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Parshat Vayetzei: Genesis 28:10-32:3;
Hosea 12:13-14:10.
T
he word "Jew" is derived
from the name of the biblical
figure Judah, one of the 12
sons of our patriarch Jacob. But what
was so significant about Judah that we,
as a people, bear his name?
Judah certainly wasn't the most
famous of Jacob's sons (that would
of course be Joseph — the one with
the Technicolor dream coat and the
Broadway musical). Judah
was the fourth son born
to Jacob and Leah, and his
birth is noted in parshat
Vayetzei.
Leah is the wife that
Jacob married inadver-
tently, the one he mistook
for this true love, Rachel.
Leah feels the sting of being
the less-favored wife and is
constantly trying to become
more esteemed in Jacob's
eyes. In her desperation to
be loved, Leah names her
first three sons accordingly;
the names Reuven, Shimon and Levi
all mean some form of "God has seen
my pain and will now make Jacob love
me:'
When she gives birth to her fourth
son, Judah, she chooses a radically dif-
ferent approach, saying, "for this one
I will be grateful." The name Judah,
from which we get the word "Judaism,"
is derived from the same Hebrew root
as todah and means grateful.
With the birth of Judah, Leah real-
izes that, while her life will never be
exactly what she wants it to be, it still
is possible to be grateful.
As Judah grows up, however, much
of what we learn about him does not
paint a pretty picture. His actions
seem callous and self-centered, not
exactly the kind of person after whom
you dream of being named. It is at
Judah's suggestion that he and his
brothers sell Joseph into slavery. It is
at Judah's suggestion that they fake
Joseph's death and cause their father
immeasurable grief and heartache
with their lie.
We can try to understand why he
has done these things. Joseph has been
the favorite son since birth. Being
Rachel's son, he is the recipient of the
bulk of Jacob's love. Judah's life hasn't
been "fair" and his frustration toward
Joseph is understandable. No matter
how logical, Judah's choices have left
his father bereft and the family torn
apart.
However, later in life, Judah has the
opportunity to revisit the relationship
with his brother. Joseph
has since risen to power in
Egypt and the brothers have
gone to Egypt to procure
food rations during the
famine. When Joseph delib-
erately places Benjamin,
Rachel's youngest son, in
a perilous situation, Judah
once again finds himself
faced with the opportu-
nity to easily sell a favored
brother short to save him-
self.
Yet this time, Judah real-
izes what the impact of that
decision would be on his father and
reveals his true identity to Joseph.
When Judah was born, his mother
was able to express gratitude even
though she realized things would never
be perfect; she would never be loved
exactly the way she wanted to be, yet
that was not an excuse for seeking
revenge or closing her heart.
Because Judah is able to do the same,
a broken family is reunited; Judah
becomes the ancestor of King David;
the Temple is built in Jerusalem; and
to this day, we, as a nation, carry his
name. We are Yehudim, those who are
thankful. Life rarely unfolds the way we
think it should.
In this season of Thanksgiving, we
should remind ourselves to be thank-
ful. The name Judah does not mean,
"thank you for giving me exactly what
I wanted:' It acknowledges God in our
lives and says, "Thank you for helping
me appreciate what I already have:'
Happy Thanksgiving.
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