Rashi: He is excusing himself for burying Yosef's mother Rachel by the wayside, and not toiling to bury her in Me'aras ha'Machpelah, and not even to bury her in ha'Aretz,
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in nearby Beis-Lechem, and now he is asking Yosef to take him to Eretz Yisrael.
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2.
Moshav Zekenim: Since he needed to say that Rachel died and he had no more children after Binyamin,
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he elaborated to discuss her burial.
3.
Malbim: Do not say that my sin caused that I not father more children. Rachel died on the second day after Hashem's promise in Luz; then Binyamin was born. The promise was not about him. And if it was that I will father more Shevatim, Rachel would not have died, and they would have been from her!
4.
Ha'amek Davar: Yaakov justifies why Yosef himself will not be a Shevet. It is because Rachel died suddenly, and Yaakov could not even take her to Beis Lechem nearby, for she had just given birth.
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"Lo Sasig Gevul Re'acha... b'Nachalascha" (Devarim 19:14) - One who has an Achuzah, he has an inheritance.
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The ideal Achuzah in Eretz Yisrael is of the Shevatim, which is for all generations. Yaakov inferred that just like Rachel did not merit the ideal burial (Me'aras ha'Machpelah), one of her sons will not merit the ideal Achuzah. Yosef's inheritance will not be called on his name, but rather, on the names of Efrayim and Menasheh. Do not say that Binyamin did not merit this; "Goy u'Kehal Goyim" (35:11) alludes to him near the Berachah of the Land. Also, Rachel never knew him.
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Do not ask from Bilhah and Zilpah (who did not have the ideal burial, but their sons had ideal inheritances). They are not called Imahos, so they are not a Siman for their Banim.
Riva citing Chizkuni, Ramban: Surely she was buried in Eretz Kena'an! Moshav Zekenim - This verse says that she died in Eretz Kena'an! Perhaps it means on the way to Eretz Kena'an, or the place was enveloped in Eretz Kena'an, Bartenura, Gur Aryeh citing Mizrachi - Rashi means that he did not bury her in a settled place, such as the city of Beis Lechem proper.
Moshav Zekenim rejects this. If so, Yaakov should have said so when he made Yosef swear to bury him in Eretz Yisrael! See Gur Aryeh; refer to 48:7:1.2:1.
Why did Yaakov bury Rachel on the way? Why did he not bury her in Me'aras ha'Machpelah, or at least in nearby Efras (Beis Lechem)?
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Rashi, Rashbam, Ramban and Targum Yonasan: Refer to 35:19:1.
2.
Ramban #6: Because, in spite of the proximity
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of Me'aras ha'Machpelah, it would have been extremely difficult to leave his family and his vast flocks and transport her; nor did he have the means to embalm her body.
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Rashi, Ramban and Targum Yonasan: Refer to 35:16:1.
4)
Why does it say "Mesah Alai Rachel"?
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Sanhedrin 22b: A woman dies only to her husband (i.e., he feels it most).
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Ramban: She died suddenly; her death caught me off-guard and unprepared.
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Ohr ha'Chayim: She died due to me. Either it was a punishment for delaying my vow (Tanchuma Vayishlach 8), or because I said "[with whom you find your gods] Lo Yichyeh" (31:32). Had she been alive, the additional Shevatim would have been from her. Now they will be from Yosef, who is the aspect of Yaakov and also the aspect of Rachel. Perhaps Yaakov is appeasing Yosef
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for having caused her death, via making his two sons Shevatim.
There was not such a need to appease Binyamin, for he never knew Rachel. (PF)
5)
What is the significance of the name "Efras"?
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Ha'amek Davar: It implies settlement. Yaakov explained that even though she was not buried in Me'aras ha'Machpelah, she was buried in a good place, i.e. a place of Torah. The merit of Torah protects one buried there (Rashi to Kesuvos 111a).
QUESTIONS ON RASHI
6)
Rashi writes: "As for me, [Rachel died upon me, on the road] as I came from Padan.... - [Yaakov said,] although I am troubling you to take me for burial in Eretz Kena'an, whereas I did not do so for your mother...." Why does Rashi explain this way?
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Gur Aryeh: Why would Yaakov retell the events of Rachel's passing at this particular time; surely Yosef knew all of this? It must be that there is a message that Yaakov wished to explain to Yosef.
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Rashi writes: "... Although I am troubling you to take me for burial in Eretz Kena'an, whereas I did not do so for your mother...." Why did Yaakov explain this only now, and not when he first asked Yosef to bury him in Eretz Kena'an (47:29-30)?
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Gur Aryeh: To explain his actions, Yaakov would need to mention the future exile of Bnei Yisrael,
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and he wished to avoid doing so for as long as possible. Now that he was close to death, he could not wait any longer.
Rashi writes: "'And I buried her there' - ... You should know, however, that I buried her there by [Hashem's] command...." How is this derived from the Pasuk?
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Gur Aryeh: It would have sufficed to say, 'I buried her on the road.' The word "there" is extra; meaning there was a reason she was buried specifically there.
9)
Rashi writes: "... Rachel emerged by her grave, crying and praying for them; and Hashem answered her (Yirmeyahu 31:14-16) ..." According to the Midrash, Rachel's allowing her rival [Leah] to marry Yaakov would atone for the Avodah Zarah of her children. What is the deeper meaning behind this Midrash?
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Gur Aryeh #1: Rachel knew that it was more fitting that Yaakov marry more than one wife. That way, the tribes would be divided among them, for this world of division and fracture is not yet the place for Bnei Yisrael to be one whole. (Rachel knew she ought to be the first and foremost wife; yet she willingly accepted to let Leah go first, setting the stage for Yaakov to marry multiple times.) The leading tribes Yehudah and Efrayim would come from different mothers, and would eventually split, to reunite only when Mashiach comes.
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Likewise, Hashem's unity will not be ultimately revealed in this world; rather, only in the future. Therefore, Rachel asked that Hashem forgive the Bnei Yisrael for the sin of Avodah Zarah, for that reflects the nature of this world.
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Gur Aryeh #2: Rachel argued that if even among the Avos, who are the foundation of the world, we find rival wives, it shows that such is the nature of this world as a whole (i.e. it features Avodas Hashem, which is rivalled by Avodah Zarah).
Compare to Maharal (Netzach Yisrael beg. Ch. 34, p. 154).
10)
Rashi writes: "When Nevuzaradan exiled her children, Rachel emerged by her grave, crying and praying for them; and Hashem answered her (Yirmeyahu 31:14-16)." Why would we be redeemed in Rachel's merit specifically? Why did we need her to be buried right there on the road in order to invoke that merit?
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Gur Aryeh #1: 'Keneses Yisrael' (i.e. the Jewish People as a unified whole) is called by Rachel's name (and that of her children Yosef and Efrayim
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). She was the main wife of Yaakov; all of 'Beis Yaakov' is subsumed under her name. Rachel was buried on the road leading to exile, for she herself is their uniting factor, even while scattered in exile.
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Hashem answered her that in her merit they will be re-gathered from exile, and re-connected to Hashem.
Maharal (Netzach Yisrael end Ch. 1, p. 11): A wife is referred to as 'Bayis' (Shabbos 118b); and the home by definition unites its occupants. Indeed, Chazal associate 'Keneses Yisrael' with the term 'mother' - see Berachos 35b, as explained by Gur Aryeh (to Vayikra 20:3).
11)
Rashi writes: "It was the season of Garid." What does this mean?
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Gur Aryeh: It was the dry season.
12)
Rashi writes: "'Kivras Eretz' - Don't think it was the rains.... It was the dry season, when the earth is hollow and pierced like a Kevara (sieve)." Is the word "Kivras" based on the word 'Kevara'? Rashi already interpreted the word 'Kivras' as the name of a unit of land measure?
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Gur Aryeh: Because the Pasuk uses the expression "Kivras" (with the prefix Kaf),
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we can also interpret its similarity to the word 'Kevara.'
