פרשת ויגש
כל הנפש הבאה ליעקב מצרימה | בראשית מ"ו, כ"ו
All the persons coming with Yaakov to Mitzrayim
This possuk is talking about the members of Yaakov’s family years after their arrival in Mitzrayim. Why then is the present tense “coming” used which suggests that they were just coming now?
Hagaon Rav Moshe Feinstein zt’l explains that the present tense “coming” is used rather than the past tense “came”, to indicate that the children of Yaakov remained unaffected by the Egyptian culture during their years in Egypt and maintained the same spiritual standing that they had when they entered Egypt.
This is a critical aspect of our role as mechanchim. From day to day we can see the spiritual decline of the society around us. As we tap into the inner neshamos of our students, we protect it from outside influences of the culture around us.
About the Author: Rabbi Yisroel Meir Rubinfeld
Rabbi Rubinfeld has been in the field of Torah education for over 3 decades and serves as an Executive School Consultant for Torah Umesorah. He provides an array of services to schools across North America, including teacher and principal mentorship, school and curricula evaluations, professional development and parent education.
Rabbi Rubinfeld's expertise includes classroom management and discipline, effective instruction, bullying, cultivating sensitivity in the classroom, impulse disorders (such as ADHD and ODD), and balancing the educational needs of mainstream and special needs children in the classroom.
Rabbi Rubinfeld is the also the founder and director of Torah Umesorah's Lilmod U'Lilamed department which provides professional development for teachers and principals throughout the year.
Rabbi Rubinfeld is a talmid of the distinguished Yeshivos of Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin, the Mirrer Yeshiva in Yerushalayim and Bais Medrash Govoha in Lakewood.