The events recounted in the Torah are not merely a recounting of Jewish history. In learning about our holy forefathers we are to strive to emulate their good characteristics and deeds. In the Torah portion of Vayigash, after hearing the wonderful tidings that Yosef is alive and prospering in Mitzrayim, Yaacov Avinu makes preparations to bring his family temporarily down to Goshen where Yosef will care for them during the coming years of famine. Along the way, Yaacov experiences a prophetic message:
"And He said, 'I am G-d, the G-d of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again” (Bereshit.46:3-4).
From this we can discern that Yaacov was felt trepidation about descending to Mitrayim. Why should he fear? His son Yosef was the ruler of the country and certainly able to care of him. Rashi informs us that Yaacov was pained that he had to leave the Land of Israel. But pain is not fear. How then are we to understand Yaacov’s trepidation?
Our Sages reveal that Yaacov feared that his children would suffer great physical harm in Mitzrayim and also suffer the spiritual plague of assimilation amongst the nations (Zohar, B’shlach 53A). In response, Hashem assures Yaacov that He be with him and return him and his offspring safely to the Promised Land. Without this Divine guarantee that Hashem will not let His children be utterly decimated in foreign lands, the Jewish People could not survive there.
It is not our natural place. The Torah, the life-force and soul of Am Yisrael, was given to be kept in the Holy Land. In Israel we are alive as a nation – in the exile we are individuals without national vitality; we are like dry scattered bones (See Ezekiel 37: 1-14).
And how much greater the danger when we remember that Mitzrayim was the most spiritually impure nation on earth. Even though the Children of Israel would survive physically, Yaacov feared that once immersed in the immoral and idolatrous culture of Mitzrayim, the Jews would adopt the ways of the pagans around them and become spiritually poisoned beyond return – as happened to the vast numbers of Jews who perished in the plague of darkness.
Yaacov’s worries proved true. When a group of Yosef’s brothers meet Pharaoh they say: “We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants' flocks, for the famine is severe in the Land of Canaan. Now, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen” (Bereshit 47:4). Originally their intention is to “sojourn” temporarily, but the verse ends with the request to “dwell” there, as the Pesach Haggadah points out:
“And he sojourned there” - This teaches that our father Yaacov did not go down to Egypt to settle permanently but only to sojourn there.”
Indeed, things change, as the Torah testifies: “And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen; and they took possession (“achuzah”) of it and were fruitful, and multiplied exceedingly. (Bereshit 47:27).
The Children of Israel are described here as “dwelling” in the Mitzrayim and viewing it as their “possession” – as if Mitzrayim was now their home base (see Rashi, there).
Yosef’s brothers begin to look at Mitzrayim as a possession (achuzah) and not merely as a temporary lodging place before returning to Eretz Yisrael. This is a cause of wonder! Hashem has previously told Avraham that the Holy Land is our land of everlasting possession – not Mitzrayim.
"And I will give to you and to your descendants after you the land of your sojournings, all the Land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession (achuzat olam); and I will be their G-d” (Bereshit 17:8).
Furthermore, before his death, Yaacov tells Yosef about Hashem’s promise to him:
"And Yaacov said to Yosef, 'G-d Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the Land of Canaan, and blessed me, and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a company of peoples, and will give this Land to your descendants after you for an everlasting possession (achuzat olam)” (Bereshit 48:3-4).
To further underscore the point that our only homeland is Eretz Yisrael, Hashem tells Avraham, “For your offspring will be sojourners in a land not theirs….” We are merely to be temporary visitors in Mitzrayim. It is not our land.
Yaacov feared that his children would turn a temporary furlong into their permanent dwelling – and his worry turned out to be true. Having spent many years in Haran, he knew the dangers of life amongst foreigners. He had survived the difficult test and returned in peace to the Cherished Land, but nothing guaranteed that his children would have the same strength of endurance as he had shown.
In the commentary of the “Kli Yakar” we find the following explanation:
“It is written, ‘And they took possession (achuza) therein' – This entire verse accuses the Children of Israel, for Hashem decreed that will be strangers in a land that is not theirs and they sought to settle in the place where it was decreed that they would be strangers… The verse reproaches them for this ‘settling,’ for they sought a portion in a land not theirs… They became so settled in Egypt that they did not want to leave, until Hashem had to take them out by force. And those who still did not want to leave died during the three days of darkness.
“The text uses this term of permanent settlement (achuza), and they acquired property there, showing they had abandoned their status as temporary residents and instead became permanent settlers. This was the root of their exile, for they were only supposed to be temporary dwellers as their fathers had been. Instead, they said 'this is our land' and settled permanently. They should have maintained their identity as strangers in a foreign land, but instead they sought to become like the Egyptians... This explains why this verse uses 'Israel' rather than 'Yaacov', as this name represents their elevated status, which they misused in wanting to establish themselves permanently” (Kli Yakar, Bereshit 47:27).
And indeed, as our Sages teach, eighty percent of the Jews in Mitzrayim refused to leave with Moshe when the time for the Exodus approached (Midrash Tachuma, B’shlach, 1). The “Kli Yachar” also reveals the reason why so many Jews wanted to remain in Mitzrayim. Gradually they became accustomed to the culture of idol worship until they willingly became a part of it in order to be like the people of Mitzrayim (Kli Yachar, Vayikra 18:3). This is the intention of the Torah verse, “You shall not do like the doings of the land of Mitzrayim where you dwelt” (Vayikra, cited). What doings is the verse referring to? To their desiring to dwell there permanently. Worshipping the idols of Mitzrayim naturally followed.
In the Torah portion of Vayechi, to be sure that his children wouldn’t turn Mitzrayim into a new Promised Land, Yaacov requests that he be buried in Eretz Yisrael (Bereshit 47:29. See the “Meshech Chochmah, Vayikra 21:44). This, Yaacov hoped, would constantly remind them of their true home. Similarly, a Jew in the Diaspora must always see himself as being a temporary resident in someone else’s land. Behold, if a Jew living in galut enjoys his life there and forgets that life in the exile is a curse, and loses the feeling that he is in a foreign place, this is a terrible danger! The “Meshech Chochmah,” written by the famous Rabbi Meir Simcha HaCohen of Divinsk, states:
“Customarily, the Jews find rest (in whatever Diaspora location their wandering brings them) for close to 100 or 200 years. Then a storm wind arises… utterly destroying, washing them away without mercy, until they… flee to another far-off place… They intensify their Torah learning... until they forget that they are strangers in a foreign land. They now think this new “haven” is their place of refuge and origin… Then an even stronger and devastating stormwind will visit that place…” (loc. cited).
The Torah’s descriptions of the hardships of exile make us shudder knowing that all of the nightmares predicted came true in our almost two-thousand-year wandering from place to place without finding “a resting place for your feet” (Devarim 28:64). Yet within this tragedy our Sages find tidings of comfort from the story of Noach:
"'And he sent forth the dove' - This refers to Israel among the nations - Just as the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, so Israel would find no rest among the nations, as it says 'And among those nations you shall find no ease' (Devarim 28:65). For had they [Israel] found rest [among the nations], they would not have returned” (Bereshit Rabbah 33:6).
The inability to find lasting refuge is certainly a harsh punishment but ironically it is the key to our finally finding salvation with our return to our long-abandoned Homeland. Without the harsh treatment which we suffered under the nations, we would have settled down peacefully in foreign countries and never returned to Israel. In effect the punishment was our saving factor.
Needless to say, the dangers of exile continue today. Myriads of Diaspora Jews are stuck in the material comforts of Western countries which seem to offer an everlasting refuge. Even with anti-Semitism increasing worldwide, they cling to the illusion that the “good life” will last forever. Like the majority of Jews in Mitzrayim, if they don’t come home to Israel they will be lost. Those who have been blessed to reach the shores of the Promised Land must reach out to those still encased in the darkness of exile in order to strengthen their Jewish identity and help open their eyes to the somber forecast which awaits them if they fail to heed the call which Rabbi Kook sounded before the State was founded:
“To the Land of Israel, Gentlemen, To the Land of Israel! Let us utter this appeal in one voice, in a great and never-ending cry.
“Come to the Land of Israel, dear brothers, come to the Land of Israel. Save your souls, the soul of your generation, the soul of the entire nation; save her from desolation and destruction, save her from decay and degradation, save her from defilement and all evil — from all of the suffering and oppression that threatens to come upon her in all the lands of the world without exception or distinction....”
Envisioning all of these things, Yaacov Avinu was afraid to descend to Mitzrayim. Let us learn from him and from our long history which repeatedly proved the justification for his fears. May we cleave to our one-and-only true Homeland and give thanks to Hashem for blessing us with this everlasting possession.
[From Rabbi Drukman’s book “Maaseh Avot” - adapted and translated by Tzvi Fishman.]