In this week’s Parashah, after going down to Mitzrayim for a second time to purchase grain with Binyamin, Yehuda tells Yosef, “Adoni Sha’al Et Avadav Leimor HaYeish Lachem Av Oh Ach?” “My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or another brother?’” (BeReishit 44:19). This statement raises a few questions of its own. While from the text it seems that Yosef had initially asked the question and Yehudah was simply acknowledging it, Chizkuni says that Yehudah volunteered the information himself. Chizkuni’s idea ties into another interpretation from the Or HaChaim that Yehudah wanted to remind Yosef of the reason that Binyamin was in Mitzrayim in the first place, and that if Binyamin does not return, his father would die of anguish. In response to the question, ~ 1 ~ Kol Torah Parashat VaYigash Yehuda answers, “VaNomar El Adoni Yeish Lanu Av Zakein VeYeled Zikunim Katan Ve’Achiv Meit VaYivatar Hu Livado Le’Imo Ve’Aviv Aheivo,” “We told my lord, ‘We have an old father, and there is a child of his old age, the youngest; his brother is dead, so he alone is left of his mother, and his father cherishes him.’” (ibid. 44:20). This too is a cryptic comment. How could Yehudah assume that Yosef had died when the last the brothers knew of him, he was sold? Rashi suggests that Yehudah had said this out of fear because if he would have said that he had another brother that was alive, Yosef might have asked to see said brother. It seems that Yosef was poking holes in the brothers’ story to get them to realize whom they were really talking to. While we can certainly understand Yehuda’s concerns and assumptions about Yosef, this exchange illustrates the importance of taking into account the factors that might influence what we say. We see that, in the end, honesty is the best policy.