<b>Another comment on This is it that their father spoke unto them. and he charged them, and said unto them: “I am to be gathered unto my people” (Gen. 49:28–29).</b> He said to them: If you are worthy, you will be inextricably linked to me (i.e.. they will be called the sons of Jacob), but if not, when I depart from this world, I will ascend to my fathers. Immediately upon his passing, <i>His sons did unto him as he had commanded them</i> (Gen. 50:12). What did they do? They embalmed him and carried him away. What is written there? <i>And they came to the threshing floor of thorns</i> (ibid., v. 10). Is there such a thing as a <i>threshing floor of thorns</i>? This verse alludes to the Canaanites, who took crowns and placed them about Jacob’s bier. What is more, when they saw Jacob’s bier they removed their girdles and paid homage to him.
R. Samuel the son of Nahman said: They undid their shoulder knots; and Rabbi declared: They pointed to the coffin with their fingers and exclaimed: <i>This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians</i> (ibid., v. 11). Therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, gave them a circle within the threshing floor of thorns.
<i>And he made a mourning for his father seven days</i> (ibid., v. 10). How do we know that mourning lasts seven days? Our sages stated: We know it from the verse <i>And ye shall not go out from the door of the tent of meeting for seven days</i> (Lev. 8:33). Why are there seven days of mourning? To correspond to the seven days of feasting.
The Holy One, blessed be He, said: In this world you grieved for this righteous man for seven days, but in the world-to-come <i>I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow</i> (Jer. 31:13). And I will comfort Zion and its vast places, as it is said: <i>For the Lord hath comforted Zion; He hath comforted all her waste places and hath made her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving and the voice of melody</i> (Isa. 51:3).
<i>And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead</i>, etc. (Gen. 50:15). What did they see that frightened them? As they were returning from the burial of their father, they saw their brother go to the pit into which they had hurled him, in order to bless it. He blessed the pit with the benediction “Blessed be the place where He performed a miracle for me,” just as any man is required to pronounce a blessing at the place where a miracle had been performed in his behalf. When they beheld this they cried out: Now that our father is dead, Joseph will hate us and will fully requite us for all the evil which we did unto him. And they sent a message unto Joseph, saying: <i>Thy father did command … “So shall ye say unto Joseph: Forgive”</i> (Gen. 50:15–16). We have searched the entire Scripture and are unable to find any place where Jacob uttered this remark. This statement is introduced to teach us the importance of peace. The Holy One, blessed be He, wrote these words in the Torah for the sake of peace alone.