With Parshas Vayechi comes the death of
Yaakov and the ending of the era of the Avos. With Yaakov’s death, the focus of
the Torah shifts to the children of these great men as they become the Nation
of God. The parshah starts off with Yaakov preparing for his death by summoning
his son, Yosef.
Yaakov calls Yosef in and instructs him
not to bury him in Egypt. Instead, he should take his body back to Eretz
Yisrael and bury him in Chevron in the Me’aras Hamachpela together with his
forefathers. Yosef says that he will but Yaakov asks for a stronger commitment.
“וַיֹּאמֶר הִשָּׁבְעָה לִי וַיִּשָּׁבַע לוֹ” “He
said, ‘Swear to me,’ and he swore to him” (Bereishis 47:31). Yaakov’s need
for this swear is both puzzling and troubling. Yosef was his closest son and
was most similar to him in many ways, both physical and spiritual; could it be
that Yaakov did not trust his closest son to carry out his wishes? And so much
so that he felt the need to make him swear that he would?
The commonly given
answer is that Yaakov definitely trusted Yosef to fulfill his request, but
there were different factors at work. Yaakov was worried that Paroh would want
him buried in Egypt in order that his merit would continue to protect the
country even after his death. So Yaakov made Yosef swear to take him to Eretz
Yisrael since he knew Paroh would honor this commitment. The Gemarah in Sotah
(36b) explains that one of the requirements of being king was that
he must speak all the seventy languages of the world and Yosef knew that Paroh
did not speak Hebrew. Yosef had sworn to Paroh to protect this secret and if
Paroh would now tell him to ignore the promise he had made to Yaakov, what was
stopping him from ignoring his promise he had made to Paroh as well? So once
Yosef had sworn, Yaakov felt comfortable that nothing could stop Yosef from fulfilling
his wishes.
The Kli Yakar gives
another answer. When Yaakov tells Yosef to bury him in Eretz Yisrael, Yosef
replies, “וַיֹּאמַר אָנֹכִי אֶעְשֶׂה כִדְבָרֶךָ”
“And he (Yosef) said, ‘I will do as you say.” (47:30). The medrash says
that Yosef was telling Yaakov that he too would instruct his children not to
bury him in Egypt but rather in Eretz Yisrael as well. When Yaakov asked him to
swear, he wasn’t asking him to swear to keep the instructions he had
given Yosef, but to make sure Yosef kept his own commitment to be buried
in Eretz Yisrael as well.
Chazak Chazak V’Nischazek!
Shabbat Shalom!
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