Galut is a Curse

After all of the excitement of the arrival of Yosef’s family, it was determined that they would live in the land of Goshen. There is a Midrash that says that this was actually a gift from Pharoah to Sara after learning she was actually married to Avraham.

The Torah tells us that when they moved to Goshen, they “took hold of it,” as a possession. The commentators explained that they even tried to increase their territory. They mistakenly believed that life in the land of Goshen was good. It was their intention to make it their permanent home.

They failed to understand that the presence of Jews outside of Israel, is temporary. We are guests of the country that allows us to live there.

The lesson of history has been that every place that Jews lived in the Exile, was temporary. It always ended either in assimilation, expulsions, or annihilation. It never bodes well for Jews when they get too comfortable in a specific place. They are failing to understand the lesson of history.

The “Exile,” or Galut, is a curse. The intention of the Torah was for all Jews to live in Israel. If they did not live according to the Torah, they were banished from the land.

The situation in Egypt was no different. It started out as a comfortable situation, but ended with horrible bondage. It would be wise for us to learn these lessons of history.