Torah Portion:  Vayeishev;  Genesis 37:1 - 40:23

Hanukkah is not about presents.

Perhaps this statement seems a bit revolutionary to you, but our current emphasis on giving presents is a very recent one—it started with the Madison Avenue marketers reaching out to young Jewish families in the 1920s!  (For more insight on this, check out the article “The Comeback Holiday” by Jenna Weissman Joselit at www.reformjudaismmag.org.)  Whether you focus on the story of the Macabees fighting for religious freedom or on the story of the miracle of the oil lasting eight days, the message of Hanukkah is really, “God is with you.  In times of struggle and darkness, God is with you.”

Not surprisingly (perhaps, quite miraculously), the message of this week’s Torah portion is exactly the same.  In this week’s portion, Vayeshev, we read about the young and cocky Joseph who is filled with exuberance and naiveté.  His youthful innocence shatters when his brothers sell him into Egyptian slavery.  As hard as Joseph tries, he cannot seem to get his feet back under him, and he eventually ends up in jail.  It is not hard to imagine how Joseph felt—bound in chains, living in darkness, all hope and youthful promise gone.  Reading about his story, it is easy to imagine that he gives up on everything. But instead the Torah tells us something amazing: “God was with him.” 

The Macabees, at their darkest hour, must have felt as desperate as Joseph did.  Yet, their faith in God propelled them to continue their fight.  They never forgot that God was with them.  When they finally reconquered the Temple and tried to light the Temple Menorah, they remembered God was with them, and took the ultimate leap in lighting it with a minimal supply of oil. 

We may not always feel as certain as Joseph, as blessed as the Macabees, but we are surely blessed—blessed by God’s presence.  There is no greater miracle—on Hanukkah or any other day.
I hope you have a wonderful—and miraculous—Hanukkah, and a peaceful Shabbat.

For more insight on this week's Torah portion, visit
urj.org/torah.

Shabbat Shalom 
Rabbi Annie