Kindness and Truth in Burial

בפסוק ועשית עמדי חסד ואמת.

“In the verse: ‘And deal kindly and truly with me.’”

The Sefat Emet begins by focusing on Jacob’s request to Joseph, asking for “kindness and truth.”

יובן עפמ"ש חז"ל כי הנפטר בח"ל ובא ליקבר בארץ הוא חטא.

“This may be understood according to what our Sages said: that one who dies outside the Land and is brought to be buried in the Land—this is considered a sin.”

The Sages teach that dying outside the Land of Israel and being transported afterward for burial is spiritually deficient, as it reflects a lack of connection to the Land during life.

רק יעקב הי' מקושר שם בעודנו במצרים.

“Only Jacob was already bound to the Land even while still in Egypt.”

Jacob was spiritually attached to the Land of Israel even during his life in Egypt, so the usual concern of dying outside the Land did not apply to him.

ז"ש חסד ואמת שידע יוסף כי הוא נקבר שם באמת אע"פ שנפטר כאן כנ"ל.

“This is the meaning of ‘kindness and truth’—that Joseph knew he would indeed be buried there in truth, even though he died here, as explained.”

Joseph understood that Jacob’s burial in the Land would be ‘true kindness,’ because Jacob’s spiritual connection ensured that his burial there was authentic and not subject to the deficiency described by the Sages.

Summary: Jacob asked for ‘kindness and truth’ because, unlike others who die outside the Land, he was already spiritually connected to it. Thus Joseph’s act of burying him in the Land of Israel was a fulfillment of true kindness.