We trust that G-d will act toward us as we act

The concluding pasukim of our parasha, Vayechi, present Yosef’s final words to his brothers. They contain both a reminder of Hashem’s promise to ultimately redeem the Jewish people from Egypt, and Yosef’s poignant personal request:

Yosef said to his brothers, “I am going to die; G-d will surely remember you and take you up out of this land to the land that He swore to Avraham, to Yitzchak, and to Ya’akov.” And Yosef adjured the children of Israel, saying, “G-d will surely remember you, and you shall take up my bones out of here.”

These verses reveal the depth of Yosef’s abiding faith in Hashem when he twice declares, “G-d will surely remember you.” Within this context, he placed a shavuah upon his brothers and their descendants to transport his bones with them in the course of the promised redemption and bury him in Israel, emulating his father, Ya’akov Avinu, who insisted Yosef take a shavuah stating that he would not bury him in Egypt but rather with his forebears in Israel.

A straightforward reading of our passage indicates that the obligation to transport Yosef’s bones from Egypt and bury him in Israel was incumbent upon the entire Jewish people.

When the Exodus takes place, Sefer Shemot 13:19 tells us that Moshe, as the representative of the entire Jewish people, gathered up Yosef’s remains and began the long process of reinterring him in Israel.

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Our passage continues and informs us that Yosef was worthy of the greatest possible respect. As such, it was fitting that Moshe Rabbeinu would be involved in his burial in the Land of Israel:

The operating principle is the well-known concept of middah k’neged middah (according to the manner in which a person acts, G-d and man will act toward him). We are fortunate that the Torah provides us with a clear metric for analyzing our actions, namely, v’halachta b’drachov (and you should walk in His path).

This commandment is elucidated in a celebrated passage in Talmud Bavli, Sotah 14a: “Just as Hashem clothed the naked [in the case of Adam and Chava] … so, too, should you clothe the naked. Just as Hashem visited the sick [in the case of Avraham after his brit milah] … so, too, should you visit the sick. Just as the Holy One Blessed be He comforted the mourners [in the case of Yitzhak after Avraham’s passing] … so, too, should you comfort the mourners. Just as the Holy One Blessed be He buried the dead [in the case of Moshe] … so, too, should you bury the dead.”

Stated quite simply, our goal is to emulate the Almighty’s actions in each of our deeds.

As Rabbi Yosef B. Soloveitchik noted on many occasions, halachta b’drachov emerges as the fundamental underpinning of Judaism’s ethical structure. By emulating the actions of the Holy One, we create substantive changes in ourselves and positively impact those with whom we interact. In this sense, we become partners with Hashem in creating the world — shutfim im Hashem b’ma’aseh Bereishit.