"And these are the names of the Children of Israel -  Habaim Mitzrayma."  Many will astutely point out that there is an unusual grammatical structure in this Passuk. We may have thought to write: "These are the names of the Children of Israel who  came to Egypt." Instead, the Torah tells us that these are the names of those -  Habaim  - Who are Coming - to Egypt.

What is the Torah trying to teach us by using the present tense as opposed to the past tense? I think there are a couple of possible answers.

Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik ZT"L pointed out that this represents an attitude the Jewish people should have on a regular basis. Even though we are blessed to have the State of Israel and almost a majority of Jews living there, the stark reality is that we still live in the Diaspora. We are in effect in exile. It is therefore imperative upon us to always be aware that we are "Coming to Egypt." Sure, we can refer to the history of the Jews in Egypt and how they left. That is the bulk of Sefer Shemot. However, from a teaching perspective, we must always be aware that we are not quite where we should be just yet. If we focus on the past (only), then we may become too complacent in our present situations.

A second possible lesson we may learn may very well apply to our Jewish lives and practice.  We may tend to repeat our methods over and over simply from rote behavior. In our ever-changing world of science and technology, we must constantly adapt and learn new methods of teaching ourselves and our children. If we do what we have always been doing just because - then we are doomed to failure. Our responsibility is to learn what is newest and best, while at the same time having our Torah values rooted in the past.

We are always "Coming" to Egypt.