My grandmother was a Jewish juggler:
she used to worry about six things at once.
- Richard Lewis
What, me worry?
- Alfred E. Neuman
(ב) וַיֹּ֨אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֤ים ׀ לְיִשְׂרָאֵל֙ בְּמַרְאֹ֣ת הַלַּ֔יְלָה וַיֹּ֖אמֶר יַעֲקֹ֣ב ׀ יַעֲקֹ֑ב וַיֹּ֖אמֶר הִנֵּֽנִי׃ (ג) וַיֹּ֕אמֶר אָנֹכִ֥י הָאֵ֖ל אֱלֹהֵ֣י אָבִ֑יךָ אַל־תִּירָא֙ מֵרְדָ֣ה מִצְרַ֔יְמָה כִּֽי־לְג֥וֹי גָּד֖וֹל אֲשִֽׂימְךָ֥ שָֽׁם׃ (ד) אָנֹכִ֗י אֵרֵ֤ד עִמְּךָ֙ מִצְרַ֔יְמָה וְאָנֹכִ֖י אַֽעַלְךָ֣ גַם־עָלֹ֑ה וְיוֹסֵ֕ף יָשִׁ֥ית יָד֖וֹ עַל־עֵינֶֽיךָ׃
(2) God called to Israel in a vision by night: “Jacob! Jacob!” He answered, “Here.” (3) And God said, “I am God, the God of your father. Fear not to go down to Egypt, for I will make you there into a great nation. (4) I Myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I Myself will also bring you back; and Joseph’s hand shall close your eyes.”
Hezekiah ben Manoah (1250-1310, France)
No one in the Bible had ever been told by God not to be afraid, unless he had reason to be afraid. Jacob’s reasoning for being fearful was his knowledge that being strangers in a foreign land and being slaves which had been decreed already in the lifetime of his grandfather Arbaham would most likely commence now that he was moving to Egypt. God answered him that although God had warned his father and grandfather of this, God appeared to him in order to give him reassurance. God hinted that although Jacob was correct in assuming that the warning would soon be fulfilled, but by the same token, the promise made to all the three patriarchs that they would develop into a great nation, came closer to its fulfillment.
Nechama Liebowitz (1905-1997, Latvia/Jerusalem)
The fear alluded to here is not connected with Jacob's personal feelings. It is a part of the symbolic or archetypal dread of the founder of the nation of the spiritual consequences of of leaving the homeland and going to Egypt.
Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin (1818-1893, Belarus/Poland)
Jacob was afraid that his seed would be absorbed by the Egyptian nation. Only in the land of Israel could the unique Jewish spark be preserved down the ages. It was on this score the Almighty reassured him: "Fear not, for there I shall make of you a great nation." Our Sages interpreted the phrase "great nation" to imply that the Jews would preserve their national identity, and not be absorbed into Egypt.
Worry is motivating us to ideally prevent the bad thing from happening or at least prepare for it.
– Kate Sweeny
Kate Sweeny's Three Steps For Channeling Worry
- Label the worry.
- Run a mental checklist of possible actions to deal with the problem.
- If all possible actions have been taken, try to get into one of the states that reduce worry, like flow, mindfulness or awe.