"And he called his son Joseph"

251. "And he called his son Joseph" (Beresheet 47:29). Rabbi Yitzchak said, Are the other tribes not his sons? WHY DID HE CALL JOSEPH ALONE? HE REPLIES, Rabbi Aba said that Joseph was his son more than the others. We have learned that when Potifar's wife begged Joseph, it is written, "Joseph went into the house to do his work; and there was none (lit. 'no man') of the men of the house there within" (Beresheet 39:11). This verse should have said 'there was no man in the house,' but why add "of the men of the house?" HE ANSWERS, This indicates the image of Jacob which was there. It says "the men of the house" to show us there was another man, NOT OF THE MEN OF THE HOUSE, NAMELY JACOB. Once Joseph lifted up his eyes and saw the image of his father, his mind was settled and he withdrew.

252. Come and see the verse, "But he refused, and said to his master's wife..." (Beresheet 39:8). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, 'Upon your life, another will say "I refuse" when he will come to bless your sons, who will be blessed by him.' This is why it says, "And his father refused, and said, 'I know it, my son, I know it'" (Beresheet 48:19).

253. HE ASKS, Since he said, "I know it, my son," why did he say again, "I know it?" HE ANSWERS, He said, "I know it, my son" meaning 'you showed through your body that you are my son, when you saw my image and returned to your Covenant AND DID NOT DESECRATE IT.' This is why it is written, "I know it, my son." THE SECOND TIME IT IS WRITTEN "I know it" is what you said about this one being the firstborn, TO WHICH HE ANSWERED BY "He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great" (Beresheet 48:19). This is why it says here, "And he called his son Joseph" (Beresheet 47:29), his very son Joseph SINCE HE PROVED IT BY HIS BODY, AS EXPLAINED.

254. Another explanation for: "And he called his son Joseph." They looked the same, and whoever saw Joseph said he was Jacob's son. Rabbi Yosi said, This is exactly so, THAT HE CALLED HIM HIS SON SINCE THEY LOOKED THE SAME. Moreover, Joseph gave food for him and his sons in his old age, for which reason he was his own son more than everyone else. "And he called his son Joseph ..." HE ASKS, Why did he call Joseph and not another one? HE ANSWERS, Because he could take him from there TO THE CAVE OF THE MACHPELAH SINCE HE WAS A KING, BUT NO ONE ELSE HAD THE AUTHORITY.

255. Rabbi Yosi said, Since Jacob knew his descendants would become slaves in Egypt, why was he not buried there, so that his merit would protect his children? Why did he wish to go up from there? When it says, "As a father pities his children" (Tehilim 103:13), where is pity then?

256. HE REPLIES, We have so learned that when Jacob went down to Egypt, he was afraid. He said, Might it come to that, heaven forbid, that my children will perish among the nations, or that the Holy One, blessed be He, will remove the Shechinah from me as before? It is written, "And Elohim appeared to Jacob" (Beresheet 35:9). "Fear not to go down to Egypt; for I will there make of you a great nation" (Beresheet 46:3). As for what you said, that I might remove My Shechinah from you, "I will go down with you into Egypt" (Ibid. 4).

257. He also said, I am afraid lest I shall be buried there and will not merit to be buried with my fathers. He answered him, "And I will also surely bring you up again" (Ibid.), to be buried in the grave of your fathers.

258. This is why he wanted to be taken up from Egypt. Another reason is not to be made godlike, for he saw that the Holy One, blessed be He, would take vengeance upon the deities of Egypt. He also saw that the Shechinah would dwell among his children in exile, AND THAT HE NEED NOT BE BURIED IN EGYPT TO PROTECT THEM. Another reason is that he wanted his body to dwell among the bodies of his fathers, to be with them and not with the wicked in Egypt.

259. We learned that the body of Jacob had its beauty from Adam, and the image of Jacob was of the supernal holy form, the form of the Holy Throne. Thus he did not want to be buried among the wicked. The secret of this matter is that there is no separating the patriarchs, AND THEY ARE ALWAYS TOGETHER. It is therefore written, "I will lie with my fathers" (Beresheet 47:30).

260. "And he called his son Joseph." SCRIPTURE SAYS his son BECAUSE they had the same countenance, and also because he begot him more willingly than any other TRIBE. Come and see, it is written, "Is it a small matter that you have taken my husband?" (Beresheet 30:15), for Jacob's whole desire was for Rachel. Hence it says, "And he called his son Joseph."

261. We learned, Rabbi Shimon opened the discussion saying, "The secret things belong to Hashem our Elohim..." (Devarim 29:28). Come and see how a man should beware sins, and be watchful lest he would transgress his Master's wishes. For we have learned that every thing a man does in this world is written in a book and reckoned before the Holy King. All is known before Him, as it is written, "'Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him?' says Hashem" (Yirmeyah 23:24). How can a man not guard himself from sinning before his Master? We learned that even a man's thoughts and plans are all placed before the Holy One, blessed be He, and are not lost before Him.

262. Come and see, on the night Leah came to Jacob, she gave him the tokens he gave Rachel, LEST HER FATHER SHOULD REPLACE HER WITH ANOTHER. WHEN RACHEL SAW THAT HIS FATHER GIVES LEAH IN HER PLACE, AND THAT SHE DOES NOT KNOW OF THE TOKEN AND MIGHT BE PUT TO SHAME, SHE GAVE HER THE TOKENS. He thought he was with Rachel, when he had intercourse with her. It was his first drop, as it is written, "My might and the beginning of my strength" (Beresheet 49:3), and he thought it was Rachel. The Holy One, blessed be He, who reveals depths and mysteries, who knows what lies in the dark, brought up the desire to its place, and the birthright was gone from Reuben AND GIVEN to Joseph. Why? Because the first drop that came from Jacob belonged to Rachel. Since the actual birthright of Reuben belonged to her, Joseph inherited it and Rachel came into her own inheritance.

263. This is the secret reason why Reuben did not receive a name like the other sons but simply Reuben, namely Reu ben (Eng. 'see,' 'a son'), a son, not known by name. Leah therefore did not call him 'my son,' naming him 'Reu beni', for she knew what had happened, THAT JACOB'S THOUGHTS WERE WITH RACHEL AND NOT WITH HER.

264. We learned it is known to the Holy One, blessed be He, that Jacob did not mean to sin by COMING INTO LEAH AND THINKING OF RACHEL, and that he never knowingly thought of another woman at that time, like the wicked men in the world. It is therefore written, "Now the sons of Jacob were twelve" (Beresheet 35:23), for the sons of the other wicked men in the world, who act in this way, are called by another name, NAMELY CHANGED CHILDREN, which is known to the friends. He therefore "called his son Joseph," his own son from the beginning, REUBEN'S BIRTH, and his son in the end.

265. We learned that Rabbi Yosi said, What did Jacob use to make Joseph swear? It is written "Put, I pray you, your hand under my thigh" (Beresheet 47:29). HE ANSWERS, HE MADE HIM SWEAR by the sign of the Covenant, which was stamped upon his flesh, for the Patriarchs assigned it more importance than everything else, and the Covenant is the secret of Joseph. TO WIT, JOSEPH IS THE SECRET OF THE ATTRIBUTE OF THE RIGHTEOUS YESOD, OF WHICH HE IS A CHARIOT.

266. Rabbi Shimon said, It is written of Abraham and Jacob, "Put, I pray you, your hand under my thigh," in the place alluded to by the Holy Name, which emits holy seed, THE SEED of faith, into the world. It is not written in connection to Isaac: "PUT, I PRAY YOU, YOUR HAND UNDER MY THIGH," since Esau issued from him.

267. Another reason it is written, "Put, I pray you, your hand under my thigh ...bury me not, I pray you, in Egypt." Jacob said to Joseph, Swear to me by this holy impression, which emitted holy and faithful seed into the world and was always kept from being defiled, that it will never be buried among the unholy who did never keep it, of whom it says, "Whose flesh is the flesh of donkeys, and whose issue is the issue of horses" (Yechezkel 23:20).

268. It may be said that Joseph guarded his Covenant more than everyone else, but why was he buried among them IN EGYPT? HE REPLIES, We have learned that it is written, "The word of Hashem came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of Chaldeans by the river K'var" (Yechezkel 1:3). Yet we learned that the Shechinah does not dwell outside the land of Yisrael. Why was She revealed there? HE ANSWERS, It is written "by the river K'var," FOR WATER CANNOT BE DEFILED, UNLIKE THE LAND OF NATIONS. It is also written, "And the hand of Hashem was there upon him" (Ibid.), WHICH IS THE SHECHINAH. Here too, Joseph's coffin was thrown into the water. The Holy One, blessed be He, said, If Joseph will be gone from here, the exile will not be carried out, FOR YISRAEL WILL NOT BE ABLE TO TOLERATE IT. His burial place will then be in an undefiled place, and the children of Yisrael will endure the exile.

269. We learned that Rabbi Yosi said, Jacob saw that the Holy Throne was fitted in every way by the patriarchs, ABRAHAM AND ISAAC ON RIGHT AND LEFT, AND HE IN THE CENTER. JACOB said to himself, If he is to be buried here IN EGYPT, how will the body be attached to the patriarchs? Even the cave where he was to be buried is called Machpelah (from the term for 'double'), for in everything it is double, TO THE RIGHT AND TO THE LEFT, both double and single. TO WIT, THEY ARE IN NEED OF A THIRD ONE TO RECONCILE THEM. The cave too is both double and single, ABRAHAM AND ISAAC BEING ON THE RIGHT AND LEFT, AND JACOB BETWEEN THEM.

270. Come and see, The patriarchs merited to be buried in the cave of the Machpelah together with their spouses, Jacob was buried with Leah. Why was Rachel not buried with him, especially when it says, "And Rachel was barren (Heb. akarah)" (Beresheet 29:31), which is an indication that she was the foundation (Heb. akarah) of the house? HE ANSWERS, Leah had more worthy OF JACOB since she bore six tribes into the world from the holy stock. Thus, she was given to him as his spouse in the cave.

271. Rabbi Yehuda said, Leah used to stand every day by the highway and weep for Jacob, THAT HE WOULD MARRY HER, for she heard he was righteous. She thus prepared herself through prayer. It says, "And Leah's eyes were weak" (Beresheet 29:16), since she rose early and sat by the highway to pray.

272. Rachel never went to the highway TO ASK TO BE MARRIED TO JACOB, LIKE LEAH DID. For this, Leah was privileged to be buried with him, and Rachel is by the highway, buried there. This is the meaning of the words "And as for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died by me" (Beresheet 48:7). What is "by me?" It means "because of me in the land of Canaan on the way." Because of me, she died on the way, for she never went out for my sake TO PRAY like her sister.

273. Since Leah went and wept by the highway for Jacob, she merited to be buried with him. Rachel, who did not want to go out to pray for him, was therefore buried by the highway. The secret of this matter is that the one is disclosed and the other undisclosed.

274. Come and see, The righteous Leah shed many tears in order to be the portion of Jacob instead of that of the evil Esau. Hence, we learned that any man who sheds tears before the Holy One, blessed be He, even if punishment was already given, will have the verdict annulled, and the punishment will not have any effect upon him. How do we know that? From Leah, for it was decreed that Leah would be in the portion of Esau, but through her prayer she was married to Jacob, and not to Esau.