Texts & Contexts DRAFT
Vayigash
Rabbi Eliezer Shemtov
“And He said: I am the G-d of your father. Do not fear to descend to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there”[1].
Rashi quotes the words, “Do not fear to descend to Egypt”, and explains: Jacob was distressed because he was compelled to leave the [Promised] Land.
Through his commentary, Rashi introduces two points:
1. The verse says, “Do not fear,” implying concern for the future. Yet, Rashi interprets it as “distress,” which reflects an emotion not necessarily tied to future events.
2. The verse refers to fear of descending to Egypt, but Rashi focuses on the distress of leaving the Promised Land.
The connection between the two changes can be easily understood: descending to Egypt might evoke fear due to the uncertainty of new challenges, while leaving the Promised Land, Jacob's homeland, would bring distress. The question remains, however, what basis does Rashi have for understanding the text this way?
Additionally, if the distress was over leaving the Promised Land, how did G-d’s promise to make Jacob into a great nation resolve his anguish?
Moreover, wouldn’t it make more sense to suggest that Jacob was distressed because descending to Egypt marked the beginning of the Divine decree that Abraham’s descendants would endure centuries of slavery, and all the uncertainty that came with it, rather than his own personal unease? (This interpretation would also clarify how G-d’s promise provided comfort.)
The Explanation
Earlier verses describe Jacob’s decision to go to Egypt to see his son before dying [2]. The journey had already begun. Why, then, does G-d suddenly tell him not to fear descending to Egypt? Wouldn't it have been more appropriate to do before Jacob embarked on his journey?
It is for this reason that Rashi explains that the issue here was not the fear of descending to Egypt but the distress of leaving the Promised Land.
Why, then, did G-d wait until this particular moment to comfort Jacob? Why not reassure him right when the journey began?
Apparently there was no need for G-d's comforting promise to Jacob until he reached the specific place where it was given to him: Beersheba [3].
Jacob’s distress became acute only when he reached Beersheba, a city on the southern border of Israel, marking the exit point to Egypt. Though Jacob knew from the outset, when leaving Hebron, that he would soon leave the Promised Land, the emotional impact didn’t fully manifest itself until he reached the border and faced the concrete reality of leaving. Only then did G-d need to comfort him.
The question remains, however, how did G-d’s promise —that Jacob would become a great nation in Egypt— alleviate his distress about leaving the Promised Land?
To understand this, we must consider why Jacob was distressed about leaving the Promised Land at that time, before the land had attained its special holiness and before the people of Israel took possession of it.
The Land of Canaan was where Abraham and Isaac dedicated their lives to spread awareness of G-d. It was a more spiritually elevated place than any region outside of its boundaries. Jacob believed the ideal environment for his family to grow into the great nation it was destined to be was within this more spiritually refined setting. Being forced to leave with his family gave him reason to be uneasy about the future development of the Jewish People.
To ease this concern, G-d assured him that, paradoxically, it was outside the Promised Land, amidst the challenges of exile, that his family would become the type of great nation it was destined to become.
The Mystical Dimension
Why, indeed, does the verse say “Do not fear” if Jacob’s issue was emotional distress rather than fear?
The answer is that fear of descending to Egypt could be dispelled; the distress over leaving the Promised Land, however, could not —and, in fact, need not— be eliminated. On the contrary, this distress is precisely what nullifies the cause of fear.
This idea is hinted at in Rashi’s wording: “Do not fear descending to Egypt: because he was distressed…” The word “because” does not come to explain why Jacob feared going down to Egypt but rather why he should not fear. It was Jacob’s profound distress over leaving the Promised Land that ensured he would overcome the challenges of exile.
A Contemporary Lesson
G-d’s words to Jacob, “Do not fear,” carry a message for all his descendants throughout history, in every and any place they were exiled to. Our relationship with exile must consist of two opposing attitudes:
1. We must not fear the challenges of exile, knowing it is part of G-d’s plan, to bring out the best in us.
2. At the same time, however, we must always feel distressed over being away from “home”, especially since G-d Himself is in exile alongside us.
These two attitudes are interconnected. Being conscious of our displacement motivates us to transcend it and overcome the challenges it presents us with.
One closing thought:
If Jacob experienced distress at the beginning of his exile, how much more should we feel anguish after all the suffering endured throughout history? This anguish should be expressed through our cries and demands for G-d to end the exile and send Mashiach immediately! This is not and expression of victimhood or an exercise in futility. To the contrary: the very distress because of our being exiled and our insistence to see it end, help hasten the fulfillment of G-d's promise that He will lift us out and redeem us from the deepest exiles where He has accompanied us.
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Genesis 46:3
Genesis 45:28; 46:1
Genesis 46:1
Adapted from Likutei Sichot, Vol. 30, pp. 229–235.
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