Summary of parashat Vaigash
Judah approaches Joseph to plead for Benjamin's release, offering himself as a slave to the Egyptian leader in his brother's place. After witnessing his brothers' loyalty to one another, Joseph reveals his identity, saying, "I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?""
The brothers are overcome with shame and remorse, but Joseph comforts them. "It wasn't you who sent me here," he tells them, "but God. It was all ordained from heaven to save us, and the entire region, from famine.""
The brothers hurry back to Canaan with the news. Jacob travels to Egypt with his sons and their families, seventy souls in all, and is reunited with his beloved son after 22 years. On the way to Egypt, he receives the Divine promise: "Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will surely bring you out of there.""
Joseph gathers all the wealth of Egypt by selling food and seeds during the years of famine. Pharaoh gives Jacob's family the fertile land of Goshen to settle in, and the children of Israel prosper in exile in Egypt.
