Shalom Pollack UPDATE ON TIYULIM

     Tuesday, January 14

Maccabees and "miracle bees"   🍯🐝

Meet at the Inbal Hotel  at 8:30 and return at  around 5:00

Our first stop will be  "Maoz Esther ". We visited these pioneers at this hilltop community a few years ago. This is where the teenager Ahuvia Sanduk lived before being killed by the "Jewish section" of the  Secret Service (Shabak).

Today his entire family lives where he did. We will hopefully have a chance to meet them.

The hilltop has experienced expulsion and destruction sixty times (!)until today. Nevertheless, they keep growing. Their insistence on protecting Eretz Yisrael will not be vanquished and is now home to nineteen families!

We will meet these modern Maccabees and show them that Am Yisrael appreciates their sacrifice.

.We shall continue to the Bet Shean Valley, where we will learn of the unique "Bio Bee" phenomenon at the religious kibbutz, Sede Eliyahu,  the world leader in the export of  "helpful insects". They have identified "good" insects that feed on the  "bad insects". replacing expensive and poisonous chemicals, a blessing to the entire world.

On our guided tour of the grounds, we will learn about this unique industry and other wonderful agricultural innovations on this beautiful kibbutz.

Bring a picnic lunch.

In the kibbutz dairy cafe, we can buy drinks and light dishes.

You are invited to shop at the kibbutz nature culinary shop.

Cost 250 shekels

Tuesday, February 4

Jewish heroism and  its blessing to the world

We will visit new and unique sites today.

We shall experience the new museum and memorial in Latrun, of the Jewish fighters from around the world in World War Two and the 1948 Independence War.

After years of preparation and design,  the museum and memorial to the million and half Jewish fighters in WW2 (250,000 were killed in combat) and the International force of Jews who fought in the War of Independence is now open. 

Multimedia presentations bring glorious chapters on the survival and rebirth of the Jewish nation in the twentieth century to life

The "Igudan" water treatment plant in Rishon Lezion

Israel's reputation as the world's leader in water development and innovation is displayed at the world's largest water reclamation and purification plant.

 The eye-opening tour of the cutting-edge facility with unusual presentations, reveals another field in which   Israel is a blessing for the entire region and beyond.

Departure at 9:00 at the Inbal hotel

Return at 5:00

Cost 250 shekels

shalompollack613@gmail.com

Rabbi Winston: Vayigash

THIS IS FROM G–D, that which is wondrous in our eyes” (Tehillim 118:23). I remember the day during Chanukah one year when it all of a sudden occurred to me to turn the verse around and make it a corollary: If something does not seem from G–D, then it is only because it stopped being wondrous in your eyes. Restore the wonder and fix your spiritual vision. 

Realizing this side of the verse felt like the sun rising on a previously dark evening, and resulted in a solid approach to teaching people how to see G–D. It also gracefully dovetailed with the Rambam’s advice on how to achieve love and fear of G–D, and other important sources as well. That was about thirty years ago, and it has never gotten old. The idea and excitement remain the same, which is saying an awful lot about both. 

Had I been smart I would have realized then, that the other verses in that paragraph could possibly yield similar corollaries and insights, like I did this Chanukah. For example, the verse before the one mentioned above says, “The stone the builders rejected became the cornerstone” (Tehillim 118:22). Dovid HaMelech, who had been written off by his father and brothers, wrote this about himself because he ended up becoming the king of the Jewish people and ancestor of Moshiach Ben Dovid. And, I’m sure he also had Yosef HaTzaddik as well in mind when he composed it. 

This verse has been my own cornerstone when explaining the more kabbalistic nuances of Jewish history, especially to people who expect it to be straight as an arrow. I also use the verse to remind myself from time to time not to be easily fooled by first impressions of people or events. Little ends up being in the end what it seemed to have been in the beginning, and often when it comes to Jewish leaders.

Which led me to think of the corollary: If you want to be a cornerstone, you’ll have to be despised by the builders, i.e., the very people who seemingly should respect you.

Just to qualify, this idea is only true if G–D doesn’t despise you as well, which means you are doing right by Him. You have to be doing your best to please G–D with what you have become and what you do. So, why then would the “builders” not like you as much as they should? Because conventional people do not like unconventional people. People who do things by the book do not like it when others do not, even if their result is the same, or even better. 

They’re not completely wrong. On the contrary, Torah mesorah has worked because of convention and by sticking firmly to rules and standards. But in our zeal to preserve those rules and standards, we often forget about the Yosefs and the Pinchases and Dovids of history, the exceptional leaders who developed into exceptional leaders because they were unconventional in their service of G–D, while never breaking Torah or its traditions in any way.   

But every society is protective of itself and its members. The brothers sold Yosef to protect the future of the Jewish people from learning from Yosef’s ways and following them in the wrong way. Their concern was real since it was Yeravem, a descendant of Yosef, who later built golden calves. It was just that their approach to Yosef and their concern ended up being wrong. 

The harshness that is targeted at the unconventional can be very intimidating for those who prefer to fit in and go unnoticed. No one wants to be a pariah, and some people would rather ignore their specialness than be castigated for it. Fitting in for them is a better fit than accomplishing unique things and being despised, or at least marginalized. 

After all, Yosef was despised for many decades before he became that cornerstone of G–D. Dovid too. Yiftach had to leave mainstream society to make a life for himself before society came looking for him to be its hero. Who knows how many others like them have had to do the same or even had a chance to find out how special they were to G–D?

Why must it be that way? For a couple of reasons, some of which may only be known to G–D. But the more obvious reasons are things like humility…tests of faith in G–D…to develop resilience, you know, standard leadership qualities. Undoubtedly, the path to greatness and prominence for some is straight and uncluttered, which makes it easier for everyone. 

But ever since Avraham became Ish Ivri, “the guy on the other side,” being great and conventional have not always been the best of partners. And for all we know, Moshiach, who has to already be here in the world, may be a difficult pill for many to swallow once he reveals himself and assumes his final redemption duties. How many of us will end up standing there in shock at the revelation, stunned to the point of complete silence like Yosef’s brothers in this week’s parsha? 

Given where we are in history at this time, and all that is currently happening, it might be worth dwelling on that point before turning the page to next week’s parsha. For all we know, their story in this week’s parsha is to better prepare us for our current one. 

Good Shabbos

Pinchas Winston

Thirtysix.org / Shaarnun Productions

Reb Neuberger: Vayigash – “HOW COME YOU’RE STILL ALIVE?”

Teves for me is the most emotional month. It is perhaps considered “undistinguished" in terms of holidays, but it is forever distinguished in the history of my life and it is a unique month in the Jewish calendar for many important reasons.

• There is actually a Jewish holiday during Teves: the last days of Chanukah. On these days, the moon appears again in the dark winter sky. We are compared to the moon. The monthly lunar cycle signifies the vicissitudes during our long history. When the moon reappears each month, it is a cause of profound joy, indicating our eternal capacity for rebirth. Thus, we dance during Kiddush Levana, and leap toward the sky, saying “just as we cannot touch the moon, neither can our enemies touch us!”
• Teves is the month of my personal spiritual birth, as I will explain later.
• Hallel on Rosh Chodesh Teves is the only Full Rosh Chodesh Hallel in the entire year, because it occurs during Chanukah. Please note this well.
• And then – Parshas Vayigash – the most emotionally charged in the entire Torah (in my humble opinion) never fails to move me to tears. When I imagine the look on the faces of the Shevatim, when the jaws drop and eyes pop when the towering figure before them -- the feared “Egyptian” potentate -- speaks the immortal words, “Ani Yosef, ha-od avi chai … I am Yosef. Is my father still alive?” This is the prototype moment. Every yeshua, without exception, is an example of “yeshuas Hashem k’heref ayin … the salvation of G-d comes in the blink of an eye.” The mighty Shevatim stand, unable to speak, before these monumental words. This is the prototype for Moshiach ben Dovid, whose appearance will come suddenly, leaving both tzaddikim and reshaim open-mouthed in shock.
• And, something else: our son in law, Rabbi Osher Jungreis, our son, Rabbi Aharon Neuberger and my colleague, Rabbi Yair Hoffman, have all reminded me of the unique significance of the Fast of 10 Teves, which I will try to explain.

 

At 2 a.m. on January 10, 1966 (18 Teves, 5726 in the Jewish calendar) I awoke suddenly.

 

Yes, you have heard this story before. My wife and I have told it over and over, but one never tires of retelling miracles. On this day my world was exploding and our marriage – G-d forbid – unraveling. Another moment and I would have hit “mem tes Shaarei tumah,” the bottom. I always say, I believe without exaggeration, that – if something had not saved me – I would have spent the rest of my life in a padded cell.

 

But something did save me.

 

As I plummeted down the chute to eternal oblivion, a simple thought entered my head: “Could there be a G-d?”

 

What! G-d? Are you kidding? I don’t see G-d! Where is G-d?

 

And then I realized: if your life is falling apart, YOU NEED G-D!

 

That, my friends, is when it all began. Our life turned one hundred eighty degrees and we began our pilgrimage back Home, to Hashem Elokainu, to Torah Hakadosha (thank you, Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis), to Am Yisroel and Eretz Yisroel. It all began with five words uttered amidst bitter tears in the middle of the night.

 

In the additional Tehillim which we say during Full Hallel are these earth-shaking words: “The pains of death encircled me; the confines of death have found me …. Then I would invoke the Name of Hashem: ‘Please Hashem, save my soul!’” (Tehillim 116)

 

My friends, these are exactly the words I said fifty-nine years ago on the 18^th of Teves.

 

Ever since that day, miraculous events have occurred during the weeks surrounding the 18^th of Teves. To give one example: years ago, my wife and I were returning Motzae Shabbos to Long Island from a vort in Monsey. At 12 midnight, on the Major Deegan Expressway in the Bronx, a car passed at 100 miles per hour, veered out of control, struck a stone barrier, spun around and headed straight back at us. I slammed on the brakes, causing the car behind me to hit us from the rear as the other car hit us from the front at high speed. Our car was crushed like a pancake. The next thing we knew, we were standing on the side of the highway surrounded by tens of police cars, fire engines and ambulances. The police kept looking at us and shaking their heads. “How come you aren’t dead?!?” they kept asking. But neither of us had a scratch.

 

This took place on the 14^th of Teves.

 

My friends, this is exactly what the world is asking Am Yisroel: “How come you aren’t dead!” They are shaking their heads and wondering: Why are you still here!?

 

The answer is that we will always be here, because our Father in Heaven is watching over us. They can send all their rockets, but we are not going away. Even if the entire world crashes, with Hashem’s help we can walk away without a scratch.

 

Yes, I know what has happened in our recent and distant past. I know about the dead and wounded over the millennia. I myself have come close. But we must know: there will be techias hamaisim and the day will come when Hashem will wipe away all the tears. Am Yisroel will live forever.

 

Rabbi Yair Hoffman sent a brilliant piece on Asara b’Teves. Basically, this taanis is like no other. Not only is it the day on which the siege of Yerushalayim began, but it commemorates the day on which the Heavenly Court decided whether the Churban would take place at all. (Rabbi Yerucham Olshin in the name of the Chassam Sofer). Our actions and tefillos on Asara b’Teves decide whether we will have another Tisha b’Av! If we do teshuva and storm the heavens on this day, we can bring the Geulah Shelemah this year!

 

Here is a story I heard from Rabbi Yair Hoffman: Rav Yosha Ber Soloveichik zt”l, in the year 1977, once went upstairs in his home. Then he remembered something he needed to do in the room where his wife was resting. But, when he entered her room, she was gone! He searched and found that all her belongings were missing! His mind reeling, he could not understand what had happened.

 

Then he remembered: she had passed away ten years earlier! He had forgotten! This story may sound unbelievable, but it has tremendous implications for all of us.

 

As Rabbi Soloveichik thought about this, he realized that this is the story of “Ani Yosef! Ha-od avi chai!” We are all sleeping!

 

There will come a day when Moshiach ben Dovid bursts upon the world. Suddenly, we will wake up! Our eyes will open wide! We will realize that we have been living in a world of fantasy! We had thought, “I am righteous! I am good! My actions are correct! I am worthy! My judgment will be good!” Suddenly, we will see the truth! Dumbfounded, we will be unable to speak! Our jaws will drop!

 

This is the month of Teves! A month of decision! A month of eye-opening reality! A month in which we can change the future. May we use this awesome power to bring the Final Redemption and the end to all our troubles, speedily in our days!

 

 

Car coming at us!

Car crash

New moon

 

 

GLOSSARY

Churban: destruction of the First and Second Temples

Geula Shelemah: Final Redemption

Hallel: a prayer praising and thanking G-d said on holidays

Kiddush Levana: monthly prayer upon seeing the new moon

Levana: moon

Motzae Shabbos: Saturday night, after Shabbos has ended

Shevatim: the Tribes of Israel; also used for the patriarchs of those tribes

Rosh Chodesh: the first day of the month

Taanis: fast day

Techias hamaisim: resurrection of the dead

Tefilla: prayer

Tehillim: Psalms

Teshuva: repentance

Teves: the current Jewish month

Tisha b’Av: 9^th day of the month of Av, the day both Temples were destroyed

Vort: engagement celebration

Yeshua: salvation

Rabbi Wein: Vayigash

The apparent hero and victor in the epic narrative of the saga of Yosef and his brothers which reaches its culmination in this week’s parsha is certainly Yosef. His dreams and ambitions are fulfilled. His brothers and father have bowed down before him as the prophecy of his dreams indicated. He takes no further revenge against his brothers. He houses them and Yaakov in security and prosperity in the land of Goshen and is assiduous in caring for all of their needs.  

He certainly emerges from the entire bewildering and tragic events as a heroic and noble figure, still the beloved son of his father and the heir to the double portion birthright of the first-born. Yet, in terms of the long range view of Jewish history, Yosef is not the vehicle of Jewish survival.

His kingdom of the northern ten tribes of Israel is relatively short-lived and riddled with wicked kings and widespread idolatrous practice. 

The kingdom of Yosef is never restored and the remnants of the northern ten tribes are eventually absorbed into the kingdom and tribe of Judah. Yosef’s triumph is seen in Jewish history as being legitimate but essentially temporary. It his brother Yehudah who emerges as the ultimate hero and guarantor of Jewish survival and as the true head of Yaakov’s family. 

The Jewish people are called upon his name and it is through his descendants that legitimate royalty comes to Israel. The future salvation of Israel and the messianic vision of full and complete redemption and a better world for all are assigned to the family and descendants of Yehudah. He is the ultimate victor in the debate between Yosef and himself that this week’s parsha highlights.

 

The obvious question that presents itself is why this should be. After all it is Yosef who is the righteous one, the one who resisted physical temptation and who persevered in his loyalty to the ideals of the patriarchs of Israel under the most trying and difficult of circumstances. 

Yehuda on the other hand can be superficially judged and found wanting in his behavior regarding Tamar and in his leadership role in the sale of his brother as a slave. So why, in historical terms, is he the hero and savior of Israel while Yosef is not?

 

Though God’s will, so to speak, in all of these matters remains hidden and inscrutable to us mere mortals, a glimmer of understanding can come to us from the words of Yaakov that will appear in next week’s parsha. Yaakov blesses Yehudah for his ability to rise from error and tragedy and continue forward. 

It is Yehudah’s resilience that marks his character and behavior. He redeems himself from the error of his treatment of Yosef by his unconditional and self-sacrificing defense of Binyamin. He admits his error in condemning Tamar and their children become the bearers of Jewish royalty. 

The secret of Jewish survival lies in Jewish renewal and resilience. It is the one national trait that outweighs all other factors in Jewish history. It certainly is the one most in demand in our current Jewish world today as well.

 

Shabat shalom, 

Rabbi Berel Wein

Rav Nachman M'Breslov's Electrifying Allusion To Chanukah Illuminates Zos Chanukah

 

Zos Chanuka: Completing the Crown

 

 

 Zos Chanuka: Access Wonders Now - The Bobover Rebbes Marshal the Arizal on the Power of the Day

   

 Zos Chanuka: Miracles Never Seen Before - The Stunning Insight of the Ostrovtzer

 

Rebbetzen Tziporah

Dear friends,

Do you sometimes feel like you are in a movie, not as a spectator, but as one of the actors, but you don’t know your lines?

I do.

I know that I should have something to say that will express what I saw this evening, but it just isn’t enough to fit the scene's drama. It was about 3:30when I decided to call a taxi to get to the Kotel by 4:30 when the menorah is scheduled to be lit. I had planned to leave earlier, and to use the light rail. It’s cheaper (in Israel, when you get to be a million, you get free public transportation. I figure that the Powers That Be in the Ministry of Transportation realize that the gesture buys them goodwill, and the users won’t be going on public transportation forever…).

 It also was a beautiful day, one of Israel’s crisp sunny winter days, and since I was not the only one headed to the Kotel, a perfect day for people watching. The human scenery is so Israel! The crowds are an eclectic mixture of Sem girls, tourists, yeshevishers, chassidim, Ethiopians, Sephardim, and a sprinkling of non-Jewish pilgrims here for the December holiday at their clueless best. The one thing that they all share is that the Kotel is their magnet. 

As things worked out, a friend dropped by, and when the coffee came out, the clock didn’t stop, so I ended up in a taxi driven by a middle-aged man who was a combination of most of the above. Sephardi, is vaguely chassidish, and doing his best to prove that his English is almost like a native speaker (no doubt because he wishes that he could afford to see LA). He pointed out that only Hashem rules, and that we must all have faith. You would have to have been in the vehicle with me to appreciate how important it was to hear these words as Speedy did his best to get me to the Kotel.

When I got there, I had just missed seeing the large menorah that faces the Kotel it’s light spreading living poetry. Its brilliance and its testimony of faith in Hashem’s love and His gift of our survival were visible in the entire plaza. A smaller menorah was about to be lit at the Kotel itself. It was pure in every sense of the word, from the menorah itself, its oil, and Rabbi Grossman and his friends from every walk of life who participated in lighting it not all that far from where the Maccabees lit the menorah in the Bais HaMikdash which was on the other side of the wall.

The Haftorah of Shabbos Chanukah is about Zecharia's dream. The first Temple was gone, and the second one was still a dream at the time. He saw the Kohen Gadol, Yehoshua, standing wearing filthy clothes. An angel stood nearby ready to begin a litany of accusations. Yehoshua’s sons had fallen prey to what exile is, and while in Bavel had married out. 

Hashem silenced the Satan (the accusing angel), as he no doubt will silence the angel that accuses us of being what exile has made us. He told the Satan that Yehoshua himself was rescued from the fires of exile. Hashem then told the angels to remove the filthy clothing and to clothe Yehoshua in white garments. This hinted that when things change, his sons will come back, and leave their foreign wives.  

Is this the way we dream of things happening? Is the next step going to be recovering from the unspeakable damage that exile has done to all of us? Hashem tells Yehoshua that it can happen, and the message that He gave Yehoshua Kohen Gadol is one that is still the contract He is offering us.

1-     We have to and can walk in Hashems ways, meaning finding the place inside you that you like the best. Recognize that this is the part of you in which Hashem’s image is very much alive. Let this be a statement about who you want to be. Find the middos that reflect your G­‑dliness (chessed, strength to do what is right even when that means self‑restraint, love of truth, a sense of wanting to live a life in which that which is eternal is paramount, and more).­

2-     Keep the Torah so that you can keep the mitzvos.

Can you do this? Is it overwhelming? The end of the vision is one in which you get to see (through Zecharya’s eyes) a fascinating scene. He saw a golden menorah being “fed” with oil coming from a mysterious bowl above it pouring seven thin streams into its seven holders, feeding each of the menorah’s seven lamps. The oil in the bowl came from two olive trees, one on either side or a mysterious hand squeezing the olive oil into the menorah. The angel asked Zecharia what he saw, and he had to tell the truth – he had no idea of the meaning and message of what his vision was.

Hashem told him. 

When the time to return comes, everything will fit into place. Hashem will be conducting the orchestra, beginning with His doing whatever has to happen to bring His people back. Each detail, from the selection of the right leader (in the case of the return to build the second Temple it was Zrubavel), to the gates opening for the rest of the Jews to allow them to return and to come home. He also revealed what will NOT happen….

Not with valor or strength, but with My spirit says Hashem”. 

The mesiras nefesh literally “giving over their souls” of the Maccabees, and its contemporary parallel in those who are learning, those who are turning to Hashem at the Kotel and everywhere that you can find a Jewish heart, and those who are fighting are living with Hashem’s spirit experienced in their hearts and their souls. We all look at the menorah and see light expelling darkness.

Chanukah is one of the rare holidays that almost every Jew understands in their gut, even if it doesn’t flow down to their minds and hearts. We have a promise that Hashem will return those who are in the exile called “Eretz Ashur the land of contentment”, and “Eretz Mitzraim the land of stress and pressure”.

Love, and happy Chanukah,

Tziporah

Shalom Pollack: Tiyulim for January / February

Tuesday, January 14

Meet at the Inbal Hotel  at 8:30 and return at  around 5:00

Our first stop will be a visit to our modern Maccabees standing in the  way of  a "Palestinian state"

In the beautiful, biblical Samaria mountains we will visit the "hilltop " youth.

Exposed to extreme conditions, Arab violence, and domestic and international attacks they stand strong.

We will stand with them.

We continue to the Bet Shean Valley where we shall enjoy the unique "Bio Bee" experience at the religious kibbutz, Sede Eliyahu.

This kibbutz is home to the world's leader in the "helpful insects" industry.

They have identified insects that feed on the  "bad insects" that are the bane of farmers bringing blessing to the world.

On our guided tour of the grounds, we will learn about this unique industry and other wonderful agricultural wonders on this beautiful kibbutz.

Bring a picnic lunch.

In the kibbutz dairy cafe, we can buy drinks and light dishes.

You are invited to shop at the kibbutz nature culinary shop.

Cost 250 shekels

Tuesday, February 4

We will visit new and unique sites today.

We shall experience the new museum and memorial in Latrun, of the Jewish fighters in World War Two and the 1948 Independence War.

After years of preparation and development,  the museum and memorial to the million and half Jewish fighters in WW2 (250,000 were killed in combat) and the International force of Jews who fought in the War of Independence has opened.

Unique, multimedia presents glorious chapters on the survival and rebirth of the Jewish nation in the twentieth century.

The "Igudan" water treatment plant in Rishon Lezion

Israel's reputation as the world's leader in water development and innovation is on display at the world's largest water reclamation and purification plant.

The eye-opening tour of the cutting-edge facility with presentations, reveals yet another way that  Israel is a blessing for the entire region and beyond.

Departure at 9:00 at the Inbal hotel

Return at 5:00

Cost 250 shekels

shalompollack613@gmail.com

Rav Kook: VaYigash: The Hazards of Leadership

 

Joseph Dies First

The text implies that Joseph was the first of Jacob’s twelve sons to die:

“Joseph died, and then his brothers and everyone else in that generation” (Exod. 1:6).

Why was Joseph’s life shorter than that of his brothers?

The Sages suggested that Joseph’s early demise was due to his position of public office. When one assumes a position of authority, “one’s days and years are shortened” (Berachot 55a). Yet this hardly seems fair. Why should those who dedicate their lives to public service be penalized by having a shorter life?

Joseph’s Mistake

Working for the public good is certainly laudable. However, there are certain hazards inherent in such a path. Precisely because one is busy attending to important communal affairs, one may neglect one’s own personal needs. A communal leader may come to view his own needs — whether material, spiritual, or moral — as insignificant.

We may observe this phenomenon in Joseph. As viceroy, Joseph was busy supervising the national and economic affairs of Egypt. He saw his position of public office as the vehicle through which God’s covenant of Bein  HaBetarim  —  which  foretold the exile of Abraham’s descendants in a foreign land — would be realized.

When Joseph heard his father referred to as “your servant,” he did not object to this display of disrespect toward his father. Joseph was occupied with the overall objective; he did not want it to be compromised due to his obligation to show his father respect. Joseph’s error is not uncommon. This is a universal lesson for all leaders: they should not allow any goal or aspiration, no matter how lofty, to lead them to disregard lesser obligations.

The King’s Sefer Torah

We find a similar idea in the special laws pertaining to a Jewish king. The Torah instructs the king to write his own sefer Torah and keep it with him at all times. In this way, “his heart will not be raised above his brothers, and he will not stray from the Law to the right or to the left” (Deut. 17:20). The Torah specifically cautions the monarch that, despite his involvement in critical national affairs, his public service should not lead him to neglect his private obligations. He is obligated to observe the law in his personal life, like every other citizen.

The Torah promises that a king who heeds this warning will be blessed with a long reign. Unlike those who fail the tests of public office, such a king will not live a life of “shortened days and years.”

Life is not just major goals and aspirations. All of us, even those serving in high public office, must conduct ourselves appropriately in all facets of life. Those who maintain their integrity in their personal lives will be blessed with success in their most important and loftiest goals.

(Sapphire from the Land of Israel. Adapted from Ein Eyah vol. II on Berachot IX: 

Vayigash: The First Exile 

The very first exile of the Jewish people, the exile to Egypt, began as Jacob and his family left the Land of Israel. They intended to spend a short stay in Egypt until the famine passed.

The Midrash (Yalkut Shimoni Hosea 528) makes a startling observation:

“Jacob should have gone down to Egypt in chains. Yet G–D said, ‘Jacob, My first-born, how could I banish him in disgrace? Rather, I will send his son to go down before him.'”

What did Jacob do to deserve being exiled in iron chains?

Two Purposes to Exile

We need to analyze the purpose of exile. The Jewish people have spent more years in exile than in their own land. Why was it necessary to undergo these difficult trials? Could they not be punished by other means?

In fact, the Midrash states that the Jewish people are particularly suited for exile. They are called “the daughter of exiles,” since the Avot (forefathers) were sojourners and refugees, subjected to the whims and jealousies of local tyrants (Midrash Eicha Petichta 1 on Isaiah 10:30).

Exile accomplishes two goals:

The people of Israel were created to serve G–D. The nation needs a pure love of G–D, undiluted by materialistic goals. Clearly, people are more prone to become absorbed in worldly matters when affluence and prosperity are readily attainable. In order that the Jewish people should realize their true spiritual potential, G–D made sure that the nation would lack material success for long periods of time.

Exile serves to spread the belief in one G–D throughout the world. As the Sages wrote in Pesachim 87b, “The Holy One exiled Israel so that converts will join them.” Similarly, we find that G–D explained the purpose of exile and redemption in Egypt, “so that Egypt will know that I am G–D” (Ex. 7:5).

The major difference between these two objectives lies in the conditions of the exile. If the purpose of exile is to avoid significant material success over a long period of time — to prepare the Jewish people for complete dedication to G–D and His Torah — then such an expulsion by definition must be devoid of prestige and prosperity.

If, on the other hand, the goal is to influence and uplift the nations of the world, then being honored and respected in their land of exile will not contradict the intended purpose. On the contrary, such a state of honor would promote this aim.

Jacob’s Exile

Jacob had spiritually perfected himself to the extent that nothing in this world could dampen his burning love for G–D. His dedication was so great that he could interrupt the emotional reunion with his beloved son Joseph, after an absence of 22 years, and proclaim G–D’s unity with the Shema prayer (Rashi on Gen. 46:29). Certainly, for Jacob himself, only the second goal of exile was applicable.

Jacob’s descendants, however, would require the degrading aspects of exile in order to purify them and wean them from the negative influences of a materialistic lifestyle. As their father, it was fitting that Jacob be led to Egypt in iron chains. But since Jacob personally would not be adversely affected by worldly homage and wealth, he was permitted to be exiled in honor, led by his son, viceroy of Egypt.

(Gold from the Land of Israel. Adapted from Midbar Shur, pp. 233-241)

Illustration image: ‘The Exile From Judah’ by Alexandre Bida (1813-1895)