Rabbi's Derasha

The story of Yosef and his brothers is the longest narrative in the Torah.  Spanning three Parashiot, it is the only story with distinct character development.  At one level, it seems to be a power struggle, like in a Netflix series.  There’s a reason why the Chumash operates on that level but we have to remember that that is not the only level on which it operates.  It is not a domestic argument but a clash of basic points of view.  It is the basis of so much of our discord; the divisions of the Jews begin with Yosef and his brothers.  

Chanuka is sometimes called a battle between Jews and Greeks but it’s really a battle between Jews.  It is easy to make it a war between crass assimilationists and those who defend the faith.  And there WERE those who craved the Greek way, in all of its idol- worshiping ways.  But there’s not as much to learn if it’s oversimplified in that way.  

The conflict on Chanuka is between Jews who want to be more contemporary with the surrounding culture and those who fear that too much outside contact could decimate what is uniquely Jewish, both in mind and in body.  This is an old story, a story as old as our Parasha.  The sons of Yaakov were divided about how to serve Hashem.  Yosef represented a path that combined Jewish thinking with frank beauty.  Yosef believed that the Jewish way could be beautiful in a way that would be indisputable to everyone.  Yaakov himself is intrigued with this possibility.  He gives him a beautiful jacket in order to double down on this approach.

Yehuda and the rest of the brothers are more circumspect.  They are wary, cautious, when it comes to this much engagement with the outside world.  They fear that too much engagement will undermine the Jewish way, and could lead to mischief.  

At the outset, in this Parasha, let’s review how it looks:  

When it comes to leadership, who is the more natural leader, the more successful leader?  Yosef leads wherever he goes.  No matter the circumstances, he rises to the top.  Yehuda goes into the wilderness, experiences what the Torah calls a Yerida, because his leadership has brought a catastrophe in the selling of Yosef and the ensuing disappointment to his father.  The brothers cast him out.  

The fear from the brothers is that Yosef’s way will lead to too much flirtation.  But it’s Yehuda who ends up with a harlot, and Yosef who stands firm no matter the temptation.

And what about their children?  Yehuda’s are literally lost to sin at an early age.  Yosef’s end up withstanding Egypt to become exemplary.  We bless our children to be like Ephraim and Menashe because of this.

What about later?  There it is not as clear.  After all, in two weeks, Yehuda will step forward as a leader with the longest speech in all of Beresheet.  He will bring Yosef to tears in the way he shows exemplary leadership.  While the children of Yosef lead the revolt that ultimately tears the kingdom of Israel into two.

In Chanuka, we will find the radical rebelliousness of Yehuda and the Maccabees carry the day.  The Maccabees were Kohanim, the distilled essence of the approach of Yehuda and the other children of Leah.  They recognize the damage being done by too much identification with the outside culture.  Significantly, they create a miracle filled with Hiddur, of great beauty.  The whole Chag of Chanuka is about Hiddur.  

This seems to be the best we can do for now.  We have to be wary of too much contact and be thankful for the Hiddur we can squeeze out.  

Ultimately, we see that Yehuda’s way alone can fail.  We also see that the children of Yosef alone fail.   The breach in Klal Yisrael can never be bridged without both sides, and that is the messianic promise in the Haftora in a few weeks.    

The theme of this drawn out prelude to Chanuka has been preparation.  To grab onto a real sense of Chanuka, one needs help.  Thanks, real Hoda’a, is a thing of the heart.  And sometimes the heart needs help.  Chanuka parties can help deepen the thanks.  Focusing on these issues, I hope, will also help deepen the thanks.