Mikketz
Genesis 41:1-44:17
Précis: At the end (mikketz) of two years of Joseph’s imprisonment, Pharaoh dreams of cows and ears of corn. The butler who had shared Joseph’s cell now remembers him and calls him from prison. Joseph predicts seven years of plenty, followed by seven years of famine. Pharaoh is so impressed that he appoints Joseph as his chief vizier and Joseph goes about storing grain during the times of plenty.
Joseph marries Asenath and they have two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. When the famine comes, Jacob sends his sons from Canaan to Egypt to purchase food. Joseph has them brought in while he remains in cognito. Joseph accuses the brothers of spying, and sends them home after they leave one brother hostage and promise to return with their youngest brother, Benjamin. Upon their return, the brothers (including Benjamin) meet the still-unrevealed Joseph. Joseph has their bags filled not only with grain but also with the money used to purchase the grain and has a gold cup hidden in Benjamin’s belongings. When they are “caught” by Joseph’s men, they learn that whoever stole the cup would become Joseph’s slave, while the others return to their homeland. On this cliffhanger, the parasha ends.
This week’s parasha coincides with Shabbat Chanukah, so it seems reasonable to discuss the holiday this week. On the other hand, one might remark that the Joseph story is a leitmotif of Jewish existence – wanting to take part in the non-Jewish world but retaining our own distinctive religion and culture. Joseph was clearly part of the non-Jewish world of Egypt, given an Egyptian name, marrying an Egyptian woman, speaking Egyptian, and ruling the land second only to Pharaoh. Yet, he retained a distinctive Jewish identity (as we see with the naming of his sons Ephraim and Manasseh, and with his open acknowledgement, eventually, of his family).
It is not simple to comprehensively explain the “message” of Chanukah, since understanding of the holiday and its observances have changed over time, depending in part on when and where it was being celebrated.
American Jews tend to view the holiday as one which celebrates religious freedom – the Maccabees regaining the Temple and restoring religious liberty. Many Zionists have viewed the story as a nationalistic uprising, with the Jewish people being restored (albeit temporarily) to sovereignty. Mystics and Kabbalists have seen in the Chanukah lights reminders of the essence of the Shechinah’s “spark.”
The “real” message lies somewhere among these views. We do know that the Hashmonaim (Maccabees) were what we might call “fundamentalists” for their time, opposed to any accommodations with the Hellenist-inspired rulers. On the other hand, they sought (and obtained) both the kingship of Judea and the High Priesthood, an unprecedented double play which some have viewed as a power-grab. (It was indeed odd inasmuch as they were neither decedents of David nor of the priestly family of Zadok). Further, within a generation, these anti-Hellenists adopted Greek names, spoke Greek, and expanded their small empire, forcing the conversion of non-Jews (something that had never been part of Jewish history), and even forced circumcision on unwilling Hellenist Jews. It was not too long before new civil strife broke out among the descendants of the Maccabees, and the rulers called in Romans to help maintain “order” – a fatal error which was to result in the loss of an independent Jewish state and in the destruction of the Temple.
Over time, the celebration of Chanukah has changed. According to the Book of Maccabees (not part of the Hebrew canon), the first celebration was 8 days because the Jews had not been permitted to observe the festival of Sukkot earlier that year, the Temple having being defiled. The rabbis later decreed that the festival should be celebrated annually, and perhaps developed the story of the magical oil when, under Roman rule, it did not make much sense to glorify a military uprising against another foreign ruler. Seen in this light, Chanukah is a rabbinic innovation, and serves as a reminder that innovation should not be a dead letter in Jewish thought and practice.
This holiday is also a time to remember Joseph, while we celebrate our Jewish heritage and publicly light the Chanukiah. We share its light with all of the nations, while we recall and treasure our own tradition.
