Mikketz - The First Chanukah?

B"H

As always, full text here

 Midrash Tanchuma on Mikketz; Chapter 3


אריב"ל מתוך צרה רוחה מתוך אפילה אורה מתוך נבולן של צדיקים רוממותן, וכן הוא אומר (משלי ל') אם נבלת בהתנשא אם זמות יד לפה, חנניה מישאל ועזריה מתוך נבולן רוממותן שנא' (דניאל ג') באדין גבריא אלך כפיתו בסרבליהון פטשיהון וכרבלתהון ולבושיהון ורמיו לגוא אתון נורא יקידתא, ונתרוממו שנאמר (שם) באדין מלכא הצלח לשדרך מישך ועבד נגו במדינת בבל, ודניאל הושלך לגוב אריותא ונתרומם שנאמר (שם ו') ודניאל דנה הצלח במלכות דריוש ובמלכות כורש פרסאה, מרדכי כתיב וילבש שק ואפר (אסתר ב) ונתרומם דכתיב ומרדכי יצא מלפני המלך בלבוש מלכות, ויוסף ענו בכבל רגלו ברזל באה נפשו (תהלים קה) ונתרומם שנאמר ויוסף הוא השליט על הארץ, אמר ליה פרעה חלום חלמתי אמר יוסף בלעדי אלהים יענה וגו' תלה הגדולה בבעליה, אמר הקב"ה אתה לא רצית להתגדל בעצמך חייך שעל ידי כך תעלה לגדולה ולמלוכה

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said 'Out of distress [comes] relief; out of darkness [comes] light; out of the disgrace of the tzaddikim [comes] their acclamation'

Chanukah is unique in that it is the only holiday celebrated today which does not have any obvious sources or references in Tanakh. While Megillat Esther made it into the canon for Purim, the Book of Maccabees which documents the Hasmonean uprising failed to make the final cut and today can only be found as part of the Apocrypha. However, traditionally we understand that there are hidden links with Chanukah to be found in Tanakh - and here, for Parshat Mikketz (which usually falls on or around Chanukah itself), the Midrash Tanchuma appears to be drawing such links for us.

Following the saying of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi above, the Midrash brings four proof-texts from Tanakh (all underlined above):

1) Chananya, Mishael and Azarya surviving being thrown into the furnace for refusing to worship the idol set up by King Nebuchadnezzar. 


2) Daniel surviving being held in the lion's den after being caught 'illegally' worshipping G-d. 


3) Mordechai's transition from wearing sackcloth and ashes due to the decree of destruction made against the Jews to wearing 'royal clothes' upon leaving the King's presence. 


4) Yosef being raised from a prisoner to the effective ruler of Mitzrayim following his interpretation of Pharoah's dream. 


Several themes link these texts. In all four cases, the protagonists are suffering as a direct consequence of staying true to G-d despite external pressures to do otherwise- whether through the refusal of Chananya, Mishael, Azarya and Mordechai to bow to an idol/Haman, Daniel's continuing to pray to G-d as he has always done despite being fully aware of the royal decree against this, or Yosef's refraining from committing adultery with Potiphar's wife. Every time, the sufferers are miraculously saved, either openly or (as in the case of Mordechai) through 'hidden' means. Moreover, not only are they elevated to a higher status than before but in most cases G-d is also publicly affirmed in an act of Kiddush HaShem, including by the very King/people who had previously tried to hurt the protagonists.

Crucially, in the case of Yosef the midrash explains this pattern by pointing not to Yosef's loyalty in stopping himself from sinning with Potiphar's wife, but to his subsequent refusal to aggrandise himself before Pharoah by stating that only G-d, and not Yosef himself, has the power to reveal the meaning of Pharoah's dream. The midrash ends this section by explaining that it is for this humility - despite the opportunity for self-advancement available to Yosef had he acted otherwise - that G-d elevates Yosef to rule Mitzrayim. 

This link between humility and status in exile is emphasised by the preceding chapter of the Midrash Tanchuma, which is a potted summary of Daniel's successful interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream (Daniel:2) following the failure of his usual astrologers and magicians to do so. Both Sefer Daniel and Yosef's time as Pharoah's right-hand man act as examples of how to be Jewish when in exile and ruled by foreign monarchs - and both make it clear that being saved and even raised to high positions under these circumstances is linked not only to staying true to G-d but also in publicly affirming G-d's greatness rather than one's own reputation.  

Perhaps then it is not a coincidence that Parsha Mikketz usually occurs around Chanukah. Most of the themes brought out by the midrash above: maintaining one's faith and identity in exile against the pressure of a dominant culture; trust in G-d saving us (to the point, in the case of Chananya/Mishael/Azaryah, of being willing to become martyrs if G-d decided not to save them); and public acts of Kiddush HaShem are all hallmarks of Chanukah. However, let us not forget the other point made by the midrash - that the miracle both of Chanukah and of today's State of Israel is dependant not only the above, but also on our humility in recognising G-d's control of history and our presence in Eretz Yisrael.

Chanukah Sameach and Shabbat Shalom!


RPT