Rhymes for Kids
...הָדוּהְי ויָלֵא שַׁג יַו - And Yehuda approached him...(Bereishis 44:18).
Let’s recall that Yehuda is a son of Leah, who named him יהודה because she wanted to thank להודות)) Hashem for giving her this son. The Sefas Emes (Vayigash, 5631) teaches that “Yehuda” is a representation of every Jewish person, as the root of the word יהודים (Jewish people) is יהודה. And the fact that יהודה is based on the word להודות (to thank) shows that the essential function of each Jew is to give thanks to Hashem for everything He does.
Now let’s look at the opening words of the parsha: הָדוּהְי ויָלֵא שַׁג יַו - And Yehuda approached him. On a deeper level, says the Sefas Emes (ibid.), these opening words of the parsha are referring to approaching Hashem, since Yosef represents the divine spark in a Jewish person. Hence, to the question “who merits to come close to Hashem?” the words And Yehuda approached him answer: יהודה - i.e., a Jew who thanks Hashem. Based on this, continues the Sefas Emes, these words reveal to us a great segula for getting out of a difficult situation: be a יהודי! What does it mean to be a יהודי? To be a יהודי means to be a person who at any situation (including a difficult one) acknowledges that every little and major thing came from HaKadosh Boruch Hu, and then he thanks Hashem for all of them, because everything that Hashem does is for the good. A person who approaches a difficult situation in such way brings out the יהודי part of him, and consequently, as the opening words of the parsha teach us, he is able to come close to Hashem, from Whom all blessings and salvations emanate.
So next time, and any time you face a difficult situation, react to it like a יהודי - with הודאה - acknowledging that this too came from Hashem, and thanking Him for everything He did, does and will do. And that approach will give you the merit to get out of the difficult situation.
