Oh, the irony! Our parasha's name is ויחי. What does ויחי mean? And he lived. But what happens in our parasha? Men die. I didn't say 'a man dies'. I said, 'men die'. First, we have: [this section is P]
(כט) וַיְצַ֣ו אוֹתָ֗ם וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֲלֵהֶם֙ אֲנִי֙ נֶאֱסָ֣ף אֶל־עַמִּ֔י קִבְר֥וּ אֹתִ֖י אֶל־אֲבֹתָ֑י אֶל־הַ֨מְּעָרָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר בִּשְׂדֵ֖ה עֶפְר֥וֹן הַֽחִתִּֽי׃ (ל) בַּמְּעָרָ֞ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר בִּשְׂדֵ֧ה הַמַּכְפֵּלָ֛ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר עַל־פְּנֵי־מַמְרֵ֖א בְּאֶ֣רֶץ כְּנָ֑עַן אֲשֶׁר֩ קָנָ֨ה אַבְרָהָ֜ם אֶת־הַשָּׂדֶ֗ה מֵאֵ֛ת עֶפְרֹ֥ן הַחִתִּ֖י לַאֲחֻזַּת־קָֽבֶר׃ (לא) שָׁ֣מָּה קָֽבְר֞וּ אֶת־אַבְרָהָ֗ם וְאֵת֙ שָׂרָ֣ה אִשְׁתּ֔וֹ שָׁ֚מָּה קָבְר֣וּ אֶת־יִצְחָ֔ק וְאֵ֖ת רִבְקָ֣ה אִשְׁתּ֑וֹ וְשָׁ֥מָּה קָבַ֖רְתִּי אֶת־לֵאָֽה׃ (לב) מִקְנֵ֧ה הַשָּׂדֶ֛ה וְהַמְּעָרָ֥ה אֲשֶׁר־בּ֖וֹ מֵאֵ֥ת בְּנֵי־חֵֽת׃ (לג) וַיְכַ֤ל יַעֲקֹב֙ לְצַוֹּ֣ת אֶת־בָּנָ֔יו וַיֶּאֱסֹ֥ף רַגְלָ֖יו אֶל־הַמִּטָּ֑ה וַיִּגְוַ֖ע וַיֵּאָ֥סֶף אֶל־עַמָּֽיו׃
(29) And be charged them, and said unto them: ‘I am to be gathered unto my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, (30) in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a burying-place. (31) There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah. (32) The field and the cave that is therein, which was purchased from the children of Heth.’ (33) And when Jacob made an end of charging his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and expired, and was gathered unto his people.
Then, at the start of chapter 50, we read about the extraordinary measures that Joseph takes to embalm Jacob and the seventy day bereavement period. We read that Joseph, with Pharaoh's permission, leads a procession all the way to the cave of Machpelah.
He returned to Egypt, and found himself dealing with his brothers' latent guilt. He magnanimously forgives them as only a person who has achieved a supreme measure of growth can do.
Then, almost out of the blue, we read: [a combination of J and E]
(22) And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father’s house; and Joseph lived a hundred and ten years. (23) And Joseph saw Ephraim’s children of the third generation; the children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were born upon Joseph’s knees. (24) And Joseph said unto his brethren: ‘I die; but God will surely remember you, and bring you up out of this land unto the land which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.’ (25) And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying: ‘God will surely remember you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence.’ (26) So Joseph died, being a hundred and ten years old. And they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.
Wait a minute...
Couldn't you let us digest the fact that the last of our Patriarchs had died for even one measly chapter? Couldn't you at least have one of his older brothers die first????
If we look hard enough throughout all of the sources, we might be able to find an explanation. The Ramchal (Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzatto), in Messilat Yesharim chapter 22, outlines the trait of humility and gives some reminders of what a lack of humility can bring:
(יז) עוד שם א"ר אבהו אני נקראתי קדוש (רצה לומר הקב"ה), הא אם אין בך כל המדות הללו שיש בי, לא תקבל עליך שררה. ותלמידי ר"י יוכיחו, שהיו מוצרכים מפני עניותם ולא רצו לקבל עליהם שררה, הוא מה שאמרו ז"ל (הוריות י א): כמדומין ששררות אני נותן להם וכו', ואמרו עוד (פסחים פז ב): אוי לה לרבנות שמקברת את בעליה, ומנלן מיוסף שמפני שהנהיג עצמו ברבנות מת קודם אחיו. (ברכות נה א)
(17) "R. Abahu said, 'I [the Holy One Blessed be He] am called "holy"; if you do not possess all of My traits, do not assume authority.' " The incident of the disciples of Rabbi Gamliel bears out this idea. Although they were sorely pressed by their poverty, they declined positions of authority. In the words of our Sages of blessed memory (Horayot 10a), "Do you think I give you lordship? I give you servitude..." And (Pesachim 87b), "Woe to lordship, which buries its possessors." How do we know this? Through Joseph, who, because he conducted himself authoritatively, died before his brothers (Berakhot 55a).
Then we have the musings of Rav Yehudah in tractate Berakhot, daf 55a:
ואמר רב יהודה שלשה דברים מקצרים ימיו ושנותיו של אדם מי שנותנין לו ס"ת לקרות ואינו קורא כוס של ברכה לברך ואינו מברך והמנהיג עצמו ברבנות ס"ת לקרות ואינו קורא דכתיב (דברים ל, כ) כי הוא חייך ואורך ימיך כוס של ברכה לברך ואינו מברך דכתיב (בראשית יב, ג) ואברכה מברכיך והמנהיג עצמו ברבנות דא"ר חמא בר חנינא מפני מה מת יוסף קודם לאחיו מפני שהנהיג עצמו ברבנות:
And Rav Yehudah said that three things shorten the days and years of man: one who is given a Torah scroll to read and does not read; a cup of blessing to recite a blessing and does not recite the blessing; and one who assumes airs of authority.
'Torah scroll to read and does not read', as it is written, (Deuteronomy 30:20) "because it is your life and the length of your days". 'A cup of blessing to recite a blessing and does not recite the blessing', as it is written (Genesis 12:3) "And I will bless those who bless you". 'And one who assumes airs of authority', for Rabbi Chama bar hanina said, "Why did Joseph die before his brothers? Because he assumed airs of authority."
I don't know about you, but I don't find either of these explanations terribly satisfying. We simply have Joseph's statement to his brothers:
He has told them not to fear him, though he hasn't seemingly thought about the fears they might have after he is gone. He has told them he will sustain them, though he hasn't given them any insight into how to handle the emotions of being economically dependent on someone else.
Most importantly, he hasn't really taught them how to live, in the highest sense of the word. He has forgiven them, but we never find out if they indeed ever forgave themselves.
And then we get the cruelest irony of all: in a parasha that deals with life and death, the brothers seemingly disappear into the ether, reappearing only in the genealogical listings or as tribal names. Were they ever 'gathered to their kin'? Did they ride straight to heaven in a fiery chariot? Did they even 'return unto dust'? Inquiring minds want to know.