The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts on the parsha that R' Frand spoke about in his shiur tonight. I have attempted to reproduce these vorts to the best of my ability. Any perceived inconsistency is the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Frand.
R' Frand began the vort by noting that in the middle of the parsha, specifically in the midst of Ya'akov giving the brachos to Ephraim & Menashe, Ya'akov gives a discourse on his history, including the fact that Ya'akov buried Rochel in Bet Lechem, rather than in Hebron. Rashi on Bereishis 48:7, explains that Ya'akov mentions this to Yosef within the context of Ya'akov's request to be buried in Hebron, even though I buried Rochel in Bet Lechem.
R' Frand quoted R' Bentzion Kook who asked - why is this mentioned here? Ya'akov had already mentioned to Yosef earlier in Bereishis 47:28-29 that he did not want to be buried in Egypt and in fact asked Yosef to bury him in Ma'aras HaMachpela. So why not mention the burial of Rochel within the same discussion?
R' Frand then underscored his point by quoting a later Rashi in Bereishis 48:7, which provides a dialogue between Ya'akov and Yosef, where Ya'akov says - I know that you have qualms with me that I did not bury Rochel in Ma'aras HaMachpela, but know that I did not do this because it was because of the weather conditions as the weather was fine, I buried her there because Hashem commanded me to do so and so that in the future when the Jews are exiled from Israel, she will pray for them as they leave.
R' Frand then asked another question on this dialogue - why did Ya'akov need to say that he did not bury her there because of the rains?
R' Frand answered this second question by quoting R' Chaim Shmulevitz who cited a gemara in Gittin wherein Ilish was sitting in prison, along with another man with the unique talent to understand birds. Ilish asked him what the raven was saying and the man told him - it is saying Ilish run away, now is the time to flee. To this Ilish responded - we don't trust ravens, they are liars. But then he heard a dove and again asked the man - what did it say. The man again responded - Ilish run away, now is the time to flee. Ilish accepted this, saying that the Jews are compared to doves.
R' Akiva Eiger asks on this gemara - but it was known that Ilish himself spoke bird language - so why did he need to ask for a translation?
R' Chaim answer R' Akiva Eiger's question - because when a person is too close to the situation, he is liable to be influenced by his personal feelings and interpret things based on his own rationale. Similarly, Ya'akov needed to tell Yosef - I did not bury her there for any personal reason - it was not the rain or the distance. I buried her there because Hashem commanded me to do so.
However the initial question still remains - why is this mentioned later in the parsha and not when Yosef was sworn to bury his father in Hebron?
R' Frand quoted R' Kook who explained that it relates to the brachos which were being given. At this point, Ya'akov tells Yosef - you will receive double, as your sons will both be tribes. But this is a blessing (the double portion) which should go to the first born?
R' Kook explains that after the blessings of Ephraim & Menashe, Ya'akov then blesses Reuven and notes that although he is the first born, he acted with water like impetuousness by switching the beds.
R' Kook quotes Rashi on Bereishis 49:4 which again provides more to the dialogue, explaining that Reuven was told - you should have been the bechor and you should have had the kehuna. But you were upset about my bed being in Bilha's tent instead of Leah's and you acted impetuously in moving the beds.
In contrast, Yosef had a real reason to have a claim against his father, as he did not bury Rochel where all of the other patriarchs and matriarchs were buried. Yet Yosef held his tongue and for this, he was rewarded.
This is why the discussion of not burying Rochel appears in the blessing of Ephraim & Menashe - as Yosef's acceptance of his father's actions (in contrast to Reuven's) was the reason that he received a double blessing.
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