Can we return to Egypt?

There are three places in the Pentateuch that forbid the Israelites to come back to Egypt, after they left it. The first is in Exodus 14:13-

” וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה אֶל-הָעָם, אַל-תִּירָאוּ–הִתְיַצְּבוּ וּרְאוּ אֶת-יְשׁוּעַת יְהוָה, אֲשֶׁר-יַעֲשֶׂה לָכֶם הַיּוֹם: כִּי, אֲשֶׁר רְאִיתֶם אֶת-מִצְרַיִם הַיּוֹם–לֹא תֹסִפוּ לִרְאֹתָם עוֹד, עַד-עוֹלָם”

” But Moses said to the people, “Do not fear Stand by and see the salvation of the LORD which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever.”

The second is in Deuteronomy 17:16-

” רַק, לֹא-יַרְבֶּה-לּוֹ סוּסִים, וְלֹא-יָשִׁיב אֶת-הָעָם מִצְרַיְמָה, לְמַעַן הַרְבּוֹת סוּס; וַיהוָה, אָמַר לָכֶם, לֹא תֹסִפוּן לָשׁוּב בַּדֶּרֶךְ הַזֶּה, עוֹד”

” Moreover, he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor shall he cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, since the LORD has said to you, ‘You shall never again return that way.”

We can find the third one also in Deuteronomy as written:

” וֶהֱשִׁיבְךָ יְהוָה מִצְרַיִם, בָּאֳנִיּוֹת, בַּדֶּרֶךְ אֲשֶׁר אָמַרְתִּי לְךָ, לֹא-תֹסִיף עוֹד לִרְאֹתָהּ…”

” The LORD will bring you back to Egypt in ships, by the way about which I spoke to you, ‘You will never see it again!’…”(Deuteronomy 28:68)

From the last verse, we can learn that The Lord Didn’t want that the Israelites will come back to Egypt. However,the reality was different as we can see in Jeremiah 43:5-7

” וַיִּקַּח יוֹחָנָן בֶּן-קָרֵחַ, וְכָל-שָׂרֵי הַחֲיָלִים, אֵת, כָּל-שְׁאֵרִית יְהוּדָה–אֲשֶׁר-שָׁבוּ, מִכָּל-הַגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר נִדְּחוּ-שָׁם, לָגוּר, בְּאֶרֶץ יְהוּדָה. אֶת-הַגְּבָרִים וְאֶת-הַנָּשִׁים וְאֶת-הַטַּף, וְאֶת-בְּנוֹת הַמֶּלֶךְ, וְאֵת כָּל-הַנֶּפֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר הִנִּיחַ נְבוּזַרְאֲדָן רַב-טַבָּחִים, אֶת-גְּדַלְיָהוּ בֶּן-אֲחִיקָם בֶּן-שָׁפָן; וְאֵת יִרְמְיָהוּ הַנָּבִיא, וְאֶת-בָּרוּךְ בֶּן-נֵרִיָּהוּ. וַיָּבֹאוּ אֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם, כִּי לֹא שָׁמְעוּ בְּקוֹל יְהוָה; וַיָּבֹאוּ, עַד-תַּחְפַּנְחֵס.”

” But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces took the entire remnant of Judah who had returned from all the nations to which they had been driven away, in order to reside in the land of Judah—the men, the women, the children, the king’s daughters and every person that Nebauzaradan the captain of the bodyguard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, together with Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch the son of Neriah—and they entered the land of Egypt ,for they did not obey the voice of the LORD, and went in as far as Tahpanhes.”

G-d shares with us an important idea here- if you won’t listen to my voice, you will go back to the beginning of the Journey, to the time when you were slaves in order to understand that the ears were given to us in order to listen!