In this week's parsha, in פרק מז, פסוק כט Yaakov asks Yosef to make sure that he will not bury his father in מצרים. The pasuk says:
״וַיִּקְרְבוּ יְמֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לָמוּת וַיִּקְרָא | לִבְנוֹ לְיוֹסֵף וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ אִם נָא מָצָאתִי חֵן בְּעֵינֶיךָ שִׂים נָא יָדְךָ תַּחַת יְרֵכִי וְעָשִׂיתָ עִמָּדִי חֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת אַל נָא תִקְבְּרֵנִי בְּמִצְרָיִם״
When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, "If I have now found favor in your eyes, now place your hand beneath my thigh, and you shall deal with me with loving kindness and truth; do not bury me now in Egypt.
Rashi asks why does יעקב care where he is buried? After all, isn't it really his physical body that will buried in Egypt since the important part of his body, his שכינה, will go up to ה׳? Rashi provides three reasons one of which is that he didn't want the מצריים to deify him.
Q: What are other reasons for why Yaakov cared so much about not being buried in מצרים? Why is burial so important in Judaism?
Rashi mentions multiple reasons in response to why Yaakov didn’t want to be buried in Egypt. One reason (his second reason) was that “those who die outside of the “holy land” will not be resurrected except with the pain of rolling through underground passages.” Initially I had agreed with the question and thought “why does it matter where he is buried?” However after reading the Rashi, I can fully understand by Yaakov would not want to be buried in Egypt. After all, being one of the Avot, it only makes sense for Yaakov to be buried in the holy land.
ReplyDeleteCite where the Rashi was found: Chabad.org
According to Rabbi Hammer, Yaakov wanted to be buried in Aretez Yisrael because that was where his family was buried. He wants to, even in death, to be close to those he loves. He wants to be rejoined with the land that he lived on for most of his life. Throughout Yaakov’s story, he is seen as family man. Out of all the Avot he has the most children and wives and clearly cares for them dearly. I like this answer because it humanizes Yaakov. He expresses something that everyone tries to feel, even if it may be hard; a closeness to family.
ReplyDeleteSource: https://rabbijillhammer.com/2013/12/11/parashat-vayechi/
According to http://www.mesora.org Yakkov wanted to be buried in Aretez Yisrael, specifically Maaras HaMachpelah, for the benefit of other people. He believed that if he was buried alone that people would come to visit his grave and reflect on his life, but didn’t want that. What he wanted was for people to come and remember everyone that was buried there. They should remember that all the people there had something in common, “a life devoted to God's will.” Specifically Yakkov wanted to be brought out of Egypt to symbolize the redemption and all the Jews being brought out of Egypt. I like this answer becasue it shows Yakkov deep love for his family. He wants them to always retain a connection with Hashem.
ReplyDeleteSource: http://www.mesora.org/Burial
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ReplyDeleteaccording to rev Hirsch, the reason he didn't want to be buried in mitzrayim is because he wanted to show his children that Israel was their real home, not Egypt. He wanted them to show their loyalty to the land where all their ancestors have previously been buried. also, he knew that if they buried him in Israel, the Egyptians wouldn't approve and think of it as being disloyal to them. I completely agree with this because I think it really shows the true essence of Judaism; although his shchina would essentially be given to hashem, Yaakov still wants to be in his homeland with all the Jews and although he passes away still wants to feel connected to his people through their land.
source: http://www.aish.com/tp/b/lp/48961396.html
The Sforno says that Yaakov doesn’t want to be Buried in Egypt because he wants to remind his children that maarat hamachpela is still legally theirs and there’s no way someone can challenge that they own it additionally since avraham and yitzchak and Sarah and Rivkah were already buried there he wanted to be buried there too
ReplyDeleteI thought that his answer makes sense because why would Yaakov all of a sudden not want to be buried where his parents and grandparents were buried
Source: https://www.sefaria.org/Genesis.49.33?lang=bi&with=Rashi&lang2=en
In Judaism, it is seen that a proper burial is a fundamental. Even a person who has been sentenced to die for committing an act of evil such as murder, deserves a burial. The question then arises; Why is it so important? Rabbi Kornbluth gives some insight to this question. In Judaism we believe that G-d created each individual in the image of G-d and we love everything Hashem created. A symbol of love is not to burn, like many non Jews do (cremation) however we return the body back to where is came from(the earth). Cremation reflects the message that ultimately man is the conqueror and in control of nature. However by burying we accept that G-d is the only one who is able to control life and death.With burial, instead of using destructive means, we peacefully accept death. Rabbi Kornbluth states that “The message of burial is one of respect for the cycle of nature.When burying the remains of our loved ones, we calmly return what we have received. Burial reflects the rhythm of the universe.” I think this answer really reflects what we believe as Jews. I would also like to add that I think it's so important because ultimately we realize that when we die it is just our midot that go with us. A proper burial is so important because we are acknowledging the fact that this person is going before hashem with only that what s/he did on this earth. The person who died is dressed in white and buried in a plain brown coffin which further illustrates this idea. Each thing done in the burial process has a reason and each thing is done to peacefully return the nehsma back to Hashem. With cremation it is ripping the body to nothing but ashes which completely destroys the idea of respect for God's creations.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.aish.com/sp/ph/Cremation_or_Burial_A_Jewish_View.html
The Daat Zkenim says that the Rashbam says that Yakkov didn’t want to be buried in Egypt because he wanted the Mitzrim to get the 10 makkot. I interpreted this as that Yaakov was so holy and close to Hashem that if he was buried in Egypt the Mitzrim may not be punished for their sins because Yaakov’s holy body was buried there. Yaakov thought that if he was in Egypt, Hashem may not plague the people who will make his children slaves. This makes sense because Yaakov had Nivuah and knew what was going to happen in the future. Therefore Yaakov didn’t want to be buried in Egypt and asked Yosef to bury him in Aretz Yisroel.
ReplyDeleteThis reminded me of the Nazis in the Holocaust and the way many of them were punished during the Nuremberg trials. Yaakov seemingly understood that people who do bad things need to be punished just like how the Nazis were finally punished for their crimes after the Holocaust.
Source: https://www.sefaria.org/Genesis.47.29?lang=bi&with=Daat%20Zkenim&lang2=en