Parashat Vayigash marks the beginning of the Galut, the exile, Ya'akov and all of his family descend to Egypt.
The Egyptian exile is the prototype of all exiles, therefore, understanding and analyzing it, will teach us about the exile we are in nowadays, on the eve of the final redemption.
One of the things which sticks out is that the Egyptian exile began with dreams, the dreams of Yosef, Pharaoh's ministers dreams, and those of Pharaoh himself. Also concerning the final exile it is written"בשוב ה' את שיבת ציון - היינו כחולמים" when Hashem returns the returnees of Zion, we were like dreamers.
What is the common denominator between exiles and dreams?
The answer is, that in both the impossible and the unrealistic IS possible and realistic. In a dream one can see anything, even as the Gemara says, an elephant passing through the eye of a needle, so too is the Galut, the exile. Even though it is impossible for Am Yisrael not to be in their land, in the exile it does happen.
Also Man, ever since he was banished from Gan-Eden is in a constant state of spiritual exile, he is distant from his creator. Often it feels as if we are close to him, but it is an illusion of the moment. There is no true opportunity to cling to the creator as long as we are in a state of Galut.
However, just like in a dream, in one moment a person awakens and the dream fizzles away, so too, we are waiting for the day of which it's written "היינו כחולמים" we were like dreamers, and immediately the Galut will fizzle away and the gates of redemption will in our days, speedily open, Amen!
The Egyptian exile is the prototype of all exiles, therefore, understanding and analyzing it, will teach us about the exile we are in nowadays, on the eve of the final redemption.
One of the things which sticks out is that the Egyptian exile began with dreams, the dreams of Yosef, Pharaoh's ministers dreams, and those of Pharaoh himself. Also concerning the final exile it is written"בשוב ה' את שיבת ציון - היינו כחולמים" when Hashem returns the returnees of Zion, we were like dreamers.
What is the common denominator between exiles and dreams?
The answer is, that in both the impossible and the unrealistic IS possible and realistic. In a dream one can see anything, even as the Gemara says, an elephant passing through the eye of a needle, so too is the Galut, the exile. Even though it is impossible for Am Yisrael not to be in their land, in the exile it does happen.
Also Man, ever since he was banished from Gan-Eden is in a constant state of spiritual exile, he is distant from his creator. Often it feels as if we are close to him, but it is an illusion of the moment. There is no true opportunity to cling to the creator as long as we are in a state of Galut.
However, just like in a dream, in one moment a person awakens and the dream fizzles away, so too, we are waiting for the day of which it's written "היינו כחולמים" we were like dreamers, and immediately the Galut will fizzle away and the gates of redemption will in our days, speedily open, Amen!
