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D’var Torah Vaera

D’var Torah Vaera

In the Covenant between the Pieces, God informed Abraham of the Egyptian exile which his descendants would experience:
And the Lord said to Abram, "Know this for certain: Your offspring will be strangers in a land that is not theirs; they will be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years." ) Genesis 15:13(
Kli Yakar discerns four components of this Divine decree: in addition to being strangers, enslaved and oppressed, which are explicit in the verse, the decree involves Abraham's descendants being distanced from the Shechina, which is the meaning of the words "in a land that is not theirs," as the Sages teach: "All who live outside the Land of Israel are considered as having no God." [Babylonian Talmud, Ketubot 110b] The reason being distanced from the Shechina is juxtaposed to being strangers is that "they are mutually connected, for being distanced from the Shechina follows from being strangers outside the Land, where all lands are far from the Shechina."
Corresponding to the four components of the Egyptian exile, God promised four redemptions:
Therefore, say to the children of Israel, "I am the Lord, and I will take you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will save you from their labor, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. And I will take you to Me as a people, and I will be a God to you, and you will know that I am the Lord your God, Who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. )Exodus 6:6-7(
These verses detail the process of redemption: God will first save His nation "from the most difficult component (of the Egyptian exile), which is the oppression ("the burdens");" He will then end their enslavement; He will next effect "the simplest salvation, which is ending their status as strangers;" and finally, He will bring the Israelites close to Him, "And I will take you to Me as a people, and I will be a God to you," abolishing the nation's distance from the Shechina.
In the following verse, God announced:
I will bring you to the Land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.
Some commentators understand this verse as presenting a fifth redemption. However, based upon Kli Yakar's exposition, the verse actually details the fourth redemption, "I will take you to Me as a people, and I will be a God to you." Since being distanced from the Shechina is a function of Israel's sojourn outside the Land, "I will bring you to the Land" constitutes the practical fulfillment of "I will take you to Me as a people, and I will be a God to you." (David Magence)

Shabbat Shalom!
The Va’ad

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