<b>Then Judah came near (Gen. 44:18).</b> Scripture states elsewhere in allusion to this verse: <i>My son, if thou art become a surety for thy neighbor, if thou hast struck thy hands for a stranger, thou art snared by the word of thy mouth</i> (Prov. 6:11).
When the Holy One, blessed be He, was about to give the Torah to Israel, He asked: “Will ye accept My Torah?” “Indeed,” they replied. “Then give me a surety that you will fulfill it,” He said. “Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will be our surety,” they answered. Whereupon He responded: “Your patriarchs required guarantors for themselves, since Abraham said: <i>Whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?</i> (Gen. 15:8); while Isaac loved the one I hated, as it is written: <i>But Esau, I hate</i> (Mal. 1:3); and Jacob declared: <i>My way is hid from the Lord</i> (Isa. 40:27).” “Then our children shall be our guarantors,” they exclaimed. The Holy One, blessed be He, immediately accepted them as sureties and gave the Torah to Israel, as it is said: <i>Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou found strength</i> (Ps. 8:3). Therefore, whenever Israel neglects the Torah, the Holy One, blessed be He, exacts punishment from the sureties, as is said: <i>Thou hast forgotten the law; I will also forget thy children</i> (Hos. 4:6).
What is meant by <i>I will also</i>? The Holy One, blessed be He, said: I will also suffer because of them, for I shall be compelled to destroy those who will say each day: “Blessed be the Lord, who is to be blessed forever and ever.” Hence the verse states: <i>If thou art become a surety for thy neighbor, thou art snared</i>, etc. (Prov. 6:1). So too Judah, because he became a surety for Benjamin; only he of all the brothers confronted Joseph, as Scripture says: <i>Then Judah came near unto him</i>.