The very first exile of the Jewish people, the exile to Egypt, began as Jacob and his family left the Land of Israel. They intended to spend a short stay in Egypt until the famine passed.
The Midrash (Yalkut Shimoni Hosea 528) makes a startling observation:
“Jacob should have gone down to Egypt in chains. Yet God said, ‘Jacob, My first-born, how could I banish him in disgrace? Rather, I will send his son to go down before him.'”
What did Jacob do to deserve being exiled in iron chains?
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