BAIS HAVAAD ON THE PARSHA 5773~ PARSHAS VAYIGASH ~Arvus; Co-Signers & Guarantors

This week's parsha begins with a dialogue between Yehuda and Yosef regarding pardoning Binyomin. It is actually a continuation of the dialogue that began at the end of last week's parsha where Yosef said that he wouldn't punish anyone other than the criminal himself, to which Yehuda replied "[take me instead] because I told my father that I would take personal responsibility for him." One can ask what logic there is in Yehuda's response, if Yosef already said that he wouldn't punish anyone other than the criminal. The Be'er Yosef explains that there is a rule in the laws of guardians which teaches that one who accepts responsibility for an animal is obligated to ensure that not only does the animal not get damaged, but that it also does not damage others. As such, we see that a guardian's responsibility extends to third parties, as well. Therefore, Yehuda was correct in asserting that he is liable for Binyomin and it was reasonable to punish him instead of Binyomin since he was his guardian. This week's journal will focus on the concept of arev - guarantor, which according to the Tur is derived from our passuk.(AUDIO HERE) PRINT VERSION HERE