One of the greatest lessons from this week's reading, where Yosef finally reveals his identity to the shock of his brothers, is that not everything is what it appears to be.
Not only was Yosef no longer the evil viceroy, but it also turns out there was never a real fear they would starve as Yosef was well positioned to provide for the family's sustenance. The worry that exposure to Egyptian culture would endanger them was quashed with Yosef having already planned to provide them residence in the ghetto of Goshen.
To their eyes and observation, their future was quite bleak, yet in an instant they saw their clouds of distress and anxiety parted, revealing before them the absolute truth.
The Torah describes how Yehuda was sent ahead, גשנה — to Goshen, to prepare for their settlement there.
It has been observed that the letters in the name of this region are the same letters inscribed on the traditional Dreidel.
נ[ס] ג[דול] ה[יה] ש[ם]
These letters are also numerically equivalent to משיח — the Moshiach. (358)
What possible parallel could there be between these two unrelated topics?
Seventeen years ago, I wrote the following:
יונים נקבצו עלי — The Greeks rally their forces against us,ופרצו חומות מגדלי... — breaking through the walls of the Temple. With vengeance they seek their goal, וטמאו כל השמנים — finally defiling all the remaining jugs of oil.
What was the significance of the oil that so disturbed the יונים?
Hellenism marvels at the wonder of nature, art, music and human endeavor. It strives to discover the magnificence of this finite world. What it can’t accept however, is a belief in the science of Torah; the belief that man can transcend time and place and elevate himself out of the confines and limitations of a physical world.
The transmitting of impurity, an invisible negative force that does not change the chemical composition of an item, is antithetical to its core beliefs. This defilement then becomes the symbol of their defiance to our claim of allegiance and dependence on a system not bound to the laws of the natural world.
The most basic material of creation is the atom. An atom consists of a nucleus surrounded by orbiting electrons. The distance between the nucleus and its electrons has been compared to the ratio of a grapeseed to a football stadium. In very simple terms true mass is much smaller than it appears. The speed of the electrons spinning around the nucleus creates an illusion of density. This concept could be compared to the spinning blades of a fan, although when turning at high speed they appear to be a solid disc, while in truth they are merely several distinct blades.
The 'real' world is not quite as actual as one might think. It is an illusion. The world of a Jew may not be readily visible to our limited senses, but it is truly tangible when measured by the instrumentation of Torah.
One observing a spinning dreidel sees a cylinder-shaped top, despite its genuine four flat, right angled, sides. Although the dreidel of history spins from above, there exists an illusion of independence from the hand of providence that tests our devotion to a higher reality.
This is the challenge of Greek culture.
Our celebration of Chanukah is an affirmation of our commitment to the חוקי רצונך — those statutes of Torah that although not readily measurable or fully understandable to us, are nevertheless very much part of our reality.
One who submits to a life of Torah accepts that only peering through the lens of Torah can we ably maneuver through the dangers that are not necessarily perceptible yet are very real.
Too often we allow ourselves to be seduced by popular sentiments that allow us to rely on 'our perception' of right and wrong, appropriate and inappropriate, in adapting to the culture around us.
The land of Goshen was gifted to Sarah by Pharaoh when he sought to marry her. It remained her domain, infused with the sanctity of her persona. It would be impervious to the influences of the poisoned society of Egypt, for those who sequestered themselves within its boundaries.
Sarah is also named יסכה, which Rashi teaches refers to her being able to be סוכה — see, ברוח הקודש — through holy inspiration.
She was never deluded by the illusory physical world. She perceived the 'real' world, living in that reality, one not limited to the laws of 'nature'.
Wasn't Sarah known for having lit a candle from one Erev Shabbos that lasted until the next Erev Shabbos, eight days later, echoing the miracle of Chanukah?
The Panim Yafos addressing this small plot of land called Goshen — where the Jews dwelled, multiplying greatly — where the verse says, ותמלא הארץ — and the land filled, אותם — them, asking that wouldn't it be more accurate to state the land was filled 'מהם' — from them?
He answers that the verse is teaching that the earth 'filled with them' because, indeed, it miraculously expanded to contain the growing masses. This is reminiscent of what we are told that in the Temple, despite the multitudes who attended, no one ever complained that space was tight, as it expanded to their needs.
We must take the lesson of Chanukah and turn away our eyes from the imagined physical world and begin gazing at the genuine unlimited world of opportunity that awaits those who are willing to peer through the lens of Torah and avail ourselves of it adapting to meet our aspirations and hopes!
באהבה,
צבי יהודה טייכמאן
