This beautiful painting by Huby depicts the moment that Yaacov descended down to Egypt when he is told that his son Yosef is not only alive but he is also the Viseroy of Egypt. Pharaoh and Yosef send gifts to Yaacov and invite him to come down to Egypt with all his family to settle in the land. The “seventy souls” , who are an intermediate level between the Patriarchs (Abraham, Ytzack and Yaacov) and the Jewish nation with Yoheved ( the daughter of Levi and the mother of Moses, Aaron and Miriam making her the 70th soul who was born right before entering Egypt.These seventy souls were the ones that brought the spiritual reserves of faith which were channeled to the people during the harsh times of the Egyptian slavery which they were submitted to in times of Exile. Rashi writes that it was precisely Yocheved-a woman- who completed the total number of seventy souls, because the quality of FAITH is stronger in women than it is in men. Also it’s interesting to note how H”S always sends the remedy before the pain for Yocheved was the mother of the redeemer of the Egyptian Exile.
