MIKETZ 41:1-44:17, CHANUKAH

 

 MIKETZ 41:1-44:17, CHANUKAH

Among other things we learn in Parshat Miketz:

Joseph's prison time ends when he interprets Pharaoh's dreams.

Pharaoh appoints Joseph governor of Egypt.

Pharaoh gives Joseph an Egyptian name, Zaphenath-Pa’neach.

Joseph marries Asenath; they have two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.

Famine spreads throughout the region, and food can be obtained only in Egypt.

Ten of Joseph’s brothers come to Egypt to purchase grain; Joseph recognizes his brothers, but they do not recognize him.

There is a lot of back and forth manipulation by Joseph about the brothers being accused as spies, the holding of hostages, accusation of theft and the need for Joseph to see Benjamin.

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Is there a connection between the Parshah and Chanukah?  I think so.

It has to do with the danger of assimilation when a person lives outside the Land of Israel. 

Consider the renaming of Joseph and his marriage to Asenath:

The marriage of Joseph and Asenath

וַיִּקְרָא פַרְעֹה שֵׁם-יוֹסֵף, צָפְנַת פַּעְנֵחַ, וַיִּתֶּן-לוֹ אֶת-אָסְנַת בַּת-פּוֹטִי פֶרַע

כֹּהֵן אֹן, לְאִשָּׁה

“And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphnath Paaneah and he gave him to wife Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On.” (41:45).

This marriage sends a message to Egyptians that Joseph is now “one of them.” It indicates that Pharaoh fully accepts Joseph and he was to be integrated into the Egyptian court as well as the Egyptian way of life.

Outside of Israel where so many of us celebrate a form of Chanukah and Christmas together remind us of our assimilation.

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What ever happened to Dinah? There is a Midrash that says that Joseph’s wife Asenath was Dinah’s daughter, born of an illicit union between Dinah and Shechem. Dinah then traveled to Egypt and left her baby daughter on the wall of the city where she was found by Potiphar whose raised Asenath as her own.

No assimilation for us.  We keep it in the family.

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Egyptian Goddess Neith

What does  Asneth mean?  It probably means belonging to the Egyptian goddess Neth.  This Egyptian deity is said to be the first and the prime creator, who created the universe and all it contains, and that she governs how it functions. She was the goddess of the cosmos, fate, wisdom, water, rivers, mothers, childbirth, hunting, weaving, and war.

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The meaning of Zaphnath Paanea צָפְנַת פַּעְנֵחַ  has may interpretations. Some are:

Targum Onkelos (1st century CE), gives the meaning of the name as "the man to whom mysteries are revealed";

New King James Verson: "The god speaks [and] he lives".  עְנֵחַ = ankh = lives

Patrick Clarke, an Egyptologist claims that Zaphnath is not a proper name; rather it is a very important and unique title. It translates into modern English as ‘Overseer/Minister of the Storehouse of Abundance’. 

Clarke translates the second part as ‘[He of the] Excellent/Gracious Spirit’ 

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Was this Pharaoh a Hykso?

I think so.  The Hyksos were Semitic people who invaded Egypt, maybe as far back as the 18^th century BCE.  They conquered northern Egypt and established a kingdom there in the Nile delta.  The illustration above was adapted from an Egyptian mosaic. It shows Hyksos to have a distinctive dress that differed from ethnic Egyptians.  They carry weapons.

The Hyksos period in Egyptian history marks the first time in which Egypt was ruled by foreign rulers.

One of the earliest kings was named Khyan and he is thought to have Amorite roots.  We are familiar with the Amorite kings Og and Sichon who were defeated by Moses.  Khyan may have been the Pharaoh that released Joseph from prison, but that is conjecture.

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Rav Kook on Mikeitz:

The strife among Jacob’s sons centered on two conflicting viewpoints vis a vis the sanctity of the Jewish people.

 Judah felt that we need to act according to the current reality and that, given the present situation, the Jewish people need to maintain a separate existence from other nations in order to safeguard their unique heritage.

 Joseph, on the other hand, believed that we should focus on the final goal. We need to take into account the hidden potential of the future era, when “nations will walk by your light” (Isaiah 60:3). Thus, according to Joseph, even nowadays we are responsible for the spiritual elevation of all peoples.

So which outlook is correct — Judah’s pragmatic nationalism or Joseph’s visionary universalism?

(Sapphire from the Land of Israel. Adapted from Shemuot HaRe’iyah 10, Miketz 5690 (1929))

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DONUTS OR POTATO  PANCAKES?

?סופגניות או לאטקס

https://youtu.be/gqfSI-oPYec