He went down to Egypt – Compelled by the Divine Word. There are different versions of this statement in the Haggadah. There are texts that appear similar to the version I have included and others that (omit it and) continue with, “And he resided there…” Rambam in the Mishnah Torah (Sefer Zemanim) offers such a version. It states “And he resided there – He only went down to dwell there temporarily;” It does not include, “Compelled by the Divine Word.” There is no question that the various versions are based on the different opinions which I mentioned above as the reason for the exile to Egypt.⁵⁴, “A Pamphlet Regarding the Covenant between the Pieces.” This essay is a literary unit unto itself. As he does in the Haggadah, Abarbanel begins with a series of questions and then answer them. In his commentary, he suggests three reasons why Jacob’s family was compelled to go down to Egypt: They were punished for selling Joseph into slavery. They went down to Egypt so that they would be purified and improved by their experience. They went down to Egypt simply because of the free will choices they made for themselves. Abarbanel now suggests that the different versions of the Haggadah may be determined by these different reasons for the exile. According to the first approach (it was punishment for the sale of Joseph) and according to the third approach (because of the bad choices they made) it doesn’t make sense to say that they went down to Egypt “compelled by the Divine Word.” Jacob and his sons had free will in the matter and were not forced to go down to Egypt. According to the second reason (So they would be purified and improved by their experience) that they went down to Egypt because of a divine decree, one should include the statement in the text, “He went down to Egypt – Compelled by the Divine Word.” After all, Jacob was afraid to go down to Egypt but God forced him to go. This is similar to what was expounded, “So he sent him from the valley (emek) Hebron and he came to Sh’chem. (Gen. 37:14) From the deep (amukka) counsel of that righteous individual who is interred in Hebron, i.e., Abraham, as it is written: “And He said unto Abram: “Know that your seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years.” (Gen. 15:13) It was as if the Cause of all Causes, who made Jacob to go down to Egypt. This is what the Haggadah means when it says, “Compelled by the Divine Word.”

footnotes: ⁵⁴ In between the commentary on “Originally our ancestors worshipped idols” and “It is the promise that stood for our ancestors and for us” Abarbanel offers a lengthy analysis on the Covenant of the Pieces (Gen. 15). It is given a separate name, Kuntras B’inyan Brit Bein HaBetarim

It would be helpful to explain several verses in Scripture according to this point of view: “Enough!” said Israel. “My son Joseph is still alive! I must go and see him before I die.” So Israel set out with all that was his, and he came to Bersheba, where he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. God called to Israel in a vision by night: “Jacob! Jacob!” He answered, “Here I am.” And He said, “I am Adonai, the God of your father. Fear not to go down to Egypt, for I will make you there into a great nation. I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you back; and Joseph’s hand shall close your eyes.” (Gen. 45:28 – 46:4)

There are a number of questions about these verses. First, why does Jacob appear to travel to Egypt even before God tells him, “Fear not to go down to Egypt?” If he was not compelled by the Divine Word since he was already traveling there, why did God need to reassure him, “Fear not go down…” since he was not afraid and he was already on his way?

Also, why does the text say that he offered sacrifices to the God of his father, Isaac, and not the God of his father, Abraham? Rashi’s interpretation doesn’t solve this problem. He writes that this teaches us that a person has a greater responsibility to honor his father than his grandfather. Yet the Ramban has already written that it would have been better write, “The God of his fathers,” as we find elsewhere, “He blessed Joseph and said, God before whom my fathers’ Abraham and Isaac did walk…” (Gen 48:15) He could have mentioned his father first and then the grandfather since Abraham was his primary relation and the father of his family. It was not right to ignore him! Yet Ramban seeks to answer this question according to rabbinic tradition and not the p’shat,⁵⁵ refers to the literal, historical or contextual meaning of the text. D’rash refers to the rabbinical and homiletical meaning of the text. Abarbanel tends to seek out the literal meaning of the text though we might not always agree with his understanding of “literal.” The Maggid tends to read the text homiletical, more concerned with its spiritual and ethical insights. For our tradition and for us we might say that “Both these and these are the words of the living God!” as I do. You should also note that God answered Jacob, “I am the God of your father,” not “The God of your fathers.”

footnotes: ⁵⁵ P’shat

There is a third question. If Jacob was afraid that he would have to leave the land of Canaan where God watched over him, what comfort could God offer by saying, “For there I will make you a great nation.” If they were in exile what would they gain by becoming a great populous nation? Just the opposite – there would be greater and greater fear that if they became a great nation in Egypt, they would never let them leave.

And a fourth question: If God wanted to make a promise to Jacob, why not promise him redemption? By saying, “I will make you a great nation there” implies that they would remain there in Exile but they would continue to grow in number.

A fifth question: why does Scripture mean by, “I will go down with you to Egypt and I will go up with you?” If this was to promise Jacob that they would be buried in the land of Canaan, as Rashi states, then it should have stated, “You will go to your fathers in peace and be buried with them,” as he said to Abraham. Why did God have to say that he would go down with him and go up with him?

It seems that Jacob did not travel to Egypt intending to remain there. He planned to see Joseph and immediately return to Canaan for he had no desire to settle there. His only desire was to be in the Promised Land with his offspring with the hope of eventually inheriting it, as God promised. When the brothers came and told him that Joseph was alive and ruling over the Egypt and described Joseph’s great honor and glory as they were instructed to do, “You shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt and of all that you have seen,” (Gen. 45:13) Jacob then answered, “Enough! My son, Joseph, is still alive.” (Gen. 45:28) Jacob was saying, “I don’t care about Joseph’s position or the greatness of which you speak. Since he is alive, I must go and see him before I die. I will go by myself and return immediately.” But Isaac was in doubt whether God approved of him leaving Canaan and entering the iron cauldron of Egypt, especially since God had refused to allow Isaac to leave Canaan in a time of famine, “Do not go down to Egypt; stay in this land and I will be with you and bless you and to your offspring I will give this land.” (Gen. 26:2-3) He was also afraid that he might die while he was in Egypt. These fears and doubts were in his heart when he arrived at Beersheba. He was not on his way to Egypt when he came there; rather he came to Beersheba because it was a place of prayer and supplication to God. He came to find out what he should do. He offered sacrifices to the God of his father since this place was special to Isaac and God had prevented Isaac from going to Egypt. God answered him in a dream. God calls to him, “Jacob, Jacob.” It is my thought that with this double language, God comes to tell him that the promise that God made was to Jacob the individual and to Jacob, the nation who are also called by this name. God offers two teachings, one to the person and one to the people. Speaking to Jacob, our forefather, he says, “Fear not to go down to Egypt.” That is, “Even though I prevented Isaac, from going to Egypt, I am permitting you to go. Do not think you are any different to me. I was the God of your father and I am the One who says to you, ‘Fear not to go down to Egypt;’” “I am the Lord, I am no different.” The only difference according to the Kabbalists is that Isaac was never allowed to go to Egypt; this was not the case for Jacob.

Jacob was afraid of four things, so God reassured him regarding them.

First, he was fearful lest his offspring would decrease because the Egyptians would kill his sons and afflict his daughters. Egypt was known to be a place of violence. Because of this God promised him, “I will make you a great nation there,” – I will not decrease your offspring but will increase them greatly.

Second, Jacob was afraid that by leaving the holy land, he would lose the protection of divine providence which was attached to him there. Therefore God promised him, “I will go down with you to Egypt.” In other there words, God’s providence will continue to be with him there.

Third, Jacob was afraid lest he die while he was in Egypt and be buried there. Then he would not be buried in the Cave of the Patriarchs with his forefathers. God said to him, “I will certainly go up with you,” God promised him that he would cause it so that he would be buried in the land of Canaan with his fathers with honor.

Fourth, Jacob was afraid lest Joseph would die during his life time and he would mourn for him. In response to this, God said, “Joseph’s hand will cover your eyes,” (Gen 46:4) he will be with you in the hour of your death. All of this is what he said to Jacob, the individual. But to the nation that would arise from Jacob he also offered reassurance, “Fear not to go down to Egypt, for I will make you there into a great nation.” (Gen. 46:3) That is, don’t be afraid or fearful of entering Egypt since this was a decree before me; it is inevitable that you must go there so I can make you a great nation. The expression, “A great nation” implies that they would become distinctive and recognizable as “Jews” and they would not mix with the descendants of Ham. This was so as long as Jacob’s descendants not change their language, maintained circumcision, and expressed fear of God. It was as if God said to them, “What do you have to fear since you cannot escape this fate in any way?” He also said regarding the nation, “I will go down with you to Egypt,” in order to tell them that even though Egypt was filled with idolatry and it would be hard to cling to their faith, even so the holy offspring would always have God’s providence, as was said, “Though they were exiled to Egypt, the divine presence was with them.” (Bemidbar Rabbah 7:10) He also said to the people, “And I will certainly go up with you.” This is a reference to the redemption from Egypt and the Exodus from there with signs and wonders…and he further said, “Joseph’s hand will cover your eyes.” This is also said about the nation, regarding our teacher Moses. He will continue⁵⁶ he will add, he interprets the verse to mean he will add to them with their hand… to add to them honor and uprightness. With his teachings he will place his hands over their eyes and enlighten them. Thus we have explained from this vision what God said to Jacob, our forefather, and also to the house of Jacob, the people of Israel. I have now explained these verses completely and answered all the questions I have raised. We have learned from this that Jacob went down to Egypt, “compelled by the Divine Word,” because he didn’t completely agree to go down even after arriving in Beersheba until God made known to him what he had decreed. According to this, the expression, “compelled by the Divine Word,” follows the second approach which I mentioned above as the reasons for the Egyptian exile. There are some who interpret this expression as two separate parts: “Compelled” and “by the Divine Word.” First, they were compelled because of the sale of Joseph and the famine. Second, by the Divine Word, which gave them permission to go down to Egypt. But what I wrote first is the better interpretation and the intention of the Maggid, without a doubt. With this I have answered the questions in the forty-seventh and forty-eighth gates!

footnotes: ⁵⁶ Playing on the name Joseph (Yoseif) and its similarity to Yoseef,

"And he resided there" – this teaches that he didn't go down to settle there, but rather to reside there, as it is stated, "And they said to Pharaoh, to reside in the land have we come, since there is not enough pasture for your servant's flocks, since the famine is heavy in the land of Canaan, and now please grant that your servants should dwell in the land of Goshen." (Gen. 47:4) The Maggid did not interpret, “And he resided there” as a reference to settling permanently in Egypt as we see elsewhere, “And Jacob resided in the land of Ham,” (Ps. 105:23) for two reasons. First, because if this is what the text meant, it would have been more fitting for it to say, “And he dwelled there.” (Vayeshev sham)⁵⁷ means to settle permanently while vayagar is to reside for a limited amount of time. The descendants of Jacob actually dwelled there a long time and were already residents of the land. So why does Scripture use “residing” (geirut) if it doesn’t reflect their intention when they came there… The second reason is that Scripture states, “They resided there few in number.” This implies that the residing must have taken place at the beginning of their stay in Egypt when they were still few in number, only seventy. The verse is referring to the time soon after they arrived in Egypt. The most direct explanation of the verse, ‘They resided there few in number” reflects their thinking when they first arrived and not when they had been dwelling for a while in Egypt. About this (later period of their residence in Egypt) it states, “and there they became a great and mighty nation.”⁵⁸ A proof is brought for this from the verse, “to reside in the land have we come.” (Gen. 47:7) The Maggid understood from the true meaning of the story of Joseph; Joseph only told the brothers to bring their father to Egypt to live there during the years of the famine, as he said, “And here I will nourish you; for yet there are five years of famine, lest you, and your household and all you have come to poverty.” (Gen. 45:11) He thought that after the famine ended, they would return to Canaan. When they arrived in Egypt Joseph planned to dupe Pharaoh into allowing them to settle the land of Goshen. He ordered his brothers, when he presented them to Pharaoh and he asked them what type of work they did, to say, “Your servants trade has been keeping cattle from our youth until now, and also our ancestors,” (Gen 46:34) He then told them the reason why they should say this, “That you may live in the land of Goshen for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.” (Gen. 46:34) Because of this the Egyptians would not want them to dwell in Egypt. Even though this advice was for their benefit and there can be no doubt that it was true that both they and their ancestors were shepherds, still Joseph had them say this so Pharaoh would not suspect that they came to Egypt to eat his food, and that Joseph was going to give it to them from the king’s treasury. The brothers came before Pharaoh and when he asked them, “What is your trade,” they answered as Joseph instructed them, “Your servants are shepherds, both we and our ancestors;” this would have been enough for them to say. So why did they add, “And they said, ‘Moreover, we have come to reside in the land.’” (Gen. 47:4) Also why did they explicitly ask Pharaoh, “Let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.” (Gen. 47:4) It was not Joseph’s intention that they should ask for the land of Goshen but rather they should answer him in this way so that Pharaoh himself would offer it to them. Yet the truth of the matter became apparent when they said, “Your servants trade has been keeping cattle from our youth until now, and also our ancestors,” (Gen 46:34). They became silent thinking that Pharaoh would answer, “Then go dwell in the land of Goshen…” But upon hearing this Pharaoh didn’t say anything so the brothers felt it was necessary to add the second part of the statement, “They said, to reside in the land we have come.” This was an unexpected statement and it made known the truth of their intentions, that it was not their plan to continue to dwell in the land but to reside there temporarily because of the pressing needs of their herds and because the famine was severe in Canaan. Then they asked him clearly to give them permission to dwell in Goshen for the sake of their herds for a limited time. To this second request Pharaoh did not answer directly; rather he turned to Joseph and said, “Your father and your brothers have come to you.” (Gen. 47:5) He said to Joseph, ‘’All of this was to fool me, for your father and brothers came because of their herds and you can see that other shepherds have not come from Canaan. The truth is they came “To you” – because you are a leader in my land and so you can support them. They want to dwell in the land of Goshen and I want things to go well for them. Since that is the case, “Behold the land is before you; let your father and your brothers live in the best of the land.” (Gen. 47:6) From this it has been explained that when the brothers said, “We have come to reside in the land,” they were not being duplicitous. They were being completely honest – this is what they meant. It is why the Maggid explains, “and he resided there” to mean, they did not come to Egypt to settle there.⁵⁹ We have now answered the questions in the forty-ninth and the fiftieth gates.

footnotes: ⁵⁷ Vayeshev ⁵⁸ As happened during many periods of Israel exile, what began as residence quickly turned into settlement. Jacob and his family came planning to reside for a short time in Egypt but they became as great nation when they remained there permanently. ⁵⁹ While Joseph tried to trick Pharaoh into letting his family settle in Goshen, the brothers’ honest explanation was more affective in convincing Pharaoh to allow them to settle in Goshen. Pharaoh is cleverer than Joseph and he turns on him and makes it clear that he knows Joseph’s true intentions. Thus when the Haggadah says, that they did not come to settle but to reside in Egypt it is clear that the brothers had no intention of staying on but remaining until the end of the famine.