English translation — ויגש ג

Talk 3<pg>229</pg>

A.

In the verse<sup>1</sup>

"And He said, 'I am the God, the God of your father; do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make you a great nation there'" Rashi quotes the words "do not fear to go down to Egypt" and explains "because he was distressed that he had to go outside the Land."

In this commentary of his, Rashi innovates two matters

(regarding the plain meaning of the verse)

:

(a)

In the verse it says "Do not fear,"

and Rashi changes and writes "because he was distressed" — and "fear" and "distress" are two different feelings

(although they have a common aspect).

[And as we find in the verse above<sup>2</sup>

"And Jacob feared greatly and was distressed",

And in the Targum there "and he was afraid..

and distressed",

That is: "fear" is a feeling of worry<sup>3</sup>

about a future event that might harm him; and "distress" indicates a feeling of pressure and sorrow and anguish<sup>4</sup>,

and is also appropriate in connection with a certain trouble in the present<sup>5</sup>

or in the past].

(B)

In the verse it is explicit "

(Do not fear)

to go down to Egypt",

but Rashi changes and writes "about being compelled to go outside the land",

that is, his fear was

(not about the descent to Egypt,

which is explicit in the verse,

but rather)

about the departure from the land,

and there is no difference to which place he goes,

to Egypt or to another land.

And it can be said that the two changes are dependent on each other: the descent to Egypt

(to a new land in general,

and in particular to Egypt,

and as will be explained below section b)

arouses fear

(and worry)

; and the departure from Eretz Yisrael

(to outside the land)

does not arouse fear,

but rather distress

("he was distressed").

But it is difficult: from where does Rashi derive to take the verse out of its plain meaning?

B.

The source of this Rashi is

(at first glance)

in Pirkei d'Rabbi Eliezer⁶,

and its language: "Yaakov heard that Yosef is alive and was pondering in his heart and said, 'How can I leave the land of my fathers and the land of my birth and the land in which the Shechinah of the Holy One, blessed be He, dwells, and go to the land of the children of Cham⁷

to a land where there is no fear of Heaven among them."

And it is very perplexing:

behold also the Feda"r

(in his commentary that

(he also)

in the manner of the homiletical interpretation)

was not satisfied with the concern of leaving the land alone — that Yaakov was "pondering etc. how can I leave the land of my fathers etc." — but continues that he pondered and worried also about the place of his going "and I will go to the land of the sons of Cham in a land where there is no fear of Heaven among them"⁸,

and this is in accordance<pg>230</pg>

with what is explicit in the verse that Yaakov feared "to descend to Egypt";

And specifically Rashi,

who did not come to explain except the plain meaning of the verse,

did not mention at all his concern about going down to Egypt,

but only the pain etc. about the departure

(from the land)

to outside the land!

[And one cannot answer that the concern "that there is no fear of Heaven among them

(in the land of Egypt)

" is not according to the plain meaning of the verse — for we have already found above its parallel regarding Egypt in the plain meaning of Scripture: on Pharaoh's words to Abraham⁹

"Behold, your wife, take and go" Rashi explained "not like Avimelech who said to him¹⁰

Behold, my land is before you, but he said to him go and do not stand, for the Egyptians are steeped in lewdness"¹¹].

Moreover: according to Rashi it is difficult,

how the continuation of the verse is reconciled,

that the Holy One, blessed be He, removed Yaakov's distress by promising him "for a great nation I will make you there":

According to the Pirkei d'Rabbi Eliezer mentioned above that Yaakov was afraid to go down to Egypt because there is no fear of Heaven among them and he was concerned that his sons would mingle among the Egyptians&lt;sup&gt;12&lt;/sup&gt;

and learn from their deeds etc.&lt;sup&gt;13&lt;/sup&gt;,

it is understood,

that when the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him "for a great nation I will make you there" his mind was set at ease,

for with this He promised him that they would not mingle among them.

But according to Rashi,

that Yaakov was distressed that he was forced to go out of the Land [to the Diaspora] — it is not understood: how was this distress of Yaakov alleviated by the promise "for a great nation etc.",

which seemingly does not negate the cause of his distress?

3.

Seemingly, it can be explained,

that the reason that Rashi does not explain that Yaakov's fear of going down to Egypt was because of the lack of fear of Heaven among them etc. — is:

When Yosef said to his brothers¹⁴

: "Hurry and go up to my father and say to him etc. come down to me etc. and you will be close to me, you and your sons and your sons' sons etc. for there are still five years of famine",

he informed Yaakov that he would designate for him a special place in Egypt to live there — "and you will dwell in the land of Goshen etc. and I will sustain you there".

That the simple meaning¹⁵

would be that they would have a place to live by themselves¹⁶.

[And as it was in practice — according to its simple meaning that¹⁷

"And I will set apart on that day the land of Goshen upon which My people stands",

"in the land of Goshen where the children of Israel were"¹⁸,

meaning that they lived<pg>231</pg>

Even in a special land,

and they were not mixed with the Egyptians¹⁹].

And therefore it is understood simply that there is no place to fear from the conduct of the Egyptians,

since they will not dwell together with them but in their own land,

the land of Goshen.

But it is a great difficulty to say that this forces to take the verse out of its plain meaning

(and to explain that what is said "Do not fear to go down to Egypt" does not mean concern about the descent to Egypt, but rather that he was distressed about leaving the Land of Israel for outside the land),

For although the situation of Jacob and his sons — seventy souls and more — in Egypt cannot be compared to the situation of Abraham and Sarah in their descent to Egypt

(to the extent that Pharaoh had to send them away from there),

since Jacob and his sons dwelled in the land of Goshen — nevertheless,

it is understood simply,

that the descent to the land of Egypt,

whose people are notorious for their very worst conduct, the absolute opposite of fear of Heaven²⁰

[both in sexual immorality,

steeped in lewdness as above,

and in idolatry "their fear..

they fear idols"²¹

and more],

has in it to arouse Jacob's concern and fear.

And nevertheless Rashi takes the verse out of its plain meaning,

and explains that Jacob was distressed about leaving the Land of Israel for outside the Land!

4.

Several of the commentators of the Bible²²

explained that "Jacob was²³

afraid and said: Now that I am going down to Egypt, the days are approaching that were said to the elders, the decree of enslavement and affliction upon my seed in a land not theirs",

and as it is written in Targum Yonatan ben Uziel²⁴

"Do not fear to go down to Egypt concerning the matter of the enslavement that I decreed with Abraham".

And that is, that the fear was about the beginning of the fulfillment of the decree "and they will enslave them and afflict them"²⁵

upon Israel.

And superficially,

also this interpretation is more fitting to the plain meaning — than Rashi's interpretation,

because according to Rashi's interpretation, Yaakov's concern was only a private matter,

pertaining to him alone

(about being compelled to go outside the Land)

; but according to this interpretation, there was here a general concern,

in relation to the people of Israel

(the seed of Yaakov)

in its entirety.

[And also the continuation of the verse "for a great nation I will make you there" is more settled according to this interpretation,

as the Chizkuni says "The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: Do not fear descending to Egypt; if to your father I warned, to you I come to promise you: if the days of subjugation and affliction have drawn near, also the blessing with which I blessed your grandfather has drawn near, and I will make you a great nation&lt;sup&gt;26&lt;/sup&gt;

namely, that 'for a great nation I will make you there',"

that is: the promise "for a great nation I will make you there" has a connection and relation to the fulfillment of the covenant between the parts].

Why then did Rashi not explain that Yaakov feared the fulfillment of the decree of the Covenant Between the Parts?

And behold, according to Rashi above on the verse²⁷

"And the spirit of Yaakov revived" — "the Divine Presence rested upon him, which had departed from him,"

it is logical to say,

that Yaakov knew that the descent to <pg>232</pg>

Egypt is the beginning of the fulfillment of the decree of the Covenant Between the Parts.

[At first glance it could be said that this interpretation is difficult to say,

according to the simple meaning of the verse,

in the language "Do not fear",

since this does not change what is known to him that this is the fulfillment of the decree of the Holy One, blessed be He.

But this is not a sufficient answer,

for Rashi could have explained

(as he explains in other places,

as above)

that Yaakov was distressed about this that from now on begins the time of "And they will enslave them and afflict them".

And it is understood,

that even when one knows that the decree is the will of the Holy One, blessed be He,

nevertheless this is a matter that arouses sorrow].

5.

And one can say the explanation of this:

In the verses before this it is already told about Jacob's decision to go down to Egypt: "And said²⁸

Israel, my son Joseph is still alive, I will go and see him before I die"; and even more — that he already began to go down "And Israel journeyed with all that he had etc."²⁹

— And since so it is puzzling,

what is the content of this statement "Do not fear to go down etc.",

which implies that Jacob was still in doubt and afraid to go down to Egypt³⁰?

This statement would have been appropriate before his decision to go down to Egypt³¹,

and at least before he began to go down in practice.

And therefore Rashi explains that "Do not fear to go down to Egypt" does not mean that he was afraid and scared to begin,

but rather "because he was distressed that he was compelled to go out etc.",

i.e., he was pained about the action that he was doing in practice.

However, it is not understood:

Why was this promise of "Do not fear, My servant Jacob, etc." delayed,

which came to dispel his sorrow,

until after he

(traveled from his place,

and)

arrived at Beersheba — and consequently all that time Jacob was in sorrow³²?

And it must be said that here

(in Be'er Sheva)

was renewed some matter,

because of which Yaakov then needed the "consolation" of the Holy One, blessed be He, in His promise "Do not fear" etc.

And therefore Rashi explains that he was distressed that he was forced to go outside the Land,

and not specifically about the descent to Egypt.

And the explanation of this:

Be'er Sheva is the border place&lt;sup&gt;33&lt;/sup&gt;

— the last city in the south of Eretz Yisrael,

from which one goes out to chutz la'aretz.

And therefore, although his journey began with the intent to leave the land and go down to Egypt,

and this journey of his was with joy etc.,

as it is written&lt;sup&gt;34&lt;/sup&gt;

"And Yisrael said, 'Still my son&lt;pg&gt;233&lt;/pg&gt;

Yosef lives; I will go and see him before I die'" — nevertheless, when he reached the border of Eretz Yisrael,

when he stood to go out to chutz la'aretz in practice — he was distressed and pained over the actual,

that he was compelled to go out to chutz la'aretz in practice.

And even though immediately upon his departure from his place

(from Hebron)

he knew that he was destined to leave the land — nevertheless,

the pain caused by the knowledge that his end is to leave is not comparable

to the pain when he stands to leave in practice,

as is seen tangibly.

Regarding the words of Rabbi Yitzchak cited in Rashi above³⁵

— "that the Holy One, blessed be He, sees what is yet to be born..

A male child was born to you in your days..

I rejoiced and caused everyone to rejoice..

And you did not know that his end is to die..

At the time of joy, joy"].

6.

However, based on this, the wonder grows even more — what is the continuation "For a great nation I will make you there":

Since in his descent to Egypt, Jacob was not afraid lest his sons intermingle with the nations and the like,

but he was distressed that he was forced to go outside the land,

if so, what benefit would this promise — "For a great nation I will make you there" — have to dispel his distress over his departure to the diaspora,

as above?

And this will be understood with the prior explanation of the reason and the cause for Yaakov's distress over having to go outside the Land — for superficially it is not understood: when Yaakov went to Charan,

to the house of Lavan,

it is not said³⁶

that he was distressed over having to go outside the Land³⁷?

And for further explanation:

It was already explained in another place³⁸

that in the plain sense of Scripture we do not find that the patriarchs were careful to leave the Land of Israel for outside the Land.

Despite the fact that the patriarchs fulfilled the entire Torah before it was given³⁹,

and as is explicit in Rashi⁴⁰

regarding Abraham that he also kept rabbinic decrees and shevutin — nevertheless they were not careful regarding the prohibition of leaving the Land⁴¹.

And the reason for the matter,

because

(according to the simple explanation)

in the time of the patriarchs the Land of Israel was not yet distinguished in its holiness from the other lands⁴²,

and moreover — in their time there was not yet a change also in the ownership of the land

(that it would be in the ownership of the people of Israel).

And what Rashi explains: G‑d’s command to Yitzchak⁴³

"Do not go down to Egypt — for you are a perfect burnt-offering and the land outside the Land is not fitting for you",

so: a)

this was only regarding Yitzchak, who was "a perfect burnt-offering",

<pg>234</pg>

b)

also in this Rashi is precise

(and did not write that it was forbidden to leave the Land⁴⁴

and the like,

but rather)

"that the land outside the Land is not fitting for you".

And it can be said: the difference between Eretz Yisrael and the diaspora in the time of the Patriarchs

(also by Yitzchak)

was not because there was holiness in the object of the land itself,

but only because there

(in Eretz Yisrael)

Avraham acted that the Holy One, blessed be He, is "God of the heavens and God of the earth" — "I accustomed Him in the mouths of creatures",

but in the diaspora the Holy One, blessed be He, was only in the aspect of "God of the heavens" and not "God of the earth" — "that the inhabitants of the world did not recognize Him and His name was not accustomed in the land"⁴⁵

(in the diaspora).

[And with this is also understood the precise wording of Rashi here regarding Yaakov "that he was distressed that he was compelled to go out to the diaspora"

(and not — to go out from the land)

— and according to his wording regarding Yitzchak "the diaspora is not worthy for you" — because in the time of the Patriarchs there was not yet holiness in the land because of which there would be an obligation to remain in the land].

And according to this, a reason is needed — why was Jacob distressed that he was forced to go out of the Land [of Israel]

(For the simple meaning of the expression indicates that he was distressed about the departure to a place that is outside the Land of Israel — and not about being forced to go to a foreign land etc.).

And the explanation of this:

The situation of Yaakov then was different from his situation at the time of his departure to the house of Lavan

(and also from the situation of Avraham and Yitzchak at the time of their departure to outside the land)

In this,

that at this departure there were already seventy souls besides the wives of his sons⁴⁶,

and this is the beginning of Bnei Yisrael as a nation by itself.

For seemingly their place and the suitable one — is the land of Canaan,

the land of his father's sojournings,

the land that was promised to each one of the three Patriarchs,

and in it he will become a great nation,

as the promise of the Holy One, blessed be He, to Avraham "and I will make you a great nation" — specifically in Eretz Yisrael⁴⁷.

And therefore specifically at this departure he was distressed that he was compelled to go outside the land,

since their place of "the souls of the house of Yaakov" should have been

(in his opinion)

in the land of Canaan; and about this he was answered "for I will make you a great nation there" — that on the contrary,

the "great nation" of the people of Yisrael will be achieved specifically "there",

in the diaspora⁴⁸.

7.

The meaning of the Torah in Rashi's commentary:

In the end, it requires explanation,

at first glance: since the intention in God's promise

(according to Rashi)

is to remove Yaakov's distress

(that "he was distressed"),

why was it said in it "Do not fear"?

And it can be said — by way of a hint — that the saying "Do not fear, etc." comes to remove only the awe and fear of Yaakov from the descent to Egypt,

but not that "he was distressed that he was compelled to go outside the Land",

because the feeling of grief over the departure to outside the Land cannot be removed,

and on the contrary: this grief itself is what nullifies the reason and the matter that causes the fear of the descent to Egypt.

And this is also the hint in the language of Rashi "Do not fear to descend to Egypt — because he was

(Yaakov)

distressed etc.": "Because" is a giving of reason,

that is: Why does Yaakov not need to fear the descent to Egypt? — because he was distressed that he was compelled to go outside the Land.

Explanation of the matter:

The words of the Holy One, blessed be He, to Jacob at his descent into the exile of Egypt

("Do not fear, etc.")

Their content —<pg>235</pg>

lesson

(also)

to his children in all generations and places while they are in exile,

that the feeling and attitude toward exile must be in two opposite movements:

On the one hand, each and every one of the children of Israel must know that they have no reason to fear and be afraid of the exile,

because since "not of our own will were we exiled from the land of Israel..

Our Father, our King, may He be blessed, exiled us from our land and sent us into exile"⁴⁹,

it is therefore understood that we were given all the necessary powers to overcome all the obstacles and delays etc. that are in the time of exile and to perform His service, may He be blessed, as required.

And moreover — specifically through the service in exile,

without taking into account all the concealments and coverings regarding the fulfillment of Torah and commandments and the mockers etc.,

the greatness and strength of the children of Israel is revealed — "I will make you a great nation there"

(as explained in many places⁵⁰).

However on the other hand,

together with the negation of fear from the exile,

one must feel the "distress" and pain of the exile — meaning that the attitude toward the state of exile should not be, G-d forbid, with a feeling of calm and rest,

but,

on the contrary — with a movement of constant pain over the fact that the children of Israel are not in their true place — but are like children who have been exiled from their father's table⁵¹

; and not only are the children and the Congregation of Israel in exile and captivity etc.,

but as the word of the Lord to Jacob: "I will go down with you to Egypt"⁵²,

the Shechinah is in exile.

And these two feelings — the absence of fear from the exile and the feeling of pain of the exile — are dependent on each other: this power in a person,

to rise above the exile until he will not fear and be afraid of it,

comes and is drawn from the feeling and recognition that the exile is not his true place,

and he is pained over his being in exile and constantly yearns to leave the state of exile and return to his true place.

And this yearning itself elevates him above the exile,

until he has no fear or dread of the concealments and hidden things in the exile.

And this is the practical lesson from Rashi's commentary: if at the beginning of Jacob's descent to Egypt he was distressed that he was forced to go outside the Land,

all the more so must a person be distressed over the straits of the exile in our time,

after all the troubles that have passed upon the entire Jewish people during the time of exile,

until our present time,

in the generation of the footsteps of the Messiah;

And this distress

(that "he is distressed" by it)

must every Jew express and reveal through his cry to the Holy One, blessed be He, "Until when is the end of wonders"⁵³,

"Until when shall the foe blaspheme"⁵⁴,

and demand etc. the redemption from the Holy One, blessed be He,

as has been discussed many times⁵⁵

from the Midrashim of our Sages,

and from the words of the early and later halachic authorities, from whose mouths we live,

And this cry and demand itself hastens and brings closer even more the true and complete redemption through our righteous Messiah,

"And I will surely bring you up also"⁵²,

speedily in our days, literally.

(From the talk of Shabbat Parshat Vayigash 5746)