Wonderous Medrashim Connected to the Parsha

Please do not bury me in Egypt (Bereshis 47,30).

The Medrash (Rabbah 96:5) says that when Yaakov Avinu requested from Yosef HaTzaddik not to bury him in Egypt he said, "It was for you that I came down to Egypt (in the first place). And it was about you I said, 'Now I can die, after having seen your face' (ibid 46,30)."

The Zera Shimshon asks – that it seems that Yaakov Avinu was giving Yosef two arguments why to bury him outside of Egypt. The first one is understood – Yaakov Avinu only came to Egypt because of Yosef and after he passed away he did not want to remain there. However, the second statement doesn’t seem to be a reason why Yosef should bury Yaakov Avinu out of Egypt. What indeed was Yaakov Avinu’s intention when he said - And it was about you I said, "Now I can die, after having seen your face"? As well, why did Yaakov Avinu seemingly need two reasons to coerce Yosef HaTzaddik to bury him in Eretz Yisroel?

The Zera Shimshon explains this based upon the following four introductions.

1. In reality, Yosef should have gone up to his father once it became known that Yosef was still alive, (until then there was a ban imposed by the Shevatim to reveal what happened to Yosef). However, since he was the ruler of the country, he was unable to leave his post. This is why Yaakov Avinu had to move to Egypt. This, explains the Shach, is the meaning of the passuk (ibid 45,9), "Hashem has made me master of all of Egypt. Come down to me". Yosef meant to say, that since Hashem has made him the ruler over Egypt, he was not able to come to see his father as Halacha would dictate. Therefore, the only option was for Yaakov Avinu to come down to Egypt.
2. Rashi says (Bereihis 27,29), that the reason why Yaakov Avinu specifically asked Yosef to take care of his burial was - because he was the only one who had the ability.
3. The Zera Berach quotes the Zohar that says that had Yaakov Avinu been buried in Egypt, the Jewish people would have never been enslaved by the Egyptians.
4. The Meforshim write that the only way the Jewish people were able to withstand the powers of impurity that presided in Egypt was because Yosef HaTzaddik had withstood his test with Potifar's wife. This imbued the Jewish people with the spiritual strength to withstand the powerful temptations of Egypt.

Based on this, the Zera Shimshon now explains the aforementioned Medrash. Yaakov Avinu began by telling Yosef that it was because of him that he came down to Egypt, since Yosef was the ruler there and was not able to leave Egypt (1). And this is now the very reason that Yosef should be able to carry out Yaakov Avinu's wishes and make sure that he was not buried in Egypt since it is in Yosef's power, as ruler, to do so (2). To this Yosef had a strong counter - if Yaakov Avinu would be buried in Egypt, then the Jews would not have to suffer through the terrible bondage (3). So, although as ruler, Yosef had the authority to take Yaakov Avinu out of Egypt, still for the benefit of the Jewish people, he did not want to. It was to this claim that Yaakov Avinu said, 'it was about you I said, "Now I can die, after having seen your face"'. Yaakov Avinu knew that the Jewish people needed to suffer through the slave labor in Egypt in order to be purified to be worthy of getting the Torah and receiving Eretz Yisroel. However, Yaakov Avinu was concerned that the effect of the bondage may weaken the Jewish peoples' resolve to stand steadfast against the lures of the Egyptian temptations. However, when Yaakov Avinu saw Yosef HaTzaddik's face, he saw that he had not sinned, and Yaakov Avinu was now assured that even if the Jews were enslaved, due to Yosef Hatzaddik's withstanding of his trial, the Jewish people as a whole would now also be able to withstand the trials of Egypt's impurities - even throughout the slavery (4). This is what Yaakov Avinu told Yosef to explain to him why he wanted not to be buried in Egypt, so that the slave labor could begin and bring the Jewish people to the level they needed to be on, and it would only happen if he wasn’t buried in Egypt. And although the slavery would break the Jewish people’s spirit, after seeing Yosef HaTzaddik's sinless-face, Yaakov Avinu was not concerned that it would be spiritually negative for the Jewish people to be enslaved.