Yehudah merits the position of kingship because of his ability
to acknowledge and overcome his mistakes. Provided by the
Orthodox Union, the central coordinating agency for North
American Orthodox congregations. Upon reviewing the stories of
two of Jacob’s twelve sons, Joseph and Judah, one may wonder why
Judah’s descendants were ultimately crowned with the kingship of
Israel rather than those of Joseph. Stories regarding their
chastity are told of both. After her first and second husbands
died, both sons of Judah, Tamar dressed as a prostitute and
seduced her former father-in-law. Joseph, on the other hand,
when confronted by his master Potiphar’s wife, who propositioned
him in the privacy of her mansion, ran away. Judah acceded to
temptation; Joseph resisted. Earlier in the Parashah the Torah
tells us that Joseph was thrown into a pit by his brothers and
about to be killed. What does Judah do? He suggests that the
brothers sell Joseph to a passing caravan of Ishmaelite
merchants. Though he is the leader of