d’var torah
Prayerful Engagement
By Rabbi Nathan Martin
T Parshat Vayigash
his week’s parshah brings the
Joseph saga to its dramatic
resolution. Judah pleads with
Joseph to imprison himself rather than
his brother Benjamin, whom he had
pledged to bring home safely from
Egypt (See Genesis 44).

Something about Judah’s behavior
breaks open Joseph’s heart leading
Joseph, in an act of cathartic healing,
to cry and wail and then reveal his true
identity to his brothers.

Th is compact section of our story
speaks volumes about the human
potential for growth and transforma-
tion. Judah takes full responsibility
for his pledge of keeping his brother
safe, and Joseph is able to move away
R. Yehuda — one in which we engage
a situation and expect confl ict. While
this approach can be instrumental in
the struggle for change, it is not partic-
ularly transformational.

Judah’s second approach towards
compromise, put forth by R. Nehemia,
is more of a movement towards the
art of the possible; it suggests the idea
of not having to surrender one’s core
values but allowing a certain fl exibility
in service of a greater goal. In times of
political deadlock, fi nding paths for-
ward that help us to put aside core
diff erences toward the greater good are
important ways of cultivating a greater
sense of common purpose with each
other. But I fi nd the most intriguing teach-
ing of the midrash to be the position
of the rabbis who said that Judah’s
approach was an approach to prayer.

this person is standing before me. May
the suff ering he is experiencing to
cause him to lash out be eased.”
I am sure that you can expand upon
Judah’s inner prayer as well.

It is this third approach that seems
to be the one that leads to the most
transformation. As we continue to face challenges in
our lives, perhaps it is the call of the
rabbis in our midrash that off ers the
promise of growth. Judah’s approach is
perhaps modeling for us the question of
how can we cultivate a spiritual aware-
ness in our lives that centers openness,
humility and a call for compassion,
even if the face of irrational behavior.

Th is may not always be possible —
sometimes, change needs to be fought
for — but this approach could ulti-
mately lead to deeper transformation.

May we be inspired and fi nd ways to
emulate Judah’s prayerful approach to
confl ict in the year ahead, and trans-
form ourselves and each other. JE
Nathan Martin serves as the associate
rabbi at Congregation Beth Israel of
Media and is also the board chair of
Pennsylvania Interfaith Power and Light,
an organization dedicated to mobilizing
people of faith to take bold and just
action on climate change. Th e Board of
Rabbis of Greater Philadelphia is proud
to provide diverse perspectives on Torah
commentary for the Jewish Exponent.

Th e opinions expressed in this column
are the author’s own and do not refl ect
the view of the Board of Rabbis.

These past six years have been a
particularly politically confl ictual
period in our country’s history.

from a path of revenge towards one of
compassion. In a careful reading of the fi rst three
words of this portion, “and Judah
approached,” the midrash suggests that
Judah’s approach had diff erent possible
motivations: “ ‘And Judah approached’
R. Yehuda said it was an approach
to war … R. Nehemia says it was an
approach to compromise … and the
rabbis said it was an approach to prayer
(Genesis Rabbah 93,6).”
I fi nd this midrashic read a helpful
perspective for us today. Th ese past six
years have been a particularly politi-
cally confl ictual period in our coun-
try’s history. Th e growth of hate speech
and the siloing of online conversations
among those who share similar beliefs
and perspectives has led to a lack of
tolerance and understanding across the
political spectrum.

Th is political deadlock and con-
fl ict echo the fi rst stance of Yehuda’s
understood approach articulated by
At fi rst, this seems misplaced; is the
middle of a power struggle between the
brothers a time for prayer?
My local colleague and teacher,
Reconstructionist Rabbi Jacob Staub,
when writing about prayer, does not
see prayer as a petition to a higher
power but rather as a path that “allows
us to center our focus, to look inward,
to be elevated beyond our individ-
ual concerns,” where ultimately “the
answer to our prayers comes not from
a supernatural God but from our own
transformed hearts.”
What if this is the action Judah was
engaged with? What if Judah, under-
neath his words, was praying for his
own repair, in the form of: “I don’t have
all the answers for why this confl ict is
happening, but please give me wisdom,
patience, and an open mind and heart
to see a path forward.”
And what if he was praying for
Joseph’s healing as well, in the form
of: “I can see how distressed and angry
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