This week's Torah portion, Vayigash (And He Approached), is a continuation of last week's portion, which recounts Joseph's encounter with his brothers, who had sold him into slavery nearly forty years earlier. Near the climax of Joseph's revelation to his brothers, the Torah tells us of a conversation between Judah and Joseph.
Judah had personally promised to bring his younger brother, Benjamin, back to their father Jacob's house. However, when a stolen item is found in Benjamin's sack, Joseph proposes that he remain in Egypt as a slave while the rest are free to return to the Land of Canaan.
Faced with this possibility (that Benjamin would remain in Egypt), Judah steps forward and asks Joseph, "How can I go up to my father if the young man is not with me, lest he see the suffering my father will endure?" The matter ends when Joseph finally reveals himself to his brothers and, later, brings his father and his entire family to Egypt to support them during the famine that was occurring in those days in those lands.
We know that everything the Torah tells us is because there is some important lesson for posterity, and not (only) so that we know the history of our people. What can we learn from Judah's words to Joseph?
One possible explanation: When Judah says, "How can I ascend to my Father?" he is referring to the moment of death, when every person "ascends" to their "Father" in heaven. Then Judah asks, "And the youth is not with me," meaning, the days of my youth—both in age and ability, the times in my life when I had strength, energy, an active mind, etc.—are not with me. I did not apply and use them to seek God, but rather pursued vanities and foolishness.
This is something everyone should ask themselves: How do I take advantage of the abilities and possibilities that God has given me and continues to give me every day? Do I dedicate myself to truly important matters, or am I giving in to my temptations and my own ego?
This is what Judah is proposing to us: let us make sure that when we ascend to our Father in Heaven, we have our "youth" with us.