Why Joseph Was Called Bones While He Was Still Alive

Rav Yehudah said in the name of Rav: Why was Joseph called "bones" during his lifetime? Because he did not protest the honor of his father, for they said to him, "your servant [our father]" repeatedly, and he said nothing to them. Who is greater for us than Moses, with whom none busied himself but the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is said, "And He buried him in the valley"? And they said this not of Moses alone but of all the righteous, as it is said (Isaiah 58:8), "and your righteousness shall go before you, the glory of the LORD shall gather you in." There are three camps. It was taught: one defiled by a corpse is permitted to enter the camp of the Levites. And not only one defiled by a corpse, but even a corpse itself, as it is said, "And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him" - "with him," within his own section. He stood at the Nile river and said, "Joseph, Joseph, the hour has come when the Holy One, blessed be He, redeems His children; the Shekhinah is delayed for you, and Israel is delayed for you, and the clouds of glory are delayed for you. If you make yourself known, good," and so forth. And some say: he took a shard and wrote upon it the Ineffable Name and cast it into the river; immediately Joseph's coffin floated up and rose. And there were two sorcerers' dogs barking at Moses. Moses said, "Come, see: dogs of truth do not bark, and dogs of falsehood and sorcery do bark." Rav said: this dog wagged with its tongue, but here, "and against any of the children of Israel no dog shall snarl with its tongue" (Exodus 11:7). This teaches you that by the measure a person measures, so it is measured to him: Miriam waited for Moses one hour (this is written at remez 164). And not only that, but with Jacob the servants of Pharaoh and the elders of his house went up, while with Joseph there went up the Ark and the Shekhinah and the priests and the Levites and Israel and seven clouds of glory. And not only that, but Joseph's coffin traveled together with the Ark of the Living One of the world, and the nations of the world would ask, "What is the nature of these two arks?" And they would say, "This is the coffin of a dead man, and this is the Ark of the Living One of the worlds." And the nations would say, "What is the nature of a dead man traveling with the Ark of the Living One of the worlds?" And they would answer, "The one lying in this coffin fulfilled what is written in that one." In that one is written (Exodus 20:2), "I am the LORD your God," and of Joseph it is written, "Am I in the place of God?" In that one is written (Exodus 20:3), "You shall have no other gods," and of Joseph it is written (Genesis 42:18), "I fear God." In that one is written (Exodus 20:7), "You shall not take [the name in vain]," and of Joseph it is written (Genesis 42:15), "By the life of Pharaoh, you shall not leave." In that one is written, "Remember the Sabbath day," and of Joseph it is written (Genesis 43:16), "slaughter an animal and prepare [hakhen]" - and "prepare" means nothing but the Sabbath, as it is said (Exodus 16:5), "and on the sixth day they shall prepare." In that one is written, "Honor your father," and of Joseph it is written (Genesis 37:13), "And Israel said to Joseph, are not your brothers shepherding in Shechem," and so forth. In that one is written (Exodus 20:13), "You shall not murder" - he did not murder Potiphar. In that one is written, "You shall not steal" - he did not steal, in the manner of what is said, "And Joseph gathered all the money," and so forth. In that one is written (Exodus 20:13), "You shall not commit adultery" - he did not commit adultery with the wife of Potiphar. In that one is written, "You shall not covet" - he did not covet the wife of Potiphar. In that one is written (Exodus 20:13), "You shall not bear false witness" - and the matter is an argument from minor to major: things that were true he did not tell, how much more so a false report. In that one is written (Leviticus 19:17), "You shall not hate your brother in your heart," and it is written, "And he comforted them and spoke to their hearts." In that one (Leviticus 19:18), "You shall not take revenge nor bear a grudge," and it is written (Genesis 50:20), "And you intended evil against me." In that one (Leviticus 25:36), "that your brother may live with you," and it is written, "And Joseph sustained his brothers."