The Last Wish of Yaakov

Shabbat Morning- Parashat Vayechi Based on the work of Nechama Leibowitz

Comparison of Yaakov’s last wish imparted to Yosef and to Yosef to Pharoah :

Yaakov To Yosef

If now I have found grace in thy sight

Put I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh

And deal kindly and truly with me

Bury me not in Egypt I pray thee

But I will lie with my fathers

and bury me in their burying place

Yosef to Pharoah:

My father made me swear

Lo I die

And thou shalt carry me out of Egypt

In my grave which I have digged for me in the land

Of Canaan there thou shalt bury me.

Yosef is cautious in his approach to Pharoah. He after all was a foreigner and didn’t want to offend his host. Jacob did not want to be buried in Egypt and was not afraid of telling Yosef exactly that. He did not want to be buried in an idolatrous place.

Yosef knows that Jacob did not dig the grave for himself in the cave of Machpela. It was established by his grandfather Avraham for the family. But Yosef also knew that Egyptian noblemen prepared their graves in their lifetimes and would only be buried there….so the phrasing was stated in this way to carry force for the Pharoah’s approval.

When Yaakov spoke to Yosef, he asked him to take an oath that he would follow his request. An oath was made when one put a hand other another’s thigh. Yosef’s first response was merely to say, “I will do as thou hast said.” It wasn’t until he was asked a second time to swear unto Yaakov that he did so.

The Rabbis commented that it would have been better for Yosef as a free agent to have fulfilled his obligations as a son rather than to be bound by the artificial external bonds of an oath…but if the Pharoah is needing reasons to be convinced to let Yosef go…then hearing that Yosef took an oath, would add credence to the argument. This can be seen by Pharoah’s response: “Go up and bury thy father as he made thee swear.”

Question: is there a difference in telling Pharoah that “My father made me swear” instead of “I swore to my father.”

Another perspective: Why does Jacob tell Yosef that he wants him (Yosef) to carry him out of Egypt? Why isn’t this statement made to the other sons who were also in Egypt at the time. Rashi felt it was only Yosef who had it in his power to do so.

What do we know about Yosef’s personal life? Who was he married to? (Osnat, daughter of Poti Phera, priest of On)…How many sons did he have? (Menasha and Ephraim). Where did he remain when his father and brothers settled in the Land of Goshen? (Shepherds were abhorrent to Egypt…sheep were considered deities…Yosef remained in Egypt).

Is it possible that he was concerned that his son (who was now second in the hierarchy of Pharoah’s advisors and married to the daughter of an Egyptian priest) would never return to the Land of Israel? Is it possible that he was concerned that his son would assimilate totally into Egyptian culture and society…accepting idol worship?

Why did it matter to Yaakov that he be buried in Eretz Canaan? Remember the covenant made with Yaakov in Luz? “Behold I will make you into an assembly of nations. I will give this land to your descendants after you for an everlasting possession.” He wants his son to come back to the Land of his fathers.