Text and Contect DRAFT
Vayechi
Rabbi Eliezer Shemtov
In this week’s reading, Vayechi, we read about how Jacob requests his son Joseph, the Viceroy of Egypt, and makes him swear that, when the time comes, he will take him to the land of Canaan for burial in the family plot in Hebron [1]. Thereafter, Joseph brings his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, to be blessed by Jacob. Jacob says: "And now, [as for] your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt, until I came to you, to the land of Egypt they are mine. Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine like Reuben and Simeon". He then says: “As for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died to me in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was still a stretch of land to come to Ephrath, and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem."[2]
Rashi [3] cites the verse: As for me, when I came from Padan, etc.. Although I burden you to take me to be buried in the land of Canaan, and I did not do so to your mother, for she died close to Bethlehem. [...] and I buried her there. And I did not take her even to Bethlehem to bring her into the Land (i.e., into the inhabited region of the Holy Land), and I know that you have a grievance in your heart against me; but you should know that I buried her there by divine command, so that she would be of assistance to her children. When Nebuzaradan exiles them (the Israelites), and they pass by there, Rachel will emerge from her grave and weep and beg mercy for them, as it is said: “A voice is heard on high, [lamentation, bitter weeping, Rachel is weeping for her children]”[4]. And the Holy One, blessed be He, answers her, “‘There is reward for your work,’ says the Lord,… ‘and the children shall return to their own border’”[5].
This raises some questions:
1. The text itself explains why Jacob did not bury Rachel in the land of Canaan: she had passed away when they were too far away! Why does Rashi find it necessary to explain it in a way that is not even insinuated in the text?
2. Rashi quotes the Midrash that says that G-d tells Rachel: “There is a reward for your work,” without specifying what exactly is being referred to. What action of Rachel’s is this referring to? Was there something beyond crying for her children?
To understand this, we must first explain what Jacob means when he tells Joseph: “I know you hold a grievance against me in your heart”. The fact that Jacob never felt the need to clarify this matter until then suggests that the need arises because of his request to Joseph regarding his own burial. This is surprising — did Jacob suspect that Joseph was not bothered by the fact that Rachel was not buried in the promised land but only felt upset now that Jacob was asking him to bury him there?
We must conclude, then, that this is not about a complaint but about a sense of unease. It is clear that Joseph did not harbor any complaints against his father Jacob because he knew how much Jacob loved his mother Rachel, and if he could have buried her in the Cave of Machpelah, he would have. But all of this is on a rational level. Though there may not be a complaint, there could still be an emotional unease due to the fact that something was missing for his mother. This feeling reached its peak when Jacob asked him to take him to be buried in the family plot in the Cave of Machpelah. Seeing how important it was to his father sharpened Joseph’s feeling of pain as a result of his mother’s deprivation.
It is to explain how Jacob’s words helped soothe this feeling that Rashi brings the less textual version of what Jacob said. The explanation that they were too far away would help explain rationally why Jacob didn’t do it, but it would not help assuage Joseph’s feelings. The Midrash’s explanation —that it was done so by divine command so that Rachel could help her children in the future— served to calm Joseph on an emotional level.
The reason Rachel was buried on the road to Ephrath “by divine command… to help her children” does not mean that she was deprived of something for the sake of a greater good. What it means is that the role she was to play was a great source of satisfaction for Rachel. This is what she would have chosen herself. Her preference —to be buried on the roadside rather than in the Cave of Machpelah— is the action for which G-d promised that “the children will return to their borders.”
A Mystical Perspective
Why does Jacob speak to Joseph about Rachel’s burial in the context of the conversation about his special relationship with Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh?
Jacob was hinting at how it was that these two grandsons, who were born in Egypt before Jacob arrived, were considered by him as if they were his own sons. It was through Rachel’s merit, who chose to be buried “far away” in space —“on the road”— in order to intercede on behalf of her descendants. As a reward, two of her grandsons, born “far away” in time, were elevated to the status of sons.
A Talmudic Insight
The Talmud comments on this verse that “a woman dies only for her husband.” This follows the Talmudic discussion about the unique place that one’s first wife occupies. In Jacob’s case, his wife Rachel was his first and favorite and the mainstay of his household (Akeret Habayit). From this perspective, we can understand the connection between the two things Jacob mentions about her: (1) his explanation that she was buried on the roadside in order to aid her descendants in the future, and (2) “she died for me,” meaning that she was the primary pillar of his household. Her characteristic of prioritizing the needs of her children over her own personal benefit (being buried beside Jacob) exemplifies the essence of a virtuous Jewish woman, an Akeret Habayit.
Men as well as women were created to serve their Creator, though they fulfill this mission in different ways. A man’s role is generally external, visible, and publicly appreciated, while a woman’s role is primarily within the home, attending to her family and their needs. The woman focuses on the essence of Jewish identity in her home, while the man deals more with its outward manifestations. (This difference also often causes men to have more inflated egos than women.) This also explains why Jewish status is determined by the mother, while the father determines whether one is a Kohen, Levite, or Israelite.
Thus, Jacob tells Joseph, "Even though I am burdening you with taking me to be buried in the land of Canaan, which I did not do for your mother; this reflects the difference in our respective roles". As a patriarch, Jacob’s manifested Judaism required him to be buried alongside the other patriarchs who represented and executed similar roles. Rachel, whose special value was as an Akeret Habayit, expressed this through her selflessness, choosing to forgo being buried alongside Jacob so she could serve her children —children who would be born centuries later and whose behavior would lead to exile. It was for their sake that she was willing to be buried far from her husband for centuries and millennia!
This also explains why it was specifically Rachel who elicited from G-d the promise that “the children will return to their borders [6]”. As a result of her willingness to sacrifice for her children because of her essential connection with them, G-d reflected that attitude, promising that, no matter what happens, His children will return home, through the true and complete redemption, may it come soon!
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Genesis, 47: 29-31
Ibid. 48:1-7
ibid. 48:7
ibid. verses 15, 16
ibid. verse 16
Synthesis of Likutei Sichot, Vol. 30, pp. 236–240.
Drawing of Rachel's Tomb: Batsheva Lazaroff
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