Weekly Dvar Torah: The Egyptian Yeshiva

When the Tzemach Tzedek was a child and learned the verse, וַיְחִי יַעֲקֹב בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם שְׁבַע עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה “And Yaacov lived in the land of Egypt for seventeen years,” his teacher translated it: Yaacov Avinu lived his seventeen best years in Egypt.

When he came home, he asked his grandfather, the Alter Rebbe: “How could it be that the best years in the life of Yaacov Avinu were the years he lived in Egypt?”

The Alter Rebbe answered: “Yaacov sent Yehuda to prepare a Yeshiva where they would study Torah. Hence, even in Egypt, Yaacov had a good life.”

This response from the Alter Rebbe is puzzling. If it was the Torah study that made Yaacov’s life so good, what was so special about his Torah study in Egypt, didn’t Yaacov study Torah before he came to Egypt? We know that Yaacov spent 14 years in the Yeshiva of Ever. We know that Yaacov was an elder scholar studying Torah in Yeshiva all his life. What changed in Egypt that his Torah learning life so improved?

Furthermore, Egypt was considered the nakedness of the earth, the shame of the world, the absolute antithesis to Torah, whereas Israel (the land of Canaan) is a land that just the air makes one smart, which would make it a place conducive to the study of Torah. So how could it be that while in Canaan Yaacov didn’t have the good years of studying Torah, but in Egypt he did?

One might say that Egypt, being the land of constraints and exile, created a challenge to the study of Torah. Therefore, by Yaacov overcoming this challenge, he reached such heights in Torah which he couldn’t reach in Canaan. And as a result of this accomplishment, Yaacov had his best years in Egypt.

This too cannot be. The challenging times in Egypt only started after Yaacov and his sons passed away. Yaacov and his children had the best of life when they came to Egypt, due to the help of Yosef who was the viceroy of Egypt. As Yosef said to Yaacov: “I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and [you will] eat the fat of the land.” We don’t find that Yaacov did so well in Canaan prior to this. So, it can’t be that it was the overcoming of challenges in Egypt that gave Yaacov his best years.

Besides, the Alter Rebbe clearly states that Yaacov had his best days because of the study of Torah, and not because of his overcoming challenges.

One may say it was because of the refining of the sparks, which is the ultimate purpose of creation, and since Egypt was the capital of the lost sparks, being in Egypt had Yaacov engaged in refining sparks. But this too only started much after Yaacov passed away. And as mentioned, the Alter Rebbe says that it was because of the Torah study, and not because of any other reasons like refining the sparks.

The answer we can find in the details when we examine the complete sentence of the Alter Rebbe: “It is written that ‘[Yaacov] sent Yehuda before him to Yosef, to show him (Lehoros Lefanav) the way to Goshen.’ The Midrash, as cited by Rashi, relates that R. Nechemiah said, ‘[Yehuda’s task was] to prepare a House of Study for him [Lehoros = to teach], so that the Torah would be [studied] there, and [his sons] would meditate upon its teachings.’“

Yaacov didn’t just send anybody to set up a Yeshiva to study Torah. Yaacov sent ‘Yehuda’ to set up this Yeshiva. That is the key to the specialty of this experience.

Torah is about engaging the mind, it is supposed to be understood by the human brain. Consequently, the Torah studied is limited to the capacity of the person learning it. But Torah has another key element, and that is that it is the Torah of Hashem, the infinite G-d. And when we study Torah we connect to the infinity of the Giver of the Torah, which happens when we subjugate ourselves by being subservient to G-d. This is what Yehuda stands for. Yehuda is from the word Hodaa = submission, he submits to the belief and faith in Hashem beyond reason, and then the intellectual Torah study of the limited person reaches new heights to the point of infinity.

That’s why the destination city was Goshen, which comes from the word ‘Gesh’, which means come close. By establishing a Yeshiva through Yehuda, who is about submissiveness to Hashem, one gets closer to G-d. It is not just Torah study, but it is G-d’s Torah which brings you close to Hashem.

When Yaacov came to Egypt, his Torah study took on a new dimension, because it was founded by Yehuda. He set up the Yeshiva which was based on connecting with the infinity of G-d. Yaacov now reached a level of infinity in understanding Torah. That’s why the seventeen years in Egypt were Yaacov’s best years. This he did not have before he came to Egypt.

When we study Torah, we can learn it based on our own limited scope. As mortals our intellectual faculties are very limited. But if we study G-d’s Torah, then we connect with G-d, the infinite one, and we reach a level of infinity which has no limitations or constraints in understanding Torah. This is the true best life of a Jew.

Have an infinite Torah experience,
Gut Shabbos

Rabbi Yosef Katzman