Chasidut for Genesis 46:27
וּבְנֵ֥י יוֹסֵ֛ף אֲשֶׁר־יֻלַּד־ל֥וֹ בְמִצְרַ֖יִם נֶ֣פֶשׁ שְׁנָ֑יִם כָּל־הַנֶּ֧פֶשׁ לְבֵֽית־יַעֲקֹ֛ב הַבָּ֥אָה מִצְרַ֖יְמָה שִׁבְעִֽים׃ (פ)
And the sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were two souls; all the souls of the house of Jacob, that came into Egypt, were threescore and ten.
Flames of Faith
On the other hand, the Jewish nation’s weltanschauung is pure monotheism. We see the One everywhere. As a result, the seventy members of Jacob’s family are referred to in the Torah as ha-nefesh le- bais le-Yaakov, “the soul to the house of Jacob” (Gen. 46:27). Seventy different bodies were all parts of one soul.280Rashi ibid. See further Da’as Tefillah pg. 155.
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