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Was Yehuda begging or confronting when he approached Yosef? Rashi (רש"י) reads the entire passage as a posture of strength and equality, not submission. Every phrase—from "yedaber-na" to "ki kamokha k'Pharaoh"—carries a double meaning: polite on the surface, but sending a powerful message of defiance and even veiled accusation beneath.
This shiur presents a radical reading of Parshas Vayigash, challenging the superficial understanding that Yehuda approached Yosef in a posture of submission and pleading. Rabbi Zweig demonstrates that Rashi (רש"י) understands the entire passage as one of confrontation, strength, and equality, not diffidence. The analysis begins with the word "vayigash" itself, which the Torah (תורה) uses in three contexts: war (vayigash Yoav la'milchamah), prayer (vayigash Avrohom), and reconciliation (vayigash Yaakov el Yitzchok). Rashi identifies all three as sharing a common thread: the posture of approaching as an equal. When Yehuda approached Yosef, he was not crawling or begging—he was asserting himself as a force to be reckoned with, demanding accommodation rather than requesting favor.
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Bereishis 44:18 (Parshas Vayigash)
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