Decadence of Egypt

We learn from the Parsha that Yakov Avinu had real apprehensions about going down to Egypt. It wasn’t that anywhere outside of Israel was problematic. That reason was certainly a concern, but Egypt was even a bigger concern. The Rambam in הלכות איסורי ביאה, deals with the question as to whether a Kohein is permitted to marry a woman who was once a lesbian. The Rambam describes lesbianism as ״מעשה ארץ מצרים״, an act that symbolizes the decadence of Egypt. While he permits the Kohein to the former lesbian, he goes on to describe the extent of the behavior in Egypt. The Rambam wrote that the Egyptians were so decadent that men married men and women married women! It was the place that had all forty nine levels of impurity. This was Yakov’s major concern. And this is why he needed strong assurances from Hashem that all would be well in the end.