The subject of our chapters is the well-known story of Yosef and his brothers, the intrigues and jealousy that caused Yosef’s “sale” that, in turn, led to his servitude in the home of Potiphar, chief of the slaughter-men or butchers of the pharaoh.

For refusing the amorous advances of his wife’s master, Yosef is jailed and demonstrates his intellectual and spiritual abilities by correctly interpreting the dreams of two detainees. That aptitude is remembered by one of them, the cupbearer when he returns to the monarch’s grace.

When astrologers fail to adequately explain Pharaoh’s dream, the cupbearer suggests that Yosef be brought from the depths of prison to interpret the dream. Yosef’s intelligence and spirituality come to the fore by the brilliance of his interpretation and the suggestions that suggest taking advantage of the prediction contained in the dream.

To avail himself of the exceptional gifts of the young man, Pharaoh appoints Yosef as his second in command to lead the fate of the Egyptians for years to come. Events necessarily unfold according to divine design and the brothers are forced to travel to Egypt to buy food because of the famine that envelops the region. The difficulties inherent in this mission led the brothers to remember their original crime: Yosef’s “sale”. What caused this tragic event?

There was a competition for leadership among the brothers. On the one hand, Reuven, the oldest, and on the other side was Yehudah, fourth in age, but with great charisma and clear leadership qualities. The story of the “sale” begins when the elderly father Yaacov sends Yosef to inquire about the welfare of the brothers who had gone far away from home in search of pasture for their flocks. As soon as the brothers saw Yosef from afar, they decide to assassinate him,  perhaps because they think that he came to spy on their behavior and then rat about them to the father, just as he had done before.

The exegetes point to Shimon and Levi as the probable protagonists of this sinister plan, since they had shown unusual cruelty in the case of the violation of their sister Dina. 

It is then that Reuven assumes the leadership of the firstborn and suggests that they not kill Yosef in order not to bear responsibility for shedding his blood.  It was better, he argues, to throw him into a well where he will not be able to survive.

After the first encounter with the brothers who came to buy food, Yosef – who has not yet made himself known to his brothers – demands that Binyamin accompanies them on their next visit, a fact that will sustain the veracity of their story. The father, who is still mourning because of Yosef’s disappearance, refuses to allow it, and the brothers Reuven and Yehuda, present arguments about the necessity of Binyamin to participate in the next trip to Egypt. Reuven offers his children as guarantors for Binyamin’s safety, but the argument does not convince the father, because the possible loss of his youngest son could not be compensated with the lives of his own grandchildren.

Yehudah argues that in case of an accident that would occur with Binyamin, he – Yehudah – will remain in moral debt to the father for the remainder of his days. But moreover, Yaacov knows that Yehudah had suffered the personal loss of two sons, Er and Onan, and, therefore, had great personal empathy for the pain that the death of a son produces. Yehudah showed tangible sensitivity in the face of possible tragedy.

Yehudah became the factual leader because he assumed responsibility for his conduct in the case of his daughter-in-law Tamar.

Indeed, at the crucial moment of the trial for adultery, when Tamar showed the clothes belonging to the man responsible because of her pregnancy, Yehuda publicly acknowledged that the garments belonged to him. He could have ignored the evidence during the trial and permit the fulfillment of the death penalty of Tamar, thereby erasing an obscure fact from his recent past. Since due to the seductive dress of Tamar, Yehuda had a casual sexual relationship with her by assuming she was a prostitute.

Yehudah did not evade duty in the face of the precarious and dangerous situation of Tamar and showed the fundamental characteristic of a leader: take responsibility for the facts, without taking into account the consequences. One of the reasons why an individual is willing to follow the command of another is because he knows that that person will always tell the truth and will not abandon him, notwithstanding the “cost” and the danger it implies for the leader.

The bravery of nowadays Israeli soldiers is also related to the knowledge, with complete certainty, that his companions will never abandon him and that will do what is humanly possible in order to rescue him in case he falls into enemy hands.

This behavior is inherited from the example of Yehudah who received the trust of his brothers and became their leader as a forerunner of the Kings of Israel. In the words of Yaacov “lo yasur shevet miYehudah” the scepter of kingship will never be taken away from Yehudah.