The Promise of Return As anxious as he was to see his son Yosef
after 22 years of separation, the Patriarch Yaakov was disturbed
by the need to leave Eretz Yisrael for Egypt where his son
promised to sustain him and his family. In a night vision G-d
assured him that he need not fear going away because he would
eventually return. Although our Sages interpret this as a
promise that Yaakov would be buried in Eretz Yisrael, there may
be another dimension to this Divine assurance. Everything that
happened to the Patriarchs is a symbol of what will transpire
with their descendants. If Yaakov was promised that his exit
from Eretz Yisrael was only a temporary one, it also hinted that
his descendants would eventually leave Egypt as well and come to
Eretz Yisrael. Taking this a step further we can suggest that it
was a promise that the descendants of Yaakov, dispersed
throughout the Diaspora, would eventually return to their
Homeland and thrive in Israel forever.