YeshivaThe torah world Gateway
Beit MidrashAsk the RabbiCalendarWikiDedications
Thursday 26 Tevet 5786

Dedicate the study in the website

Dedicate

YeshivaThe torah world Gateway
 Beit Midrash

Beit Midrash
  • Torah Portion and Tanach
  • Bereshit
  • Vayigash
קטגוריה משנית
undefined
3076
To dedicate this lesson

The Torah study is dedicatedin the memory of

Hana Bat Haim

Female LessonParashat HashavuaSeries'LibraryPiskei Din (Hebrew)Test Yourself
The initial stage of our first exile is marked by a list of the seventy names of Yaakov’s household who have just arrived in Egypt. "And these are the names of the children of Israel who are coming ("ha’ba’im") into Egypt" (Bereishit 46:8-27). Interestingly, this very phrase is quoted verbatim in the opening verse of the book of Shemot. There, however, not only are the seventy names reduced to twelve, but the tense also switches from the present "who are coming" in the opening phrase to the past found in the closing phrase: "...each has arrived with his family" (Shemot 1:1). To resolve this grammatical difficulty, Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik Zt"l suggested that the key to redemption lies in our ability to see ourselves as having ‘just arrived’ and being nothing more than ‘temporary residents.’ This is borne out by the Midrash which emphasizes that Yaakov’s children retained their Hebrew names: "Reuven descended (from Eretz Yisrael); Reuven ascended (from Egypt), Levi descended; Levi ascended, etc." We also read in the Pesach Haggadah that Yaakov had no intention to plant himself in Egypt; he meant only to live there temporarily. Insisting on a psychological awareness of temporary existence as a necessary prerequisite for achieving redemption, Rabbi Soloveitchik commented that he abhorred the term "Diaspora," preferring instead the harsh word "galut" (exile). "Diaspora" smacks of legitimacy, while "galut" clearly indicates detachment from an original homeland, along with a nostalgic longing to return.

The past two thousand years of Jewish history is replete with examples of Jews being "reminded" of their "temporary residence" status. One should, therefore, not be shocked by the recent sharp rise in world-wide anti-Semitism. When I was growing up in the sixties in New York, my father would comment about isolated anti-Semitic acts (e.g., synagogue or cemetery desecrations) that at least we should remember that we’re in "galut"! Perhaps there was adequate "ha’ba’im" awareness in my home environment that ultimately brought my family out of the American "galut" to join the miraculous historic process of the ingathering of exiles in the land of Israel.



Vayigash
Vayigash
undefined

Rabbi Dr. Aharon Adler

    undefined
    Pinchas

    Klall Yisrael Has an Address

    Parashat Pinchas

    5766
    undefined
    Miketz

    The Dream and The Goal

    Parashat Miketz

    Kislev, 5763
    undefined
    Vayigash

    The Key to Redemption: Temporary Residence

    Parashat Vayigash

    undefined
    Yitro

    Why Ten Commandments

    תשס"ח
Popular Lessons
Popular Lessons
Recent Lessons
Recent Lessons

Rabbis in Midrash

Lessons
fast navigation
  • Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamed
     Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamed
  • Rabbi David Dudkevitz
     Rabbi David Dudkevitz
  • Rabbi Eliezer Melamed
     Rabbi Eliezer Melamed
  • Rabbi Avraham Shapira Zt"l
     Rabbi Avraham Shapira Zt"l
  • Rabbi Moshe Berliner
     Rabbi Moshe Berliner
  • Rabbi Shlomo Fischer zt"l
     Rabbi Shlomo Fischer zt"l
  • Rabbi Yehoshua Shapira
     Rabbi Yehoshua Shapira
  • Rabbi Chanan Porat Z"l
     Rabbi Chanan Porat Z"l
  • Rabbi Shabbtai Sabbato
     Rabbi Shabbtai Sabbato
  • Rabbi Hershel Schachter
     Rabbi Hershel Schachter
עוד Lessons
Personal area

Join now to watch your latest lessons and questions and continue watching series' of lessons right from the time you left them.

Login >
את המידע הדפסתי באמצעות אתר yeshiva.org.il