The Interpolation of Rachel
Why does Jacob bring her up when he does?
As we read Jacob’s last words to Joseph in Genesis 48, we come across something rather odd.
Jacob tells Joseph that God appeared to him at Luz and blessed him. He explains the exact nature of the blessing and the fact that Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Menashe, will inherit as if they were his own children. He clarifies that if Joseph were to have any more children, they would be considered Joseph’s own- and would not inherit as part of the twelve tribes.
Then comes an odd pasuk. A verse that screams: What is this doing here?
This is it.
וַאֲנִי בְּבֹאִי מִפַּדָּן, מֵתָה עָלַי רָחֵל בְּאֶרֶץ כְּנַעַן בַּדֶּרֶךְ, בְּעוֹד כִּבְרַת-אֶרֶץ, לָבֹא אֶפְרָתָה; וָאֶקְבְּרֶהָ שָּׁם בְּדֶרֶךְ אֶפְרָת, הִוא בֵּית לָחֶם.
And as for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died unto me in the land of Canaan in the way, when there was still some way to come unto Ephrath; and I buried her there in the way to Ephrath--the same is Beth-lehem.'
Why is Jacob suddenly bringing up Rachel? This is ancient history. Joseph is aware of when and where his mother died. He knows where she is buried. It doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the blessings for Ephraim and Menashe, or the discussion of who will be part of the tribal inheritance. So what’s going on?
This interpolation of Rachel leads us to some fascinating parshanut, discussions of the sages.
Let’s begin with Rashi.
ואני בבאי מפדן וגו'. וְאַעַ"פִּ שֶׁאֲנִי מַטְרִיחַ עָלֶיךָ לְהוֹלִיכֵנִי לְהִקָּבֵר בְּאֶרֶץ כְּנַעַן, וְלֹא כָךְ עָשִׂיתִי לְאִמְּךָ, שֶׁהֲרֵי מֵתָה סָמוּךְ לְבֵית לֶחֶם:
אקברה שם. וְלֹא הוֹלַכְתִּיהָ אֲפִלּוּ לְבֵית לֶחֶם לְהַכְנִיסָהּ לָאָרֶץ, וְיָדַעְתִּי שֶׁיֵּשׁ בְּלִבְּךָ עָלַי; אֲבָל דַּע לְךָ שֶׁעַל פִּי הַדִּבּוּר קְבַרְתִּיהָ שָׁם, שֶׁתְּהֵא לְעֶזְרָה לְבָנֶיהָ כְּשֶׁיַּגְלֶה אוֹתָם נְבוּזַרְאֲדָן, וְהָיוּ עוֹבְרִים דֶּרֶךְ שָׁם, יוֹצֵאת רָחֵל עַל קִבְרָהּ וּבוֹכָה וּמְבַקֶּשֶׁת עֲלֵיהֶם רַחֲמִים, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר קוֹל בְּרָמָה נִשְׁמָע וְגוֹ' וְהַקָּבָּ"ה מְשִׁיבָהּ יֵשׁ שָׂכָר לִפְעֻלָּתֵךְ נְאֻם ה' וְשָׁבוּ בָנִים לִגְבוּלָם (ירמיהו ל"א).
AND AS FOR ME, WHEN I CAME FROM PADAN etc. — “And although I trouble you to take me for burial into the land of Canaan and I did not do this for your mother (i.e., I did not take the trouble to bury her in a place other than that in which she died, which was by the road-side) which I might easily have done since she died quite close to Bethlehem”.
AND I BURIED HERE THERE and did not carry her even the short distance to Bethlehem to bring her into a city. I know that in your heart you feel some resentment against me. Know, however, that I buried her there by the command of God”. And the future proved that God had commanded him to do this in order that she might help her children when Nebuzaradan would take them into captivity. For when .they were passing along that road Rachel came forth from her grave and stood by her tomb weeping and beseeching mercy for them, as it is said, (Jeremiah 31:15) “A voice is heard in Rama, [the sound of weeping … Rachel weeping for her children]”, and the Holy One, blessed be He, replied to her (v. 16) “There is a reward for thy work, says the Lord etc. (v. 17) for thy children will return to their own border”.
This suggestion connects the passage to a conversation that occurred in Genesis 47: 28-31 in which Jacob made Joseph swear that he would bury Joseph in the land of Israel. As if continuing the conversation, Jacob then clarifies to Joseph that he knows he is inconveniencing Joseph in this, and Joseph might be feeling like this is somewhat hypocritical, there was a reason for why Jacob did not bury Rachel in Mearat HaMachpelah.
The only issue with this theory is that this second conversation takes place אַחֲרֵי הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה (Genesis 48: 1) so it seems some time has passed. It is therefore odd to connect it to this prior conversation.
Ramban elaborates on the possibilities but still does not resolve why Jacob would mention it here, as opposed to during his earlier conversation with Joseph.
ועל דרך הפשט גם כן אמר לו כן כמתנצל שלא יחר ליוסף בראות חפצו בקבורת המערה על שלא קבר אמו שם וכאשר קבר שם את לאה ולכך אמר לו כי מתה בארץ כנען ולא נקברה בחוצה לארץ כאשר תהיה קבורת מצרים ליעקב ומתה בדרך בפתע פתאום ולא יכול לקברה שם כי איך יעזוב את בניו ואת מקנהו בדרך וילך מהרה עמה למערת המכפלה ואיה הרופאים והרפואות לחנט אותה וזה טעם "עלי" ואף על פי שמערת המכפלה אינה רחוקה משם רק כחצי יום היה יעקב כבד מאד במקנה הגדול ובני בית ולא יגיעו שם רק בימים רבים וכן עשה בדרך ההוא ימים רבים עד בואו אל אביו ושנו חכמים (מו"ק כז) ולא של נשים לעולם מפני הכבוד ואני סבור שהיו אלו דברי התנצלות וגם יוסף יודע שמתה בדרך ונקברה בארץ וכבוד עשה לה במותה אבל הכוונה ליעקב שלא הוליך אותה למערה כדי שלא יקבור שם שתי אחיות כי יבוש מאבותיו ולאה היא הנשאת לו ראשונה בהיתר ורחל באהבתו אותה בנדר אשר נדר לה לקחה:
In line with the plain meaning of Scripture, it is likewise understood that Jacob spoke to Joseph in an apologetic vein so that when he discerned his father’s wish to be buried in the cave of Machpelah, Joseph should not be angered about his failure to bury his mother there just as he buried Leah there. It was for this reason that Jacob told him that she died in the land of Canaan, and she was not buried outside of the Land in the manner in which an Egyptian burial would befall Jacob. Furthermore, she died on the road suddenly, and he could not bury her in the cave of Machpelah for how could he leave his children and his flocks on the road and hurry with her body to the cave of Machpelah? And where could he find doctors and medicines to embalm her? This is the meaning of the word alai (by me) [in the verse, Rachel died by me]. Even though the cave of Machpelah is but a half-day’s distance from the place of her death, Jacob was heavily laden with much cattle and family, and he would not arrive there for many days. Thus he did indeed spend many days on that road until he came to his father. Our Sages have further taught:42Moed Katan 27a. “The bier of a woman may never be set down, out of respect.”
Now it is my opinion that these are but words of apology as Joseph already knew that Rachel died on the road and was buried in the Land, and that honor was paid to her when she died. But the reason Jacob did not transport Rachel to the cave of Machpelah was so that he should not bury two sisters there, For being married concurrently to two sisters was later prohibited by the Torah (Leviticus 18:18). See also Ramban above, pp. 330-2. for he would be embarrassed before his ancestors. Now Leah was the one he married first, and thus her marriage was permissible, while he married Rachel out of his love for her and because of the vow he made to her.44
The Ralbag offers a beautiful explanation that resolves the issue of placement.
מתה עלי רחל. הרצון בו מתה אצלי כמו ועליו מטה מנשה. והנה אמר זה להורות על רוב אהבתו אותה שכבר היה קרוב אליה בעת מותה לראות אם יוכל להציל אותה והנה ספר לו זה להודיע שמן הראוי היה שייטיב ליוסף זאת הטבה לפי שרחל אמו היתה האהובה לו והנה הודיע לו שהוא קבר אותה שם כדי שישתדלו זרעו וזרע בנימן שיעלה המקום ההוא לגורלם והנה לא הקפידה לקברה במערת המכפלה לפי שהארץ ההיא תהיה לו ולזרעו לנחלה כמו שזכר בזה המאמר עם שכבר היה ידוע ליוסף בבואו מפרן כזה העת שמתה בו רחל היה ירא יעקב מאד על עניין שכם ולזה הסכים לקברה שם.
[This is a paraphrase] It says this to teach about his great love for her - that he was close to her at the hour of her death to see whether he could save her. And Jacob told Joseph this to let him know that this goodness was being done for him/ that Joseph was so beloved because Rachel was his mother and had been the most beloved to him (Jacob). And he made known to him that he buried her there as opposed to the Cave of Machpelah because that portion of land would be for him and his children / their section of land as was written. Additionally, at the time that Rachel died, Jacob was very afraid due to the incident with Shechem and so he was willing to agree to bury her there.
This resolves several things. It suggests that the reason to mention Rachel in this context is to explain why Jacob is giving Joseph a double portion (Menashe and Ephraim being counted among the tribes). It has to do with Jacob’s love for Rachel. It also explains that Rachel is being buried in the area that will one day belong to Benjamin (the other son of Rachel’s) which is more appropriate than burying her in Mearat HaMachpelah, which, as other commentaries bring down, is in the portion of land that will one day belong to Judah. Also, for practical reasons, Jacob could not tarry on the road since he was afraid due to all that had occurred at Shechem.
Here’s what I find fascinating about the parshanut on these verses.
Multiple explanations see Jacob as apologizing to his son and recognizing his child might harbor resentment towards him. In today’s hagiographic narratives, do we ever see a recognized Gadol, let alone one of the Avot, apologizing to their child?
This is especially fascinating when we recall that Joseph did not contact Jacob for 22 years. You might have expected Jacob to be angry with his child, but we never see any sign of that. To the contrary, at least in the rendering of the commentaries, Jacob is the one who recognizes Joseph might be upset by the way his mother was treated.
I like the Ralbag’s solution since it explains the placement- why would Jacob bring this up in context of the Ephraim & Menashe blessing instead of earlier, when he was originally asking Joseph to bury him in Israel? The answer is, in order to explain to Joseph why he was worthy of this double portion - and how Rachel is buried exactly where she belongs, in the future territory of Benjamin.
Aside from this, I love the Ralbag’s romantic rendering in which Jacob is with Rachel at the moment of her death (remember that she has just given birth and is bleeding out due to it), because he loved her and wanted to do all he could to save her. Such a tragic image- especially given her tragic life.
(I was put in mind of Poldark 4x8 when - spoilers here- Elizabeth dies in childbirth and George is devastated. Unlike Jacob, he is unable to live for the sake of his family…)
