. 45:26). Jacob recalled the chapter of the Torah that Joseph was studying at the time of his departure, and he said to himself: “I know that he was studying the portion devoted to the beheaded heifer.”¹³See Deut. 21:1–9. Whereupon he turned to them and said: “If he gave you something to indicate the chapter he was studying when he departed from here, I will believe you.” Joseph had also remembered the chapter he was studying when he was separated from his father. What did Joseph do? He gave them wagons (ibid., v. 21). When Jacob saw the wagons (‘agalot), the spirit of their father revived forthwith.¹⁴Word-play relating ‘agalot (“wagons”) to kelayot (“kidneys”), stated in the next paragraph to be the organ through which Abraham learned and retained the law. This teaches us that wherever Joseph went, he devoted himself to the law, as his ancestors had done before him, even though the Torah itself had not yet been given. And thus it is written: Because that Abraham hearkened to My voice and kept My laws (Gen. 26:5).

[Gen. 46:28:) NOW HE HAD SENT JUDAH.] The text is related (to Mal. 3:1): BEHOLD, I AM SENDING MY MESSENGER TO CLEAR A WAY BEFORE ME…. Come and see. Everything which happened to Joseph happened to Zion.³⁷Tanh., Gen. 11:10. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 37:3): NOW ISRAEL LOVED JOSEPH; and it is written about Zion (in Ps. 87:2): THE LORD LOVES ALL THE GATES OF ZION. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 37:4): THEY (Joseph's brothers) HATED HIM; and it is written about Zion (in Jer. 12:8): < MY HOUSE > HAS SET ITS VOICE AGAINST ME, THEREFORE I HAVE HATED IT. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 37:7): AND HERE WE WERE BINDING SHEAVES; and it is written about Zion (in Ps. 126:6): HE SHALL SURELY COME BACK BEARING HIS SHEAVES WITH REJOICING. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 37:8): THEN HIS BROTHERS SAID TO HIM: SHALL YOU INDEED REIGN OVER US? And it is written about Zion (in Is. 14:7): WHO SAYS TO ZION: YOUR GOD REIGNS. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 37:5): ONCE JOSEPH DREAMED A DREAM; and it is written about Zion (in Ps. 126:1): WHEN THE LORD BROUGHT BACK THE RESTORATION OF ZION, WE WERE LIKE DREAMERS. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 37:10): ARE WE TO COME, I AND YOUR MOTHER AND YOUR BROTHERS, AND BOW DOWN TO THE GROUND FOR YOU? And it is written about Zion (in Is. 49:23): THEY SHALL BOW DOWN FOR YOU, NOSE TO THE GROUND, AND LICK THE DUST OF YOUR FEET. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 37:11): SO HIS BROTHERS WERE JEALOUS OF HIM; and it is written about Zion (in Zech. 8:2): I AM JEALOUS FOR JERUSALEM WITH A GREAT JEALOUSY. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 37:14): PLEASE GO AND SEE HOW YOUR BROTHERS ARE FARING (shalom); and it is written about Zion (in Jer. 29:7): AND SEEK THE WELFARE (shalom) OF THE CITY. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 37:18): NOW THEY SAW HIM FROM AFAR; and it is written about Zion (in Jer. 51:50): REMEMBER THE LORD FROM AFAR. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 37:18): THEY CONSPIRED AGAINST HIM TO KILL HIM; and it is written about Zion (in Ps. 83:4 [3]): THEY DEVISE INTRIGUE AGAINST YOUR PEOPLE. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 37:23): THEY STRIPPED JOSEPH < OF HIS TUNIC > ; and it is written about Zion (in Ezek. 23:26): AND THEY SHALL STRIP YOU OF YOUR CLOTHES. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 37:24): AND THEY CAST HIM INTO THE PIT; and it is written about Zion (in Lam. 3:53): AND THEY HAVE DESTROYED MY LIFE IN THE PIT. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 37:24): BUT THE PIT WAS EMPTY WITH NO WATER IN IT; and it is written about Zion (in Jer. 38:6): AND THERE WAS NO WATER [IN THE PIT], ONLY MUD. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 37:25): THEN THEY SAT DOWN TO EAT BREAD; and it is written about Zion (in Lam. 5:6): < WE HAVE HELD OUT A HAND TO EGYPT >, TO ASSYRIA TO BE FILLED WITH BREAD. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 37:28): THEY PULLED AND RAISED JOSEPH FROM THE PIT; and it is written about Zion (in Jer. 38:13): {AND EBED-MELECH THE ETHIOPIAN BROUGHT JEREMIAH UP}…. [AND THEY RAISED JEREMIAH BY THE ROPES AND BROUGHT HIM UP FROM THE PIT]. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 37:34): THEN JACOB RENT HIS GARMENTS AND PUT SACKCLOTH ON HIS LOINS; and it is written about Zion (in Is. 22:12): AND IN THAT DAY [THE LORD] GOD OF HOSTS CALLED TO WEEPING AND MOURNING, TO BALDNESS AND TO GIRDING WITH SACKCLOTH. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 37:35): BUT HE REFUSED TO BE COMFORTED; and it is written about Zion (in Is. 22:4): PRESS NOT TO COMFORT ME. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 37:36): BUT THE MIDIANITES SOLD HIM INTO EGYPT; and it is written about Zion (in Joel 4:6 [3:6]): AND YOU HAVE SOLD THE CHILDREN OF JUDAH AND THE CHILDREN OF JERUSALEM TO THE CHILDREN OF THE GREEKS. All the bad things which happened to Joseph happened to Zion and likewise the good things. It is stated about Joseph (in Gen. 39:6): NOW JOSEPH WAS BEAUTIFULLY BUILT WITH A BEAUTIFUL APPEARANCE; and it is written about Zion (in Ps. 48:3 [2]): BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPE, JOY OF THE WHOLE EARTH, < EVEN MOUNT ZION >.³⁸Cf. above, 9:18. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 39:21): THE LORD WAS WITH JOSEPH; and it is written about Zion (in I Kings 9:3): MY EYES AND MY HEART SHALL BE THERE FOR ALL TIME. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 39:9): HE IS NO GREATER < IN THIS HOUSE THAN I > ; and it is written about Zion (in Ps. 99:2): THE LORD IS GREAT IN ZION. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 39:21): AND HE EXTENDED HIS FAITHFULNESS UNTO HIM; and it is written about Zion (in Jer. 2:2): I HAVE REMEMBERED IN YOUR FAVOR THE FAITHFULNESS OF YOUR YOUTH. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 41:14): HE SHAVED AND CHANGED HIS GARMENTS; and it is written about Zion (in Is. 4:4): WHEN THE LORD SHALL HAVE WASHED AWAY THE FILTH OF THE CHILDREN OF ZION. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 41:40): ONLY WITH RESPECT TO THE THRONE SHALL I BE GREATER THAN YOU; and it is written about Zion (in Jer. 3:17): THEY SHALL CALL JERUSALEM THE THRONE OF THE LORD. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 41:42): AND HE CLOTHED HIM WITH CLOTHES OF FINE LINEN; and it is written about Zion (in Is. 52:1): AWAKE, AWAKE, PUT ON YOUR SPLENDOR, O ZION. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 46:28): NOW HE HAD SENT JUDAH AHEAD OF HIM < UNTO JOSEPH TO SHOW THE WAY BEFORE HIM >; and it is written about Zion (in Mal. 3:1): BEHOLD, I AM SENDING MY MESSENGER TO CLEAR A WAY BEFORE ME.

(Gen. 46:28:) NOW HE HAD SENT JUDAH AHEAD OF HIM UNTO JOSEPH TO TEACH BEFORE HIM.³⁹This interpretation is assumed in the midrash. What is the meaning of < TO TEACH BEFORE HIM >? R. Nehemiah said: To establish an academy for him where he would teach Torah so that the tribes might study Torah.⁴⁰Gen. R. 95:3; Tanh., Gen. 11:11; also Gen. R. 94:3. You know that this is so; < for >, when Joseph had left him, Jacob knew at what chapter he had left him because he had taught him. When Joseph's brothers came and said to him (in Gen. 44:26): JOSEPH IS STILL ALIVE < … > HIS HEART GREW FAINT, because he did not believe it, as stated (ibid.): FOR HE DID NOT BELIEVE THEM. Jacob recalled at what chapter Joseph had left him. He said to them: Did he give you a sign⁴¹Gk.: semeion. < indicating > at what chapter Joseph left me? Jacob said in his heart: I know that he left me at the chapter on the heifer ('GLH, i.e., Deut. 21:1-9). He said to them: Say at what chapter he left me, and I will believe you. Joseph also recalled at what chapter he had left him. What did Joseph do? He gave them wagons ('GLH in the singular), as stated (in Gen. 45:21): SO JOSEPH GAVE THEM WAGONS. < This verse is > to teach you that in every place that he went he was busy at Torah, just as his ancestors had been, even though the Torah had not yet been given. Ergo, it is written of Abraham (in Gen. 26:5): AND HE KEPT MY CHARGE: MY COMMANDMENTS, MY STATUTES, AND MY TORAHS. From where did Abraham learn the Torah? R. Simeon ben Johay says: < His > two kidneys became like two full vessels which spouted forth Torah. And where is it shown? Where it says so (in Ps. 16:17): EVEN IN THE NIGHTS MY KIDNEYS ADMONISH ME. R. Samuel bar Nahman said in the name of R. Jonathan ben Eleazar Ish haBirah: Our father Abraham even knew the eruvim of cooked foods.⁴²See above, 3:14; also 3:1. Thus it is stated (in Gen. 26:5): BECAUSE ('QB 'ShR) ABRAHAM HEEDED MY VOICE, < AND KEPT MY CHARGE >…. Now at the age of three Abraham recognized his Creator, as stated (through the first word of this verse): 'QB (with a numerical value of 172). Since all the days of Abraham were one hundred and seventy-five, from here (Gen. 26:5) you learn (by simple subtraction) that at the age of three he had recognized him and that he was even keeping the fine points of Torah. He also taught his children, as stated (in Gen. 18:19): FOR I HAVE CHOSEN HIM SO THAT HE MAY CHARGE < HIS CHILDREN AND HIS HOUSEHOLD AFTER HIM TO KEEP THE WAY OF THE LORD, TO PRACTICE RIGHTEOUSNESS AND JUSTICE >…. The Holy One said to him: You have taught your children Torah in this world, but in the world to come I in my glory will teach them the Torah, as stated (in Is. 54:13): AND ALL YOUR CHILDREN SHALL BE TAUGHT BY THE LORD, AND GREAT SHALL BE YOUR CHILDREN'S PROSPERITY.

Another matter, “there was a small city” – this is Egypt, “and few men in it” – these are Joseph’s brothers, “and a great king came against it and surrounded it” – this is Joseph, “and built a great siege upon it” – these are the three edicts that he issued: That no slave shall enter Egypt, no person may enter with two donkeys, and no person may enter whose name and his father’s name, and his grandfather’s name, and his grandmother’s name are not documented.⁹²Joseph issued these edicts so that his brothers would have to come to Egypt themselves to procure food, and not send their slaves; so that they would all have to come, instead of sending just some of them; and so that he would be able to identify them (Etz Yosef). “He found in it a poor, wise man” – this is Judah, “and he saved the city in his wisdom” – as he said: “I will guarantee him…” (Genesis 43:9). Moreover, he said to Joseph: “Now please, let your servant remain instead of the lad…” (Genesis 44:33).⁹³Thus, Judah saved the extended family from starvation by convincing Jacob to allow Benjamin to travel to Egypt, and he saved Benjamin from slavery by offering himself as a slave to Joseph instead. “But no one remembered that poor man” – the Holy One blessed be He said: You did not remember him; I remember him, as it is stated: “He sent Judah before him…” (Genesis 46:28).⁹⁴God ensured that Judah would still play a lead role among the brothers when they moved to Egypt.