Yaakov's State Funeral: Two Types of Death and Olam HaBa

Rabbi Zweig analyzes the complex narrative of Yaakov's final instructions and funeral in Parshas Vayechi, developing a fundamental distinction between how kings and commoners experience death and Olam HaBa. The shiur opens by addressing Pharaoh's resistance to Yaakov's burial outside Egypt—not as resistance to a private family matter, but to a state funeral for a head of state. The pesukim in Genesis 50:7-8 reveal this clearly: first all the Egyptian officials and elders ascend, then separately Yosef's household and the brothers. The Torah (תורה) splits this into two distinct verses, indicating two separate processions—one for the state funeral, one for the family. The core insight emerges from analyzing the different language used for death throughout Torah. When Yaakov speaks to Yosef, he uses two formulations: "v'shachavti im avosai" (I will lie with my fathers) as a king, and later the Torah uses "nesof el ami" (gathered to my people) for an ordinary person. Rashi (רש"י) explains that "nesof el ami" means the soul returns to where all souls are stored, suggesting absorption into the collective neshama of Klal Yisrael. By contrast, "shocheiv im avosai" implies the fathers have separate, distinct identities even after death—they are still "there" as individuals.