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Parashat Mikeitz 5763/2002
EJD
Happy Chanukah! (Day 8)
The Bagel: Injustice made right. The Torah portion seems ringed with injustice. It began with Joseph in prison and ended with Benjamin in prison. But the reading unfolds Joseph's release by means of a dream. The portion ends with a another unfolding, that of the second half of Joseph's dream. This is where Jacob would also bow down to Joseph. The binding of Benjamin and his imprisonment meant the beginning of that process that would bring Jacob to Egypt.
Three parts of the Torah reading show a pattern of injustice made right:
- Joseph's unjust imprisonment was made right by his release through Pharaoh's dream.
- Joseph's unjust treatment by his brothers began to be made right by the accusation that they were spies.
- Joseph's unjust treatment by his brothers continued to be made right by Benjamin's imprisonment.
The regular Haftarah reading finds Solomon adjudicating between two rival mothers each claiming to be the mother of the same child. By wisdom granted to him by God in a dream, Solomon made right the unjust mother's claim by awarding the child to the true mother.
The Chanukah story is one of Maccabean victory that made right the injustice done by the wicked Antiochus Epiphanes who desecrated the Holy Temple. The Temple's rededication was the end of that injustice.
In a sense, the injustice of Canaan and of the surrounding nations was made right by a long process. This process was one of conquest, which began with Joshua and ended in the peaceful reign of Solomon. The dedication of both the Tabernacle (Miskhan) and the Temple forms another ring to encircle that process of conquest. The dedication of the Tabernacle set in motion the commencement of conquest, while Solomon's Temple dedication signified the completion of conquest.
In the reading from the Brit Chadashah injustice was evident by the rejection of the 10 commandments. The command "You shall have no graven images" was rejected and those who upheld it were unjustly persecuted. It started with a malicious rumor that embroiled the city of Ephesus in a riot against those who followed Jesus. But the unjust riot was made right by a public official, who held the riot's instigators accountable to public law.
In all these readings (situations) God's invisible hand of justice was at work, though not immediately in many cases. One day, when Jesus shall return as the reigning King, all wrong will be made right. Right now, because He suffered unjustly for us who are the unjust ones, we can be made right by faith.
Cream Cheese: Injustice is made right just as we are made right.
The weekly reading for the week of 2 Tevet, 5763 - Dec 7, 2002 Torah: Mikeitz Genesis 41:1 to 44:17; Haftarah: 1 Kings 3:15 to 4:1; Maftir: Numbers 7:54 to 8:4; Haftarat Shabbat Chanukah 2: 1 Kings 7:40-50; Brit Chadashah: Acts 19:23-41
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