The previous parsha ended in a cliff-hanger. What will happen next? Will it be possible for Yosef and his brothers to reconnect? Yosef could have revealed himself much earlier in the story and informed his brothers that the Egyptian ruler is none other than their long-lost brother. However, that would have proved to be an embarrassment for everyone; the family would have disintegrated instead of growing into the Jewish nation. It was impossible to erase the fact that they threw Yosef into the pit, abandoning him to be sold into slavery; yet it was possible to make amends and correct past misdeeds. This is called repentance, and our parsha tells how the brothers went through the process.

First, they are remorseful: “Indeed, we are guilty about our brother, that we witnessed the distress of his soul when he begged us, and we did not listen.” However, regret alone is insufficient. In the next stage of repentance, they prove that they have indeed changed their ways. Yosef plans to imprison Binyamin, the youngest brother, only for Yehuda to jump forward, begging Yosef to take him instead.

This is a demonstration of collective responsibility at the highest level and it corrects the error of abandoning Yosef. By showing unity and solidarity, the brothers prove that they have learned their lesson. Now, and only now, is the setting right for the emotional scene: “And Yosef could not control himself…. And he wept out loud…. And Yosef said to his brothers, ‘I am Yosef. Is my father still alive?’”

Now is the right time for the brothers to be reunited and call for their father Yaakov to come from the Land of Israel. The sin of selling Yosef will always be there, lurking in the background, but once the brothers have successfully passed the test Yosef set for them, they can now look at one another squarely in the eye.

‘They Took Away His Freedom, But Not His Faith.’

The Kesher Yehudi organization is in touch with dozens of families of hostages and organizes Shabbatot for them. They spent last Shabbat together at a Jerusalem hotel. Before Shabbat, Shelley Shem Tov, mother of Omer, addressed the participants:

Omer is still in captivity although his friend Itay, who had been kidnapped with him, was released earlier on. Itay told us that on Friday night he and Omer would take salt from a bag of pretzels, fill a bottle cap with a little bit of grape juice they happened to have, put napkins on their heads, and make Kiddush. That was the moment when they felt closest to home.

Itay also said that Omer was inspired in that moment to make a commitment to keep Shabbat. What could he do in captivity on Shabbat anyway? Well, every day at 5 o’clock in the afternoon there was a power outage, and they were given flashlights in order to be able to see in the dark. Omer decided to keep Shabbat by not turning on his flashlight on Shabbat.

I want to tell you that this makes me so proud of my son! They took away his freedom, but not his faith. I know that it’s this faith that keeps him going and protects him. And I am also certain that when he returns, he will say that he felt the power of the prayers and the mitzvot that we did on his behalf!

You will not hear about this on the news, but I think this is the headline in heaven.

‘Never’ Is Here!

Some time before Chanukah, I received a remarkable note about Pearl Kronenberg Shafier, aged 96, who had just made aliyah. Pearl was born in New York in 1928 and devoted much of her life to Jewish education. She was blessed with 84 descendants, and has seen five generations—great-great-grandchildren! She met some of these descendants here in Israel for the very first time.

After watching many of her descendants move to Israel, Pearl eventually decided to follow them. Festive and moving welcome ceremonies were held for her both at Ben Gurion Airport and in Beit Shemesh, where she is now living. “This was something that I always wanted to do,” she said. “When people would ask me when I was moving to Israel, I would always say, ‘Never say never.’ Well, never is here!”

Translated by Yehoshua Siskin

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Sivan Rahav Meir is a primetime news anchor with weekly broadcasts on television and radio. Her “Daily Thought” has a huge following on social media, with hundreds of thousands of followers, translated into 17 languages. She has a weekly podcast on Tablet, called “Sivan Says” and has published several books in English. Sivan was recognized by Globes newspaper as Israel’s most popular female media figure and by the Jerusalem Post as one of the 50 most influential Jews worldwide. She lives in Jerusalem with her husband Yedidya and their five children.