Vayeishev: Yosef's Leadership Role and the Transition to Settlement in Eretz Yisrael

The shiur opens with the phrase "Vayeishev Yaakov be'eretz megurei aviv"—Yaakov settled in the land where his father had sojourned. Rabbi Zweig notes this represents a major departure from the earlier narrative. The Bris Bein HaBesarim promised that the Jewish people would be strangers (geirim) in a land not theirs for 400 years. Yitzchok lived in Eretz Yisrael his entire life and never left, fulfilling the "ger yihiyeh zaracha" condition—the Jews lived as strangers even in their own land. But now Yaakov is "settling" (vayeishev), not sojourning, suggesting he believed the 400-year period had been fulfilled and the time had come for permanent settlement. Rabbi Zweig explains that Yaakov understood the prophecy of oppression was conditional—if the Jewish people reached a high enough spiritual level, they could bypass the full 400 years. Since they were ultimately in Egypt only 210 years, Yaakov may have reasoned that they had already achieved the necessary madreiga, making permanent settlement in Eretz Yisrael possible. The phrase "dor revi'i yashuvu hena" indicates that after 400 years, they would return to the land. Yaakov's "settling" suggests he sought to establish permanent residence now, believing the conditions had been met.