As You Move Forward in Life Don’t Leave Your Story Behind
At the end of the book of Genesis, Joseph turns to his family before his death and makes a surprising request; he asks them to take his bones with them when they leave Egypt (centuries later) and bury him in the Land of Israel. It seems peculiar that Joseph’s final message to his family wasn’t spiritual guidance or inspiration or encouragement for the difficult years ahead, rather he speaks instead about his bones! And not only does he mention it, he makes them promise they will bring his bones out of Egypt at the Exodus.
Why is this so important? Why should the story of redemption, the great moment of national freedom when they will leave Egypt, include a coffin? Rabbi Chaim Sabato explains that bones don’t necessarily have to represent death, in Joseph’s case they were about memory, identity, and continuity.
When the Jewish people left Egypt, they took Joseph with them not simply because of a burial request but because Joseph represented the connection to their past, their family story, and the values that shaped them. Later, as the Jewish people journeyed through the desert, they traveled with two sacred symbols, (1) the Ark that would eventually hold the Tablets, which represented Torah, purpose, and the Jewish future and (2) the coffin of Joseph, which represented roots, heritage, and the Jewish past.
The message is clear: Jewish people do not walk forward by erasing where we came from. We move forward while staying deeply connected to our story.
Joseph was the first Jew to grow up inside a foreign culture. He spoke a different language, worked in government, walked in royal clothing and yet, he never forgot who he was. He remembered his family, his faith, and his mission. He was famously successful but he never lost himself, and that’s exactly what he wanted for his descendants. He knew Egypt could be powerful and absorbing; over time people might forget where they came from due to their mixing in so well—they might even lose their inner identity.
Therefore, Joseph gave his people a gift. Every time they saw his coffin as they traveled, it reminded them that the story didn’t begin here; our story, the Jewish story, started long before Egypt and we are part of something larger than this moment. His bones were a symbol of what remains when everything else fades and that the core of Jewish identity that cannot be erased.
Eventually, there came a moment when the Jewish people were traveling with two arks: One symbolizing where they were going and one symbolizing where they came from; both were necessary because a future without roots is unstable and a past that does not inspire growth is deficient.
This idea is as relevant to Jews in the 21st century as it has been for thousands of years. Every Jewish celebration—a wedding, a bar or bat mitzvah, a birth, a family milestone—is not only about the joy of the present moment, it’s also about the generations behind us and the generations ahead of us. Each simcha (festive lifecycle event) honors those who came before us and allows us the opportunity to support and connect with those who will come after us. Every time we tell family stories, pass down family names and preserve mitzvot and traditions it’s done out of love, not habit.
We are meant to live our lives the same way the Jewish people did as they traveled through the desert by carrying meaning, values, and purpose into the future while holding on to the memories of the people who shaped us. Our lives feel deeper and more meaningful when we remember where we come from and we will not feel lonely when facing the challenges with which we deal. Most importantly, wherever we are in our Jewish journey, it feels more real and personal because we realize that we are as part of a story, and that we cause the story to have another chapter.
Joseph’s final request was not only about burial arrangements, it was a spiritual message for every generation: As you move forward in life don’t leave your Jewish story behind. Carry your heritage with pride and allow it to give strength, direction, and meaning to your future.
Good Shabbos