Illustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
Commentary פַּרְשָׁנוּת
How long does Yaakov’s family plan to spend in Egypt?
When the brothers arrive in מִצְרַיִם (Mitzrayim, Egypt) with Yaakov, they meet with Pharaoh to explain why they have come.
(ד) וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ אֶל־פַּרְעֹ֗ה לָג֣וּר בָּאָ֘רֶץ֮ בָּ֒אנוּ֒ כִּי־אֵ֣ין מִרְעֶ֗ה לַצֹּאן֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר לַעֲבָדֶ֔יךָ כִּֽי־כָבֵ֥ד הָרָעָ֖ב בְּאֶ֣רֶץ כְּנָ֑עַן וְעַתָּ֛ה יֵֽשְׁבוּ־נָ֥א עֲבָדֶ֖יךָ בְּאֶ֥רֶץ גֹּֽשֶׁן׃
They said to Pharaoh, we have come to dwell in the land, because there is no pasture for your servants’ flocks, as the famine is severe in Canaan. Now, please, may your servants live in the land of Goshen?
The commentaries on this verse have a מַחְלוֹקֶת (mahloket, disagreement) about how long the brothers planned to live in Mitzrayim. It all hinges on the meaning of the word לָגוּר (la-gur):
לָגוּר בָּאָרֶץ בָּאנוּ -
דִּירַת עֲרַאי עַד יַעֲבֹר דֹּחַק הָרָעָב
אֲבָל לֹא לְהִשְׁתַּקֵּעַ...
“We have come la-gur in the land”—A temporary dwelling until the hardship of the famine passes. But they did not plan to settle there...
לָגוּר בָּאָרֶץ בָּאנוּ -
לְפִי הַפְּשָׁט לְהִתְיַשֵּׁב וּלְהִשְׁתַּקֵּעַ.
“We have come la-gur in the land”—According to the most basic understanding, [they came] to settle and to live.
The mahloket here boils down to the meaning of the word la-gur, normally translated “to dwell.” La-gur is related to the word גֵּר (ger, stranger). Does la-gur, then, mean to live only for a short period of time (like a stranger does), or to dwell on a more permanent basis?
In the end, whatever Yaakov’s family’s original intention was, they stayed. And their descendants did not leave Mitzrayim until hundreds of years later, when God freed them from slavery.
- How long do you think the brothers intended to stay in Mitzrayim?
- Are there any clues from elsewhere in the parashah about what their plans were?
- Do you recall discussing this issue at the Pesah Seder? You can look in a Haggadah in the section called אֲרַמִּי אֹבֵד אָבִי (Arami Oved Avi) to see what the Haggadah thinks about this question.
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