by Rabbi Avi Billet
It seems like a silly question. Obviously he was buried once – Me’arat HaMachpela. Right?
Not so fast. We have a tradition that mourning doesn’t precede burial; it follows burial. Since there are two mourning periods following Yaakov’s death – one in Egypt and one at Goren Ha'Atad – perhaps Yaakov was buried in those places, albeit temporarily, before being brought to his next destination.
To get a sense of what is what, let us first consider the few times Yaakov references burial, and his preferences.
47:29-30: “…please don’t bury me in Egypt. When I lay with my fathers (a reference to dying), you will carry me up from Eygpt, and you will bury me in their burial place…” to which Yosef commits then swears he will see fulfilled. Note how Yaakov doesn’t mention “Me’arat HaMachpela” by name.
48:7: “When I came from Padan [Aram] Rachel died, and I buried her on the way to Efrat, which is Bet Lehem.” Commentaries debate whether Yaakov is explaining himself, apologizing, or whether he is even, perhaps, indicating where he would prefer to be buried!
49:29-32: “I am gathering to my people. Bury me with my fathers, in the cave at the field of Ephron the Hittite…. In the Cave at Machpela… that Avraham bought… where Avraham and Sarah are, where Yitzchak and Rivkah were buried, and where I buried Leah…” This is said to all of his sons, and this is where the instruction is most clear.
50:5 [Yosef sends a message to Pharaoh through servants] “My father had me swear that ‘when I die I’d like you to bury me in the grave that I dug (כריתי – we’ll get back to this word) for myself in the Land of Canaan…”
Does he want to be buried in Me’arat HaMachpela? Then what is Yosef talking about to Pharaoh? Yaakov did not dig his grave in the cave. And even if you offer Rashi’s alternative explanation for the word כריתי to mean “purchased” – it’s a hard sell to suggest Yaakov “bought it” from Eisav, when for all purposes Eisav rejected that life and is off in the land of Seir. And if Yaakov asked Yosef to make sure he was buried there (47:30) of what need was there for him to instruct his other sons (49:29)?
According to Chizkuni, Yaakov asked Yosef not to leave him buried in Egypt for a long time. In other words, Yaakov knew he was to be buried in Egypt. Perhaps there wouldn’t be a choice about that – after all the father of a royal could only have a state funeral. In case you only look at 49:29, Chizkuni’s language in 49:30 couldn’t be more clear: שכבתי בקבר במצרים ונשאתי ממצרים שבתחלה היה נקבר במצרים – I will lay IN A GRAVE IN EGYPT and then you will carry me from Egypt, for he was first buried in Egypt.
Granted, this burial might not have looked like a grave which is filled with dirt. It may have been some kind of crypt (Egyptian royalty style) which would make for a very easy transfer when the time would come for him to be reinterred. But the notion of a burial in Egypt, albeit brief, is very possible.
Consider as well that after he was embalmed, the Torah tells us that Egypt cried for him for 70 days. Basically every commentary follows the Midrash which explains this mean 40 days of embalming, 30 days of mourning. The Maharal hints to the idea of an initial burial as well, noting that mourning doesn’t officially begin during embalming, but afterwards, ואין עוד המת לפניהם – and the deceased is no longer in front of them, presumably because he has been buried.
Yaakov’s separate instructions to Yosef and to the other brothers, as well as what Yosef reports to Pharaoh based on a different set of instructions from Yaakov, still need explanation. Additionally, the Torah describes their journey to bury Yaakov as having a stopover at Goren Ha’Atad which is “b’ever HaYarden” (on the other side of the Jordan – though which “other side” is not clear). Why would they go that route if their destination was Hebron and Me’arat HaMachpela?
Rabbi Mordechai Breuer (last chapter in “Pirkei Bereshit”) paints a picture of how people go through different stages in life: Family, Independence, Legacy. Yaakov went through all of these: first, surely seeing his destiny to be buried in Me’arat HaMachpela following the example set by his father and grandfather; second, perhaps thinking that he’s better off making his own plans and securing a personal (and private) burial spot as he seeks to forge his own identity; and third, wanting to be buried next to the love of his life, the only wife he acknowledged when saying “You know that my wife bore two children.” (44:27)
Rav Breuer offers that what Yaakov likely said to Yosef in 47:30 was “when I lay with my fathers (i.e. die) I want to be buried in my grave - בקברי” but thought differently of it immediately and changed his request to “to be buried in their grave - בקברתם .” The latter request is how the Torah records the exchange. However, when Yosef reported his father’s request to Pharaoh, he used the original language, Yaakov’s initial intent – to be buried in the grave he had prepared in his “Independence phase” of life.
In telling Yosef the whole story about how and where he had buried Rachel, Rav Breuer suggests Yaakov really wanted, more than anything, to ask Yosef to bury him at her side. Once again, his destiny got the better of him, and he stopped short of making that request, knowing that for other reasons, it couldn’t happen. This is why he tells Yosef the story, without getting to a particular punchline. In the narrative, he interrupts himself to ask who are the people who have accompanied Yosef, as he doesn’t seem to recognize Menashe and Efraim, and he doesn’t get back to what he was talking about as he proceeds to bless them.
While Rav Breuer doesn’t fittingly address why Yaakov made a request of his sons separate from Yosef (Ramban writes that Yaakov was afraid Pharaoh might allow the funeral but might not allow Yosef to accompany) perhaps it was to give them merit to see that destiny is ultimately fulfilled in his being buried in Me’arat HaMachpela, this specific request being the only time he mentions the “grave/cave” by name. Rav Breuer does note that Leah is buried in the area that would later be Malchut Yehuda, and Rachel was buried in the area that would later be Malchut Yisrael, sometimes known as “Efraim” or “Yosef” – which is an additional reason Yaakov may have been torn over where to be buried.
Chizkuni argues that Yaakov was buried briefly in Egypt. Rav Breuer summarizes the journey of Yaakov’s burial. [Focusing on the mourners in Egypt and Goren Ha'Atad - B’khor Shor says they were different groups of people.]Yosef was in charge of getting Yaakov to the grave Yosef mentioned to Pharaoh (בקברי אשר כריתי לי) (see how 50:8-10 references Yosef in the singular, albeit with people accompanying him), which was presumably in Goren Ha’Atad, and the brothers oversaw bringing Yaakov to Me’arat HaMachpela (50:12-13). At Goren Ha’Atad there was a brief, symbolic “burial” which was followed by a week of mourning, and then the journey continued to Me’arat HaMachpela.
It is not clear from the Torah where Goren Ha’Atad is, on which side of the Jordan (though Rav Breuer assumes it is in the Land of Canaan). It does seem clear that Yaakov was buried several times, honoring, in a way, different aspects of his life. Since all the burials were accompanied by mourning, it is evident that the family did their best to honor the stages of his life with dignity, fulfilling ALL of his spoken, dying wishes, plus Yosef’s obligations as an Egyptian royal.
We should prepare for burial in the ground, and give notice to our families of what we want done at that time. Hopefully we live the kinds of lives that our families wish to honor, both in fulfilling our final wishes as well as in honoring us after our lives have come to an end. And if our instructions are clear, we should only need to be buried once. Should there ever need to be a change, may any reinterment be to Eretz Yisrael, to be buried with our ancestors, as Yaakov Avinu was buried with his.
Some people are buried near their parents or ancestors, some near a spouse, and some are buried alone, due to whatever life circumstance. Most important is to be buried having experienced a life well-lived and a reputation that is most honorable when that life comes to an end. Surely that was the case for Yaakov Avinu – and may it be as well for each of us, until 120 and in good health!
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