Kahane on the Parsha Rabbi Binyamin Kahane- Parshat VaYigash DON'T GET TOO COMFORTABLE The Egyptian exile, the veryfirst of our exiles, begins in Parshat VaYigash. Jacob and his sons descend toEgypt, and from that point onward, the arduous and torturous road from galut togeula begins. Since the Rabbis tell us that the final redemption will mirrorthe first, let us examine the Egyptian exile for lessons we can apply to ourown situation. It is interesting that the Egyptian exile- like the exiles that followed it-began as a result of terrible affliction in the Land of Israel. Jacob loses hisson and then a famine forces him and his family to move to Egypt. What is astonishing,though, is that after a very short period of time, the Jews in Egypt (and laterin Babylonia) discover that life in Galut isn't so bad. Indeed, they even beginto thrive and prosper, and their attitude towards living in exile changes. Thefinal verse in our parsha reads, "And Israel dwelled in the Land of Egypt,in the region of Goshen, and they took possession of it (lit., 'they grippedonto it') and were fruitful and multiplied exceedingly" (Genesis 47:27).The Kli Yakar comments: "This verse speaks of the Children of Israel's guilt because the L-rddecreed that a 'stranger your seed will be,' but they wanted to be inhabitantsin a place where it was decreed they would be transient...The verse blames themfor dwelling in this manner- for seeking a grip in a land that wasn'ttheirs." What happened here? The children of Jacob were forced to go down to Egypt, andundoubtedly none of them were thrilled about the move, despite the hardships inCanaan. However, they soon had a change of heart. Joseph placed Goshen at theirdisposal, which was the most fertile land in Egypt, and the brothers suddenlybegan to feel, "It's not as bad as we thought; we can even settle down andstudy Torah in peace here." So they "gripped" and clung to Egypt. But by doing so, they rejectedthe Holy Land of Israel. "Seizing" or "gripping" galut,settling in it and feeling good in it, acquiring the mentality that "thereis a life for Jews in the Exile," constitutes rejection of Eretz Yisrael. Indeed, the Kli Yakar writes that the Jews "immersed themselves to such anextent that they did not want to leave Egypt- so much so that G-d had to takethem out 'WITH A STRONG HAND." And those who did not want to leave DIED inthe three days of darkness." According to the Midrash (Tanchuma, Beshalach1), the number of Jews who wished to stay in Egypt amounted to no less than 80%of the nation!!!!! History isnever repeated in exactly the same way, but its lessons can be applied to whatseem to be a similar set of circumstances.  Darka Shel Torah, 1994 Shabbat Shalom Barbara If you are interested in reading more Divrei Torah from Rabbi Meir and BinyaminKahane HY"D, you can purchase the book at both of the following two links: http://brennbooks.com/ http://www.amazon.com/Kahane-Parsha-Meir/dp/098867680X   Anyone reading this article and is not on my personal listto receive the weekly articles written by Rabbi Kahane and  Rabbi Binyamin Kahane  and would like to be, please contact me at barbaraandchaim@gmail.com  To view articles written by Rabbi Meir Kahane and RabbiBinyamin Kahane go to blog: www.barbaraginsbergkahane.blogspot.com  Facebook:Barbara Sandra Ginsberg Rav Kahane Divrei Torah Pictures Viewpoints Youtubes, VideosFirst join Telegram and then hit link and you will see all. Telegram link: https://t.me/RKDTVP