תניא ר"ש בן יוחי אומר בוא וראה כמה חביבין ישראל לפני הקב"ה שבכל מקום שגלו שכינה עמהן גלו למצרים שכינה עמהן שנאמר (שמואל א ב, כז) הנגלה נגליתי לבית אביך בהיותם במצרים וגו' גלו לבבל שכינה עמהן שנאמר (ישעיהו מג, יד) למענכם שלחתי בבלה ואף כשהן עתידין ליגאל שכינה עמהן שנאמר (דברים ל, ג) ושב ה' אלהיך את שבותך והשיב לא נאמר אלא ושב מלמד שהקב"ה שב עמהן מבין הגליות
It was taught: R. Shimon b. Yohai said: Come and see how beloved are Israel to God—... every place to which they were exiled the Shekhinah (God’s Divine Presence) went with them. They were exiled to Egypt and the Shekhinah was with them, as it says, “Did I reveal myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt” (II Samuel 2:27). They were exiled to Babylon, and the Shekhinah was with them, as it says, “For your sake I was sent to Babylon” (Isaiah 43:14). And when they will be redeemed in the future, the Shekhinah will be with them, as it says, “Then the Lord your God will return [with] your captivity” (Deuteronomy 30:3). It does not say here veheshiv [and He shall bring back] but veshav [and he shall return]. This teaches us that the Holy One, blessed be He, will return with them from the places of exile.
Shenei Luchot HaBerit
When he responded, Isaiah only volunteered for the שליחות, G–d's mission, not for the הליכה, which could have passed for his own initiative. G–d had to tell him then that at that point in time He needed a messenger only for the unpleasant part of the mission. This is why He said to him לך ואמרת, "go and say." Similarly, in our case, G–d wanted to provoke Pharaoh so that out of the additional "darkness" the contrast with the "light" of the redemption would be so much greater. In other words, יהי שם השם מברך, first afflictions, then peace, serenity. G–d Himself is with us even while we suffer, i.e. His own name will become greater only in the future. This is the meaning of עמו אנכי בצרה, "I am with Israel when it is in trouble" (Psalms 91,15). There is no greater trouble than that G–d's Presence must exile itself on account of our sins. In Exodus 1,14, וימררו את חייהם בעבודה קשה, "They made their lives miserable with hard labour," the word חייהם refers to that which gives us our strength, i.e. G–d. In other words, the Egyptians made our lives in the Celestial Regions bitter.
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Shenei Luchot HaBerit
This may also explain why Joseph's burial in the Holy Land conferred spiritual elevation upon him. We have already explained that the reason G–d sent Joseph to Egypt ahead of the rest of Jacob's clan was to ensure that when Jacob and his family would begin their exile, they would come to a land where G–d's שכינה had already established a foothold. As a result, Joseph's body too would not taint the Holy Land when it would be buried in there.
