Spark of Jewish Experience

We have expanded the Parsha Highlights section.

First portion
* The Torah seems to emphasize Miketz – at the end (of time in which Yosef was in jail) Yosef was punished by G-d for relying on the butler, who was his cellmate, a little too much that he would, through his connections, hasten his release. It is true, one must do his effort to do whatever he can in any situation, but Yosef should have put more trust in G-d and less on the butler. At the end of last Parsha it says how the butler forgot about him.
* After two years, the butler remembered Yosef and his tremendous ability, especially after Pharaoh was deeply distraught that he could not remember the two important dreams he had.
* Yosef was quickly rushed out of prison shaved and showered, and presented in front of Pharaoh.

Second portion
* Yosef tells Pharaoh it is not I – but G-d – who has given me the ability to interpret dreams; he then proceeds to tell Pharaoh that the two dreams are really one. Seven years of famine will follow seven years of prosperity. Pharaoh recalls his dreams and it is exactly as Yosef described.

Third portion

* Pharaoh was impressed with Yosef to a point where he made him second in command. He was to oversee the storage and preservation of the grains so that it will be sufficient during the time of famine.
* Pharaoh was impressed with Yosef’s belief in G-d.

* Pharaoh gave Osnat, the daughter of Potifar (the one who accused Yosef of assaulting his wife), to Yosef. Osnat, according to many sources was adopted. Her biological mother was Dina, the sister of Yosef, who bore a child to the man (Shechem) who raped her.

* Yosef was successful in his task as viceroy of Egypt.

* He and Osnat had two children, Menashe and Efraim.

* Yosef typifies a Jew in a strange land. He was uncomfortable and felt different but he managed to achieve great heights by always putting his faith in G-d.

Fourth portion

* The famine begins and people flock to Yosef and Egypt where they are well-prepared for the crises.

* Yaacov instructs his sons to go down to Egypt to buy food because the famine was unbearable.

* The brothers entered Egypt in ten separate gates. One of the reasons was to find Yosef. A second reason is that all ten brothers together seemed very impressive so there was a concern for the evil eye; a concern in many Jewish families, where it’s important to keep a low profile. A common belief is that jealousy can bring a bad omen to the home of the object of desire.

* Joseph recognized his brothers but they did not recognize him.

* He acted cold and harsh; Yosef did not reveal to them that he was their brother.

* Yosef accused them of spying and put them in jail for three days.

Fifth portion

* After three days, he said if your story is valid then you shall go and bring your youngest brother whom you claim exists. But I will keep one brother here in prison to make sure you return. Shimon was the brother that was chosen to stay in prison (pit) until they returned. Shimon was picked because he was the one who shoved him into the pit and also to separate him from Levi. The two together are a tremendous force.

* The brothers feel their bad omen in which they’re experiencing in Egypt is the result of what they did to Yosef.

* Yaacov was informed all what had happened in Egypt. Initially, he refused to send Benyamin, the youngest brother and the remaining son from his favorite wife Rachel, but Yehuda guarantees his safe return. ‘If he doesn’t return, I will forfeit my life after death (world to come)’ he said.

Sixth portion

* Yosef had seen from afar that they had brought Benyamin. He then released Shimon and invited all the brothers to join him for lunch.

* For the first time in many years, Yosef sees his little brother Benyamin who is from the same father and mother as he.

* Another startling incident that Yosef has demonstrated to his brothers since they arrived, was that he sat them in order of their birth at the luncheon dais and they said, ‘Now how did he know that? ‘Yosef conveyed to them that he has magical powers.

* It is indeed strange that they were not able to figure it out that it was Yosef standing in front of them.

Seventh portion

* Yosef feels that he has become emotional so he excuses himself from the room of the luncheon. Apparently he realizes an attitude change and a more bonded relationship toward each other including towards his brother.

* Before they leave, Yosef instructs secretly to put his precious goblet in Benyamin’s sack.

* Soon after leaving, they are stopped by Yosef’s men who search them for the missing goblet. They find it in Benyamin’s sack and are ordered back to Egypt.

            Yosef put Shimon (one of his brothers) in prison (the pit) in front of their eyes and told them to go back home and get your youngest brother (Benyamin). The reason Yosef singled out Shimon is because he was the one who initially pushed him into the pit. A second reason was that he wanted to separate Shimon and Levi because together, they were very difficult to contain. The sages bring down that Shimon had suspected the brothers in their heart of wanting to imprison him for how he aggressively put Yosef in the pit. He thought the unanimous opinion among the brothers was that the Viceroy of Pharaoh (who was really their brother Yosef) was justified in putting him in jail. The brothers countered back, “We would not do such a thing. He is forcing our hand to go without you; what do you want us to do, let are families starve?” Clearly, it was Yosef’s idea to put Shimon in the pit.

After hearing the brothers’ response, he realized they were sincere in their response and they did not think that way because things that come from the heart go to the heart. Shimon believed his brothers.

We learn something interesting about human nature; a person is able, with his sensitivities, to differentiate between words that are sincere or not.

When Yosef finally disclosed to the brothers that he is their brother, he was struck with tremendous emotions. The reason why, is because he realized that Yehuda was sincere in sticking up for their youngest brother, Benyamin, a brother from a different mother (Rachel). Although one might say Yehuda had a lot to lose because he promised his father he would be responsible for him and if anything horrible would happen, he stands to lose his after-life. Or perhaps, they would cause their father even more anguish if Benyamin was not returned. However, Yosef sensed the sincerity in Yehuda’s voice.

A person has the power to hear, determine and recognize what the heart is saying, even though the words are saying something else.

We also find the prophet, Zacharia ben Yehoyada, who stood up and rebuked the congregation by telling them “Why are you sinning against G-d? You will not succeed”. He was stoned shortly thereafter by the crowd. The sages said that Zacharia provoked his own death. He thought he was ‘holier then thou’ by being a prophet, kohen, and the son-in-law of the king. He felt he was above them and they sensed it, although he didn’t say anything to anger them. But they read his heart and felt him looking down at them.

Divrei Torah from Rav Henoch Leibowitz, ztz”l

There’s an interesting story told by Rabbi Isaac Olbaum at one of his lectures about Rav Levi Bardichiva that teaches an important lesson about the pleasures of Chanukah in which we’re in the midst of celebrating:

Rav Levi Bardichiva once walked into a room where his friends convened. He found it quite odd that they stopped their conversation so abruptly as if they were hiding something from him. After he pressed the issue, they confessed that they were embarrassed at the topic of conversation and felt he would think they were wasting valuable time that could be spent learning Torah. The friend mentioned how they marveled and were so impressed with the exquisite mansion of Count Potosky.

Count Potosky was a very rich man who had a son who was executed by the non-Jews because he converted to Judaism. The gentiles gave Potosky’s son an ultimatum: either convert back or be executed. He said ‘I’m staying a Jew’. Soon after, young Potovsky was hung and then burned, and many years later, a tree grew from his ashes. Till this day, people would point to that tree and tell you the story of Potosky.

Apparently, the friends of Rav Levi were admiring how rich he was and how he would indulge in all kind of pleasures. Rav Levi responded, ‘Did Potosky light the candles of Chanukah?’ Obviously he didn’t; but if he did, Rav Levi seems to imply, that would be the most pleasurable moment he would have experienced.

What is so special about lighting Chanukah candles?

The Rambam (Maimonides) who, besides being an authority on medicine, was a tremendous halachic figure (expert on Jewish law), is quoted as saying, ‘The sages enacted these eight days as eight days of happiness and praise (Hallel). What constitutes happiness? Happiness is interpreted as having meat and wine. Apparently, this is what gives pleasure to the body and soul. Every time there is a reference to ‘happy’, a meal is required. After a delicious meal then he’s able to sing praise (Hallel).

However, we know a meal is not required on Chanukah. Do you mean to tell me that lighting the candles is a substitute pleasure for the meal? How so?

Chanukah is often compared to the holiday of Purim; but why is a meal required for that holiday and not this one?

In the story of Chanukah, the Greeks didn’t want to kill us; they wanted to embrace us. Their goal was to destroy us spiritually (no Shabbat, no brit milah, etc). Purim, the wicked Haman wanted to destroy us physically. Therefore, we counter back by using our physicality and getting a pleasurable experience with a lavish meal. We use the physicality as a gratitude to G-d. On Chanukah, though, we use the spirituality as gratitude.

‘Everything is from the heavens except fearing G-d’. Although one has to make an effort, for the most part, we have a hard time controlling our lives whether it is making money, marriage, kids, and death. Many aspects of life are determined by the heavens with the exception of spirituality, which is determined by you. It’s our choice whether to keep Shabbat, keep kosher, and be nice to people. It’s in our hands, we’re in control.

So what are the pleasures of Chanukah? We’ll get a better picture from a little glimpse of history. Achav was the wicked king of Israel (kingdom was split Israel and Judea). The Gemarah says he has no share in the world to come. At the time, Aram, the neighboring country who was superior in might, was at a state of war with the Israelites. Aram sent a team to Achav with their demands of surrender. These demands included the Israelites to give up their possessions, wives, and children. Achav was listening and agreeing to the surrender demands. Then they said ‘give up your object of desire, your Sefer Torah.’ ‘Absolutely not!!’ he said, ‘we’ll go to war with you first!!’ he answered back. The Israelites went to war with Aram and won.

Achav, whose reputation as a rasha is unprecedented, violated everything in the book. Why all of a sudden did he say no? What does he care about a Sefer Torah? We see how a Jew can be so complex in his behavior. Every Jew has a certain Jewish pride, a deep down caring about his religion, about his people. When push comes to shove, a secular Jew will bang on the table and declare ‘I’ll show you what it means to be Jewish’. Perhaps this is the reason we are required to light the menorah by the window so that the whole world can see what miracles G-d did for his chosen people. We show the world, but for the most part, it is for us to feel good about ourselves. We light the menorah with pride like the Maccabees lit after they miraculously defeated the mighty Greek army. The pride in doing so should bring out a tremendous pleasure.

* In the first bracha (blessing) of the candlelighting ceremony, there are thirteen tevot (punctuations) which coincide with the thirteen attributes of mercy. (They are very important; G-d practically guarantees that if one says the 13 attributes at proper times of the year he will be forgiven. During the high holidays, it is emphasized greatly.)  The second bracha also has thirteen tevot as well, and represents the same. Both brachot together equal 26 which is the name of G-d that represents mercy.

* The longest bircat hamazon of the year is said on Shabbat Chanukah. It has both al hanisim (the prayer said for Chanukah, and R’tzei, the prayer said on Shabbat) and if by chance Rosh Chodesh falls out on Shabbat, that’s’ a marathon.

* What happens if one is on a business trip? Does he light where he is? The answer is no; his wife lights at home for the husband. However, one is required to see the Chanukah candles lit. So if he’s in a Jewish town and he’s able to see other menorahs lit, then he has fulfilled the requirement. If he’s in a city where there are no Jews, then he must light himself. The mitzvah is also to see the candles burning on the menorah.

Rabbi Avi Matmon