In numerous drashot from over the years, Aish Kodesh sees the encounter of Yehuda with Yosef that gives our parsha its name as an allegory for prayer. As he points out, Yehuda was already speaking to Yosef, so it is unexpected for the text to describe him as drawing near to address him.
Aish Kodesh also references the midrash in Bereishit Rabba (93:3) teaching that Yehuda’s speech is filled with hidden meanings. Essentially, until this point, Yehuda and Yosef are in conversation, but they are speaking past one another. Neither truly understands the other, so they can’t be said to be properly communicating.
When Yehuda approaches Yosef, he touches his garment, and this is said to be a manner in which individuals may connect with Hashem when they are not at the level of achieving proper communion. The connection happens initially on a superficial level, behind a veil of separation. However, through concentration and purity of intention it is possible for someone to encounter Hashem as Moshe did, “face to face.”
In his sermon from the Warsaw Ghetto, Aish Kodesh emphasizes this sense of the encounter being “face to face,” as opposed to looking in another direction. When approaching Hashem in prayer, the Jewish individual should focus his attention on being in the presence of Hashem, as Yehuda was before Yosef. Even if at first he doesn’t feel the power of the prayer flowing through his heart, he should concentrate on his awareness of the presence of Hashem that is evoked when he recites the words “Blessed are You.” The prayer should not be rote or automatic, but rather approaching the Divine as Yehuda did Yosef.
“Because you are like Pharaoh in similarity,” Yehuda says to Yosef (Bereishit 44:18). Aish Kodesh asks why the double language here, accentuating imperfect alignment. It would have made more sense for Yehuda to simply say, “You are like Pharaoh.” But this is the manner of a lowly servant or a foreigner in the court of an earthly king. He is afraid to presume; He doesn’t want to state anything with too much certainty lest it be held against him by the august presence. Thus too, when the simple Jew first approaches Hashem in prayer, he is filled with fear and trepidation. However, as he stands face to face with Hashem and realizes that he is also a beloved son and chosen emissary, he attains the level we pray for – “Serve Hashem in joy” (Tehillim 100).
Through this encounter and the enduring experience of devekut – cleaving to Hashem – we encounter surpassing joy and the ongoing awareness of Hashem in our lives.
