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By Rabbi Shloimie Lindenbaum
ויחי יעקב בארץ מצרים (פרק מז פסוק כח)
There is normally a break in the Sefer Torah between one parsha and the next, however our parsha begins “closed”. Rashi explains that this is because, once Yaakov passes away in our parsha, the eyes and hearts of the Jews were “closed” from the pain of the subjugation. R’ Moshe Feinstein asks, why is this hinted to at the beginning of the parsha, at this point Yaakov was still alive? R’ Moshe explains that the issue was that the Jews didn’t recognize that they were already in גלות, exile, in some way, even before Yaakov died. Although life was good and pleasant, the fact that they were dependent on Pharoah and under his rule, as opposed to being only subservient to Hashem, was already a גלות. Because they didn’t realize this, when the full servitude did come, it was all the more sudden and painful. This is why the hint about their pain is before Yaakov died, because the problem was rooted in their original descent to Egypt. Their mistake was not realizing that living under any other rule except for Hashem’s, regardless of how good it seems, is exile.
וישתחו ישראל על ראש המטה (פרק מז פסוק לא)
Yaakov calls Yosef and asks him to bring his body out of Egypt to be buried in Eretz Yisroel. After Yosef agrees, Yaakov bows “towards the head of the bed”. Rashi, in one explanation, says that his bowing was thanking Hashem that all of his children were righteous, even Yosef who needed to live amongst the Egyptians in a government position. Why did Yaakov specifically thank Hashem for this now? R’ Uren Reich suggested that what Yaakov was asking from Yosef, to be buried in Eretz Yisroel, was not something required by Halacha, by the letter of the law. Rather, it was something that came out of a sensitivity towards קדושה, holiness, and a feeling for Eretz Yisroel. When a person is surrounded by influences that differ from their upbringing, even if they can maintain their original way of life on the outside, often their emotions and feelings will be affected by their current culture. When Yaakov asked to be buried in Eretz Yisroel and Yosef understood the need for it and accepted upon himself to do it, regardless of obstacles, Yaakov realized that Yosef still had the sensitivities of his upbringing. Not only did Yosef manage to hold strong in his commitment to the actions and rituals of Judaism, but even his emotions and feelings were in line with Yaakov’s house. This was cause for another thanksgiving to Hashem that all his children were righteous.
