Parshat VaYechi

The Grave Yaakov had Dug

When Yaakov realized that he was dying, he called for Yoseph and asked him to: "place your hand beneath my thigh…do not bury me now in Egypt" (Bereshit 47:29).

Yoseph said: "I will do as you say" (ibid 30), but that was not good enough for Yaakov. He made him swear to him, so Yoseph "swore to him" (ibid 31) that he would bury him in Canaan.

Once "the days of his weeping had passed" (ibid 50:4), Yoseph was able to send a message to Pharaoh and speak to him about the oath he had sworn to his father.

Yoseph tells Pharaoh of Yaakov's dying wish, saying: "'In my grave, which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan, there you shall bury me'". So now, please let me go up and bury my father and return (ibid 5)".

It is obvious why Yoseph did not quote his father accurately when he overlooked the words: "Do not bury me in Egypt" as that would have been extremely insulting to the host king. However, why does he speak of the grave that Yaakov had dug? Yaakov never mentioned that he had dug his own grave before. On the contrary, he was going to be buried in the Cave of Machpela, the family tomb.

Most commentators say that the Hebrew word used for "dug", actually means "prepared in advance". Some modern commentators want to suggest that this text refers to a variant tradition that Israel had about the location of Yakov's final resting place.

The concept of the variant tradition for graves already appears at another place in this week's parsha; with Rachel. Yaakov recalls her death, saying: "I buried her there on the way to Ephrat, which is Bet Lechem" (ibid 48:7).

Everyone knows that Bet Lechem (Bethlehem) is a city just south of Jerusalem. We have a shrine there that many believe to be Rachel's Tomb. However, this location contradicts a text we have in Sefer Yirmiyahu.

There, the prophet imagines Rachel crying, as her sons, i.e. the Jewish people, pass by her tomb, on their journey into exile, to Babylon (see Yirmiyah 31:14-16). In order for this to occur, Rachel's tomb must have been in northern Israel, as it makes no sense for the Babylonians to have taken Jerusalem's exile to Babylon, via Bet Lechem, for it is totally the wrong way.

However, rather than saying that there are two traditions for Rachel's burial place, we could simply say that we are mistaken for thinking that the Torah was referring to the Bet Lechem that is south of Jerusalem. It is very possible that it was referring to the Bet Lechem, another city with exactly the same name, in northern Israel. Indeed, it is strange for us to consider that Rachel, the mother of the northern tribes, would have been buried in the territory of Judah, the leading son of Leah.

So too Yospeh's misquote need not bring us to there being variant tradition as to the whereabouts of his grave.

We now know that Ancient Egypt had a death obsessed religion. Wealthy Egyptians would invest all their energies and wealth in preparing for the after-life. This included the building of lavish tombs.

The Daat Mikra suggests that Yospeh spoke in a language that Pharaoh would understand well. He emphasized that Yaakov wanted to be buried in Canaan because he already prepared his tomb in Canaan. Pharaoh would therefore, find Yospeh's request more than reasonable.

Therefore, rather than there being an alternative burial place for Yaakov, Yoseph merely quoted Yaakov freely in way that would make his request to bury him in Canaan, more palatable to Pharaoh.

Last years' Sedra Short on Parshat VaYechi, entitled: "The Adoption of Ephraim and Menashe" appears at http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2007/12/parshat-vayechi-adoption-of-ephraim-and.html.
Another Sedra Short on Parshat VaYechi, entitled: "The Mummification of Yaakov" appears at http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2007/01/parshat-vayechi-mummification-of.html

A further Sedra Short on Parshat VaYechi, entitled: "Yoseph's inheritance" appears at http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2006/01/parshat-vayechi-yosephs-inheritance-at.html

Parshat Miektz

Why Yospeh did not Phone Home

One question that bothers many people about the whole Joseph narrative is the fact that he does not contact his father to let him know that he was alive.

We can understand why Yoseph dif not contact Yaakov in his earlier years, for first he was a slave, albeit, an important slave, in the household of Potiphar, and after that he was held in incarceration for two years. However once He was freed, he became a powerful leader: "Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'I am Pharaoh, and besides you, no one may lift his hand or his foot in the entire land of Egypt'" (Bereshit 41:44).

From that point onwards, Yoseph lived for nine years before he let Yaakov know that he was still alive. Why did he not contact him sooner?

Rabbi Yoel Bin Nun suggests that Yoseph believed that his father was part of the plot to be rid of him. After all, he mocked his dream: "Will we come I, your mother, and your brothers to prostrate ourselves to you to the ground?" (ibid 37:10) and he then sent him to find his brothers when he knew that deeply disliked him. Rav Bin Num takes into account that Yoseph appreciated that in each generation one of the patriarch's sons was chosen and another was rejected (Yishmael and Esav).

So too, Yoseph named his eldest son, Menashe, because "God has caused me to forget all my toil and all my father's house" (ibid 41:51) and it was only once Yehuda said that Yaakov sorely missed him, (see 44:27-29), that Yospeh realized that his father deeply mourned him and that his analysis was incorrect. It was at that point that he revealed himself.

I would, however, like to suggest an alternative explanation.

We must remember that Yoseph was betrayed by his family and that so much time had passed. He was seventeen when he was sold into slavery and thirty when he stood before Pharaoh. Was he still the same person who left his father's home thirteen years earlier?

He now had a new name, Tsafnat Paneach, his wife was the daughter of an Egyptian priest and Menashe's name testifies that he was tying to forget his bitter past.

When his brothers stood before him, "they did not recognize him" (ibid 42:8). He was simply a different person, with a new life, totally unrecognizable from the self-centered shepherd boy that he had been thirteen years previously.

And he could have carried with on with that lifestyle, but something happened when he saw his brothers: "Yoseph remembered the dreams that he had dreamed" (ibid 9).

Until this point, he had forgotten his dreams, he had forgotten his previous life. Yet, upon seeing his brothers he suddenly remembered who he was and that he had a destiny. It was suddenly the time for him to contact his father again. He just needed to find the way to do it.

Last year's Sedra Short on Parshat Miketz entitled: "The Silence of God" appears at http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2007/12/parshat-miketz-silence-of-god-god.html

Another Sedra Short on Parshat Miketz entitled: "Measure for Measure" appears at http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2006/12/parshat-miketz-measure-for-measure.html

A further Sedra Short on Parshat Miketz entitled "One Dream or Two?" appears at: http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2005/12/parshat-miketz-one-dream-or-two.html

Parshat VaYechi

The Adoption of Ephraim and Menashe

When Yaakov felt that he was dying, he asked Yoseph to ensure that he will be buried in Canaan, in Hevron, together with Avraham and Yitzchak and his wife Leah. Yoseph promises that he would do that (See Bereshit 47:28:31).

Some time later, Yoseph heard that Yaakov was dying. He brings his two sons Menashe and Ephraim to him. Yaakov then begins along story of how God appeared to him on his way back from Padan Aram and how Rachel, Yoseph's mother died and how he buried her Bet Lechem. In the middle he interrupts the story and adopts Ephraim and Menashe as his two own sons.

It's a strange episode. Rashi explains that the reason why Yaakov is apologizing to Yoseph. He has just asked Yoseph to embark on an ambitious project. i.e. to take his body from Egypt to Ca naan, yet he did not do this for Yoseph's mother Rachel. She died in Bet Lechem and he buried her there. So he's saying even though I did not make the effort to take Rachel's body from Bet Lechem to Hevron, a relatively short journey, I still want you to take me from Egypt to Canaan.

The problem with this explanation is that it is in the wrong place. If this was Yaakov's intention, this story should have been in the previous chapter, when he actually asks Yoseph to bury him in Canaan. Yet this episode occurred sometime later. It also does not explain why Yaakov interrupts the story with the adoption of his grandchildren.

It is likely that Yaakov tells this story because it explains why he is adopting Ephraim and Menashe. How does it explain it?

When Yaakov returned from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him, saying: "a nation and a multitude of nations shall come into existence from you, and kings shall come forth from your loins" (Bereshit 35:11).

The problem with this is that Yaakov has no more children after this point; nothing more will come forth from his loins. Yaakov therefore understands this prophecy as referring to his grandchildren and so he adopts Ephraim and Menashe. He then goes on with the story to explain why he had no more children; it is because that Rachel his wife died.

Rather than being an apology, Yaakov is raising her status, ensuring that she has a larger share in "congregation of peoples" (ibid 48:4) that would come forth from him.

Last years' Sedra Short on Parshat VaYechi, entitled: "The Mummification of Yaakov" appears at http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2007_01_01_archive.html

Another Sedra Short on Parshat VaYechi, entitled: "Yoseph's inheritance" appears at http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2006_01_01_parshablog_archive.html