Chasidut zu Bereschit 46:4
אָנֹכִ֗י אֵרֵ֤ד עִמְּךָ֙ מִצְרַ֔יְמָה וְאָנֹכִ֖י אַֽעַלְךָ֣ גַם־עָלֹ֑ה וְיוֹסֵ֕ף יָשִׁ֥ית יָד֖וֹ עַל־עֵינֶֽיךָ׃
Ich werde mit dir nach Ägypten hinabziehen, und ich werde dich auch wieder heraufführen, und Joseph wird dir die Augen zudrücken.
Kedushat Levi
Genesis 46,4. “I will descend to Egyt with you, and I will also ascend with you.” In order to understand this verse properly, we must remember the pedagogic rule that when a teacher is confronted with a student of limited intellect, he must endeavour to rein in his superior intellect and descend to the level of the student. When faced with a student who has a brilliant mind, the teacher need not impose any restrictions on himself when teaching such a student. As long as Yaakov resided in the Holy Land, his intellect was very strong; he was afraid that now that he would “descend” to Egypt, he would experience a reduction in intellectual capacity so that G’d would “restrain” Himself when communicating with him, so that he would not be able to serve Him in the manner he was used to. G’d reassured him here that he need not have any such concerns, as the Shechinah would remain at his side as long as he would be in Egypt.
G’d promises Yaakov that upon his return to the Holy Land, he will have attained great spiritual stature. This is the meaning of the words: גם עלה. When the Shechinah which had accompanied him “down” to Egypt, would return to the Holy Land, [which had not contained any Jews during the interval, so that these had not been deprived of its Presence, Ed.], Yaakov would participate in this elevation, עליה.
G’d promises Yaakov that upon his return to the Holy Land, he will have attained great spiritual stature. This is the meaning of the words: גם עלה. When the Shechinah which had accompanied him “down” to Egypt, would return to the Holy Land, [which had not contained any Jews during the interval, so that these had not been deprived of its Presence, Ed.], Yaakov would participate in this elevation, עליה.
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