Mikeitz

פרשת מקץ וענייני חנוכה

This week’s Parsha opens with Yosef finding himself incarcerated in Pharaoh’s prison on account of a crime that he did not commit. However, unbeknownst to Yosef, there were events in motion inside the palace walls which would eventually lead to Yosef’s release from prison and ultimate appointment as ruler of the Egyptian race. The verse which begins the Parsha says, “And it was at the end of Yosef’s two year incarceration”. The Midrash comments on the words “at the end” that an end had come to all darkness, because as long as the Yetzer Hara is in the world, there is darkness in the world, but when the Yetzer Hara get removed, the light can enter. Alternatively, the Midrash continues, Yosef was only meant to sit in prison for a fixed amount of time, and since that fixed period had expired, at the end of two years, Pharaoh immediately had his dream which was the catalyst to bring about Yosef’s release.

R’ Gedalya Sher explains that we learn an incredible foundation from this Midrash. A superficial view of the events which lead to Yosef’s release would seem to indicate that Pharoah had a dream which he could nobody could interpret, and since as luck would have it, Yosef was a master dream interpreter, he was liberated from his incarceration. But R’ Gedalya explains that such a view is completely incorrect. In fact, Hashem only made Pharoah have the dream because it was Yosef’s time to be released, and when that time had come, Yosef would not be forced to stay in his prison even one moment longer then was decreed upon him from the Heavens. R’ Gedalya goes on to elucidate the first part of the above quoted Midrash by explaining that the “darkness” refers to the Yetzer Hara, and so long as the Yetzer Hara has a foothold on a person’s actions, he will not be successful in letting the light come through, but the moment that a person regains control of himself, all the light that Hashem is constantly pouring down will be able to come through.

I once heard a beautiful explanation from the chief Rabbi of Rechovot which I believe will shed light on this point. He explained that there are many similarities between the Menorah which was lit in the Beis Hamikdash, and the Menorah we light on Chanukah, but the primary difference between them is that in the Beis Hamikdash, there was no Mitzvah to light the Menorah per se, but rather that the Menorah should be lit at all times. If the Cohen came in, and found the Menorah lit, he did not have to light it again. On the other hand, on Chanukah, the Mitzvah is to light the candles. If a person found his Menorah lit, he must extinguish the candles and light them again, because that is the primary Mitzvah. The reason for this is because the Menorah in the temple was already in an existing structure whose significance was constantly influencing the Jewish people, regardless of their efforts. Whereas on Chanukah, the message to the Jewish people is that we must be continuously working on ourselves to remove the darkness from our lives, and if we relent in this constant struggle, we will inevitably fall backwards and allow more darkness to enter into our existence.

The only way to remove this dimness from our lives is to place less emphasis on our physical needs, and instead, focus on our spiritual growth. R’ Yonah writes that a person does not have the ability to live in both worlds. To the extent that he focuses on expanding his physical desires, that expansion will take away from this potential for spiritual growth. Alternatively, to the extent that he is able to concentrate his attention to his spiritual development, he will lose interest the his pursuit of bodily pleasures. This is the inverse relationship which exists between these two opposing forces.

I would just like to conclude with the inspiring words of the Megaleh Amukos. We read in the Torah a few weeks ago that Yaakov went back for some small jugs that he forgot in the campsite which he was previously dwelling. Through a play on words, the Midrash comments that because Yaakov returned for these small jugs which he had forgotten, the Jewish people in the times of Chanukah merited to find that one jug of olive oil which remained with an unbroken seal, and of course merited to see the miracle of Chanukah. What was so special about Yaakov’s return for a small forgotten vessel that he merited in return to see such big miracles for the Jewish people? The Megaleh Amukos explains that the Yetzer Hara is willing to give a person a lot of success in his spiritual pursuits. He is even willing to have a person study Torah most of the day, and be involved with very lofty endeavors such as prayer and loving kindness, he just has one request in return. All he asks is that we leave him one little corner in our hearts where he can live in peace. One time of day, or one discussion with our friends where he can be let out to breathe, and we “let ourselves loose” during that time. If we give him this, he is happy, because he knows that he will eventually succeed in expanding his territory. When Yaakov went back for that one tiny jug which he had forgotten, he was demonstrating clearly his unwillingness to give in to the Satan on even the tiniest plot of his heart, and he was staking all of the real estate in his soul for God. The Satan was obviously not very happy with Yaakov’s decision, as is evidenced by his response. He comes down from heavens to physically try to destroy Yaakov, and ends up in a fist fight with him all night. However the Chanukah message to us is clear. We must attempt to remove all trace of “Greek culture” from our hearts. We cannot leave over even a miniscule amount of property in our hearts for the evil inclination to take root. We must be “turned on” to God’s word at every time of day, and give over ourselves completely to His will, although this may sound a little overbearing, we can rest assured that if we do this, we will merit to grown into something beautiful, just as Yaakov Avinu got to see the fruits of his labor in the ultimate success of the Macabeem during the times of Chanukah.

May we all merit to inculcate the message of Chanukah into our hearts, and completely dedicate our lives to goodness!