Parasha: Vayigash · Aliyah: Fifth (Hod)

אל תירא…כי לגוי גדול אשימך שם "Do not be afraid…for I will make you into a great nation there." What precisely was Jacob afraid of when he set out to go to Egypt? If it was the fear of ushering in exile for his family, how did G'd's assurance alleviate that fear? If, on the other hand, G'd meant to console him that there would be no exile there, history teaches that Jacob's family became enslaved and suffered persecution and hard labour in Egypt! Besides, how did the announcement that Jacob would become a great nation while in Egypt console him over what he was afraid of? Why could he not develop into a great nation in any other place but Egypt? Furthermore, why did G'd add the letter ל and said לגוי גדול אשימך, instead of merely בי גוי גדול אשימך?

Clearly, the Torah refers to the prediction/decree at the covenant between the pieces when G'd told Abraham (Genesis 15,13) that exile had already been decreed. No doubt Abraham had informed his son and grandson of this decree. When Jacob saw that food was for sale in Egypt, he immediately associated this with the fact that his descendants would endure exile there. He was afraid that this exile would commence the moment he arrived in Egypt.. He was also worried that he would be buried there, in a land which was totally impure. G'd therefore appeared to him in a dream describing Himself as the G'd of his father; He meant that just as the exile had not commenced during Isaac's life and Isaac had not experienced persecution, so it would not commence during Jacob's lifetime either. Concerning Jacob's intention to return to the land of Canaan as soon as the famine was over, G'd told Jacob that he would develop into a great nation in Egypt; in other words, G'd had a good reason why Jacob would not return to the land of Canaan soon. G'd alluded to this by saying כי לגוי גדול אשימך שם, i.e. in order for this to be accomplished you have to stay there for some considerable time.

In order to understand the whole concept I must preface by quoting a tradition we have in the name of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and his colleagues (recorded in Likutey Torah, Miketz). The purpose of the various exiles is to isolate segments of sanctity which are scattered Within various branches of the קליפה, the "peel" surrounding the kernel which is all sanctity. Inasmuch as Egypt was full of abominations [manifestations of such a קליפה, Ed.] and impurity had its "headquarters" in that country, it was no more than natural that many such segments of sanctity were scattered throughout that country. In fact the amounts of such scattered segments of sanctity are usually proportionate to the amount of impurity and defilement that abound in a certain area or environment. The phenomenon we have just described originated as soon as Adam sinned. It has been Israel's task to "rescue" all those splinters of sanctity and to make them part of a whole. Our sages (quoted in Likutey Torah on Parshat Vayeshev) have said that the nation that left Egypt and experienced the revelation at Mount Sinai was previously captive within this קליפה called Egypt. It is to such a nation that Moses said in Deut. 4,8: "who is a great nation possessing such righteous statutes, etc." G'd told Jacob that the purpose of Israel spending time in exile in Egypt was to enable it to develop into this great nation. "The great nation" [all the fragments of sanctity, Ed.] at that time was "lost" amongst all the Egyptians and it had to be isolated and then led out from there. Unless Jacob descended to Egypt at this time, there would be no hope of accomplishing this. It was because Jacob represented sanctity in a powerful and concentrated form that he could become the "magnet" which would attract the various scattered segments of sanctity that still abounded in Egypt in an ineffectual form. This is the meaning of the statement in Bereshit Rabbah 79,1 that Jacob did not depart from this world until he had seen 600.000 descendants. These 600.000 were the ones who endured persecution there and were ultimately refined in what our sages are fond of calling the "iron crucible" which welded the Jewish people into a nation and enabled them to leave Egypt after having been refined. Jacob understood then that is was necessary for him to settle in Egypt for the rest of his life and he was no longer filled with dismay at that prospect, especially so since G'd assured him that he personally, would not experience oppression and persecution. As to Jacob's final concern, that he would not want to be buried amidst the impurities that Egypt was full of, G'd assured him that He would see to it that Jacob would be buried in the land of Israel.

אנכי ארד עמך מצרימה, "I personally will go down to Egypt with you, etc." This verse teaches that the Divine Presence (שכינה) descended to Egypt with Jacob; this seems difficult in view of the statement by Mechilta on Exodus 9,29 that Moses had to go out of town to offer up a prayer due to the preponderance of impurity within the town.

Perhaps what G'd had in mind when He told Jacob that He would descend with him to Egypt was that whenever he or the Jewish people would experience problems, G'd would share their suffering (compare Psalms 91,15 "I am with him in distress"). אנכי ארד עמך מצרימה, the word מצרימה, may be derived from the word מצר, "a narrow, confined area." G'd hinted that whenever Jacob (the Jewish people) would find themselves hemmed in, He would share their misery. G'd demonstrated this to Moses when He appeared to him out of the burning bush, certainly not a dwelling fit for G'd. G'd's message was that as long as the Jewish people are in distress in Egypt, He Himself would reside in such locations as the lowly thornbush. The שכינה never descended to the part of Egypt which was full of impurity. There are numerous instances (such as in Megillah 29) where the descent of the שכינה to Egypt is understood to mean that G'd shared the exile experience of the Jewish people with them. When Israel (Jacob) is described as prostrating himself at the head of the bed in Genesis 47,31, Tanchuma understands this as Jacob bowing down to the presence of the שכינה. [Evidently the presence of the שכינה was felt in Egypt then. Ed.] Moreover, Bereshit Rabbah 94,9 understands that the שכינה made up the number 70 in the list of descendants coming down to Egypt with Jacob, seeing that you will find only 69 names listed there. All of this proves that the שכינה did descend to Egypt (though not to areas infested with impurity).

You have to realise that the manifestation of G'd's Presence (שכינה) occurs in a variety of forms and degrees. We are taught in Avot 3,6 that when ten people sit together and are preoccupied with Torah, the שכינה rests amongst them. The rabbis in the Mishnah there are at pains to prove from scriptural quotations that even a single individual studying Torah is accompanied by the שכינה. On the other hand, we find that the שכינה did not descend from heaven to take up residence amongst the Jewish people until the latter had established the Tabernacle (compare Exodus 40,35) and had made numerous preparations to qualify for hosting the שכינה. How is it possible that no such preparations appear to be required for an individual who studies Torah and qualifies for G'd's Presence as stated in Avot? Clearly, when one speaks of the presence of the שכינה one must distinguish between different levels of such a Divine Presence. The amount of enlightenment one experiences depends on the level of Divine Presence one is privileged to experience. If we were to describe such different levels of a Divine Presence, we could categorise the revelation at Mount Sinai as the highest level of such a Divine Presence. The next lower level may be the Divine Presence in the Holy of Holies in the Temple. A slightly lesser level of G'd's Presence may be experienced by the "average" prophet at the time he receives a message from G'd. Progressively lower levels of such a Divine Presence may be found in synagogues or houses of study. A group of ten people discussing matters related to Torah-study may qualify for an even lesser degree of such a Divine Presence, etc. When we keep this in mind we can better understand the statement of our sages that the Divine Presence, i.e. the enlightenment provided to a prophet never descended to certain levels. As a result, Moses had to leave the city in order to qualify for the degree of Divine Presence that could respond to his prayer. The degree of Divine Presence found amongst a group of people studying Torah is of a lower level, however, and it was that level of the שכינה which descended to Egypt with Jacob and remained there until the Exodus.

While it may sound presumptuous to differentiate between different degrees of Divine light, this is true as long as we speak of G'd Himself. Light which radiates from G'd, however, is subject to different "filters" in order to ensure that the recipient receives the amount which is beneficial to him and does not harm him through over-exposure. The same principle applies even to different souls, all of which may be perceived as parts of G'd's "light" emanating from G'd's throne of glory.

The considerations we have just mentioned may also explain why G'd referred to Himself twice as אנכי when telling Jacob that He would descend with him to Egypt and would go up with him again when Jacob would be buried. G'd meant that the level of שכינה that would accompany him on his return would be a higher level than that which accompanied him at the time he journeyed to Egypt. It was the latter level of אנכי which the Jewish people experienced at Mount Sinai, and it is that level of אנכי which is experienced at the end of the forty nine years of the Jubilee cycle. This is the mystical dimension of the fact that the Exodus from Egypt is mentioned in the Torah a total of forty nine times.

The repetition by G'd of the word ואנכי may also be an allusion that the redemption when it would occur would be orchestrated by G'd personally, not merely by one of His agents (compare Deut. 6,21 and Exodus 13,16).

The reason G'd repeated the words אעלך גם עלה, "I will also bring you up from there" is, that G'd will 1) see to it that Jacob will be buried in Canaan; 2) that the Jewish people will be led out of exile by G'd. G'd added the word גם, also, as an allusion that both the regular Jewish people will be redeemed as well as the lost souls which had been captive amongst all the impurity in that country and about which we have written earlier. All of them would ascend to the land of Israel.

It is also possible that the word גם refers to the spirituality which descended to Egypt with Jacob. It will be redeemed. The Zohar quotes proof for that from the words יצאו כל צבאות השם מארץ מצרים "all of G'd's hosts went out of Egypt" ( Exodus 12,41).

ויוסף ישית ידו על עיניך, "and Joseph will place his hand over your eyes." This was an assurance to Jacob that Joseph would not die during his lifetime. It was welcome news to Jacob as he had prophesied that he would descend to the grave of his son Joseph (37,36). G'd wanted Jacob to know that he had erred in that forecast.

The other part of this message was that Jacob would not return to the land of Canaan alive. In fact this statement may be construed as G'd prohibiting Jacob from returning to Canaan as this would frustrate G'd's promise that Joseph would be present at his death. Since Joseph was not allowed to leave Egypt G'd would not be able to keep His promise to Jacob unless he lived out his life in Egypt.

ויקחו את מקניהם, They took their cattle, etc. This ought to have been reported in verse one when we are told about Jacob's whole family setting out on their journey to Egypt. Perhaps the brothers originally intended only to accompany their father and to see Joseph. Only after Jacob's dream did it become clear to them that G'd approved of their migration to Egypt until such time as it would please Him that they should return to their ancestral homeland (as I explained on verse 4). This is why they agreed only at this point to take their mobile possessions with them. The Torah also alludes to the fact that though the brothers may well have been aware that their journey would lead to their families' eventual exile in Egypt they did not rebel against what appeared to be G'd's decree.

בניו ובני בניו אתו, his sons and grandchildren with him, etc. Since we have been told in the previous verse that Jacob arrived in Egypt with all his descendants, why did the Torah have to tell us that he took his children and grandchildren with him?

Why did the Torah interrupt the report by the word אתו at the end of verse six and again mentioned אתו between listing male and female offspring respectively in verse seven? The report could have been considerably condensed without omitting any of the details.

The Torah tries to tell us that there were ideological differences between the sons of Jacob. Some agreed willingly to migrate to Egypt and to accept the burden of G'd's decree that their children would become slaves in Egypt. Others strove to delay as long as possible the descent to the land which would be known as the "iron crucible" of the Jewish people. The Torah tries to describe who was who by mentioning separately בניו ובני בניו אתו on the one hand, meaning that those did not have to be persuaded to undertake the journey with Jacob. On the other hand, when the verse continues to speak separately about Jacob bringing with him "his daughters, granddaughters and all his descendants," these are the people who did not go down to Egypt voluntarily.

In this connection it is important to pay attention to the statement in Shemot Rabbah 1,5 that as long as any of the people who descended with Jacob at the time remained alive the Jews lived in Egypt as totally free people. This is based on the Torah telling us in Exodus 1,6 that "Joseph and all that generation died." The words "and all that generation" refer to those who came to Egypt from Canaan. Perhaps the Torah teaches us that the people who had accepted G'd's decree willingly were spared realisation of that decree during their own lifetime. Perhaps the best proof of this is the fact that Yocheved and Serach, daughter of Asher, who both arrived in Egypt with the family of Jacob did experience the enslavement. The reason was that they were not around when a decision had to be made to descend to Egypt. They were still in their mother's wombs (compare Bereshit Rabbah 94,9). It is worth- while to peruse what the Zohar on Vayakhel 198 has to say on the subject. He quotes Psalms 146,5 "hail to him who has the G'd of Jacob for his help, because his hope was in the Lord."

ואלה שמות בני ישראל, "And these are the names of Israel's children, etc." The numbers listed here deserve to be analysed; we need to understand why the verse had to repeat again "Jacob and his sons;" besides, what does that statement have to do with "Jacob's firstborn Reuben?" Why does the Torah mention in verse 15 that Leah's descendants numbered 33 when the list of names shows only 32?

Although we have already quoted the Midrash according to which Yocheved was born "between the walls," i.e. at the time Jacob and his family entered Egypt, there is no proof or even hint of this in the Torah. There is no unanimity on that subject amongst our sages seeing that we have the view that the שכינה should be considered as making up the missing number between 69 and 70. If Yocheved were indeed to be included in the count we would then have a total of 71 instead of seventy. Proof of the accuracy of the statement of our sages is found in verse 27 where the Torah mentions that the total number of persons arriving in Egypt was 70. Why would the שכינה be considered as making up the missing number 33 in verse eight, instead of applying equally to the whole family, i.e. accounting for the difference between 69 and 70? Moreover, if Yocheved made up the number 33 in verse 8, then the number mentioned in verse 27 ought to have been 67 instead of 66. This would comprise 33 of Leah, 16 of Zilpah, 11 of Rachel -excluding Joseph and his two sons who were already in Egypt,- plus 7 of Bilhah. Why does the Torah appear to contradict itself by writing: "all the persons were 66," when in fact there were 67?

Besides, why were Joseph and his sons included in the count in verse 27 when we are told about a total number of 70?

The plain meaning of these verses is undoubtedly that the Torah informs us about two sets of numbers. One count refers to Jacob plus his family, the other to Jacob's descendants by themselves. When Jacob and his children are added up together we have the number 70. When the numbers exclude Jacob we have a total of 69.

The Torah is quite accurate by explaining that in the first count Jacob is specifically included in verse 8 where the Torah emphasised יעקב ובניו, Jacob and his sons. While the Torah reports on a count which included Jacob himself, the report in verse 8 which arrives at a total of 33 persons for Jacob and the family of Leah is absolutely correct (not including Yocheved). We may even speculate that the word כל was intended to make it clear that Jacob himself is part of that number. The fact that the Torah does not use the word כל when listing the total of Zilpah's family reinforces our belief that the word כל in verse eight refers to Jacob. While it is true that the Torah does use the word כל when listing Rachel's family (verse 22), the reason is that the Torah there wanted to include Joseph's sons who are needed to make up the total listed there and who were in Egypt already. As to the word כל in verse 25 where Bilhah's family is enumerated, the Torah wanted to emphasise by use of that term that altogether they comprised only seven persons.

It is interesting to observe that the expression "birth" in one form or another appears in connection with the families of Zilpah, Rachel and Bilhah, whereas this expression does not occur in connection with Leah's family. According to our interpretation we can account for this by the fact that not all the persons listed in connection with Leah's family were born to her or to her offspring. Had the Torah mentioned ותלד לאה as it does when describing Bilhah's family, for instance, then the number 33 would have to puzzle us seeing that she was responsible for the birth of only 32 children at that stage. The number 33 therefore is arrived at only by including Jacob himself.

When the Torah gives us the number 66 in verse twenty six, this is exclusive of Jacob himself, something which is emphasised by the words: "the offspring of Jacob." When the Torah speaks about a total of 70 persons in verse 27, Jacob is included in what the Torah describes as לבית יעקב, Jacob's family.

The Torah even went to the length of changing its syntax in order to make certain we understand its meaning. In verse 25 we read about כל הנפש הבאה לבית יעקב, whereas in verse 27 we read about כל הנפש לבית יעקב הבאה; the difference is clear. In verse 25 the arrival of the family is mentioned before the name Jacob, i.e. it excludes him. In verse 27 the name Jacob appears prior to the statement that the family arrived in Egypt. This means that Jacob himself is included in the count.

We do not wish to contradict our sages who have said that Yocheved was born between the walls separating Egypt from Canaan. Perhaps the Torah alludes to her birth with the words כל נפש…ובנותיו. Inasmuch as apart from Dinah we do not know of any other daughters in Leah's family, the Torah's use of the plural "his daughters" cannot be justified unless there was at least one additional daughter who arrived in Egypt. This would be Yocheved. The Torah did not include Yocheved in the names of the people who journeyed to Egypt with Jacob since we have already explained that Jacob himself was the one who made up the number 33. There could be an additional reason why Yocheved was not included in the count. Seeing that she was only born when the family arrived in Egypt she would not be a viable human being until thirty days had elapsed. Up until that time she was still in the category of a נפל, an aborted embryo. Do not be bothered by the fact that our explanation appears to contradict that of our sages. We have explained to you repeatedly that whenever the exegesis of our sages does not imply halachic consequences scholars of established reputations are allowed to disagree. Concerning such instances we read in Song of Songs 5,16: חכו ממתקים וכלו מחמדים, "the words of his palate are sweet and He is all delight."

ובני יהודה ער ואונן. And the sons of Yehudah, Er and Onan, etc. Why were people who had died already listed as part of the family which travelled to Egypt? Besides, why did the Torah repeat here again that these sons of Yehudah had died in the land of Caanan, something that we are all familiar with? Furthermore, why does the Torah write: ויהיו בני פרץ חצרון וחמול, instead of the customary ובני פרץ חצרון וחמול? We find all the other grand-children introduced as: ובני…וגו. Perhaps it is all connected with the concept of the levirate marriage. יבום is aimed at re-establishing a presence on earth for the brother who died without leaving children. In our instance Yehudah performed this commandment instead of his son Shelah. It was Yehudah's duty to bring Er and Onan's offspring to Egypt. The Torah tells us by means of an unusual syntax that Yehudah performed this duty by bringing Chetzron and Chamul (his grandchildren) to Egypt. These two were to be considered the replacements of Er and Onan respectively. [If I understand the author correctly, he argues that because Yehudah belonged to a generation prior to that of Shelah the surviving brother of Er and Onan who should have performed the levirate marriage, only the second generation, i.e. Peretz's children, were the reincarnates of Er and Onan. Had Shelah himself performed the rites of יבום, his first two children would have been considered as the reincarnates of Er and Onan. Ed.] All this is hinted at by the word ויהיו.

Looking at the plain meaning of the verse, the Torah may have explained here that the only reason that Er and Onan committed the sins that caused G'd to kill them was that they lived in the land of Canaan, a country in which sexual perversity had taken root. They had been corrupted by their environment. Apart from this one sin they were not basically bad. G'd killed them so that one should not copy their example, much as the Torah warns the Jewish people not to copy the sexual perversions practiced both in Egypt and the land of Canaan in Leviticus 18,3.

The expression ויהיו tells us that these two were a phenomenon by itself (הויה), unlike any observed elsewhere. Were this not so they could hardly be the members of the family from which the Messiah will devolve, someone who will serve as a shining example of morality to all of mankind.