Queens Jewish Link
Connecting the Queens Jewish Community 
Yaakov Avinu spent the final 17 years of his life in Mitzrayim. While there, he lived in peace for the first time in many, many years and remained in that state for the rest of his life. Near the very end of his days, he called in his beloved son Yosef and made an impassioned request: “Please do not bury me in Mitzrayim.”
Hashem promised Avraham that his children would be slaves in Mitzrayim, yet they would be redeemed and would leave with great wealth. And so, when it was time to leave Mitzrayim, Hashem told Moshe to tell the Jews to borrow the silver and gold vessels of their Egyptian neighbors.
The Jews Become the Enemy of the State
Yosef, his brothers, and their entire generation had passed on. A new era was beginning in Mitzrayim, and with it came a new attitude. When the Jews had first entered the land, they were received as celebrated guests. After all, they were brothers of the great Yosef who had saved the nation. That sense of appreciation was gone. No longer were the Jews respected and revered; no longer were they welcome. They had become a thorn in the side of the Mitzrim.
After 210 years of bondage, Hashem led the Jews out of Mitzrayim. By all rights, the first stop should have been Har Sinai where they would receive the Torah and then straight to the Land of Israel. Yet that wasn’t what happened.
After months and months of rebellion, Pharaoh finally admitted that he was wrong. The Daas Z’keinim explains that the plague of hail moved Pharaoh more than any other. And it was because of one factor: Again and again, Moshe cautioned Pharaoh to take his livestock and his slaves inside, because the hail would kill anything living that was left outside. Since Pharaoh was repeatedly warned to save the living creatures, he was moved and recognized his error.
The Ramban explains that one time in the course of history, Hashem demonstrated that He alone created, maintains, and orchestrates all of physicality. When taking Klal Yisrael out of Mitzrayim, He showed the world His might and His control over every facet of nature.
