God in Exile (Vayigash)
Night brings our troubles to the light, rather than banishes them. -Seneca the Elder
As Jacob is about to leave the land of Canaan, the land that had been promised to him, to his father, to his grandfather, and to his progeny, God appears to Jacob that night. Jacob is driven to leave because of the famine in Canaan and he is pulled to Egypt by the promise of seeing his long-lost son, Joseph, as well as by assurances of sustenance for the entire family in Egypt.
The Meshech Chochma on Genesis 46:2 wonders why we see such an unusual divine revelation during the nighttime to our patriarch Jacob when we don’t see such a revelation to either of the other two patriarchs, his grandfather Abraham or his father Isaac.
The Meshech Chochma explains that what is different about Jacob from the other patriarchs, is that Jacob was ready and willing to live in exile. Abraham only leaves Canaan for a short period of time and Isaac never leaves.
God, therefore, pays Jacob a special visitation at night. Night is parallel to exile. The physical darkness of night parallels the spiritual darkness of exile. Nonetheless, God comes to tell Jacob that even in the spiritual darkness of exile, God is still with him and will remain with him in his exile.
The Meshech Chochma elaborates further, that just as God remained with Jacob in exile, so too He remains with Jacob’s progeny, with the people of Israel in their long exile.
But the Meshech Chochma qualifies his statement. When the people of Israel follow the ways of the patriarchs, of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; when we hold firm to the traditions of our ancestors, then Israel is a strong nation, an ancient yet vibrant people to whom God revealed Himself when the Temple stood in Jerusalem. God remains with the people also in the long night of exile.
But when the people of Israel forget the covenant our ancestors forged with God, when we no longer walk in their paths, then the divine presence no longer resides with the people of Israel. We cease to lay claim to our ancestral heritage and the divine accompaniment that comes along with it. We become “fair game” to the vicissitudes and ill winds of the world.
May we remain firm in our connection to our ancient covenant and may God’s presence ever be near.
Shabbat Shalom,
Ben-Tzion
Dedication
To all those completing the 7.5 year cycle of learning the entire Babylonian Talmud (Daf Yomi). And to those starting the next cycle this Sunday, especially my wife Tamara, who will be teaching a weekly online review course of Daf Yomi at WebYeshiva: https://www.webyeshiva.org/course/daf-yomi-one-week-at-a-time/
