I swear, this isn't so simple. Before Yakov dies, he makes Yosef swear that he will not bury him in Egypt, but will return him to Eretz Yisrael. Now, this is after Yosef has already agreed to his father's request. But apparently, that's not good enough; Yosef must take an official oath.
Later, in Yakov's last moments, he tells all his sons he must be buried in Maarat HaMachpela (the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hevron). The Torah frames this, too, in command form: "Vaychal Yakov l'tzavot et banav." Again, why such strong language?
Still later, it is Yosef's turn to administer an oath to his own siblings to eventually carry him out of Egypt: "G-d will take you from here to the land sworn to Avraham, Yitzchak and Yakov; and Yosef made them swear, saying, 'Take my bones out of here.'" Where is the trust, I ask you? Isn't a dying man's request sufficient? Why must it be bound up by an official oath?
Some commentators suggest that everyone feared that Pharaoh might invoke "executive privilege' and try to keep the Hebrew family from leaving; after all, they were national heroes - at least at this stage.
But I suggest that Yakov and Yosef were more afraid of human nature - Jewish human nature - than of Pharaoh. They understood all too well the grip of the Galut, the enticement of the Exile, the draw of the Diaspora. They knew it would not be a simple thing for their family to accept having to leave their homes and move to Israel.
As it was then, so it remains to this day: Jews grow accustomed to their place - wherever it may be - and must be literally dragged out of the nations in which we find ourselves. This is true when the sojourn is pleasant - like in America or South Africa or Australia - but equally true when the signs of doom are everywhere, such as in Poland (which the Jews called "Poh-Lan-Ya" - "Here G-d Dwells"), or in Germany, where Jews refused to believe such a "civilized" country could turn on its own citizens.
No wonder, in describing Jewish life in Egypt, a verse from last week says: "Vayayachazu vah" - "they were grabbed by it," i.e., they were held fast in a Venus fly-trap-like grasp. Once inside, it took a miracle to extricate them.
Yakov and Yosef were incredibly smart; they knew how hard it would be to extricate the Jews when the time came for them to leave. So, they invoked a sacred, binding oath: take me back to Israel, our home. Period, end of story.
Now how does that grab you?
Later, in Yakov's last moments, he tells all his sons he must be buried in Maarat HaMachpela (the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hevron). The Torah frames this, too, in command form: "Vaychal Yakov l'tzavot et banav." Again, why such strong language?
Still later, it is Yosef's turn to administer an oath to his own siblings to eventually carry him out of Egypt: "G-d will take you from here to the land sworn to Avraham, Yitzchak and Yakov; and Yosef made them swear, saying, 'Take my bones out of here.'" Where is the trust, I ask you? Isn't a dying man's request sufficient? Why must it be bound up by an official oath?
Some commentators suggest that everyone feared that Pharaoh might invoke "executive privilege' and try to keep the Hebrew family from leaving; after all, they were national heroes - at least at this stage.
But I suggest that Yakov and Yosef were more afraid of human nature - Jewish human nature - than of Pharaoh. They understood all too well the grip of the Galut, the enticement of the Exile, the draw of the Diaspora. They knew it would not be a simple thing for their family to accept having to leave their homes and move to Israel.
As it was then, so it remains to this day: Jews grow accustomed to their place - wherever it may be - and must be literally dragged out of the nations in which we find ourselves. This is true when the sojourn is pleasant - like in America or South Africa or Australia - but equally true when the signs of doom are everywhere, such as in Poland (which the Jews called "Poh-Lan-Ya" - "Here G-d Dwells"), or in Germany, where Jews refused to believe such a "civilized" country could turn on its own citizens.
No wonder, in describing Jewish life in Egypt, a verse from last week says: "Vayayachazu vah" - "they were grabbed by it," i.e., they were held fast in a Venus fly-trap-like grasp. Once inside, it took a miracle to extricate them.
Yakov and Yosef were incredibly smart; they knew how hard it would be to extricate the Jews when the time came for them to leave. So, they invoked a sacred, binding oath: take me back to Israel, our home. Period, end of story.
Now how does that grab you?