Bar’chu
et YHVH ha-m’vorach, Baruch YHVH ha-m’vorach l’O’lam va-ed! Baruch ata YHVH
Eloheinu
melech ha-olam asher bachar banu m’kol ha-amim, v’na-tan lanu eht Torah-to.
Baruch
atah YHVH, noteyn ha-Torah. Ameyn.”
(Bless
YHVH the blessed One; Blessed is YHVH, the blessed One for all eternity.
Blessed are you, YHVH, our Elohim, King of the Universe, you have selected us
from among all the peoples, and have given us your Torah. Blessed are you,
YHVH, giver of the Torah. Ameyn.)
Gen 16:1 And
Sarai, Aḇram’s wife, had borne him no child. And she had a Mitsrite female
servant whose name was Haḡar.
This narrative presents different midrashim. We see that
there is often a prompting to go to Egypt/Mistzraim for those whom YHVH has
called and chosen, who are confronted with a season of barreness. In fact some
don’t just go to Mitzraim – they run – Hagar can mean “flight,”- some who go may have no
option so ‘’Hagar’’ can also mean “the stranger” “ha ger.”
Examples: Abram and his family - Gen 12:10 And a scarcity of food came to
be in the land, and Aḇram went down to Mitsrayim to dwell there, for the
scarcity of food was severe in the land.
Yakov and his family
– Gen 46
Yitschak was told not to go to Mitzrayim/Egypt - Gen 26:1 And there was a scarcity of
food in the land, besides the first scarcity of food which was in the days of Aḇraham.
And Yitsḥaq went to Aḇimeleḵ, sovereign of the Philistines, in Gerar.
Gen 26:2
And יהוה appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Mitsrayim, live in
the land which I command you.
YHVH did not want His people to return that way again,
speaking of the kings He said: - Deu 17:16 “Only, he is not to increase horses for himself, nor
cause the people to return to Mitsrayim to increase horses, for יהוה has
said to you, ‘Do not return that way again.’
Yirmiyahu/Jeremiah warned the remnant not to return to Mitsrayim/Egypt
- When the remnant wanted to flee to Egypt. Yirmiyahu/Jeremiah prophesied
against it (Jer42:15-43:3), was forced to go with the remnant
to Egypt (Jer43:6, 7)
Even baby Yahshua spent some time in Egypt: Mat
2:13 And when they had left, see, a messenger of יהוה appeared to Yosěph in a
dream, saying, “Arise, take the Child and His mother, and flee to Mitsrayim,
and remain there until I bring you word, for Herodes is about to seek the Child
to destroy Him.” Mat 2:14 And rising up, he took the Child and His
mother by night and departed for Mitsrayim, Mat 2:15 and remained
there until the death of Herodes, to fill what was spoken by יהוה
through the prophet, saying, “Out of Mitsrayim I have called My Son.” Exo_4:22-23,
Hos 11:1 “When Yisra’ěl was a child, I loved him, and out of
Mitsrayim I called My son.