Weekly Reading Insights: Mikeitz 5767

Overview of the Weekly Reading, Mikeitz

Shabbat Chanukah

To be read on Shabbat Mikeitz- 2 Tevet 5767 /December 23, 2006

Torah: Genesis 41:1-44:17; Haftorah: I Kings 7:40-50 (Chanukah)

Mikeitz, 10th out of 12 in Genesis, 10th overall, 4th out of 54 in overall length.

Miketz opens with two dreams of Pharaoh. In the first, seven lean cows swallow seven fat cows; and in the second, seven thin stalks of grain swallowing seven fat stalks. No one could interpret the dream, but finally the butler recalled Yosef who was summoned from the dungeon and made presentable. He interpreted that both dreams foretold of seven years of agricultural plenty that would be followed by seven years of famine. Yosef suggested that Pharaoh seek an administrator to supervise food storage food during the years of plenty to preserve for the famine. Realizing that the wisest man for the task was Yosef himself, Pharaoh appointed him viceroy, named him Tzafnat Paneach, and married him to Osnat with whom he had two sons, Menashe and Efraim.

Yosef built storage cities during the years of plenty. The years of famine eventually arrive all over the world drawing people to Egypt to purchase stored food. So too, Yaacov's sons came to Egypt, excluding Benyamin. Yosef recognized his brothers though they didn't recognize him. He pretended to be angry and accused them of spying the land to attack it. To prove their innocence, Yosef told them they must bring their youngest brother, Benyamin, to Egypt and kept Shimon hostage until their return. Yosef wept when overhearing his brothers conclude that the episode was punishment for having sold Yosef years before.

Upon relaying to Yaacov what happened, he was grieved, but reluctantly allowed his sons, this time including Benyamin, to return to Egypt when their food supply depleted. This time, they bring a gift for Yosef. After seeing that Benyamin also arrived, Yosef asked that a meal be prepared for himself to eat with his brothers. Upon meeting them, Yosef asked about his father, and hid his tears when meeting Benyamin. After the meal, Yosef instructed that his brothers' packs be filled with food, and in Benyamin's money and Yosef's 'magic' chalice should be replaced in his pack. After the brothers left the city, Yosef's men pursued them to catch Benyamin with his 'theft'. The brothers were brought back before Yosef who declared that Benyamin must remain in Egypt as his slave as punishment for stealing.


FROM THE MASTERS OF KABBALA (K:1067/Mikeitz)

From the holy Zohar, teachings of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai (Z:1067/Mikeitz)

From this we learn that a person is shown things in his dreams according to what kind of person he is. [When he is asleep] his soul rises up to receive knowledge - each according to his proper level. And so Pharaoh saw only what was fitting for him to see, and no more.

For the full article, click to the "Weekly Holidays" section on our KabbalaOnline site.

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From the holy Ari, Rabbi Yitzchak Luria of Safed (A:1067/Mikeitz)

Therefore Joseph said to Benjamin, "What spiritual level do you personify? I know that you embody neither of the two sides [who are party to the spiritual union], for you do not embody any partzuf whatsoever, neither masculine nor feminine."

For the full article, click to the "Weekly Holidays" section on our KabbalaOnline site.

* * * * *

From Rabbi Moshe Alshich (S:1067/Mikeitz)

Seeing that there is a relationship between the impurity represented by the governing spiritual counterpart of Egypt (the "minister" of Egypt) and the people whom he represents, it is clear that if the people themselves would represent a reduced degree of such spiritual impurity, their celestial representative would reflect this also.


For the full article, click to the "Weekly Torah" section on our KabbalaOnline site.


FROM THE CHASSIDIC REBBES (V:1067/Mikeitz)

Chanuka

There are those Jews who say that they are ready to bring another Jew closer to G-d if they can see that there is a chance that the spark of Judaism within can be lit. But if they think that igniting the spark will be only temporary, they are not interested. Chanuka teaches us that we must ignite that spark, even if it seems to us that it will only burn for one day. The truth is, that this small spark will eventually grow and become a steady flame.

(The Lubavitcher Rebbe) (from LChaim #800)

 

"They bowed before him...and he made himself strange." (42:6,7)

It was not out of malice that Joseph didn't want his brothers to recognize him immediately. On the contrary, it was because of his great love for them that he tried to postpone the moment of truth for as long as possible, for he knew his brothers would surely be humiliated to see how his dreams had been fulfilled.

(Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Bertichev)


A MYSTICAL CHASSIDIC DISCOURSE

from the Chabad Master series, produced by Rabbi Yosef Marcus for

www.ascentofsafed.com and www.kabbalaonline.org


MOSHIACH THIS WEEK (M:1067/Mikeitz)

Chanuka

As the light of Chanuka spreads throughout the world, we become conscious that the world is G-d's dwelling place, and thereby hasten the coming of the Redemption, when we will dedicate the Third Holy Temple. May this take place in the immediate future.
(The Lubavitcher Rebbe) L"Chaim #799


An essay from Rabbi Shaul Yosef Leiter, director of Ascent

(for a free weekly email subscription, click here) (W:1067/Mikeitz)


It is interesting that both last week's portion, Vayeshev, and this week's portion, Mikeitz, both speak at length about Joseph and his amazing spiritual adventure. In Vayeshev, Joseph begins as a favorite son and ends up as a slave, while this week he begins as a slave and ends up as the viceroy to Pharaoh. How can this extreme dichotomy be explained? Rabbi Isaac Bernstein, of blessed memory, the former rabbi of Kinloss Synagogue in London, suggested the following commentary. He pointed out that in Vayeshev, Joseph was occupied with interpreting his own dreams, while in Mikeitz he was occupied with interpreting the dreams of others. The Torah is trying to teach us that when all of our energy is directed at ourselves, we tend to go down, while when all of our strength is used to help others we have a special ability to go up, to ascend both physically and spiritually.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe points out another avenue to success: Joseph faced many hardships prior to his success. He was hated by his brothers, kidnapped and exiled, falsely accused and imprisoned by his master, and punished again by G-d for trusting a human rather than in the Divine. Despite all this, Joseph was never discouraged. He consistently proceeded with all of his strength, doing his best and gaining favor by all those around him. We see this in the first words of this week's Torah portion. Why does the portion say "…at the end of two years of days"? Why do we need the word "days"? Wouldn't it have sufficed to say "…at the end of two years"? Rabbeinu Bachya explains that the expression "two years of days" is a reference to how Joseph spent his time. He treated each day of the two years specially, not wanting to loose even one minute from working towards his goal. His success came from mastering himself, by controlling his environment rather than letting his environment control him.

We see a similar message in Chanukah. In addition to the blessing that we make on the lighting ("... that we are sanctified with G-d's commandments in that He commanded us to light the Chanukah candle"), Chanukah has a unique 2nd blessing. Since the focus of Chanukah is its miracles, the Rabbis established a separate blessing: "…that You made miracles for our forefathers in those days, in these times!" This blessing is telling us that through fulfilling the commandments of each holiday, we are able to recreate the same spiritual environment that existed during the original event now.

What happened then? The Greeks and the Jews that were influenced by them wanted to drive the Jewish people away from the Torah and their special connection to G-d. They did not object to the Torah as philosophy. They were incensed that we were in touch with its divine element.

This same struggle is happening today. Society is relentlessly trying to creep into our lives with its base values of attaining physical pleasures, secularizing us and replacing our Jewish focus that G-d runs the world and that our lives and actions must reflect this through learning Torah and doing its commandments. Technically, it would be enough to light one candle each night to fulfill the commandment of the Chanukah Lights. Yet, each year, the Jewish people fulfills the Chanukah commandment and does so in the most enhanced way, by each night adding a new candle, thus proclaiming that we recognize G-d as "the Boss" and cherish His commandments. We will not allow the world to close down the Holy Temple that exists within each of us, and we pray fervently that He will soon allow us to do our part in building the physical Third Temple.


Shabbat Shalom and Happy Chanuka, Shaul


P.S. Please also read my weekly Shabbat Law, below.

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