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DECEMBER 2, 2021 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home
From the Fire Parshas Miketz
The Foundation of Torah Sheba’al Peh By Rav Moshe Weinberger Adapted for publication by Binyomin Wolf
W
e see in the seforim that it is customary to connect the parshios of Yosef Hatzaddik to Chanukah. I saw a teaching from Rav Pinchas Friedman, the Rosh Kollel of Belz, which makes several amazing connections between Miketz and the yom tov of Chanukah. When Yosef’s brothers return to Egypt with Binyamin, Yosef invites them all to a seudah, a feast. The Torah then says (Bereishis 43:34), “And [Yosef] gave them portions, but Binyamin’s portion was five times greater than theirs.” Why does the Torah use the expression “chamesh yados” to say “five times greater?” There are other words it could have used besides “yados,” which literally means “hands.” Rav Friedman brought down a Torah from the Kedushas Levi (Peirushei Agados) on this pasuk
to explain that Yosef was planting the seeds for the ultimate victory of the Chashmoniam over the Greeks with this gift to Binyamin. The five “hands” correspond to the five deliverances of the Greeks into the “hands” of the Chashmonaim: “the mighty in the hands of the weak, the many in the hands of the few, the impure in the hands of the pure, the wicked in the hands of the righteous, and the willful sinners in the hands of those who study Your Torah.” The five ways in which the Greeks were delivered into our hands correspond to the five “yados,” the extra gifts Yosef gave Binyamin. Generally, Hashem sends His Divine influence to the Jewish people using His “right hand,” the side of mercy. He sends His Divine influence to the nations of the world using his “left hand,’ the side of strict judgment. The Kedushas Levi also
explains that Yosef gave these extra portions to Binyamin in particular to further strengthen the Jews’ ability to overcome the Greek oppressors. Binyamin means “ben yamin,” the “right hand.” Yosef gave him additional gifts in order to strengthen the “right hand,” the Jewish people, to enable them to overcome the “left hand,” the nations of the world at the time of Chanukah. Yosef, however, gave Binyamin an extra gift another time as well. In Parshas Vayigash, the pasuk (Bereishis 45:22) says, “[Yosef] gave each one changes of clothing, but he gave three hundred silver pieces and five changes of clothing to Binyamin.” Why did he give an additional gift of “five” to Binyamin? The Gemara in Megilla 16b explains: “Rabi Binyamin bar Yofes said: [Yosef] hinted to him that someone would come from him [Binyamin] who
would come out from the king with five royal garments, as it says, (Esther 8:15) ‘And Mordechai went out in the royal garments of [1] turquoise and [2] white with a [3] large gold crown and a [4] robe of fine linen and [5] purple.’” We therefore see that Yosef gave Binyamin five gifts twice: one to set the stage for the five victories of the Chashmonaim over the Greeks in the events of Chanukah, and the other corresponding to the five royal garments worn by Mordechai in the miracle of Purim. Why did Yosef hint to Binyamin about the yomim tovim of Chanukah and Purim? What is the connection between Binyamin and Chanukah and Purim? Each of the twelve months of the year correspond to one of the twelve Shevatim, tribes. According
