By Rabbi Chaim Landau, provided by the Orthodox Union, the central coordinating agency for North American Orthodox congregations. for MyJewishLearning.com
Upon reviewing the stories of two of Jacob’s twelve sons, Joseph and Judah, one may wonder why Judah’s descendants were ultimately crowned with the kingship of Israel rather than those of Joseph.After her first and second husbands died, both sons of Judah, Tamar dressed as a prostitute and seduced her former father-in-law. Joseph, on the other hand, when confronted by his master Potiphar’s wife, who propositioned him in the privacy of her mansion, ran away. Judah acceded to temptation; Joseph resisted.
Judah's Suggestion
Earlier in the Parashah the Torah tells us that Joseph was thrown into a pit by his brothers and about to be killed. What does Judah do? He suggests that the brothers sell Joseph to a passing caravan of Ishmaelite merchants. Though he is the leader of the brothers, he does not recommend that Joseph be retrieved from the pit and brought back to their father.
Moreover, Judah, according to certain midrashim, married a Canaanite woman at a time when his family was anxious about the children intermarrying. Why, one wonders, was Judah rewarded with the sovereign leadership of Israel? A good leader is not one who is perfect, but one who falters and finds the strength of purpose to make a fresh start through repentance and improved actions.
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