The Land of the Living

When Israel realized that he would soon die, he called for his son Joseph. 'If you really want to do me a kindness,' he said, 'place your hand under my thigh. Act toward me with truth and kindness, and do not bury me in Egypt. ‘Swear to me, said  Jacob.                    Genesis 47:29-31

In the preamble to its discussion of Jacob’s request to be buried in the Holy Land, the Babylonian Talmud [Ketubot 111a] quotes the verse [Ezekiel 26:20]: “… and I will set glory in the land of the living…,” clearly understanding the phrase “land of the living” to refer to the Holy Land.

Our Sages [Avot d’Rebbi Natan 34], based upon this verse, teach:

Ten are called “living”: the Holy One blessed be He; Torah; Israel; the righteous; the Garden of Eden; a tree; the Land of Israel; Jerusalem; acts of kindness; the wise …. The Land of Israel is called living, as it is written “and I will set glory in the land of the living.”

The Land is called "living" because it is the place where the dead will be resurrected. (The Sages present different opinions: the Talmud [Ketubot, ibid.] taught that those buried outside the Land will have their remains "roll" to Israel, and only upon arrival in the Holy Land, will the remains be brought back to life, that is, the Land will be the sole venue for resurrection, while Reish Lakish [late 3^rd century c.e.], quoting Rabbi Elazar haKappar [Midrash Tanhuma vaYetzei 23], takes a more moderate position and states that those buried in the Holy Land will be the first to rise to resurrection in the days of Messiah.) Thus, Jacob insisted that Joseph swear to him that his remains will be buried in the Land.

Yet we find Midrashim [Midrash haGadol Genesis 28:13] which convey an additional specific reason for Jacob’s request:

Since the Holy One blessed be He said to Jacob [Genesis 28:13]: “The land upon which you lie, I will give to you and your descendants,” if you lie in it, it will be yours, and if not, it will not be yours . Rabbi Huna, quoting Rabbi Eliezer says: provided that you are buried within the Land; therefore Jacob was desirous of being buried there.

That is, the Israelites’ right to the Land is dependent upon the burial there of the Forefathers. (This Midrash apparently is the source for the comment of the Gaon of Vilna that zechut avot [the merit of the Fathers] could not be realized unless the Forefathers were buried within the Land.)

Perhaps the intent of the Midrash is that burial within the Land essentially conveys an eternal connection to it, through the belief that it is from the Land that resurrection will take place (or at least begin, as per Reish Lakish). Jacob’s descendants cannot truly merit the Land without an eternal bond to her.