The Promise of Redemption

These are the names of the sons of Israel, who came into Egypt with Jacob; every man came with his household.                                                                                             Exodus 1:1

            Rabbi Eliyahu Gutmacher (1796 – 1865), one of the spiritual fathers of religious Zionism, asks why the verse begins with the present tense (the literal translation of the verse is: These are the names of the sons of Israel, who are coming into Egypt with Jacob; every man came with his household) and ends with the past tense. Rabbi Gutmacher notes as well that the prophetic reading which follows the Torah portion (haftara)  commences with the words “He shall cause those who come of Jacob to take root,” parallel to the opening verse of Exodus, employing a verb in the present tense.

            Rabbi Gutmacher posits that when Jacob reached Beer-sheba on his way to Egypt [Genesis 46:1-4] he had three fears in anticipation of his family’s exile:

1. that his descendants may become assimilated and no different than the gentiles of the land;

2. that the Egyptians may annihilate his descendants;

3. that his descendants may chose to reside in Egypt permanently and never return to their own Land.

            When God appeared to Jacob in Beer-sheba [Genesis, ibid. 2-4] He allayed each of Jacob’s fears:

1. concerning the fear of assimilation, God said [46:3]: “Do not be afraid to go to Egypt, for it is there that I will make you into a great nation.” And Israel can be a “great nation” only when it is loyal to God’s will;

2. God’s words [46:4] “I will descend to Egypt with you” implies that with God’s presence accompanying Jacob’s family, they cannot be destroyed by the Egyptians;

3. the Divine promise [ibid.] “and I will also bring you back again” reassured Jacob that his descendants will not remain in Egypt.

            Israel’s exile in  Egypt is the archetype of all of the nation’s exiles until the final redemption, thus the verse employs the present tense “who are coming,” for until God sends the ultimate redeemer, Israel must be considered as “coming to Egypt,” since the nation must deal with its exile  and address the fears which concerned our Father Jacob.

            Since the topic of the haftara is the final redemption, employing the present tense teaches that the redemption from Egypt, Israel’s first redemption, carries with it the promise of the ultimate redemption as well.