PARASHAT MIKETZ (Genesis 41:1-44:17
In Proverbs 16:9, we read, "The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps." In other words, our lives are guided by the Creator. Nothing happens by mere chance. Though it may seem coincidental, the reading of Parashat Vayeshev or Parashat Miketz occurs during Hanukkah, thus the Gedolim offer symbolic links between the experiences of Joseph found in both Torah portions and Hanukkah.
In the previous Torah portion, Vayehshev, Joseph's brothers decide he is a danger to their destiny as founders of a holy nation. Rav Avraham Isaac HaKohen Kook explains that the older siblings misunderstood their younger brother's intentions, believing Joseph would invite assimilation into the ranks, diluting the holy mission of the future nation. His brothers decided to sell him to foreigners and let him see first-hand how foolish his ideas were. Actually, Joseph wanted to publicly demonstrate the sanctity of the promised nation. This same divide is what eventually led up to the events memorialized in the celebration of Hanukkah.
The Hellenistic Jews who supported the Seleucid king, Antiochus IV, sought to conform themselves to the worldview of the Greeks while claiming to promote Joseph's ideas of inclusiveness. However, they missed the central goal of Joseph's mission: to educate the nations while remaining apart from them. The Hellenistic Jews, like their Greek masters, found certain Torah precepts old-fashioned. They welcomed Greek attempts to "modernize" the Jews, even allowing Greek idols inside Jerusalem's Temple. Antiochus knew he could quench the light of Torah by annulling three mitzvoth: Shabbat, Sanctification of the Months and the Brit Milah. Eventually Torah-believing Jews rebelled.
In Parashat Miketz there are even more connections to the celebration of Hanukkah.
Joseph emerges from the darkness of prison to miraculously become prime minister of Egypt, granting him broad powers over the populace. Rashi reveals that Joseph made circumcision mandatory for all Egyptian males before receiving grain. By maintaining purity and taking control of an empire, Joseph is symbolically connected to the small bands of Jewish fighters wresting control of the Jewish temple from the Greeks who banned many Torah precepts, including circumcision. The victors witnessed the miracle of one small vial of pure oil in the Menorah burning for eight days in the rededicated Temple.
Joseph's life was truly a victory of the few over the many and a triumph of light over darkness. Author David Woolf reveals in his book, Torah I.Q., that the Hanukkah victory is prophetically hinted at in the two dreams of the pharaoh. In the description of the first dream, seven robust cows are devoured by seven emaciated cows, then, in the second dream thick sheaves of grain are consumed by thin sheaves. The basic theme of these dreams echoes the V'al Hanissim, a special prayer added to the Amidah and the Birkat Hamazon during Hanukkah.
There is another unique connection cited by Rabbi Lionel Mirvis in his book, The Gem of Many Facets that is also drawn from Al HaNissim and verse 43:34 of Parashat Miketz:
"Then he took servings to them from before him, but Benjamin’s serving as five times as much as any of theirs. So they drank and were merry with him."
Rabbi Mirvis cites Rabbi Naftali Levi who connects the above verse and its reference to a dinner served to the brothers by Joseph though he has still not revealed himself to them. A generous five handfuls of servings given to Benjamin while he and his brothers dine with Joseph. The Al-HaNissim prayer recited during Hannukah has exactly five verses that mention "into the hands of..."
Parashat Miketz also contains another hint of the Hanukkah celebration:
"Before the years of famine came, Joseph became the father of two sons, whom Asenath daughter of Poti-phera, priest of On, were born to him."
- Genesis 41:50
The relationship between these two brothers, Ephraim and Manasseh, is unique in Torah. The harmony that existed between them serves as a powerful example of reconciliation and forgiveness. Despite tumultuous relationship between Joseph and his brothers, Joseph's sons exemplified the ability to overcome past grievances and come together in love and unity.
The reader may ask, what is the connection to Hanukkah?
There are a total of thirty-six candles plus eight shamash candles lit each night of Hanukkah over the entire holiday. That's a total of forty-four candles.
Look again at the above verse from Genesis 41:50, which speaks of Ephraim and Manasseh, the phrase, "...were born" in Hebrew, has the numerical value (gematria) of forty-four.
Joseph's life is a lesson in how humanity moves within the prophetic framework created by God. Joseph remained imprisoned for an extra two years because he wasn’t ready to meet pharaoh. Had Joseph’s brothers not sold him into slavery, his life may have unfolded differently, yet he would remain God’s instrument to bring his family to Egypt, forging them into what would become a holy nation. The miracles of Joseph’s life and Hanukkah teach us that, unlike the Greeks who believed we were playthings of imaginary gods, the God of Joseph—our God—has a plan that does not change, yet the plan changes us. Free will allows us to choose whether we change for good or evil.
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