A story is told of the holy Maggid of Mezritch (1704-1772). Once, his young son came running to him in tears. The Maggid comforted him and asked him why he was crying. The child began to explain that he had been playing a game of hide-and-seek with his friends but he hid so well that he was never found.
“So why are you crying, didn't you play really well?", asked the Maggid.
“Yes, but I'm crying because they stopped looking for me”, the boy replied.
When the Maggid heard this, he also began to cry.
The Maggid looked up to heaven and cried out to G-d. “You have been hiding from us for over two thousands years yet look how precious your children are, they have never ceased looking for you”.
The story of Chanukah contains so many inspiring lessons and relevant insights. There is one particular famous question posed by the Beit Yosef, Rabbi Yosef Karo (1488-1575) as to why we celebrate the first day of Chanukah. If the oil the Maccabees found contained enough to light for one day, then seemingly the miracle only began on the second day of Chanukah?
Of the many answers presented to this question, there is one particular explanation which expresses the essence of the Jewish spirit:
After miraculously winning the war, the Maccabees faced the daunting task of rebuilding Jewish life and rededicating the Temple. They entered their holy Temple only to find it ransacked and vandalized by the Greeks. There were idols strewn about, many of the vessels in the Temple were destroyed, and all the oil was defiled.
They could have easily given up hope of lighting the Menorah with pure oil. They would obviously be forgiven for making do with impure oil.
The miracle and celebration of the first day of Chanukah is the fact that the Jewish people did not give up hope and continued to search until they found a little jug of pure oil. While the subsequent seven days of Chanukah commemorates the miracle from G-d, the first day of the holiday celebrates the miracle and perseverance of the human spirit.
In this week's Torah portion of Miketz, we learn about Joseph's rise from prison to becoming the second-in-command of all of Egypt and eventually saving the world from hunger.
Throughout all of his challenges and tribulation, Joseph never gave up hope or lose his faith. What gave Joseph the strength to retain his faith while facing tremendous tests and to remain true to his values and identity while rising to the height of power?
It is alluded to in the names Joseph chose for his two sons, Menashe and Ephraim.
As the verse states, “And Joseph named the firstborn Menashe, for "God has caused me to forget all my toil and all my father's house. And the second one he named Ephraim, for "God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction." - Genesis 41:51
Joseph chose names that represented the values which helped him succeed to not only remain connected to his roots and Jewish identity but also to become prosperous in Egypt.
Joseph's story also serves as an inspiration and guide for the Jewish people in the diaspora over these past two thousands years of exile. Like Joseph, we must employ two paradoxical approaches with regard to the world at large. On the one hand, we must be constantly vigilant against alien influences; on the other hand, we must engage the outside world in order to influence it positively.
Influencing our environment is obviously more important than merely maintaining our values. Temporally, however, the latter must precede the former, since if we forget our roots we will no longer have anything to contribute.
The two sons of Joseph, born and raised in Egypt, personified these two aspects of life. Menashe, so named by Joseph "in order not to forget his family and heritage," personifies our need to resist assimilation. Ephraim, so named "because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering," demonstrates our purpose in the "land of suffering": to be fruitful there and influence it positively.
On a metaphysical level, the holiday of Chanukah expresses the idea that every individual has his or her “one cruse of oil” begging to be discovered. This essential spark of the soul will always remain pure and untarnished despite what a person may experience throughout their life's journey.
A person may not uncover this internal connection to G‑d in the ordinary circumstances of his or her life. But when challenged, as in the case of the Maccabees, this inner connection will surface. And when this divine bond comes to the fore, nothing can withstand its power.
In their struggle against the Greeks, the Maccabees tapped this resource - this single cruse of oil, revealing a level of soul that transcended their usual limits. In response, G‑d revealed miracles that transcended the natural limits of this world.
As the Talmud teaches, "Just as the olive only yields its oil by being crushed — as it is written, 'clear olive oil, crushed for the light' — so Israel fulfils [its full potential in] the Torah only when it is pressed by challenges.”
On a practical level, there may be times when we feel overwhelmed by our workload and our many responsibilities. We may be faced with internal or external challenges which threaten to extinguish our inner flame and to lose focus of our values and neglect our responsibilities to our family, community and Jewish identity.
The story of Joseph and the holiday of Chanukah gives us the inspiration to never give up and tap into our inner reservoirs of faith and ignite our inner flame. When we do so, our flame will shine brightly and usher in the ultimate redemption!
