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Vayigash | Moving to Egypt

21.09.2014
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This shiur is dedicated to the memory of Ze'ev Wolf ben Shlomo Packer by his loving children and grandchildren, the Sterman, Packer, and Sicklick families.

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      This week's parsha sees "the family" - Jacob and his clan - making the move to Egypt.  This family, currently numbering a mere seventy souls, will reside permanently in Egypt for the next four hundred years (1).  And when they leave - with the number of males alone recorded at six hundred thousand men (2) - this will be the much celebrated Exodus, marking the birth of the Israelites as a fully fledged independent nation.

 

At the moment of their descent to Egypt, what did the family of Jacob know as regards the significance of their actions?  Did they know that they were moving to Egypt for the long-term future?  Let us examine the evidence.  What were the plans of the family?

 

Joseph tells his brothers:

 

Now, hurry back to my father and say to him, "... come down to me without delay.  You will dwell in the region of Goshen...  There will I provide for you - for there are five years of famine to come - that you and your household and all that is yours may suffer no want" (45:9-11).

 

     According to this text, it would seem that Joseph's offer of residence in Egypt has a precise purpose.  It is aimed at assisting his family to survive the famine.  This purpose gives us an accurate idea of the minimum duration of their stay.  There are five years of famine and therefore, the family should be staying for five years.  But, one would imagine that upon the return of rain to the region and the ensuing agricultural prosperity, Jacob and his family would return to their natural home - the Land of Canaan.

 

This is Joseph's plan.  What is Jacob's thinking?

 

They came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan.  And they told him, "Joseph is still alive; yes, he is ruler over the entire land of Egypt."  His heart went numb, for he did not believe them ... when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to transport him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived.  Israel said, "That's it!  My son Joseph is still alive!  I must go and see him before I die!" (45:25-28).

 

     According to these verses, why is Jacob travelling to Egypt and for what duration?  It would seem that his agenda is simply to see Joseph, to spend some time with him.  If this is the case, he will stay a month or two and then return.  This journey represents no historic move.  This is a visit to see the kids, the grandchildren.  There is no permanence about this journey.  It is a family trip!  In the words of Rav Ovadia Seforno, "I must go and see him ... but I will not stay there as he proposes."  The trip to Egypt should not last anywhere near a five year period.

 

JOY AND FEAR

 

We have analyzed the evidence, but one piece of the jigsaw is still missing: How is it that the family of Jacob does not return to its land?  They stay for more than a few months, for more than five years.  They do not leave Egypt for hundreds of years!  What happened?  Was there something which forced them to stay in Egypt once the famine was over?

 

We will look for an answer to this question in the lines which describe Jacob's descent to Egypt.

 

Israel said, "That's it!  My son Joseph is still alive!  I must go and see him before I die!"  So Israel set out with all that was his, and he came to Beer-Sheva, where he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.  God called to Israel in a vision of the night: "Jacob!  Jacob!"  He answered "I am here."  And He said, "I am the God, the God of your father.  Fear not to go down to Egypt, for I will make you there into a great nation.  I Myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I Myself will also bring you back; and Joseph will put his hand upon your eyes."  So Jacob set out from Beer-Sheva.  The sons of Israel put their father Jacob and their children and wives in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent to transport him ... and the wealth that they had amassed in the land of Canaan.  Thus, Jacob and all his offspring with him came to Egypt (45:28-46:6).

 

     This is Jacob's finest moment.  Joseph is alive!  He is to see the son whose death he has mourned for the past twenty-two years.  His life has completely turned around.  The unexpected has happened, the undreamable has become reality. 

 

But look at the way God addresses Himself to Jacob: "Fear not to go down to Egypt."  We are a little bewildered, why does God approach Jacob to allay his fears?  Jacob is happy, revived, rejuvenated.  For what reason would Jacob feel apprehensive on this exhilarating day?

 

Rashi tells us that God comes to reassure Jacob for "He (Jacob) was troubled by the fact that he was being forced to leave the land (of Israel)."  Jacob fears his exit from the land of Canaan.  According to the Radak, this is why he addresses his prayers and sacrifices specifically to "the God of his father Isaac."

 

... for Isaac had desired to descend to Egypt in the face of famine and God had warned him, 'Do not go down to Egypt, dwell in this land'(26:2).  Now Jacob offered sacrifices at Beer-Sheva for that was the border of Canaan, and before he left the land he wanted to know whether God would prevent him from leaving as he had prevented his father.  Thus he induced prophecy by bringing sacrifices ....

 

According to Rashi and the Radak, the central issue here is the worry of leaving Israel.  Rashi might be drawing upon a similar situation - a divine communication to Jacob - a "vision of the night" that occurred at Beit El many years earlier.  Then, Jacob was also leaving the land of Canaan.  He was on the run, a fugitive from his angry brother Esau.  He had dreamed of a ladder with angels moving up and down.  What was the message of the dream?  The angels were angels of protection and in that night-time vision God appeared with a message promising Jacob safety and wellbeing during his sojourn outside the Land.  He is told then - just as here - "I will protect you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land" (28:15).  Now, Jacob finds himself in a similar situation.  Aware that his father never left the Holy Land, he feels the need for reassurance and God's blessing before he crosses the border into foreign territory.  The visions mirror each other.

 

GALUT

 

But this is not the sole reading of this passage and not the only explanation for Jacob's mysterious fear.  There is a second approach which sees the entire passage as far darker, and of greater historic significance.  The Ramban puts it this way:

 

When Jacob came to take the journey to Egypt he "saw" (intuited?) that the exile was going to begin with his children, and he was frightened.  He offered sacrifices ... so that the divine judgement (midat ha-din) should not be cast out harshly against him.  He chose Beer-Sheva as this was an established place of prayer for his fathers (3).

 

For the Ramban, it is the impending period of exile that engenders Jacob's fear.  He is concerned that this short journey will lead into a lengthy period of suffering and homelessness.  Other commentators echo this reading of the text, linking it to Abraham's vision when he was informed of a future era of exile and persecution (4).  God tells Abraham how his children will be enslaved and oppressed, "Your seed will be a stranger in a foreign land" (15:13).  On the receipt of this news, Abraham is described as possessed by a great fear.  There, God reassures Abraham; "Do not fear" He tells him.  Here, Jacob too is frightened.  He is filled with dread.  "Could this be the beginning of that exile?" he asks himself.  God comes to give him some reassurance.

 

The Ramban picks up on another detail which reinforces his thesis here.  He notes how with the start of the "vision of the night," Jacob's name changes in the Torah text from Israel - his "higher" name - to Jacob, his more simple name.  Why?  The Ramban (v.2) explains:

 

After God had pronounced "You will no longer be called Jacob, for Israel shall be your name" (35:10), it was only appropriate that God should refer to him by that name!  But here, he called him Jacob to hint that he will no longer "fight with Gods and men and be victorious" (32:29).  For they shall be in the house of slavery until they arise out of it, for the exile begins at this moment with Jacob.

 

     Exile begins at this very moment.  Israel transforms back into Jacob, and a dark era of exile is ushered in.  This is a good reason to exhibit fear.  There is much to be apprehensive about.  The Torah narrative captures this mood of impending trouble in a very powerful way when it uses the same phrase with minor variations to describe Jacob's journey TO Beer-Sheva and his journey FROM Beer-Sheva.  Jacob's first leg of the journey is described in this way:

 

The spirit of their father Jacob revived ... So Israel set out with all that was his, and he came to Beer-Sheva (45:27,46:1).

 

But after he receives the tidings of exile:

 

The sons of Israel put their father Jacob ... in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent to transport him ...  Thus Jacob and all his offspring with him came to Egypt (46:5-6).

 

The change in Jacob is tangible through these verses.  Israel has now become Jacob.  The man who strode down to Egypt with such confidence, enlivened by the thought of meeting his long lost son, is now dragged down to Egypt.  He does not lead the family as he had planned.  He must be led to Egypt reluctantly, by his sons.  Even the descriptions of the wagons themselves evoke a certain exilic tone.  Before (v. 27) they were described as "the wagons that Joseph had sent."  But now they are "the wagons that Pharaoh had sent."  Jacob and his family are becoming "strangers in a foreign land" (15:13), coming under the protective hand of the unpredictable Pharaoh.

 

The promise that "Joseph will put his hand upon your eyes" also transforms itself.  Rather than being indicative of Joseph's care: "You will not need to keep even an eye open over your affairs.  Joseph will worry about all your needs" (Seforno), the verse would seem to take a darker tone: "Joseph will put his hand on your eyes: This is what the living do to the dead after their passing.  They close the eyes of the dead.  God is telling Jacob that Joseph will be present at the moment of his death" (Chizkuni).

 

And so, the exhilaration of the journey to Joseph, to Egypt, is transformed to feelings of nervousness, fear, trepidation and uneasiness as exile slips in through the back door surreptitiously, almost unnoticed.  Already at this stage, we - the reader - know, along with Jacob, that this journey is more than a trip to see the grandchildren.  It is not even a five year stay to survive the dangers of famine.  This is galut.  The dreaded depths of exile are beginning.

 

The verses that describe the descent to Egypt are ceremonial in their tone.  The names of the family members are listed and counted as if to inform us that this event is of historic significance:

 

These are the names of the children of Israel who entered Egypt...  all the souls from the house of Jacob who entered Egypt - seventy in number (46:8-27).

 

A historic moment.  The act has been done.  The hurdle has been crossed.  The exile has commenced.

 

THE DIVINE PLAN AND THE JOSEPH STORY.

 

This is one of the classic instances in the Joseph story where the "Godly plan" would seem to supersede the plans of humans in a rather remarkable way.  This is a recurring theme in the story and worthy of our attention.  A fine example of this would be - years earlier - when Jacob innocently sent an unsuspecting Joseph to find his brothers.  This simple action led Joseph to his brothers and to slavery.  The verse states (37:14):

 

He sent him from the valley (depths) of Hebron.

 

Rashi comments (ibid.):

 

"But Hebron is on a hill! ...  However, it refers to the deep promise of the righteous one (Abraham) who was buried in Hebron.  It was a fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham, "Your seed will be strangers in foreign land."

 

     Rashi's comment seems to indicate that events are transpiring on a dual track.  Jacob thinks he is sending Joseph on a simple mission to his brothers.  But the Torah text belies a deeper significance to this mission.  In God's mind, these were the first steps of the exile.  Joseph's journey to his brothers sent Joseph to Egypt, which brought the family to Egypt, which began the process of enslavement.

 

Likewise here.  Joseph plans to save the family from starvation.  Jacob plans to visit his long-lost son.  God has larger plans.  He is putting into gear a historic plan of exile and redemption, and the birth of a nation. 

 

It would appear that there is a human agenda and a Godly agenda.  Man works at his plans, but God has a way of turning the actions of man into the jigsaw pieces of His masterplan.

 

BENEFITS OF EXILE - THE BIRTH OF A NATION.

 

To gain a greater insight into God's plans for exile, let us examine a phrase - uttered by God to Jacob in his "vision of the night" -  and highlighted by the Seforno in a sharp and incisive way.  In his words to Jacob, God advises him that he should not fear the descent to Egypt, "For there I will make you into a great (large) nation" (46:3) The Seforno comments:

 

Indeed, if his sons would continue living here (Canaan), they would marry into the local tribes and would begin to mix with them becoming intermingled.  In Egypt, however, this was not going to happen, "For the Egyptians will not eat bread with the Hebrews (5)" (43:32) and thus they will become a distinct nation.  This is echoed by the Rabbis in their statement(6): "They became a nation there (Deut. 26:5) - this teaches us that they remained apart and distinct there (in Egypt)."

 

What the Seforno is telling us here is a deep insight into the need for an exilic period.

 

The question that is proposed here is; how does a family become a nation?  How does the family of Jacob become the nation of Israel?  Abraham, in his time, was concerned about this issue.  He was adamant.  "You may not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites amongst who I dwell"  (24:4).  It was Abraham who sent his slave to Mesopotamia to find a wife for Isaac.  Jacob too traveled there himself to find a wife.  The aim here was to ensure minimum contact between the family of Abraham and the pagan value system of Canaan.  Taking a girl from a foreign land would ensure her total absorption in the House of Abraham with its monotheistic beliefs and practices.

 

But how long can this continue?  How long can the family remain separate?  As the family grows, they are going to be forced to marry the local Canaanite girls.  And life being what it is, the likelihood is high that the sons of Jacob will slowly become absorbed into the Canaanite way of life, celebrating with the Canaanites, living their culture.  This is not solely an issue of differing values, or religious traditions.  There is a demographic concern here; that in time, Jacob's family will fade into oblivion.  The Canaanite tribes are the dominant majority.  Jacob's family is a tiny group.  How will the small family retain its distinctiveness as it grows and marries into the dominant group and not merge with the majority culture?  How are we to protect the unique monotheistic value system of Abraham and grow as a normal nation at the same time? Already the sons of Jacob; Judah (38:2) and Simeon (46:10); have married Canaanites(7).  Joseph has married the daughter of an Egyptian priest (41:45).  How can the family expand into a nation here in Canaan without losing its unique identity?

 

The answer given by the Seforno: Exile.  A hostile society.  Go to a place where they resent you, where they do not want to mix with you or marry you.  There you will be forced by society to "marry-in", to remain within the family unit.  You will grow without outside influence.  You will retain your distinct identity because you will be seen as different.  To the Egyptians, you ARE different.  After a number of generations, the family will have grown, will have matured and metamorphosed into a nation.  At this point, the nation can be "transplanted" back to Canaan.  The theory is quite ingenuous!

 

HOSTILITY

 

This somewhat controversial thesis posits that only in an environment of exclusion, may the gestation of the Jewish nation take place.  Ironically - according to this hypothesis - a period of time in a hostile Egypt was essential for the successful "coming of age" of the Jewish people as a nation.  Egypt, was certainly an environment with a certain hostility towards Jacob's family.  The Torah records how, even prior to the regime of slavery and forced labor, the Egyptians had reasons to resent Jacob's family.

 

First, the fact that is mentioned by the Seforno.  The  Egyptians would be unprepared to "break bread" with a Hebrew foreigner.  For some reason, that is left unexplained, this practice was considered as abominable.  Maybe there were racial issues involved, maybe a simple resentment towards outsiders, but at any rate, the seeds of animosity were in place.

 

Additionally, there is the brothers' profession.  When Joseph introduces his brothers to Pharaoh, he is careful to instruct them, in precise words, what to say to the great leader.

 

When Pharaoh summons you and asks, "What is your occupation?"  you shall answer, "Your servants have been breeders of livestock from the start until now, both we and our fathers" - so that you may stay in the region of Goshen.  For all shepherds are abhorrent to Egypt.

 

The precise aim of Joseph's careful instruction is unclear.  Why tell Pharaoh that you are in the shepherding trade if that very profession is abhorrent to the Egyptians?  What was Joseph trying to achieve?

 

Clearly there is a discussion on this point by the commentators, but for our purposes we will draw upon the approach of the Netziv - Rabbi Naftali Zvi Berlin - living during the years of emancipation in the Jewish communities of Poland.

 

Abhorrent to the Egyptians: And therefore he will not want you to reside in the main population center.  This was Joseph's plan, to manipulate things so that he will achieve the desired aim; that of seclusion.  Even if it were to mean that Pharaoh would see his father and brothers in a negative light, it was definitely worth it, in order that the family may preserve and protect "the holiness of Israel."

 

The children of Israel residing in Egypt are in a fragile position.  They are seen as Hebrews, shepherds.  No one would want to mix with them.  And at any rate, they live outside the population centers in the countryside of Goshen.  They achieve their own self-made Jewish ghetto in Egypt!  All of this, in order that they retain a certain distinctiveness.  It is clear, however, that in the long run, their advantage would also be their loss.  There is no doubt that these feelings of rejection towards Jacob's family would set in place the foundations for the regime of slavery of an entire nation.

 

CONCLUSION

 

This then, is the Seforno's understanding as to why in Egypt specifically, we would become a great nation.  Why "there I will make you into a great (large) nation" (46:3).  There and specifically there!  Egypt's racial policies and religious caste system would ensure that the family of Israel could become the Israelite nation without interference.  The exile was also a means of Jewish survival.  Maybe this was behind Joseph's words when he spoke about his sale into slavery with his brothers many years afterwards:

 

... although you intended me harm, God intended it for the good, so as to bring about the present result - the survival of a numerous people (50:20).

 

Shabbat Shalom.

 

 

ENDNOTES:

 

(1) 430 years to be exact.  See Ex. 12:40.

(2) Ex. 12:37.

(3) Genesis 21:33, 26:23-25.

(4) The berit bein ha-betarim - see 15:12-21 but especially, "Your seed will be a stranger in a foreign land and they will be enslaved and oppressed - four hundred years ... and afterwards they shall come out with great possession" (15:13-14).

(5) The Hebrew word here is "Ivrim" - sometimes translated simply as foreigners rather than Hebrews.

(6) This statement might be familiar from the Haggada.

(7) See Rashi on 37:35 and Ibn Ezra on 46:10 who argue as to the identity of the wives of Jacob's sons.  The Ibn Ezra claims that they married women from the surrounding tribes, whereas Rashi suggests that they married within the family.

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