We read in Parashat Miketz of Reuven’s startling proposal to Yaakov as he and his brothers attempted to persuade their father to allow Binyamin, the youngest brother, to join them in Egypt, as the vizier (Yosef) had demanded.  Yaakov adamantly refused to allow Binyamin to join them, fearful that something might happen to Binyamin.  Reuven tried to assure Yaakov by “offering” that Yaakov could kill his two sons if Binyamin did not return home safely (42:37).  Yaakov, naturally, refused, and Rashi, citing the Midrash, writes that Yaakov (at least inwardly) ridiculed the suggestion t

This year, we have a unique opportunity. Usually, Chanukah includes just one Shabbat. This year it spans over two. This means that we have a haftora that is read most infrequently. Chazal have taught us that each week's haftora should be connected to the Torah reading or more specifically to the maftir, the last portions read from the Torah. The haftora for the second Shabbat of Chanukah (Kings I, 7:40-50) deals with the final acts and a brief summary of the construction of the Solomonic Temple.

What is Yoseif doing? For anyone learning Parashat Miketz, this is the paramount question - and a perplexing one. For the first two decades of his exile, Yoseif seems to have no desire to return home; never does he contact his father, and he names his firstborn in gratitude “for God has made me forget all of my toil and all of my father’s house” (41:51).

Just think what would have happened if Yosef felt inhibited and refrained from presenting his plan to Pharaoh!

Yaakov sends his sons to Egypt to purchase grain, and upon their return he hears of the trouble they encountered there. Specifically, the Egyptian viceroy imprisoned Shimon and demanded that the brothers bring him their youngest brother, Binyamin. Yaakov, however, outright refuses to allow Binyamin to go. As the famine conditions in Canaan intensify, Yaakov asks his sons once again to buy grain in Egypt, but they then remind him of the viceroy's strict orders not to return to Egypt without Binyamin.

Many commentators have struggled to justify Yosef's remarks upon the birth of his eldest son, Menashe: "God has made me forget my hardship and my parental home" (41:51). He names his son after the word, "nashani," "has made me forget." How can Yosef express gratitude to God for having helped him forget his family? Perhaps more to the point, how could Yosef forget his family? Did he really just give up his entire past to establish himself in Egypt?

Parashat Miketz opens with Pharaoh's mysterious dreams whose meaning eluded the royal advisors and was eventually disclosed by Yosef. As Rashi explains, the interpretations suggested by Pharaoh's aides did not convince the monarch. They understood the dream as foretelling the birth and subsequent untimely death of Pharaoh's seven daughters. The Midrash Rabba adds another suggestion offered, that Pharaoh will conquer seven kingdoms and then confront the rebellion of seven of his provinces.

Yosef realizes the fulfillment of his dreams only after he successfully interprets the dreams of others - the butler, the baker, and Pharaoh. Although dream interpretation certainly entails prophetic powers, it seemingly requires, at very least, a willingness on the part of the interpreter to carefully study the dreamer.

            In Parashat Miketz, we read that Yaakov sends his remaining sons to Egypt to purchase grain from the Egyptian vizier, who, unbeknownst to them, is none other than their missing brother, Yosef. Yosef accuses them of coming to Egypt to spy the country, and demands that they bring their youngest brother, Binyamin, as proof of their innocence. He keeps Shimon as prisoner in Egypt to guarantee the other brothers' return.

         Parashat Miketz tells the story of Yosef's rise to power in Egypt, followed by the famine that ravages the region and brings Yosef's own brothers before him to ask to purchase grain. Yosef, whose true identity remains a secret even to his brothers, accuses them of working as spies, takes Shimon hostage, and orders them to return to Canaan and bring back the youngest brother, Binyamin.