Jewish Religion

This week’s parasha, Miketz, falls out during Chanukah. Yet, Chanukah isn’t mentioned even once in all of our Torah. Recall that in last week’s parasha, Vayeishev, Joseph was thrown into a pit. Joseph prayed and Hashem answered his prayers. This week, we read how his life changed, how Hashem saved his family and by extension, our lives as Jews as well, and how Joseph prayed prayers of thanksgiving…as do we, for Hashem delivering us miraculously as he did Joseph. Our endurance has little to do with military capacity or political perceptiveness, both clearly important, but rather from our own inner determination that is launched in our faith. This is the link between Miketz and Chanukah. [Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D]

You’ve heard it many times, “Man plans, G-d laughs.” Or perhaps, like me, you’ve heard this version, “Mentsch tracht, Gott lacht.” I like “Man thinks, G-d Winks.” Regardless, like all of us who prefer to live without being mutchet or tcheppeht, (pressured or bothered), Jacob found that life has its challenges and disappointments. Just when we think all is well in our family, in our career, in our lives, G-d shows us that He has another lesson for us to learn. It seems the only thing predictable about life is how unpredictable it can be. [Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D]