Buried Alive!

"When Jacob finished instructing his sons, he drew his feet onto the bed;he expired and was gathered to his people"(Gen. 49:33). While by Abraham, the Torah explicitly states:"And Abraham expired and died (Gen. 25:8), and by Isaac as well,"And Isaac expired and died"(Gen 35:29), the Torah does not tell us anywhere that Jacob died. From this we can logically conclude that Jacob did not in fact die. Jacob was embalmed, and eulogized and buried but he didn't die?
In Jeremiah 30:10, G-d speaks directly to Jacob:"But as for you, do not fear, My servant, Jacob, the word of Hashem, and do not be afraid, Israel; for behold, I am saving you from distant places and your descendants from the land of their captivity..." From this prophecy, we see that the future redemption of the Jewish people, Jacob's descendants, will take place simultaneously with Jacob's personal redemption. So Jacob remains in the same state of spiritual living in this world as his descendants. In other words, the continued spiritual survival of the Jewish people is essentially linked to the continued spiritual existence of Jacob's soul in this world.
From this we see the importance of focusing on the good side of every Jew and emphasizing their connection to G-d, the true source of life. Because by doing this, we are seeing their true value as descendants of Jacob and the fulfilment of Jeremiah's prophecy that Moshiach is coming to redeem a living Jewish people along with their living ancestor Jacob.

Based on the Talks of the Lubavitcher Rebbe