“The time approached for Israel to die, so he called for his son, Joseph, and said to him… please do not bury me in Egypt. And I will lie down with my fathers, and you shall transport me out of Egypt and bury me in their grave. Genesis 47:29-30)
January 1, 2026 10:00
Parashat Vayechi opens with Jacob’s death and ends with Joseph’s death in Egypt. They are both initially treated in line with the local Egyptian embalming practices.
We are told that Joseph at first ordered his servants to “embalm his father for 40 days” which was followed by “70 days in which Egypt bewailed him”.
Jacob and his family had lived prosperously in Egypt for 17 years and even acquired an achuzah, or “holding” in the land denoting permanence (46:3); they had grown numerous and were living as a privileged family with special status owing to Joseph’s position as viceroy. However, Jacob expresses his desire to be buried in Canaan.
Jacob asks Joseph to ensure that he be buried in his arranged plot in Machpelah, in the field that had been purchased by his grandfather Abraham. After Joseph agrees, Jacob even repeats his request, “Swear to me that you will do it” (47:31). Joseph gains special permission from Pharaoh to bury him in Canaan, a significant show of allegiance to another homeland, leading to an Egyptian state procession and funeral there.
What makes Jacob so committed to the burial place of his ancestors and, conversely, why was it initially acceptable to emulate local custom and practice? The Ramban explains that embalming was done to preserve the body for transport, not as an act of belief. Following Egyptian practices was a temporary practical step and not a theological one for Jacob.
Ultimately Jacob’s goal in life was to settle the land of Canaan and ensure that his descendants continued there. Although he was unable to fulfil his dream in his lifetime, he never abandoned that wish.
Nechama Leibovitz suggests that Jacob didn’t want to be buried in Egypt “in order to preclude his children settling for good there”. Indeed, she adds, Rachel our matriarch was also buried “on the road destined to be followed by the Babylonian exiles so that she could intercede on their behalf for their return”.
Furthermore, according to Rashi, being buried in the holy land ensures techiat hameitim, the resurrection of the dead, which is not achieved outside of Israel.
Today, many express their connection to the land of Israel through choosing to make it their final resting place, a practice rooted in that of our forefathers.
Just as Jacob’s family were not destined to become Egyptian aristocrats, perhaps in the same way, those who make this choice are also setting a path for future generations, however settled they may currently be, to find their way back to their homeland.
Image: Jacob's funeral procession, Owen Carter Jones, 1869 (Wikimedia Commons)
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