D’var Torah – December 27

I hope this finds you all well.

Nisim – Miracles. They are one of the great beauties and treasures of the Jewish faith- whether it be God’s splitting of the sea as Pharaoh’s chariots closed in and all seemed lost, God providing manna to the Children of Israel in the austerity and harshness of the wilderness, and of course, most apropos to this season, one day’s worth of oil lasting for eight, thus showing that HaKadosh Baruch Hu, the Blessed One Be He, had ordained the Jewish victory over the cruel and tyrannical Seleucid empire.

Like I said, miracles are wonderful. They are wonderful because they are extraordinary, literally out of the ordinary, and quite frankly out of place. And that is what gives them their revered and holy status. The problem is not with miracles but often with us. Many people come to depend and rely solely on these divine wonders, rather than on own their gifts, talents, and responsibilities.

In this week’s parsha of Miketz*, the Pharaoh at the time of Joseph’s life in Egypt dreams of seven scrawny head of cattle devouring seven robust cows, and seven scrawny, sickly ears of corn/grain likewise enveloping seven good ears. When Joseph tells Pharaoh that this means that the land will see seven of prosperity and plenty followed by seven years of famine, Pharaoh gives Joseph untold power as well as the responsibility to handle this looming national crisis.

Joseph immediately gets after it. He establishes a national system of food collection that allows the Egyptians to ride out the famine.

Here’s what Joseph doesn’t do. He doesn’t get on his knees, wring his hands, and pray – waiting, standing idly by for a miracle. Rather, he proactively gets right to work/ Why? Because the miracle has already happened. Pharoah’s dream was the divine miracle. Joseph’s prophetic ability to interpret dreams was the holy miracle. The rest is within Josephs’s capabilities and faculties.

Too often in life we discount the strengths, abilities, and talents that  HaShem has implanted in each and every one of us. These include khokhmah (wisdom), oz (strength), ometz lev (courage), vinah(understanding), koakh y’tzirah (creativity), sablanut (patience), ahavah (love), and chesed (kindness). So often, the keys to our success are either within us or right in front of our noses.

By praying first, foremost, always and exclusively for signs and wonders without consulting our bodies, our minds, and our neshamot, our very souls… this goes against all the matanot (gifts) and brachot(blessings) that God has bestowed upon each and every one of us.

As it is written in the 1602 Dutch Jewish work Ma’asehbuch, “God performs many miracles…but he doesn’t grow corn in the houses of pious.”[1]

Ken y’hi Ratzon, may it be God’s will that in this sacred and joyous season in which we remember the miracle of the Chanukiyah as well as the heroism tenacity, skill, and sacrifice of Judah and the Maccabean warriors, that we all recognize the signs, wonders, and miracles that are all around us and most importantly, within our grasp because God has given each of us that sacred spark.

Wishing you a Good Shabbos and a Chag Urim Sameach!

L’Shalom,

Rabbi Aaron Stucker-Rozovsky

“Run to do even the slightest mitzvah.” – Ben Azzai (Pirkei Avot 4:2)