Parashat Beshallach: Serach Bat Asher

Vayikach Moshe et atzmot Yosef imo ki hashbeia hishbia et b’nei Yisrael leimor pakod yifkod Ehlohim etkhem v’ha’alitem et atzmotai mizeh itkhem. (Shemot 3:19)

And Moshe took Joseph’s bones with him, for he [Joseph] had surely sworn the children of Israel saying, “God will surely remember you, and you will carry my bones from here with you.”

Joseph, as Pharaoh’s vizier, would have been buried in Egypt according to Egyptian rites at Pharaoh’s command. However, Joseph remained true to his Jewish heritage. Upon his death, he made his brothers promise that they would make their children swear for generations to carry his bones from Egypt to be buried in the land of Israel. The Rabbis asked how does Moshe know where Joseph was buried? The answer comes to us in Midrash.

Parashat Vayigash lists the names of all those who accompany Jacob down to Egypt. “These are the names of the Israelites, Jacob and his descendants who came to Egypt…. Asher’s sons… and their sister Serach. (Breishit 46:8-17) Parashat Pinchas tells us who left Egypt. “The descendents of Asher…. And the name of the daughter of Asher was Serach.” (B’midbar 26:46) How can Serach Bat Asher be on two lists 400 years apart?

When Jacob’s sons discovered Joseph in Egypt, not a single one wanted to be the bearer of the news. How could they admit the anger and jealousy that caused Joseph’s disappearance? As they debated who would tell their father, they heard music and singing. Serach Bat Asher had eased the pain of the famine through her music. Asher realized she could do the same with this news. Serach sang to Jacob of Joseph’s life adding, “Joseph is not dead. My uncle rules over Egypt." Over and over, until Jacob realized the message. Jacob still grieved, but was also soothed by Serach’s music. When Moshe was searching for Joseph’s bones,

Serach was still playing her harp and singing. She recognized him as God’s redeemer. Having been present at Joseph’s burial, Serach told Moshe the Egyptians had made a metal coffin, and sunk it in the Nile. Moshe went to the riverbank and called out “Joseph, Joseph. The time has come for the Holy One to redeem his children. Joseph’s coffin floated to the surface. For her service Serach was granted immortality. Serach appears throughout our early history, according to the Midrash. She is one of the few to enter the land of Israel, not having been of the generation born in Egypt, but before. She is the wise woman in 2 Samuel 20. She showed King David where to build the Temple, and Jeremiah how to protect sacred objects when the Temple was destroyed. Generations later, she sat in the classroom of Yochanan Ben Zakai. The students were discussing what it looked like as the Israelites crossed the sea. Ben Zakai taught it was like a latticework, with the Israelites passing through. Suddenly from the back, a woman’s voice is heard. “That is wrong. It looked like mirrors. The water was smooth, and as we passed through it, it was like looking in a mirror. Ben Zakai asks, “Who are you? How would you know.”? The woman replies, “I am Serach Bat Asher.”

Serach never dies. Like Elijah, she is granted living entry into heaven. Like Elijah, she has the ability to return to earth to set our teachings straight and keep us following the right path.