Cyberdov

Recently I wrote about episodes in Bereisheet that are alluded to in Shemot. Henry Kamioner pointed out another one of these to me. Compare the process of leaving Egypt with Yaakov’s escape from Lavan:

1. Breisheet 31:22 - ‘and it was told (vayugad) to Lavan … that Yaakov had fled (barach); Shemot 14:5 - ‘and it was told (vayugad) to the King of Egypt that the people had fled (barach)
2. Lavan began pursuing Yaakov on the third day, and caught up with him on the seventh. The splitting of the Red Sea also took place on the seventh day - see Rashi who points out that since Moshe had asked for a three-day vacation, Pharoah only realized on the fourth day that they had no intention of returning and that is when he began pursuit. Rashi also relates similar stories about how the escapees were found out - that here was a spy embedded in the fleeing camp, who sent back word once it was clear that there was no intention to return (see Rashi on Bereisheet 31:23).
3. In describing the chase, similar language is used, vayikach…vayirdof …vayaseg/vyaseegu - Bereisheet 31:23,25 and Shemot 14:7,9.
4. There is deception going on in both incidents - Lavan claims to be upset only over the manner of Yaakov’s leaving; Moshe had claimed that they were only leaving for three days.

A pattern of parallels is definitely emerging here, between stories in Bereisheet and stories in Shemot. This is perhaps the prototype of ‘Maaseh Avot Siman Lebanim’ - that the stories in Bereisheet are meant to foreshadow future events in the history of the Jewish People.

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