Yehuda realized that before locking horns with the Egyptian vizier, he should first check to see if perhaps the situation is the result of a simple misunderstanding.
In the opening verse of Parashat Vayigash, Yehuda introduces his plea to Yosef by begging, “Let your servant say something in my master’s ear…” Several commentators struggle to explain Yehuda’s intent in describing his petition as spoken “in my master’s ear.”
The Beit Halevi suggests a particularly novel and insightful approach, one which sheds new light upon the nature and purpose of Yehuda’s monologue that occupies the first section of this parasha. According to the Beit Halevi, Yehuda asked Yosef if he could speak to him directly, without the use of an interpreter. Earlier, in Parashat Miketz (42:23), we are told that the brothers and Yosef (whose identity was unknown to the brothers) spoke via an interpreter, as Yosef concealed his true identity and conducted himself as a native Egyptian. But now, as Yehuda pleads his case before Yosef in an effort to secure Binyamin’s release, Yehuda begs the Egyptian vizier to allow him to speak with him directly.
The reason, the Beit Halevi explains, is that Yehuda understandably grew suspicious of Yosef’s unreasonably harsh treatment of him and his brothers. It simply made no sense to him, for example, that the vizier would baselessly accuse them – who, like countless others from across the region, came to Egypt to purchase grain – of spying the country. Yehuda was further confounded by Yosef’s bizarre obsession with his younger brother, Binyamin, and his demand that he come to Egypt. In short, the vizier’s conduct toward an innocent family coming to purchase grain aroused Yehuda’s suspicion that perhaps the interpreter was not doing his job properly, that inaccurate translation led to Yosef’s otherwise inexplicable charges.
Yehuda therefore approached Yosef and asked to speak to him directly, without the muddling effect of a suspect translation. His intention, as it emerges from his appeal to Yosef, was simply to review the sequence of events to ensure that there was no miscommunication between the two parties. Yehuda wanted the vizier to hear with his own ears Yehuda’s account of the brothers’ meetings with Yosef, to ensure that what Yosef heard the first time around is indeed what the brothers had said.
Of course, Yehuda’s inkling proved incorrect, as Yosef had indeed correctly understood everything the brothers had said. Nevertheless, Yehuda’s appeal to Yosef perhaps reminds us of the importance of proper communication between quarreling parties. Very often, disagreements and fights result from simple misunderstandings and miscommunication. Unfortunately, even when the misunderstandings are noted, the scars from the argument remain and do not quickly heal. Yehuda realized that before locking horns with the Egyptian vizier, he should first check to see if perhaps the situation is the result of a simple misunderstanding. This should serve as an instructive example for all situations where one considers initiating an argument. It is advisable to first explore the possibility of a simple misunderstanding, before hurling accusations or initiating any sort of conflict.