One of the most powerful blessings in the weekday Tefillah, or personal benedictions, asks God to “bless this our year and its abundant harvest for good. Grant blessing throughout the earth and satisfy us with your goodness” (translation from Mishkan Tefiallah). This is a reminder of our agricultural heritage as a people, and of the unpredictable nature of the seasons. In the lands of our ancestors, both in Egypt and Canaan/Israel, wet years and years of drought were always part of the equation. As we see in this week’s Torah portion, Miketz, Pharaoh’s dreams correctly forecast seven years of plenty, followed by seven years of living without. It is Joseph’s genius that Egypt would need to save when times were good for times when they would be less so.
Being in the winter, Hanukkah was one of those times. Not only dark, and in Buffalo, cold, in the Middle East, this was the time period that was also potentially dry. The lack of oil for the menorah, potentially meant damage to the olive crops, trouble not only for the High Priest, but to the farmers as well. The seven extra days the oil lasted in the days of the Maccabees was similar to the seven extra years the food lasted in the time of Joseph. Miketz and Hanukkah are celebrations of the human capacity to make do with limited supplies, to ration when necessary, and to be able to survive and thrive even when the God’s blessing no longer fills the earth. As we approach the New Year, let us be reminded of the resilience of our people, and the resilience of humankind. May the light each of us brings to the world help illuminate others, and illuminate a pathway forward even through the darkest of times.
Happy last days of Hanukkah, Happy New Year, and, of course, Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Alex
Last Updated on 12/30/2016 by wpadm