Page 188 - 24107

Vayigash ׁשַּגִּיַו

£The Psychology Underlying £The Psychology Underlying The Psychology Underlying
£
Interpersonal Communication
Interpersonal Communication
Interpersonal Communication

“Then Judah approached him and said: If you please my lord, may
your servant speak a word in my lord’s ear … for you are like Pharaoh”
(Genesis 44:18). With these words, Judah begins an impassioned
speech attempting to convince Joseph to release Benjamin from
slavery. He begs to be taken in his place, as he had promised his
father that Benjamin would come to no harm.
The peshat or straightforward reading of this passage has Judah
appealing to Joseph’s sense of mercy. However, Rashi, quoting the
Midrash (Bereishit Rabbah 93:6), offers a very different reading.
Commenting on the phrase “for you are like Pharaoh,” the Midrash
explains that Judah was not innocently complimenting Joseph, he
was actually threatening him. He was alluding to the plagues that
had befallen Pharaoh in Abraham’s time when he took Sarah away
from Abraham. Joseph “is like Pharaoh,” in that he too will face
God’s wrath if he harms Abraham’s descendants.
Throughout this book, we have discussed the notion of multiple
layers of meaning – PaRDeS – which can differ or complement one
another. Here, we would like to suggest that these two interpretations
– one peshat and one derash – can be combined to provide us with deep
insight into how interpersonal communication and relationships work.
Human beings possess a complex combination of emotions, drives,
motivations, and desires. At any given moment, a human being can
have more than one feeling about another person or circumstance.
These feelings stem from both conscious and unconscious factors and
may not only appear to be totally contradictory but may actually

165 24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 6 - A | 18-01-28 | 12:12:04 | SR:-- | Black 24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 6 - A | 18-01-28 | 12:12:04 | SR:-- | Magenta 24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 6 - A | 18-01-28 | 12:12:04 |

#

6

# 24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 6 - A | 18-01-28 | 12:12:04 | SR:-- | Magenta #24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 6 - A | 18-01-28 | 12:12:04 | SR:-- | Yellow 24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 6 - A | 18-01-28 | 12:12:04 | SR:-- | Black 24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 6 - A | 18-01-28 | 12:12:04 | SR:-- | Cyan