Although the life of our forefather Yaacov was filled with challenges, the last seventeen years of his life, when he lived in Egypt, were idyllic. His entire family was intact and there was an infrastructure of Jewish life and study in the land of Goshen, the area designated for the Jews in Egypt.
Yaacov and his family came to Egypt because there was a famine in the region and it was forecasted that the drought would last another five years. Yaakov’s son Yosef, the Viceroy of Egypt, had stockpiled food in Egypt and he was set to support them.
Amazingly, with Yaacov’s blessed arrival, the drought came to an abrupt halt. All of Egypt recognized that this was due to Yaacov’s merit and to the blessing he gave the Pharoh when he had an audience with him.
When Yaacov fell ill he called for his son Yosef and gave him instructions that upon his death he wished to be buried in Israel, in the Cave of Machpaila, where his wife Leah and his forbearers were buried.
One of the reasons Yaacov did not want to be buried in Egypt is because he was concerned that the Egyptians would turn his tomb into an idol due to the prosperity he brought.
When Yaacov actually passed away, surprisingly, Yosef did not go directly to the Pharoh to state his father’s wishes of being buried in Israel, rather, he sent messengers with the request.
The question is why didn’t he go himself? After all, he was the viceroy and had clearance to appear before the Pharoh at any time. One answer offered is that with Yaacov’s death there was an immediate shift in Pharoh’s relationship with Yosef and he began to show a certain coldness towards Yosef.
Another answer offered is that to bury his father, Yosef would have to travel to Israel and vacate his position during this time. Had Yosef gone directly to Pharoh, Pharoh would have been candid with him and not allowed him to leave his position since they both knew that Yosef was the one who ran the country. Yosef, therefore cleverly sent messengers to the Pharoh for this request since the Pharoh would be embarrassed to admit to these intermediaries that he was insecure to run the country without Yosef. Pharoh allowed Yosef and all his brothers to accompany Yaacov’s remains to Israel. The Torah relates that there was a heavy presence of Egyptians who came along. According to the Medrash 45,000 Egyptians came along for the arduous trip to pay respect to Yaacov! Along the trip 31 kings came and paid respects to Yaacov by removing their crowns and placing them upon his coffin.
Upon returning to Egypt, the remainder of the years of the famine resumed. During this time the brothers noticed that Yosef was acting a bit cold to them, and he didn’t invite them as he did when their father was alive. They suspected that Yosef might be planning to take revenge upon them for selling him to Egypt.
They devised the following scheme; they told Yosef that their father Yaacov had instructed them to tell Yosef that they are remorseful for all the bad that they caused him. Yosef responded by telling them not to worry for it was G-d’s direction that caused all this to happen, and in fact, all turned out for the best.
The Talmud tells us that the brothers were justified to claim something that their father did not directly instruct since it was for the sake of promoting Sholom – peace between them. In cases like this, such as to ensure Shalom between husband and wife certain details can be altered.
The precedent for this is found in G-d’s conduct. When Sarah was informed by the angels that she would bear a child at the age of ninety, the Torah tells us she laughed and thought to herself, after all, my husband Avraham is old. However, when G-d spoke to Avraham and told him about Sarah’s laughing, He switched a detail and said, “After all, I (Sarah) am old.” G-d switched in relating Sarah’s thoughts to Avraham so that Avraham should not feel that he was old in the eyes of his wife. All this was for the sake of Shalom Bayis.
Consequently, we realize the magnitude of the subtle sensitivities we are to have when dealing with peace between spouses, relatives, friends, co-workers etc.
This is the final portion of first book of the Torah and it concludes with Yosef passing down the secret code words that the eventual leader of the Jews (Moshe) would say indicating his Divine appointment for the position. This was a tradition he received from Yaacov.
Yosef gave instructions that when the Jew will eventually be redeemed, his remains should be buried in Israel. The Egyptians placed his coffin in the Nile so that it would not be found. But, as the Torah tells us, Moshe retrieved Yosef’s coffin, and the remains of all the 12 tribes. When they were freed they brought them out of Egypt and eventually were buried in Israel in their prescribed tribal apportioned land.
Yosef was the first of the brothers to die and Levi was the last. With Levi’s death, the actual Egyptian servitude began.
