It is VERY uncommon for the Hebrew Bible to have its characters show any displays of emotion. This style of literature (and the time and place from which it comes) focuses much more on action- usually stories are told in lengthy, cascading lists of verbs rather than descriptive passages about what characters looked like or what they felt or thought [for a great article comparing this to Greek epics like The Iliad and The Odessey - see "Odysseus' Scar" by Eric Auerbach: http://sites.nd.edu/knownworld/files/2012/08/Auerbach_Scar.pdf]
But notably, and in a striking parallel, Joseph is acting in the same manner as his father, Jacob, when he was reunited with his brother Esau (another fractured family relationship, where reunification was not necessarily a given):
Question for break-out groups:
What are your feelings about tears? What do they represent to you? What insight might you discover into this parsha, knowing both how uncommon- but also how recent, these infrequent shows of emotion are in Torah?
from The Prophet, by Khalil Gibran
Then a woman said,
Speak to us of Joy and Sorrow.
And he answered: Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.
And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.
And how else can it be?
The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.
Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter’s oven?
And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives?
When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.
When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.
Some of you say, “Joy is greater than sorrow,” and others say, “Nay, sorrow is the greater.”
But I say unto you, they are inseparable.