Parasha Vayigash (ויגש) — Bereshit 44:18 – 47:27. Read on Shabbat, December 19, 2026.
Summary of Parasha Vayigash
Yehudah steps forward toward Yosef and pleads for Binyamin. He recounts the whole story, their father’s attachment to his youngest son and the pledge he himself made to bring him back, and offers to remain a slave in his place. Yosef can no longer restrain himself: he sends all the Egyptians out and reveals himself to his brothers: “I am Yosef; is my father still alive?” He reassures them, declaring that G-d sent him ahead of them to ensure their survival. He asks them to bring Yaakov and the whole family down quickly to settle in the land of Goshen. Pharaoh confirms the invitation and provides wagons. Learning that Yosef is alive, Yaakov’s spirit revives. On the way, he offers sacrifices at Beer-Sheva, where G-d tells him not to fear going down to Egypt, for He will make him a great nation and will bring him back up. The Torah lists the seventy souls of the house of Yaakov who came to Egypt. Yosef goes out to meet his father in Goshen and weeps a long while on his neck. Yaakov is presented to Pharaoh and blesses him. During the famine, Yosef sells grain to the Egyptians in exchange for their money, then their livestock and then their land, which becomes Pharaoh’s property, with a fifth of the harvest going to him. Israel settles in Goshen and multiplies.
The Themes
- Yehudah’s plea
- Yosef reveals himself to his brothers
- The descent into Egypt
Rav Raphaël Benizri’s Lectures on Vayigash
There are no lectures by the Rav on this parasha yet. Find all the available lectures on the Weekly Parasha page.
A Question for the Shabbat Table
What did it take, on the part of Yehudah and of Yosef, for the family finally to be reunited?
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Summary by the Pensées Juives editorial team. The Rav’s teachings are found in his lectures, linked above.