|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Parashat Miketz – 5785
Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, Rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Sites
The Torah portion Miketz begins to unravel the story of Jacob and his sons descending to Egypt and the family’s eventual reunion. The name of this Torah portion could have been anything other than “Miketz,” which merely denotes the passage of time since the dreams of Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker, recounted in the previous portion.
Perhaps this is why the Midrash Rabbah (a Torah commentary compiled by the sages of the Talmudic era in the Land of Israel around the 4th–5th centuries) opens our portion by comparing two verses that feature the word “ketz” (end):
“It happened at the end of two full years”
(Genesis 41:1)“He sets an end to darkness”
(Job 28:3)
According to the Midrash, the primary point of the first verse is not the chronological detail of two years passing since the previous dreams. Instead, the focus lies in the phrase “it happened at the end (miketz).” The Midrash interprets:
“He sets an end to darkness; He establishes a time limit for how long the world will remain in darkness.” Similarly, “He sets an end to darkness; He determines how many years Joseph would remain in the darkness of the prison. Once the time arrived, Pharaoh dreamed a dream…”
Just as every night gives way to dawn, so too does every period of difficulty come to an end. Joseph, who by all natural reasoning should have languished in the pit for the rest of his days, suddenly saw his dawn break. Once the appointed time arrived, everything changed for the better, as the Torah states:
“Pharaoh sent and summoned Joseph, and they rushed him out of the pit; he shaved and changed his clothes, and he came to Pharaoh”
(Genesis 41:14).
Why the rush? Because the time had come. Every suffering has its limits, and everything is measured and precise.
Rabbeinu Bechaye (a commentator, kabbalist, and sage of the Rishonim era, Saragossa, Spain, 1255–1340) wrote:
“And they rushed him out of the pit. Our sages interpreted: from distress to relief, from darkness to light… Regarding him, King Solomon wrote, ‘For out of the prison he comes to reign’ (Ecclesiastes 4:14), meaning, directly from prison he rose to kingship.”
This Torah portion, which recounts the beginning of Jacob and his sons’ exile—marked by the intense suffering of Egyptian bondage—is aptly named “Miketz.” This teaches us that every exile, no matter how harsh, will have its end. Our faith and hope in the “end” that comes after suffering are the sources of our strength during difficult times.
How beautiful are the words of the Sforno (Rabbi Ovadia Sforno, a commentator, author, physician, and philosopher from Italy, circa 1500) on the verse:
“And they rushed him out of the pit”—this reflects the nature of all divine salvations, which occur in a moment…
An entire nation stands and longs with bated breath for an end to the suffering of the hostages held in the enemy’s hands, for the conclusion of a war that has inflicted great pain, and for relief for our brothers and sisters wherever they may be.
In Parashat Miketz, a portion of hope and optimism, we ask God to put an end to the darkness enveloping our brothers and sisters:
“And the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing, and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads”
(Isaiah 51:11).
