Bearing in mind that they took out the bones of the other tribes even without an oath, why was the oath necessary regardimg the bones of Yosef?
Oznayim la'Torah: Because, as the Midrash states, the Egyptians hid Yosef's coffin in the Nile, in order to bless the water of the Nile, or, as others say, they buried it in the kings' mausoleum and surrounded it with dogs and witchcraft, rendering it inaccessible - and it was only on account of the Shevu'ah that Moshe made the necessary effort to retrieve it. 1
Interestingly, in similar vein, Yosef was only able to bury his father Ya'akov, on acount of the oat that he had made to him. Refer to Bereishis, 50:6:1:1.
Why does the Torah use the double expression "Hashbe'a Hishbi'a"?
Rashi: Because Yosef made his sons swear that they would make their sons swear ... until they left Egypt. 1
See Torah Temimah, note 25.
Why did Yosef not make his sons swear that they would take him out of Egypt like his father made him swear?
Rashi: Because, unlike himself (who had the authority to take his father out of Egypt and bury him in Eretz Cana'an), Yosef knew that the Egyptians would never allow his sons to take his body from Egypt.
Hadar Zekenim #1: Because, whereas Ya'akov made Yosef swear since Yosef had more authority to take him than his brothers did, Yosef knew that his sons had no more authority than others, so he made all [his brothers] swear.
Hadar Zekenim #2 (citing Bereishis Rabah 85:3): Because, ssince his brothers stole him from Sh'chem, 1 they were obligated to return him to Sh'chem - where they ultimately buried him. 2
Yosef actually found them in Dosan (Bereishis 37:17)! Rashi Sanhedrin 102a, Sotah 13b - a town near Sh'chem, and it is called by the name of Shechem. Alterntively, it was not a place at all; it means that his brothers were seeking 'Nichlei Dasos' (pretexts) to kill him. Iyun Yakov (Sotah 13b), or he found them in Dosan, but the pit in which they cast him and from which they sold him was in Sh'chem.
According to this Midrash, the oath did not apply to the descendants of Yosef and Binyamin, and perhaps also not of Reuven. (PF).
What is the significance of the fact that specifically Moshe took Yosef's bones out of Egypt?
Sotah 13a: Whilst the rest of Yisrael was busy taking the spoils of Egypt, Moshe went to fetch Yosef's coffin from the Nile. 1
Seforno: Because he was the leader of that generation, and the obligations pertaining to the generation falls upon the leader to fulfill.
Moshav Zekenim: He did so in order to demonstrate that Yosef pardoned his (Moshe's) grandfather Levi. 2
Sotah, 9b: It is because Moshe - who was the greatest person in Yisrsel, took upon himself to transport the bones of Yosef, Midah Keneged Midah, when he died - since there was nobody greater than him, Hakadosh-Baruch-Hu Himself, saw to his burial. 3
And it is with reference to him that the Pasuk writes in Mishlei, 10:8 "Chacham Leiv Yikach Mitzvos".
It is not clear as to why Yosef pardoned (or was more upset with) Levi than any of the other brothers who sold him (PF). Perhaps it was because, together with Shimon, Levi was the one who initially proposed killing Yosef, throwing his corpse into a pit and informing their father that a wild animal had killed him. See Targum Yonasan in Vayeishev Bereishis, 37:20.
See Torah Temimah, note 69.
Why did Moshe opt to take out Yosef's bones rather than to take the spoils of Egypt, which was also a Mitzvah?
Oznayim la'Torah: Because, as opposed to taking the spoils, taking out Yosef's coffin did not involve any personal gain. 1
Because Yosef's coffin was vital for the forthcoming miracles Keri'as Yam-Suf, since it was only when the Yam-Suf 2 would see Yosef's coffin that it would agree to split. 3
If anything, it involved more effort and, as the Mishnah states in Avos, 5:28', The reward is commensurate with the effort'. See Oznayim la'Torah, who lists a number of other reasons to explain Moshe's choice. Refer also to 13:19:3.1:2.
Initially it refused to split, because it would have gone against the laws of nature to do so. And it ultmately split before the coffin of Yosef, who broke the laws of nature when he refused all the advances of the wife of Potifera. See Oznayim la'Torah, DH 'Vayikach Moshe' #2.
The Yalkut Shim'oni learns this from a Gezeirah Shavah "ha'Yam Ra'ah Vayanos" (Tehilim, 114:3) and "Vayanas Vayeitzei ha'Chutzah" in Vayeishev Bereishis, 39:12, in connection with Yosef and the wife of Potifera.
Seeing as "Imo" implies that he kept Yosef's bones together with him, how could he take bones of a dead person into Machaneh Leviyah?
Nazir, 45a: We see from here that it is permitted for a Tamei Meis and even for a Meis, to enter the Machaneh Leviyah. 1
See Torah Temimah, note 72 & 73.
What are the connotations of the word "Itchem" which Yosef said whilst speaking to his brothers?
Rashi: He hinted to his brothers 1 that their bones too, would be taken out of Egypt by their respective children.
See Sifsei Chachamim.
Bearing in mind that Yosef said "mi'Zeh Itchem", whu does the Torah record that Moshe took Yosef's bones "Imo" and not 'Ito'?
Oznayim la'Torah: Based on the G'ro, that 'Ito' implies with a different motive, whereas 'Imo' implies with the same intent, Yosef said "Itchem", because whereas in his humility, he meant that Yisrael, who would leave Egypt with the intention of r eceiving the Torah and inheriting Eretz Yisrael, should take out his bones to bury them, Moshe took out Yosef's Aron to transport it alongside his Aron (the Aron ha'Kodesh) to demonstrate how it is possible to keep the Mitzvos of the Torah (under the most adverse conditions). 1
Yerushalmi Sotah, 1:10: "Imo" implies that he received the same treatment as a reward for what he did on behalf of Yosef. 2
Why is this written on the second day [after leaving Egypt]? Did Moshe not take the bones on the first day?
Moshav Zekenim: He did indeed take the bones on the first day, but they were mixed with the bones of his brothers - and it was only after they arrived in Sukos and were more settled that he separated Yosef's bones from the others.
How will we reconcile the current Pasuk, which writes that Moshe took Yosef's bones, with the Pasuk In Yehoshua, 24:32, which states that the B'nei Yisrael took them?
Moshav Zekenim #1: Moshe aroused the people to take them. Therefore the Torah attributes the Mitzvah to him.
Moshav Zekenim #2 (citing R. Moshe): Initially, Moshe took them, but since he could not enter Eretz Yisrael, B'nei Yisrael buried them in Sh'chem - and it is because they finished the Mitzvah that the Mitzvah is attributed to them. 1
As the Gemara explains in Sotah 13b.
