And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt (Gen. 47:28)
Our forefather Jacob is symbolic of the attribute of truth, as it states in the Book of Mica (7:20), "You will give truth to Jacob." For with the quality of truth, a person can survive even the worst of times and live through the direst of circumstances. (The Hebrew name for Egypt, Mitzrayim, means narrow boundaries and limitations.) (Chidushei HaRim)
As Rashi explains, this section of the Torah is "closed" (the customary space of nine letters between the end of the preceding section and this one is missing), "for when Jacob our father died, the eyes and hearts of Israel were closed because of the affliction of the bondage." Yet according to the Midrash, the enslavement of the Jews did not begin until after the heads of the Twelve Tribes passed away. How do we reconcile these two statements? The Jews' actual, physical slavery did not begin with Jacob's death, but it was then that their spiritual bondage started to take root. The inner truth of what was happening began to be concealed from their eyes and hearts - which is the main characteristic of exile. (Sefat Emet)
Reprinted from the Parshat Vayechi 5761/2000 edition of L’Chaim.
