אמרו (ליה) ארונו בא ר' אמי ור' אסי נפוק ר' אילא ור' חנינא לא נפוק איכא דאמרי רבי אילא נפק ר' חנינא לא נפק
R'Abba then opened [his funerary address]: 'Our Master [said he] was worthy that the Shechinah<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The 'Divine Presence'.');"><sup>23</sup></span> should abide with him, but [the fact of his being in] Babylon prevented it'.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Caused it to (be otherwise for) him.');"><sup>24</sup></span> Thereupon R'Nahman, son of R'Hisda - some say it was R'Hanan, son of R'Hisda - referred to [the text]: The word of the Lord came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ezek. I, 3. On this point cf. Mekilta Bo, Proemium s.v. (Ed. Friedmann ');"><sup>25</sup></span>
Midrash Tanchuma
Moses bore Joseph’s bones out of Egypt, though there was no one in all the world as important as he, since he was a king, as it is said: And there was a king in Jeshurun (Deut. 33:5). Moses merited that the Shekhinah itself should be concerned about him. Hence it is said: He buried him in the valley (ibid. 34:6). What is more, not only did Pharaoh’s servants, the elders of his house, and the elders of the land of Egypt escort Jacob, but Joseph’s coffin was escorted by the Shekhinah, the ark, the priests, the Levites, and the clouds of glory. Furthermore, as Joseph’s coffin was borne alongside the ark of the Eternal One through the desert, the nations would inquire of Israel: “What are these two arks?” And the Israelites would reply: “This one is the ark of the one who died, and the other is the ark of the Living One of the world.” “Is it customary to carry the ark of a dead person alongside the ark of the Eternal, the Living One of the world?” they would ask. The Israelites would respond: “The deceased lying within this ark fulfilled all that is written in the other ark.”
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