And these are the names of the sons of Israel that came to Egypt: (Exodus 1:1)

 

            This verse introduces the Book of Shemos (Exodus). Bereishis (Genesis) concludes with the emigration of the family of Jacob to Egypt under the watchful eye of the pious Joseph and through the leadership of his brothers, the Twelve Tribes, the Sons of Israel. The Children of Israel were given the unique opportunity to learn from these great role models how to maintain a Jewish lifestyle even in the foreign land of Egypt.  

 

 

This is the significance of the verse mentioning, “these are the names of the sons of Israel that came to Egypt”; this is what gave the Jewish people the strength to resist the Egyptian culture, as we are taught: That the Children of Israel did not compromise on any of their Jewish customs; 1) they did not change their Jewish names, 2) their Jewish way of dress, 3) nor their native language. They were also scrupulous not to engage in Lashon Hara, slander, and none of them were guilty of immorality. They stalwartly upheld the morals and ethics that were handed down to them from their fathers and mothers. The result was that although Egypt was the antithesis of the Nation of Israel, here they flourished in mind and spirit.

 

The coming to Egypt was an essential foundation of Israel’s history, and was intended by Hashem from the beginning of Creation for various reasons. This was not an exile of punishment. We must not be deceived by the fact that Israel came to Egypt as a result of the envy of Joseph’s brothers who plotted to sell him into slavery. This scenario was engineered by Hashem to make it appear to be the cause of the sojourn in Egypt, in order to teach certain lessons (one of these lessons: “Never should a father favor one of his sons above the others; because of a small amount of wool our fathers were caused to go down to Egypt”—Shabbos 10b). Thus, “Because Abraham said: By what shall I know.. ., therefore G-d said: You should know that your seed will be sojourners in the land of Egypt” (Breshis 15: 8,13) is merely a lesson which can be learned, and therefore the expression was used by Hashem “You should know” because Abraham said “By what shall I know.” But the sojourn in Egypt was not the result of any misdeed. Egypt was intended by Hashem from the beginning as the Birthplace of the Nation.

 

Three times (Dvarim 4:20, Jeremiah 11:4, I Kings 8:51) the expression Kur Habarzel (Iron Furnace) is used in reference to the sojourn in Egypt. The Kur was the furnace for refining gold (Mishle 17:3, 27:21). This expression thus signifies that Egypt was the furnace where Israel was purified of all impurity and became the pure gold which was worthy of receiving the Torah at Sinai. Thus the stay in Egypt was a necessary preface to the Giving of the Torah. “I am Hashem your G-d that took you forth from the land of Egypt” (20:2) was the first statement of Hashem at Sinai. It is essentially the introduction to the creed by which the Children of Israel are to live by.

 

— Based on the teachings of Rabbi Avigdor Miller, zt’l