Bereishit - Chapter 47: 30,31: I will lie with my forefathers, and you shall carry me out of Egypt, and you shall bury me in their grave." And he (Joseph)said , "I will do as you say." And he(Jacob) said , "Swear to me." So he swore to him, and Israel prostrated himself on the head of the bed.

The Ramban states: Jacob did not suspect that his righteous and beloved son would disobey his father's command and renege on the matter, which he had promised him. Rather Jacob spoke in order to strengthen the matter in the eyes of Pharaoh, as perhaps he might not give Joseph permission to leave him… It may be, that Pharaoh would want the prophet (Jacob) to be buried in his country as an honor and privilege to them. It was for this reason that he made him swear, for then it would not be proper for him to force Joseph to violate his oath. Joseph too would feel more obligated to fulfill his father's wish on account of the oath.' Such indeed was the case, as Pharaoh said, Go up, and bury thy father, as he made you swear.

The question on the Ramban is: Why did Joseph need an oath to feel "more obligated"? Joseph already stated, "I will do as you say". Yet we can infer from the end of the Ramban that if Joseph did not swear he may not have had the fortitude to defy Pharaoh. Let’s not forget that this was Jacob’s final wish on his deathbed. Is there any doubt that Joseph would not do everything in is power to succeed at his father’s final command?

Rav Henach Leibowitz explains that the oath served to give Joseph the extra energy and push he needed to fulfill the wish of his father. It is the quality of responsibility which opens up new and inconceivable possibilities to succeed. Jacob wanted to make sure that Joseph would have the special abilities of someone who “must succeed.”

The amazing thing about this is that it is the responsibility itself which releases the potential to get the job done. This also means that many failures may have nothing to do with waning abilities but are simply caused by a lack of care and responsibly.

Application:
Make of list of two areas of your life where you feel you are failing. Write down some notes on how you can take more responsibility in these areas. Complete these sentence stems:

To really succeed in this area I must…
If I believed, I could succeed I would…
The people who succeed in this area…

Shalom:

Yes Rav I feel that responsability is the stage of one living to fullfill Mitzvot. It is just that in golá it is by much harder to find shenija that will easy one´s way to conection to aolam Habá by complying with the Law of Moises.

However, as Iacov knew that Joseph among their brother was the one with enough strenght to comply with his wish (to be buried in Eretz Israel)Iacov also might have known that strenght and commitment is needed to fulfill oath.

Lej lejshalom

I am not the best reader so I have learned that what is within the quotation marks often gives you the jest of the story. Often there are messages within messages, or stories within stories.
Must Succeed
"I will do as you say"
"swear to me"
oath'
"I will do as you say"

..."must Succeed"

Im yirtzah HaShem....may we all succeed.

To really succeed in this area I must be strong to fullfill all requirement of strenght but yet be a simple man to recognize the human weaknesses as a way to commit one self to choose the right road to home.

Lej Leshalom

quote:

Originally posted by Rabbi Mitterhoff:
Rather Jacob spoke in order to strengthen the matter in the eyes of Pharaoh, as perhaps he might not give Joseph permission to leave him…

Ahah! Perhaps because Joseph was the highest official in Egypt besides Pharaoh, he couldn't leave, but the family was secretly trying to even then. But with a state escort, it's no wonder they ended up coming back and then staying for 500 years!

Thank you Rabbi.

I have a little picture frame I had set aside till I found what to put in it. Now I shall put in what you said, plus your trademark saying (it fits so well). I think that what you said will help me achieve some better outcomes if I keep myself to following this advice.

quote:

To really succeed in this area I must…
If I believed, I could succeed I would…
The people who succeed in this area…

If not now, when?