"And Moshe took with him the bones of Yosef"

there are differing opinions concerning the happening elucidated below

 "And Moshe took with him the bones of Yosef"

(Exodus 13:19)

Shevat 12, 5786/January 30, 2026

"And Moshe took with him the bones of Yosef, who had exacted an oath from the children of Israel, saying, “G-d will be sure to take notice of you: then you shall carry up my bones from here with you.” (Exodus 13:19)

Parashat Beshalach, the Torah reading which features the splitting of the Sea of Reeds, the sweetening of bitter waters at Mara, the first appearance of manna - bread from heaven - upon the desert floor, water from a rock and the victory over Amalek, led by Moshe's outstretched arms, is rich with miracles. G-d is taking care of His children.

But before the miracles take place, while Israel is still in Egypt, Moshe sees to it that Israel keeps its ancient oath to Yosef, and carries his bones out of Egypt, to bury him one day, who knows when, in the land of Israel. We recall Yosef's final words to his brothers: "'I am going to die; G-d will surely remember you and take you up out of this land to the land that He swore to Avraham, to Yitzchak, and to Yaakov.' And Yosef adjured the children of Israel, saying, 'G-d will surely remember you, and you shall take up my bones out of here.'" (Genesis 50:24-25)

Midrash tells us that Moshe, in a race against time, searched high and low for the coffin containing Yosef's bones, and, finally, with the aid of the ineffable name of HaShem, caused them to rise out of the the Nile, where they had been long submerged. We won't hear again about Yosef's bones until we read in the book of Yehoshua of their burial in the city of Shechem. But the fulfillment of an oath, the fulfillment of responsibility of one brother to another, even if it took more than two hundred and fifty years to complete, had to be done. No one is left behind. Not even their bones.

Redeeming our brethren, dead or alive, is a supreme and ancient value for the nation of Israel, long predating Yosef. Avraham wasted not a moment when he heard of his nephew Lot's abduction, mustering up a small commando force of three hundred and eighteen of his compatriots to rescue him from far away Damascus. And, of course, the burning desire to be buried in the land of Israel was first fulfilled by Avraham, who purchased the Machpelah cave and field for a burying place for Sarah, his wife. Six of the seven patriarchs and matriarchs, Avraham and Sarah, Yitzchak and Rivkah, Yaakov and Leah, would be buried at Machpelah. Rachel would find her final resting place on the road to Efrat. 

Maimonides writes, (Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Matanot Aniyim 8:10):

"The redemption of captives receives priority over sustaining the poor and providing them with clothing. [Indeed,] there is no greater mitzvah than the redemption of captives. For a captive is among those who are hungry, thirsty, and unclothed and he is in mortal peril. If someone pays no attention to his redemption, he violates the negative commandments: "Do not harden your heart or close your hand" (Deuteronomy 15:70 , "Do not stand by when the blood of your neighbor is in danger" (Leviticus 19:160 , and "He shall not oppress him with exhausting work in your presence" (ibid. 25:53). And he has negated the observance of the positive commandments: "You shall certainly open up your hand to him" (Deuteronomy 15:80 , "And your brother shall live with you" (ibid. 19:18), "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18 0, "Save those who are taken for death" (Proverbs 24:11 , and many other decrees of this nature. There is no mitzvah as great as the redemption of captives.” 

Miracles are gifts from G-d. Redeeming captives (pidayon shevu'im) is a sacred responsibility that only we can and must perform. There are other incidences of the redeeming of the captured, dead or alive, in the Hebrew Scriptures, one concerning Shimshon (Samson), who who ended his life in the selfless act of taking down Israel's bitter enemies of Gaza: "And Shimshon said, 'Let my soul die with the Philistines,' and he bent with his might, and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. And the dead that he killed at his death were more than he had killed in his lifetime. And his brothers and all his father's household came down, and carried him, and brought him up and buried him between Tzorah and Eshtaol in the burying place of Manoach his father. And he judged Israel twenty years." (Judges 16:30-31) Paying exorbitant ransoms was a common feature of Jewish life in Europe throughout the centuries of exile, as the local lieges saw kidnapping Jews as an easy way to extort money from a people who placed the highest priority of securing the release of their fellow Jew. 

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*This week Israel returned the last of the 251 hostages taken by Hamas on October 7th, 2023. Four additional hostages, two dead and two alive, had been previously redeemed after twelve years in captivity. With this week's return of Ran Gvili for burial in the sacred soil of Israel, the entire nation breathed a long repressed sigh of relief and gratitude. At long last, our commitment to our brethren was fulfilled. Ran Gvili, who set out on the morning of October 7th, 2023, despite an injured shoulder requiring surgery, succeeded in eliminating sixteen terrorists before running out of bullets and succumbing to his wounds. He had led more than a hundred terrified souls, fleeing from the Nova concert to safety, and prevented the infiltration of terrorists into kibbutz Alumim, saving countless lives in doing so. For this he earned the title, "Shield of Alumim." And for his unique fate he earned the title, "The first one in (to the inferno) and the last one out." Just like Yosef, who was the first to enter Egypt and the last to be brought out. 

The entire nation lined the streets and saluted Ran, who had served in the elite anti-terrorist unit of the Israeli police, as his body was brought out of Gaza, first to an army base half way across Israel, and the next day, to be buried in his hometown in southern Israel. Thousands attended his funeral, the number limited only by security concerns. From Avraham, that man of lovingkindness, we learned of the great mitzvah of redeeming our captives. Four thousand years later we have not forgotten. 

The splitting of the sea, the daily appearance of the manna, and all the other miracles that sustained Israel throughout its long trek in the wilderness night never have happened had Moshe not seen to it Yosef's bones were with his people on their march to the promised land.

We read in Psalms 114: "When Israel left Egypt, the house of Yaakov left a people of a strange tongue, Yehudah became His holy nation, Israel His dominion. The sea saw and fled; the Jordan turned backward. The mountains danced like rams, hills like young sheep. What frightens you, O sea, that you flee? O Jordan, that you turn backward? You mountains, that you dance like rams; you hills, like young sheep?" What, indeed, caused the Jordan, the sea and the hills, themselves, to shrink back in fright? The answer, our sages teach us, were the bones of Yosef, testimony to the spirit of a nation whose responsibility to one another is an inseparable part of their faith in HaShem. 

"Therefore You are great, HaShem G-d: for there is none like You, neither is there any G-d beside You, according to all that we have heard with our ears. And who is like Your people, like Israel, one nation in the world, whom G-d went to redeem for Himself as a people, and to make Him a name, also to accomplish for you the greatness and fearful things for Your land, in driving out from before Your people, whom You did redeem for Yourself out of Egypt, the nations and their gods?" (II Samuel 7:22-23)

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If the 'details' are like what is being reported, or maybe a zionist mfg'd concoction, what is important is how Am Yisrael responded, with a flowing heart and unity.