Or HaChaim on Genesis 46:4/אור החיים על בראשית מ״ו:ד׳

1 אנכי ארד עמך מצרימה, "I personally will go down to Egypt with you, etc." This verse teaches that the Divine Presence (שכינה) descended to Egypt with Jacob; this seems difficult in view of the statement by Mechilta on Exodus 9,29 that Moses had to go out of town to offer up a prayer due to the preponderance of impurity within the town.

2Perhaps what G'd had in mind when He told Jacob that He would descend with him to Egypt was that whenever he or the Jewish people would experience problems, G'd would share their suffering (compare Psalms 91,15 "I am with him in distress"). אנכי ארד עמך מצרימה, the word מצרימה, may be derived from the word מצר, "a narrow, confined area." G'd hinted that whenever Jacob (the Jewish people) would find themselves hemmed in, He would share their misery. G'd demonstrated this to Moses when He appeared to him out of the burning bush, certainly not a dwelling fit for G'd. G'd's message was that as long as the Jewish people are in distress in Egypt, He Himself would reside in such locations as the lowly thornbush. The שכינה never descended to the part of Egypt which was full of impurity. There are numerous instances (such as in Megillah 29) where the descent of the שכינה to Egypt is understood to mean that G'd shared the exile experience of the Jewish people with them. When Israel (Jacob) is described as prostrating himself at the head of the bed in Genesis 47,31, Tanchuma understands this as Jacob bowing down to the presence of the שכינה. [Evidently the presence of the שכינה was felt in Egypt then. Ed.] Moreover, Bereshit Rabbah 94,9 understands that the שכינה made up the number 70 in the list of descendants coming down to Egypt with Jacob, seeing that you will find only 69 names listed there. All of this proves that the שכינה did descend to Egypt (though not to areas infested with impurity).

3You have to realise that the manifestation of G'd's Presence (שכינה) occurs in a variety of forms and degrees. We are taught in Avot 3,6 that when ten people sit together and are preoccupied with Torah, the שכינה rests amongst them. The rabbis in the Mishnah there are at pains to prove from scriptural quotations that even a single individual studying Torah is accompanied by the שכינה. On the other hand, we find that the שכינה did not descend from heaven to take up residence amongst the Jewish people until the latter had established the Tabernacle (compare Exodus 40,35) and had made numerous preparations to qualify for hosting the שכינה. How is it possible that no such preparations appear to be required for an individual who studies Torah and qualifies for G'd's Presence as stated in Avot? Clearly, when one speaks of the presence of the שכינה one must distinguish between different levels of such a Divine Presence. The amount of enlightenment one experiences depends on the level of Divine Presence one is privileged to experience. If we were to describe such different levels of a Divine Presence, we could categorise the revelation at Mount Sinai as the highest level of such a Divine Presence. The next lower level may be the Divine Presence in the Holy of Holies in the Temple. A slightly lesser level of G'd's Presence may be experienced by the "average" prophet at the time he receives a message from G'd. Progressively lower levels of such a Divine Presence may be found in synagogues or houses of study. A group of ten people discussing matters related to Torah-study may qualify for an even lesser degree of such a Divine Presence, etc. When we keep this in mind we can better understand the statement of our sages that the Divine Presence, i.e. the enlightenment provided to a prophet never descended to certain levels. As a result, Moses had to leave the city in order to qualify for the degree of Divine Presence that could respond to his prayer. The degree of Divine Presence found amongst a group of people studying Torah is of a lower level, however, and it was that level of the שכינה which descended to Egypt with Jacob and remained there until the Exodus.

4While it may sound presumptuous to differentiate between different degrees of Divine light, this is true as long as we speak of G'd Himself. Light which radiates from G'd, however, is subject to different "filters" in order to ensure that the recipient receives the amount which is beneficial to him and does not harm him through over-exposure. The same principle applies even to different souls, all of which may be perceived as parts of G'd's "light" emanating from G'd's throne of glory.

5The considerations we have just mentioned may also explain why G'd referred to Himself twice as אנכי when telling Jacob that He would descend with him to Egypt and would go up with him again when Jacob would be buried. G'd meant that the level of שכינה that would accompany him on his return would be a higher level than that which accompanied him at the time he journeyed to Egypt. It was the latter level of אנכי which the Jewish people experienced at Mount Sinai, and it is that level of אנכי which is experienced at the end of the forty nine years of the Jubilee cycle. This is the mystical dimension of the fact that the Exodus from Egypt is mentioned in the Torah a total of forty nine times.

6The repetition by G'd of the word ואנכי may also be an allusion that the redemption when it would occur would be orchestrated by G'd personally, not merely by one of His agents (compare Deut. 6,21 and Exodus 13,16).

7The reason G'd repeated the words אעלך גם עלה, "I will also bring you up from there" is, that G'd will 1) see to it that Jacob will be buried in Canaan; 2) that the Jewish people will be led out of exile by G'd. G'd added the word גם, also, as an allusion that both the regular Jewish people will be redeemed as well as the lost souls which had been captive amongst all the impurity in that country and about which we have written earlier. All of them would ascend to the land of Israel.

8It is also possible that the word גם refers to the spirituality which descended to Egypt with Jacob. It will be redeemed. The Zohar quotes proof for that from the words יצאו כל צבאות השם מארץ מצרים "all of G'd's hosts went out of Egypt" ( Exodus 12,41).

9ויוסף ישית ידו על עיניך, "and Joseph will place his hand over your eyes." This was an assurance to Jacob that Joseph would not die during his lifetime. It was welcome news to Jacob as he had prophesied that he would descend to the grave of his son Joseph (37,36). G'd wanted Jacob to know that he had erred in that forecast.

10The other part of this message was that Jacob would not return to the land of Canaan alive. In fact this statement may be construed as G'd prohibiting Jacob from returning to Canaan as this would frustrate G'd's promise that Joseph would be present at his death. Since Joseph was not allowed to leave Egypt G'd would not be able to keep His promise to Jacob unless he lived out his life in Egypt.