Pharaoh’s Dreams and Chanukah

At the beginning of the Parsha, we find that Paroh had two dreams and that these dreams caused him great distress. In the first dream, seven skinny and sickly cows swallowed up seven fat and robust cows. In the second dream, seven weather-beaten, dried-up ears of corn swallowed up seven healthy and fresh ears of corn.

We can wonder about Paroh’s distress over his dreams. Most people have dreams that are ridiculous and nonsensical. They wake up, realize it was a dream, have a good laugh, and move on with the day. Yet Paroh was unable to do that. Why?

Paroh, as the leader of the great Egyptian empire, relied on the natural world order to feel powerful and in control. Having the strongest army and the best horses led him to believe he could never be defeated. After all, according to the laws of nature, survival belongs to the fittest.

Both of Paroh’s dreams demonstrated that the fittest might not always have the exclusive rights to survival. There are times when the weak and ill-equipped can prevail. This concept upset Paroh’s confidence in and reliance on his nation’s great physical power and led him to demand an explanation.

It is not a coincidence that Parshat Mikeitz is the weekly Torah portion that coincides with Chanuka. What Paroh intuited from his dream was realized in the miraculous victories of the Maccabees. As the “Al HaNissim” paragraph proclaims, H-shem gave over the many into the hands of the few and the strong into the hands of the weak. 

So Paroh was correct in being concerned. It is not might that determines victory. It is the will of H-shem that directs the outcomes of wars. The fact that Israel exists, surrounded by hostile enemies, is due to the Divine Protection afforded by H-shem, who protects our Chayalim with both open and hidden miracles. 

May we all experience the Miracle of Chanukah in our time, in that our enemies should be defeated and the Bait HaMikdash should be rebuilt speedily in our days.

Test your understanding  of the Dvar Torah by answering the following riddle:

Archeologists were excavating along the Nile River in Egypt and came across the skeletal remains of 7 cows. Which cows did they find? The fat ones or the thin ones?

Email your answer after Shabbat to rabbik@posnackschool.org.