This week’s Torah portion, Vayigash, opens as Judah pleads with Joseph (whose identity is still disguised) to free his brother Benjamin. Judah says that his father Jacob will surely die if Benjamin is not brought home, and asks to be enslaved in place of Benjamin. Joseph does not accept the offer. The confrontation intensifies. Finally, Joseph clears the room of Egyptians, and reveals his identity to his brothers. He tells them that he bears no grudge against them for selling him into slavery years before. "Your actions were part of a Divine plan," he assures them. "I was sold down to Egypt for a greater good: to provide our family with sustenance during this terrible hunger."

Joseph sends his brothers back to Israel, along with chariots to bring Jacob and their families down to Egypt. Before Jacob leaves Israel, G-d appears to him in a vision, and assures him that He will be with him in Egypt. G-d promises that eventually the Jewish family will return to Israel as a mighty nation. When Jacob and his family arrive in Egypt, Pharaoh asks to meet them. On Joseph’s advice, they tell him that they are shepherds who wish only to tend their flock. Pharaoh offers them the land of Goshen, a region far removed from the immorality that pervades Egyptian culture – a location they had desired.

The portion concludes with explaining how the Egyptians survived during the years of hunger. Joseph sold all the food supply he had stored over the seven abundant years and saved the money in Pharaoh’s treasuries. When the Egyptians  ran out of money, they sold their properties to Joseph in return for food. He allowed them to use their previously owned fields, but they now had to pay a 20% flat tax to Pharaoh’s treasury.