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Miketz

Zechariah 2:14-4:7

The rabbis, in setting the calendar of Torah readings, made sure that every year Shabbat Miketz occurs during Chanukah. One reason may be to remind us of the travails of Joseph in Egypt and the miracle of his deliverance. A verse to examine in relationship to this theme is “Thereupon Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was rushed from the dungeon. He had his hair cut and changed his clothes, and he appeared before Pharaoh” (Gen. 41:14).

All Jewish children have heard the basic story of Chanukah. But looking at Chanukah as adults, we can see three separate stories.

Story No. 1: Chanukah began as a civil war between two groups of Jews, those attracted to the Greek way of life and those faithful to the ancient traditions of Israel, led by Judah Maccabee and his brothers. The traditionalists, in a surprising victory, triumphed over their Jewish assimilationists and the Syrian Greeks. They went on to rededicate the Temple.

Judah Maccabee and his brothers had an eight-day victory celebration, probably a delayed celebration of the biblical festival of Sukkot. They had been unable to observe the eight days of Sukkot while the battles were taking place. According to the Torah, on Sukkot the number of offerings in the Temple is diminished day by day; similarly, the sage Shammai taught that the candles should be diminished day by day.

Chanukah became a celebration of a military victory, with the Maccabees coming into power. They became both the high priests and the political leaders. And sadly, the Hasmoneans became hopelessly corrupt. The rabbis of the talmudic period, facing a popular eight-day celebration of a military victory, felt the need to reconstruct the festival.

Story No. 2: Jewish tradition teaches that war is sometimes a necessary evil. But we do not celebrate military victories. Even when we are victorious, it is God’s children who were defeated. Even our enemies were created in the image of God. We remove wine from one of our cups on Passover to diminish our joy for each plague suffered by the Egyptians. According to the Midrash, God stopped the angels from singing hymns of praise while the Egyptians were drowning in the sea.

For the rabbis, Chanukah as a military victory was unacceptable. Chanukah became, instead, the story of a miracle, of God’s presence in the rededicated temple. Hundreds of years after the original events, a new story developed, the story of enough oil for one day that burned for eight days. Chanukah became a celebration of God’s miracle, not military might. And to drive the idea home, synagogues around the world chant a verse from Zachariah, “not by might and not by power but by my spirit says the Lord.”

Story No. 3: There is a Midrash regarding Adam. When the sun went down on the sixth night of creation, Adam started to fast and weep. “The world is darkening for me,” he said. When the sun arose the next day, Adam gave offerings. “Such is the way of nature, and I did not even realize it.”

The idea is universal. On the darkest night of the year, people around the world kindle lights. Our Christian neighbors decorate their trees and their homes with lights. And we Jews, following the dictate of Hillel to go up and not down in number, light one candle the first night, two the second, right on through eight.

The real story of Chanukah is a universal human story. When things look darkest, we humans need to light lights. We will someday be lifted out of a pit, as Joseph was at the darkest time in his life to stand before Pharaoh. The darkness is temporary.

Chanukah is the story of the light chasing away the darkness. The days will soon get longer and the nights shorter.

The particular story may be Jewish, but the theme is universal. That is why we put our lights in a public place, so passers-by of all faiths can see them.

Chanukah is about faith and hope. It is a story we humans need to retell over and over.

Rabbi Larry Raphael is the senior rabbi of Congregation Sherith Israel in San Francisco.