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November 30, 1996

UOJCA Convention Sermon (1996)

Thanksgiving Chanukah General Jewish Thought
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I have always been fascinated by the figure of Judah as he winds his way through the last part of Bereshit. He appears to me as a rather mysterious person, riven by inconsistencies: on the one hand — dark, introverted, somewhat reckless, impetuous; and on the other — a born leader, powerful, "a lion," head of the Tribes of Israel, progenitor of King David and the Messiah. He is both, of course, and that is what makes him so interesting as well as so important. But in order to understand him, we have to view him as one would a moving picture rather than a snapshot. Judah is a story in progress.When we first meet Judah, he is in an untenable position. He was denied official leadership of the brothers because Reuben was the first-born and, by the rights of primogeniture, was the presumptive leader. Then there was Joseph, the designated leader as his father's favorite and the son of his father's favorite wife, Rachel. Joseph wore the כתונת הפסים—not just a fancy and colorful sport jacket but the uniform identifying the wearer as the heir apparent of the father. Yet functionally he, Judah, was the unofficial leader—with all the additional responsibilities that such unannointed role carried.In his conduct, Judah appears considerably less than admirable. Two events mark his life as a failure, as a moral debacle. He is the propelling force in the selling of Joseph, and he is disgraced in the matter of the Tamar affair. In each case, he suffers a shattering shock at having his sins bared. Consider how deeply embarrassed he must have felt when Joseph revealed himself—"I am Joseph your brother"—and Judah was the very one who said "Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites"! And how terribly chagrined he must have been when Tamar exposed him! He had unilaterally condemned her to life-long celibacy (it occurs to me that she was the first agunah in Jewish history!), and when he discovers she is pregnant he immediately assumes she is an adulteress and he forthwith orders her execu…
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