"Then Judah approached him" (Genesis 44:18) - Parshat Vayigash by Rabbi Menachem Azulai shlit"a

"I am Joseph." The Tzaddik HaEmet (True Tzaddik) is revealed. The Tzaddik Yesod Olam (Righteous Foundation of the World). Joseph is everything; he is the root of everything, and from him, all abundance is drawn down to the world. Joseph succeeded in concealing his light, his power. "And Joseph was beautiful of form and beautiful of appearance" (Yefeh To'ar V'yefeh Mareh) — the initials spell "Yatom" (Orphan). The great Tzaddik is an orphan; he is completely hidden, and no one knows anything about him (Chumash "Heichal HaBracha").

The Power of Truth

What a wonderful thing truth is. There is nothing more beautiful than the truth. And how much power it possesses. If a person walks with the truth, they will see Divine assistance (Siyata Dishmaya) at every step. Why? Because Hashem yearns for truth, and the more truthful a person is, the more they merit for the light of Hashem to shine within them.

When Judah approached to lay out his arguments before Joseph, what did he have to say that hadn't already been said?

What did he have to innovate? After all, everyone knew everything.

He simply repeated the entire chain of events in detail without adding anything new. "But this is the power of truth and this is its depth. One does not need to innovate anything within it, but merely to draw it out and present it exactly as it is—everything that has already been said and everything that is known. You take and connect one thing to another and present them together, and behold, they are like new things, conquering the heart and subduing the listener" (Sefer HaParshiyot).

Judah does not despair, even if he sees that everything is blocked and there is no opening for salvation. He trusts in the truth, takes it, and presents it before Joseph, because he knows he has nothing else but the one and only truth, and from it, rescue and salvation will emerge.

A person goes through what they go through; they have ups and downs. Suddenly there is some relief and understanding, and they want to say thank you to Hashem. In another instance, it is still very difficult for them, and they want to ask Hashem to help them more here. And so, they arrive at their "hour" at night, in the field [for Hisbodedus], lifting their eyes to the heavens and telling Hashem everything. They are not innovating anything for themselves, and certainly not for Hashem, before Whom everything is revealed, but it does them good. It makes them happy because this is their truth at this moment, and they said it in an organized way; it organized their mind.

Sometimes a person accuses themselves because, according to their truth, they are flawed and very distant, and through this, they despair and become even more distant. Is this truth? If it distances you from Hashem, it is not truth! Through truth, it is impossible to become distant. Truth only brings one closer. Instead of blaming yourself, strengthen yourself!

You belong to the Holy Torah. You belong to Judaism. The learning isn't going well for you, praying with proper intent isn't going well for you, you blemished here and blemished there—but you belong to the Holy Torah! You have so many holy mitzvos! Even if you aren't so special, even if you are the simplest Jew who only lives according to the Torah, you have so many mitzvos in the simplest things. How you put on and tie your shoes, how you wash your hands when you rise from sleep, or cut your nails, or touch a covered place on the body—you too belong to the service of Hashem! You too have a mission to fulfill here!

Every single person has a different part in creation that they need to rectify, and they are responsible for this part. If they do not do it, no one will do it in their place; the corruption will remain. Even if there are others more righteous than them, greater geniuses than them, they cannot do it in their place. Only they can do it because they received this portion in Godliness. And they cannot run away from it; this is their tikkun (rectification), this is their path, this is what they need to fix.

We want the absolute truth. We are looking for the absolute truth that belongs to us, in this moment and in every moment and every hour. We want to know every moment what Hashem wants from us at that moment, in the context of our mission toward ourselves and toward those around us.

What disturbs us? What confuses us? What distances us from the truth? Our sense of self-importance (yeshus), the ego, the honor—all the things that turn us into angry, dissatisfied, strict, and deprived people. When we struggle with these things, neutralize them, and succeed in casting them aside, we then merit immense joy; we merit a touch of that wonderful verse of King David in Psalms: "And I will rejoice in Hashem."

Do you want closeness to Hashem? Be a man of truth. Keep away from falsehood to the very last extreme. "Hashem is close to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth" (Psalms 145).

Falsehood and truth serve us in a mixture. Just think: in a single day, how many questions were we asked where we weren't precise? How much did we alter? How much did we evade? And how much did we explicitly answer incorrectly? And if this is in one day, then what of two days... a week... And most of all, we lie to ourselves. That we are learning enough, that we know enough, that we are right.

Do we look first at ourselves and at our own blemishes and deficiencies before we attack the other for their blemishes and deficiencies? If we looked at ourselves with the eye of truth, we would see that we are no better, and we would be capable of seeing the other person's justice as well. Truth is the foundation upon which the entire building stands. Hashem yearns for truth. That we shouldn't exaggerate, that we shouldn't inflate, that we should be precise. To the very last extreme. That we educate the children to tell the truth. That they shouldn't be afraid of our reaction, the parents. Because if they are afraid, they come to lying, as Rebbe Nachman says in Sefer HaMiddot: "Lying comes about because one accepts upon himself fear of people." This is true between parents and children, and it is also true between spouses. When one fears the reaction of the other, one gets used to lying. But when one feels that one can tell the other everything, because even our mistakes are received with understanding and forgiveness, then one gets used to speaking only the truth.

Truth is joy. A person speaks the truth, and they immediately feel Hashem. Joseph can no longer restrain himself, and he reveals himself to his brothers. "I am Joseph." And he adds, "And now, do not be sad." Now, when the truth is revealed, there is no more sadness, no more anger, no more wonderment, and no more fears. There is only joy.

When a person is connected to their truth, they live in joy. They know their level; they don't climb too high. The Torah explicitly warns: "Keep far from a false matter!" Keep away from falsehood. Falsehood is such a terrible thing, more than anything. When a person merits to check every single thing before letting it out of their mouth, what a great thing that is!

It is told of the holy Shelah (Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz) that he had a student who would not utter a single word from his mouth without thinking and checking if it was absolute truth. He would check everything before saying it. The holy Shelah asked him how he merited such a trait of truth that was literally ingrained in his bones. The student told him that he and all his brothers received this trait from their father, who would always warn them to speak only the truth. And this was the condition he made with them: "If it happens that you did something not good—you broke something, destroyed something, committed a transgression, Heaven forbid, etc., anything at all—come and tell me the truth, and I will not punish you! And not only will I not punish you, but I will forgive you with complete forgiveness, and I will give you a prize for telling the truth, and I will also help you fix what you spoiled. On the other hand—pay attention! If I ever catch you lying, any lie whatsoever, for whatever reason, I will punish you with such severe punishments, and I will not forgive it at all! Because the most important thing is that you always tell only the truth!" And so, they became accustomed to always saying only the truth!

A person is in darkness, feeling bad, having completely lost their joy—what is the advice Rebbe Nachman gives him? To speak a word of truth. What a truthful sentence: "Father, have mercy." "Father, I can't take it anymore." "Master of the World, until when?"

There are descents in life, but Hashem promises us that even in the descents He is with us, sees us, feels us, accompanies us, and does not leave us for a moment. From the Parsha: "I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up" (Genesis 46:4). And it is brought in the holy books that in this verse, all the ascents and descents that pass over a person are hinted at. And if he remembers that Hashem is with him every second, even when he is at the peak of darkness—if he remembers, then it becomes easier for him. Then he begins to understand that everything is Hashem's mercy, wanting to bring him closer to Him, that everything happens to heal him, to rectify, to refine, to wash, to purify; that is the sole purpose of the suffering passing over him. That is the truth.

Everything stands on the truth. This is the foundation of the Torah, this is the foundation of Emunah (faith), this is the foundation of the entire world. The truth. From here, everything is built. And what is the truth? That Hashem does everything.

Joseph tries to calm his brothers: "It was not you who sent me here, but God" (Genesis 45:8). You didn't send me to Egypt. Hashem sent me. Calm down. Hashem does everything. And not only does Hashem do everything, everything is for the good! "For God sent me before you to preserve life" (Genesis 45:5), so that I could provide you with parnassah (livelihood) during the years of famine.

We came here to understand that there is a Master of the World, and He determines everything and does everything, and whatever we merit to do is because He gives us the strength to do it. That is the truth. The opposite of this is the lie of "My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth." When a person understands this truth, they frequently turn to Hashem and ask Hashem to help them with everything.

We forget; Joseph did not forget. Even when he was in prison for 12 years and even when he was king over all of Egypt for 80 years, he constantly remembers Hashem and mentions Hashem.

And how is it that a person succeeds even without turning to Hashem? Even without praying? Such a person loses all connection with the Creator and lacks the delight and joy that belongs to one who believes and clings to Hashem. This is in this world, and who knows what he loses, Heaven forbid, from his portion in the World to Come.

"Truth is something we mention at least three times a day: 'Truth is our King, there is nothing else' (Emet Malkeinu Efes Zulato) — without Hashem, I am zero. Everyone who wants the truth needs to make a soul-reckoning and ask themselves: Can I do anything without the Holy One, Blessed is He? Can I succeed in anything without the Holy One, Blessed is He? The answer is no! If so, what is in my power to do? Only to pray for every single thing, and to give thanks for every single thing. And just as in material matters, so too in spiritual matters. Every spiritual virtue, everything is from the hand of Hashem. And every spiritual failure and deficiency—it is because more prayer is needed, more desire; apparently, the vessel you built to receive the abundance is not yet complete" (HaMevarech Et Amo Yisrael BaShalom).

When Joseph decides to reveal his identity to his brothers, he commands, "Let everyone go out from me." I want to remain alone with my brothers. Only when everyone leaves does he say: "I am Joseph"!!! Why? What is the reason he sent everyone out? The holy Rashi explains: Lest his brothers be shamed before those present, therefore he sent them out. This is the beauty of Judaism. The main thing is not to hurt, not to shame, to guard the dignity of the other. The main thing is to forgive. Like Joseph the Tzaddik. Despite everything his brothers did to him—stripping his clothes off him, sealing their hearts against his weeping and pleading, throwing him into a pit full of snakes and scorpions—he forgives. "I am Joseph your brother whom you sold into Egypt." Why did he add "your brother"? Isn't it enough to say "I am Joseph"? Rather, he wanted to say: despite the fact that you sold me to Egypt, I remain your brother; there is no grievance in my heart, no anger, no hatred.

Interpersonal relationships (Bein Adam L'Chavero) are above all else; this is the truth of Judaism. It is brought in the name of the holy Baal Shem Tov that it is worthwhile for a person to live eighty years just to do a favor for a Jew, even once, and even a material favor, and even a small favor, almost valueless, insignificant. Even that will be recorded in the Book of Chronicles. We need to relate to others, to greet them with a shining face, to draw them close, to pray for them, to make them happy, at least with what we can, and what we cannot do—then at least in the heart.

A story is told about Rabbi Yeruchem Levovitz zt"l, the Mashgiach of the Mir Yeshiva, who was traveling on a train. At the moment the carriage doors locked, one glove slipped from his hand out the window and fell onto the platform. Rabbi Yeruchem could not manage to get off the train and take the glove because the train had already started moving. In a decision taking only a single second, he removed the first glove [the remaining one]... for he himself would no longer be able to enjoy and use one glove, but at the very least, now the person who finds both gloves together will be able to enjoy and use them.

It is hard to understand the magnitude of the love possessed by Rav Yitzchak Kaduri, the elder of the Kabbalists, zy"a. He would pray at the Kotel on Sukkot, and it would take him an hour to get from the Sukkah to the Kotel because people would approach him for blessings. He was 90, 100 years old, and he would bless everyone, shining his face upon everyone. After his death, they found dozens of volumes full of names and requests. His son related that for everyone who came to him, he would write down their name, the date they came, and the request. What for? So that he could pray for them again and again. He had such Ahavas Yisrael (Love of Israel) that it is impossible to describe at all.

Unity, love, and peace—this is what Hashem wants from us. The story of Joseph and his brothers is a message for generations; it is a story that comes to teach us how not to bear a grudge, how to forgive, how to judge favorably, and even to love those who erred and hurt us.