The Exile Begins

[Shimon]

Joseph, who revealed himself to his brothers, sent them back to the land of Canaan, with provisions and wagons, so that they could return to Egypt with his father Jacob – the entire family – in order to dwell in the land of Goshen. On the way down to Egypt, Jacob stopped in Beer-Sheva, where he “offered zevachim [offerings] unto Elolokei Aviv Yitzchak [the G’d of his father Isaac]” (Genesis 46:1, OJB). Previously in the Torah, the G’d of Isaac is described as “the Pachad [Dread; i.e., fear] of Isaac, alluding to the Akeidah (Binding) of Isaac, whereof he was brought up as an offering on Mt. Moriah.

Jacob, who was greatly concerned that his family’s journey to Egypt would portend this exile, sought the word of the L’RD, on the way there at Beer Sheba, the same place where Abraham and Isaac brought offerings. According to Ramban and R’Bachya, Jacob understood that the impending exile could be seen as a judgement; therefore, he used the L’RD’s name Pachad Yitzchak, the name that implies awe and justice. He appealed to Him, that the harshness of the impending exile would be diminished in the merit of Isaac, who served him unflinchingly, when he willingly acceded to being the intended offering.

So, Jacob and his family, seventy people in total were headed to Egypt, where they would be preserved during the famine, and isolated enough in the land of Goshen – outside Egypt proper – so that the values of the three Patriarchs would also be preserved and instilled in the future generations. This preservation was a godsend, the culmination of twenty two years of nisyanos (trials) for Joseph, and his entire family. Yet, as mentioned by the Chafetz Chaim, all of the challenges that were faced, during those years were a necessary component in order to fulfill G’d’s master plan, in regard to His people.

So too, the Chafetz Chaim explains that at the end of six thousand years of history, at the beginning of the Messianic Age, in like manner that Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, the veil will also be lifted from our eyes. And, we will be able to perceive the significant meanings of historicity. Additionally, we will be able to perceive the overall importance of various events in our own lives; consequently, we will understand where the L’RD’s guidance was enacted for the overall good, regardless of the challenges that occurred.

“For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part but then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.”

• 1 Corinthians 13:12, Tree of Life Version