The Decree of Enslavement in Egypt

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  1. The Suffering of Hagar and the Enslavement in Egypt

    Prof. Jonathan Grossman

    God tells Avraham that his children will be enslaved in Egypt; and the angel describes – in similar terms – Hagar suffering Sarah’s oppression. The Torah links the enslavement in Egypt with Sarah’s treatment of Hagar.

  2. The Covenant Between the Parts

    Rabbi Yaakov Medan

    Why did God decree that the descendants of Avraham will be exiled to Egypt? Shmuel believes Avraham's sin was a lack of emunah, while Rabbi Abahu and Rabbi Yohanan said the punishment was given due to another sin. This controversy mirrors their criticism of Avraham in the War of the Kings, and the nature and purpose of the Covenant between the Pieces.

  3. By What Shall I Know? Question and Covenant

    Rabbi Chanoch Waxman

    We tend to think of a divine covenant, a treaty with God, as something good - not just good, but wholly good. It is a gift from God, granted to the forefathers and passed on to future generations. We expect our covenants to include the promise of nationhood, possession of the land of Israel, the promise of divine caring and perhaps some form of religious responsibility. However, we do not expect them to include suffering. The "covenant between the pieces" ("brit bein ha-betarim") shatters this expectation. In the very first formal covenant granted to Avraham by God, God promises suffering, and much of it.

  4. The Covenant Between the Parts

    Rabbi Zeev Weitman

    What does Avraham mean when he asks "By what shall I know that I shall inherit it?" What is the significance of the actions of the covenant between the Parts? Is the enslavement in Egypt a divine decree, or a foretelling of the future to Avraham? And why do his descendants have to wait so long to inherit the land?

  5. The Sins of Biblical Figures

    Part 2

    Rabbi Amnon Bazak

    Two fundamental approaches exist regarding three incidents involving Avraham: one maintains that the plain reading of the text suggests that the acts in question were wrong – perhaps even serious sins – and are recorded with a view to instructing the readers how not to behave. The other view seeks to cast their actions in a positive light and regards them as a model for emulation.

    Those who seek a favorable interpretation of all questionable actions of biblical characters rely, as one of their central sources, on a well-known discussion in Massekhet Shabbat (55b-56b) which lists six figures who seem, according to the plain text, to have committed various transgressions – some of them extremely serious ones. In each case, Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani teaches, in the name of Rabbi Yonatan, that "anyone who says that so-and-so sinned, is simply mistaken."

  6. From Breishit to Shmot

    Rabbi Menachem Leibtag

    When Yaakov and family depart for Egypt, are they planning to make Egypt their permanent home, or are they planning just a short visit?

    Yaakov fears that his departure to Egypt may be against God's will or possibly even a threat to his bechira. The unique Korbanot that Yaakov offers in Beer Sheva are thanksgiving for the reunification of the family and the realization of the completion of the twelve tribes.

    God's message to Yaakov reveals the upcoming slavery in Egypt but also the growth of an entire out of the seventy descendants to Egypt.

  7. Two Chapters - Two Perspectives

    Rabbi Dr. Tamir Granot

    The transition from Chapter 1 to Chapter 2 of sefer Shemot is the change from a general, historiographical overview to a personal, biographical one.

    We may describe the same chronicle on two different levels. On one hand, the national process; on the other hand, we see the private story of Moshe.  The descriptions parallel and complement one another. Each contains that which the other fails to convey. Here lies the crux of the introduction to Sefer Shemot: the realization that both chapters are taking place at the same time, in parallel; that these are not events that are following one another, but rather occurring simultaneously – this changes our understanding of the relationship between slavery and redemption, between anguish and salvation.

  8. Avram in Egypt, Yaakov in Haran, and the Exodus from Egypt

    Dr. Yael Ziegler

    תאריך פרסום: תשס"ז | | 31 minutes

    This shiur looks at events in Bereisheet leading up to the Exodus from Egypt, in attempt to understand how these stories impact upon the message of Yetziat Mitzrayim - and the ideas of exodus and redemption.  We focus on two stories: Avraham's descent to Egypt, and Yaakov in the House of Lavan. We find linguistic and thematic connections to the story of the enslavement in and exodus from Egypt. These stories highlight the added challenge of leaving places of natural material wealth and fertility to return to the Land of Israel, where fertility, water, and resources are dependent on God.