From ZK, er… A BP Yid
A Vayeishev/ Chanukah Shabbos Shmooze for the Oliam from a few years ago…
Vayeishev – Chanukah, 5767
At the tender age of seventeen, Yosef the beloved, pampered and protected favourite son of Yackov became Yosef the despised, enslaved and confronted castaway. Sold by his own flesh and blood into an endless hopeless nightmare, challenged and threatened both physically and spiritually, he not only survived but climbed the rungs of society to become the longest reigning Jewish monarch in history! What could possibly have been his secret to success?
Although the discussion with the helpful onlooker seems rather unremarkable, there are a couple of fascinating insights that show this event was not to be taken on face value. Firstly, since the Midrash enlightens us that the man he met was in fact the angel Gabriel, there was surely a deeper purpose for his appearance than simply to be a celestial road map. Secondly, what could the Torah possibly mean with the superfluous word ” saying” within the possuk of “a man asked him, saying, “What do you seek?”
Yosef was not the only one that took this message to heart and used these otherwise crushing challenges as a catalyst to greatness. Our great Chanukah heroes used this same thought process hundreds of years later to crush the mighty Greeks. With the future of Torah values being challenged, they entered a hopeless war with the “what must be morally done” weapon and defeated the entire Greek army. As we physically kindle the lights on Chanukah we must lovingly rekindle our spiritual flame of burning dedication to the legacy of our heroically devout ancestors.
Gut Shabbos and A Belated Happy Chanukah!