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(כח) וַיְחִ֤י יַעֲקֹב֙ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם שְׁבַ֥ע עֶשְׂרֵ֖ה שָׁנָ֑ה וַיְהִ֤י יְמֵֽי־יַעֲקֹב֙ שְׁנֵ֣י חַיָּ֔יו שֶׁ֣בַע שָׁנִ֔ים וְאַרְבָּעִ֥ים וּמְאַ֖ת שָׁנָֽה׃ (כט) וַיִּקְרְב֣וּ יְמֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֮ לָמוּת֒ וַיִּקְרָ֣א ׀ לִבְנ֣וֹ לְיוֹסֵ֗ף וַיֹּ֤אמֶר לוֹ֙ אִם־נָ֨א מָצָ֤אתִי חֵן֙ בְּעֵינֶ֔יךָ שִֽׂים־נָ֥א יָדְךָ֖ תַּ֣חַת יְרֵכִ֑י וְעָשִׂ֤יתָ עִמָּדִי֙ חֶ֣סֶד וֶאֱמֶ֔ת אַל־נָ֥א תִקְבְּרֵ֖נִי בְּמִצְרָֽיִם׃ (ל) וְשָֽׁכַבְתִּי֙ עִם־אֲבֹתַ֔י וּנְשָׂאתַ֙נִי֙ מִמִּצְרַ֔יִם וּקְבַרְתַּ֖נִי בִּקְבֻרָתָ֑ם וַיֹּאמַ֕ר אָנֹכִ֖י אֶֽעֱשֶׂ֥ה כִדְבָרֶֽךָ׃ (לא) וַיֹּ֗אמֶר הִשָּֽׁבְעָה֙ לִ֔י וַיִּשָּׁבַ֖ע ל֑וֹ וַיִּשְׁתַּ֥חוּ יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל עַל־רֹ֥אשׁ הַמִּטָּֽה׃ {פ}
(28) Jacob lived seventeen years in the land of Egypt, so that the span of Jacob’s life came to one hundred and forty-seven years. (29) And when the time approached for Israel to die, he summoned his son Joseph and said to him, “Do me this favor, place your hand under my thigh as a pledge of your steadfast loyalty: please do not bury me in Egypt. (30) When I lie down with my ancestors, take me up from Egypt and bury me in their burial-place.” He replied, “I will do as you have spoken.” (31) And he said, “Swear to me.” And he swore to him. Then Israel bowed at the head of the bed.
In later Hebrew, the words for this phrase 'steadfast loyalty' come to mean 'true kindness' (hesed v'emet). Jewish tradition defines 'true kindness' as a good deed for which no reciprocal favor can be anticipated, such as tending to the needs of the dead.
But the kindness shown to a dead person—in the form of burial and a eulogy—is always true kindness. In addition, it is disinterested; one expects no favors from the dead ( Itturei Torah ).
(1) וישתחו ישראל AND ISRAEL PROSTRATED HIMSELF — The proverb says: Though the lion is king “when the fox has his time, bow to him” (Megillah 16b). (2) על ראש המטה UPON THE BED’S HEAD — He turned towards the Divine Presence (the Shechinah) (Midrash Tanchuma, Vayechi 3). They (the Rabbis) inferred from this that the Shechinah is above the pillow of a sick person (Shabbat 12b). Another interpretation of על ראש המטה He bowed himself in thanks FOR HIM WHO WAS THE CHIEF (ראש) OF HIS CHILDREN — in thanks because his children were heart-whole with God, and none of them was wicked, for even Joseph who was a king and moreover had been a captive amongst heathen peoples yet maintained his righteousness (Sifré ואתחנן 31).
Yet Jacob turned to Joseph, who was neither the eldest nor the head of the brothers. Why did the aged Jacob behave in such a strange way? Answers the midrash, "Because Joseph had the means of fulfilling [his wishes]." Jacob called Joseph because he was simply the most suited for the purpose Jacob had in mind. Never mind that he lacked the title (of bekhor). Forget that he didn't have the position of leader of the family...Perhaps this can serve as a role model for us as well. When we have a need, we should find the person with the attributes of soul, wisdom, and concern suitable to help us solve our problem or to achieve our goal. That doesn't always require a title. I remember my first day in rabbinical school. Nervous beginning students, we met with the then-dean, Rabbi Joel Roth. Rabbi Roth told us to look around the room, saying that the people with whom we were studying were the greatest spiritual resource we would find during our studies and later on in life. I remember how struck I was by his wisdom, how true it has remained to this day. My peers, people who were going through what I was experiencing, were among the most helpful then and have remained lifelong friends since...Rabbi Roth was reminding us, as does the example of Jacob calling Joseph, to look to any available source for help, not simply to the favored few with titles, degrees, or status.
Until Jacob, there was no illness leading up to death; rather, one would die suddenly. Jacob came and prayed for mercy, and illness was brought to the world, allowing one to prepare for his death, as it is stated: “And one said to Joseph: Behold, your father is sick” (Genesis 48:1), which is the first time that sickness preceding death is mentioned in the Bible.
Jacob on his deathbed remembers two incidents from his long and full life: When he was young, God appeared to him and told him that he would become a special person; and Rachel, the woman he loved, died young.
Maharal’s assumption is that the personal dramas of the patriarchs and matriarchs are always indicative of metaphysical reality. Here, he touches on the classic philosophical problem of the One and the Many, and proposes a tragic acceptance of this world as one of multiple, conflicting versions of truth. Without a single indubitable focus, human beings naturally tend to “other gods,” to “rival wives.” This, Rachel argues, is in the very nature of this world, as God made it, and as she has experienced it, in her most intimate knowledge of “otherness.” This is not a world of perfect love, of pure forms, but rather one of diffracted, partial relationships, of kaleidoscopic, shifting appearances.
(8) Noticing Joseph’s sons, Israel asked, “Who are these?” (9) And Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” “Bring them up to me,” he said, “that I may bless them.” (10) Now Israel’s eyes were dim with age; he could not see. So [Joseph] brought them close to him, and he kissed them and embraced them.
(יז) וַיַּ֣רְא יוֹסֵ֗ף כִּי־יָשִׁ֨ית אָבִ֧יו יַד־יְמִינ֛וֹ עַל־רֹ֥אשׁ אֶפְרַ֖יִם וַיֵּ֣רַע בְּעֵינָ֑יו וַיִּתְמֹ֣ךְ יַד־אָבִ֗יו לְהָסִ֥יר אֹתָ֛הּ מֵעַ֥ל רֹאשׁ־אֶפְרַ֖יִם עַל־רֹ֥אשׁ מְנַשֶּֽׁה׃ (יח) וַיֹּ֧אמֶר יוֹסֵ֛ף אֶל־אָבִ֖יו לֹא־כֵ֣ן אָבִ֑י כִּי־זֶ֣ה הַבְּכֹ֔ר שִׂ֥ים יְמִינְךָ֖ עַל־רֹאשֽׁוֹ׃ (יט) וַיְמָאֵ֣ן אָבִ֗יו וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ יָדַ֤עְתִּֽי בְנִי֙ יָדַ֔עְתִּי גַּם־ה֥וּא יִֽהְיֶה־לְּעָ֖ם וְגַם־ה֣וּא יִגְדָּ֑ל וְאוּלָ֗ם אָחִ֤יו הַקָּטֹן֙ יִגְדַּ֣ל מִמֶּ֔נּוּ וְזַרְע֖וֹ יִהְיֶ֥ה מְלֹֽא־הַגּוֹיִֽם׃ (כ) וַיְבָ֨רְכֵ֜ם בַּיּ֣וֹם הַהוּא֮ לֵאמוֹר֒ בְּךָ֗ יְבָרֵ֤ךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר יְשִֽׂמְךָ֣ אֱלֹהִ֔ים כְּאֶפְרַ֖יִם וְכִמְנַשֶּׁ֑ה וַיָּ֥שֶׂם אֶת־אֶפְרַ֖יִם לִפְנֵ֥י מְנַשֶּֽׁה׃ (כא) וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ אֶל־יוֹסֵ֔ף הִנֵּ֥ה אָנֹכִ֖י מֵ֑ת וְהָיָ֤ה אֱלֹהִים֙ עִמָּכֶ֔ם וְהֵשִׁ֣יב אֶתְכֶ֔ם אֶל־אֶ֖רֶץ אֲבֹתֵיכֶֽם׃ (כב) וַאֲנִ֞י נָתַ֧תִּֽי לְךָ֛ שְׁכֶ֥ם אַחַ֖ד עַל־אַחֶ֑יךָ אֲשֶׁ֤ר לָקַ֙חְתִּי֙ מִיַּ֣ד הָֽאֱמֹרִ֔י בְּחַרְבִּ֖י וּבְקַשְׁתִּֽי׃ {פ}
(17) When Joseph saw that his father was placing his right hand on Ephraim’s head, he thought it wrong; so he took hold of his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s. (18) “Not so, Father,” Joseph said to his father, “for the other is the first-born; place your right hand on his head.” (19) But his father objected, saying, “I know, my son, I know. He too shall become a people, and he too shall be great. Yet his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall be plentiful enough for nations.” (20) So he blessed them that day, saying, “By you shall Israel invoke blessings, saying: God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.” Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh. (21) Then Israel said to Joseph, “I am about to die; but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your ancestors. (22) And now, I assign to you one portion more than to your brothers, which I wrested from the Amorites with my sword and bow.”
One schechem more, alluding to the city of Shechem, where Joesph would be buried.
48:22. one shoulder over your brothers. This expression appears to refer to Joseph’s getting two tribes while each of his brothers gets only one. But it also puns on the word for shoulder, Hebrew š kem (Shechem). Shechem is the name of the city that will one day be the capital of the kingdom of Israel, and it is located in one of the Joseph tribes (Manasseh).
Joseph received two gifts from his father. The first was Shechem, the city that Jacob had defended, with sword and bow, against the depredations of the Amorite kings when they tried to take revenge upon his sons for the outrage committed there...Shechem was his reward, because, with his chastity, he stemmed the tide of immorality that burst loose in Shechem first of all. Besides, he had a prior claim upon the city. Shechem, son of Hamor, the master of the city, had given it to Dinah as a present, and the wife of Joseph, Asenath, being the daughter of Dinah, the city belonged to him by right.
(ב) הִקָּבְצ֥וּ וְשִׁמְע֖וּ בְּנֵ֣י יַעֲקֹ֑ב וְשִׁמְע֖וּ אֶל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֥ל אֲבִיכֶֽם׃
(2) Assemble and hearken, O sons of Jacob;
Hearken to Israel your father:
Abravanel offers an explanation of this extraordinary flourish of rhetoric that makes some sense of a difficult text. There are four reasons that Ya’akov calls together his sons, Abravanel says: (a) to bestow blessings on them; (b) to rebuke those who have transgressed; (c) to foretell the future of the family and, by extension, the tribes of Israel; and (d) to bequeath to the sons (and the tribes that will spring from their loins) specific parts of Eretz Yisrael.
(כב) בֵּ֤ן פֹּרָת֙ יוֹסֵ֔ף בֵּ֥ן פֹּרָ֖ת עֲלֵי־עָ֑יִן בָּנ֕וֹת צָעֲדָ֖ה עֲלֵי־שֽׁוּר׃ (כג) וַֽיְמָרְרֻ֖הוּ וָרֹ֑בּוּ וַֽיִּשְׂטְמֻ֖הוּ בַּעֲלֵ֥י חִצִּֽים׃ (כד) וַתֵּ֤שֶׁב בְּאֵיתָן֙ קַשְׁתּ֔וֹ וַיָּפֹ֖זּוּ זְרֹעֵ֣י יָדָ֑יו מִידֵי֙ אֲבִ֣יר יַעֲקֹ֔ב מִשָּׁ֥ם רֹעֶ֖ה אֶ֥בֶן יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ (כה) מֵאֵ֨ל אָבִ֜יךָ וְיַעְזְרֶ֗ךָּ וְאֵ֤ת שַׁדַּי֙ וִיבָ֣רְכֶ֔ךָּ בִּרְכֹ֤ת שָׁמַ֙יִם֙ מֵעָ֔ל בִּרְכֹ֥ת תְּה֖וֹם רֹבֶ֣צֶת תָּ֑חַת בִּרְכֹ֥ת שָׁדַ֖יִם וָרָֽחַם׃ (כו) בִּרְכֹ֣ת אָבִ֗יךָ גָּֽבְרוּ֙ עַל־בִּרְכֹ֣ת הוֹרַ֔י עַֽד־תַּאֲוַ֖ת גִּבְעֹ֣ת עוֹלָ֑ם תִּֽהְיֶ֙יןָ֙ לְרֹ֣אשׁ יוֹסֵ֔ף וּלְקׇדְקֹ֖ד נְזִ֥יר אֶחָֽיו׃ {פ}
(22) Joseph is a wild ass,
A wild ass by a spring
—Wild colts on a hillside. (23) Archers bitterly assailed him;
They shot at him and harried him.
(24) Yet his bow stayed taut,
And his arms were made firm
By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob—
There, the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel—
(25) The God of your father’s [house], who helps you,
And Shaddai who blesses you
With blessings of heaven above,
Blessings of the deep that couches below,
Blessings of the breast and womb.
(26) The blessings of your father
Surpass the blessings of my ancestors,
To the utmost bounds of the eternal hills.
May they rest on the head of Joseph,
On the brow of the elect of his brothers.
His bow stayed taut Joseph remained steadfast in the face of adversity and drew his strength from God, who championed his cause.
Jacob...Israel Do these refer to the Patriarch - or to the people Israel? The ambiguity is probably deliberate. The Patriarch and the people are now as one.
blessings of the heaven above/Blessings of the deep that couches below Some of Joseph's remarkable achievements came about because he was fortunate to be blessed with good qualities from birth. At the same time he encountered chaos and misfortune and overcame them.
The entire cosmos, from the heavens above to the primeval waters below, participates in the blessing [of Joseph by Jacob].
(כח) כׇּל־אֵ֛לֶּה שִׁבְטֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל שְׁנֵ֣ים עָשָׂ֑ר וְ֠זֹ֠את אֲשֶׁר־דִּבֶּ֨ר לָהֶ֤ם אֲבִיהֶם֙ וַיְבָ֣רֶךְ אוֹתָ֔ם אִ֛ישׁ אֲשֶׁ֥ר כְּבִרְכָת֖וֹ בֵּרַ֥ךְ אֹתָֽם׃
(28) All these were the tribes of Israel, twelve in number, and this is what their father said to them as he bade them farewell, addressing to each a parting word appropriate to him.
Dialectically opposed to this, however, is the sense of spiritual power that clearly emanates from him, as he allocates blessings and destinies to his children and grandchildren. They wait breathlessly, silently, on his words. Even Joseph’s one protest at the apparent error—as Jacob crosses his hands over his grandsons’ heads (48:14)—is informed by the urgency of his desire to waste no drop of the precious substance that Jacob is dispensing. The patriarch is at the center of a force field called “blessing”: the position of his hands, the words he articulates, create a reality that his children regard with great awe, even with trepidation.
blessing each one (49:28). How could Jacob have “blessed” Simeon and Levi, given the harsh words he directed toward them (49:5–7)? One interpreter of this verse suggests that Jacob’s rebuke of his sons was, in fact, a blessing. In cursing their anger specifically—rather than his sons—Jacob sought to temper it, and to encourage them to distance themselves from their inappropriate behaviors. In this sense, his criticism was intended as a blessing, offering his sons a chance to renounce their past actions and become better people (Itturei Torah).
Jacob is described as 'lifting his feet' to begin his journey after his dream of the ladder at BethEl. His journey will have taken him to three countries. He has loved, he has fought, he has known bereavement. Now, after many years, Jacob can finally stop wondering and struggling...We can see him as the examplar of the flawed person who can outgrow his flaws. He seeks contentment and never succeeds in finding it because there is always one more challenge to overcome. To be a jew is to be a descendant of Jacob/Israel.
As Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said that it is written: “And Jacob called his sons and said, Gather around and I will tell you what will occur to you in the end of days” (Genesis 49:1). Jacob wanted to reveal to his sons when the complete redemption would arrive at the end of days (see Daniel 12:13), but the Divine Presence abandoned him, rendering him unable to prophesy. He said: Perhaps the Divine Presence has abandoned me because, Heaven forfend, one of my descendants is unfit, as was the case with my grandfather Abraham, from whom Ishmael emerged, and like my father Isaac, from whom Esau emerged. His sons said to him: Hear Israel, our father, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One. They said: Just as there is only one God in your heart, so too, there is only one in our hearts. At that moment Jacob our father said in praise: Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever, as all his children were righteous.
Jacob—so much more prolific than they, with an expansive vitality expressed in thirteen children—is concerned with the question of coherence. His terror is precisely a terror of the wasted, the excess, the unusable. The ultimate compliment that is paid him in midrashic rhetoric—“His bed was whole, complete”—comes to symbolize a life fully used, energies fully metabolized, its parts tending toward integral meaning. But the compliment carries with it an undertow of anxiety: on his deathbed, Jacob is still unsure about the project of his life.
This is a state funeral. In fact, the Canaanites perceive it as “a solemn mourning for Egypt” (v. 11)
Moreover, Pharaoh issued a decree in all parts of the land menacing those with death who would not accompany Joseph and his brethren upon their journey to Canaan with their father's remains, and accordingly the procession that followed the bier of Jacob was made up of the princes and nobles of Egypt as well as the common people.
(15) When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph still bears a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrong that we did him!” (16) So they sent this message to Joseph, “Before his death your father left this instruction: (17) So shall you say to Joseph, ‘Forgive, I urge you, the offense and guilt of your brothers who treated you so harshly.’ Therefore, please forgive the offense of the servants of the God of your father’s [house].” And Joseph was in tears as they spoke to him.
And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead, etc. (Gen. 50:15). What did they see that frightened them? As they were returning from the burial of their father, they saw their brother go to the pit into which they had hurled him, in order to bless it. He blessed the pit with the benediction “Blessed be the place where He performed a miracle for me,” just as any man is required to pronounce a blessing at the place where a miracle had been performed in his behalf. When they beheld this they cried out: Now that our father is dead, Joseph will hate us and will fully requite us for all the evil which we did unto him. And they sent a message unto Joseph, saying: Thy father did command … “So shall ye say unto Joseph: Forgive” (Gen. 50:15–16). We have searched the entire Scripture and are unable to find any place where Jacob uttered this remark. This statement is introduced to teach us the importance of peace. The Holy One, blessed be He, wrote these words in the Torah for the sake of peace alone.
50:16. Your father had commanded before his death. We never find out whether Joseph—or his brothers—ever told Jacob what his brothers did to him. The brothers claim that Jacob commanded that Joseph should forgive them, but we do not know if they are making this up or not. Either way, it is the right message: after a parent’s death, the children should try to heal any old wounds and draw close.
Joseph’s weeping and the brothers’ prostrating themselves and calling themselves “your slaves” is a replay of the earlier meetings between Joseph and his brothers (especially 45:1–5). But this time, at last, the relationship is wholly repaired: The brothers are fully reunited, not only physically, but also emotionally and psychologically. The next step, taken at the beginning of Exodus, is for this family to become a people.
There’s Only One Question - By Merle Field
And the only answer
is to keep crying,
to cry daily,
the way one
is supposed to
write daily
or pray daily,
as a discipline.
(יח) וַיֵּלְכוּ֙ גַּם־אֶחָ֔יו וַֽיִּפְּל֖וּ לְפָנָ֑יו וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ הִנֶּ֥נּֽוּ לְךָ֖ לַעֲבָדִֽים׃ (יט) וַיֹּ֧אמֶר אֲלֵהֶ֛ם יוֹסֵ֖ף אַל־תִּירָ֑אוּ כִּ֛י הֲתַ֥חַת אֱלֹהִ֖ים אָֽנִי׃ (כ) וְאַתֶּ֕ם חֲשַׁבְתֶּ֥ם עָלַ֖י רָעָ֑ה אֱלֹהִים֙ חֲשָׁבָ֣הּ לְטֹבָ֔ה לְמַ֗עַן עֲשֹׂ֛ה כַּיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּ֖ה לְהַחֲיֹ֥ת עַם־רָֽב׃ (כא) וְעַתָּה֙ אַל־תִּירָ֔אוּ אָנֹכִ֛י אֲכַלְכֵּ֥ל אֶתְכֶ֖ם וְאֶֽת־טַפְּכֶ֑ם וַיְנַחֵ֣ם אוֹתָ֔ם וַיְדַבֵּ֖ר עַל־לִבָּֽם׃
(18) His brothers went to him themselves, flung themselves before him, and said, “We are prepared to be your slaves.” (19) But Joseph said to them, “Have no fear! Am I a substitute for God? (20) Besides, although you intended me harm, God intended it for good, so as to bring about the present result—the survival of many people. (21) And so, fear not. I will sustain you and your dependents.” Thus he reassured them, speaking kindly to them.
50:18. we’re yours as slaves. This is the final ironic recompense in the chain of deceptions in this family. The brothers who once sold Joseph as a slave now say that they will be his slaves.
50:21. he spoke on their heart. We have seen that each act of deception since Jacob led to another deception that came as a recompense. Thus deceptions and hurts within a family can go on in a perpetual cycle. In order to bring it to an end, one member of the family who is entitled to retribution must stop the cycle and forgive instead. That is what Joseph does here.
But now that Jacob was dead, what was to become of them? The Torah tells us that Joseph hastened to reassure his terrified siblings: "He comforted them and spoke to their hearts." Rabbinic tradition focused on that peculiar and striking phrase, speaking to their hearts. Whatever does that mean? Rashi, basing his commentary on Midrash B'raisheet Rabbah, explains that these were "words which were accepted by the heart." Joseph was able to put himself in his brothers' shoes, to imagine their terror and their weakness. Rather than exploiting their panic, rather than giving a lecture, he chose his words so that his brothers would be able to understand what he wanted to say, so that the comfort he intended would be received. So often, we speak without considering how our listeners might hear our words. In getting it off our chest, we don't pause to reflect on what we have now dumped on the chests of others. Not so Joseph. He knew that his brothers needed assurance that he understood their fears and needed to know that he shared their estimation of what ought to happen. In English, we call that ability empathy. The rabbinic phrase is "what comes from the heart goes straight to the heart." The only comfort Joseph could offer was to open his heart to his brothers. He truly listened to their concerns, and then he, in turn, shared his heart with them. From the depths of his heart to the depths of theirs, no misunderstanding, no distortion, no animosity could intrude. In acting the way he did, Joseph offered a role model for us all to follow.
The last words of the Book of Genesis, 'a coffin in Etypt,' foreshadow the events of the opening chapter of Exodus, the enslavement of the Hebrews, the killing of the Hebrew babies, and the birth of Moses who will be places in a coffin-like basket in the Nile.
Until now, the Torah has told the story of this one family, through several generations, the Chosen Ones of God. Now, they must begin the hard work of forging a nation from these beginnings. The prologue is over. Now the story of Am Yisrael—the central story of the Torah—can begin.