The End
By Joseph rising to power and providing for the needs of the world, Joseph endeavored to sow the spiritual seeds that would give the entire world its ability to rise above all constraints and obstacles and remove all traces of spiritual hunger.
The End of Days
The name of this week’s Torah portion - Miketz - is translated as “the end.” It appears in the context of Joseph spending two years in prison, at the end of which, Pharaoh had his dream: “and it came to pass at the end of two years that Pharaoh had a dream that he was standing on the bank of the river.”
It is axiomatic that there are no accidents or coincidences in this world and certainly not within the precincts of the Torah. That the entire Torah portion that deals with Joseph’s rise to power as the leader of Egypt, is called “the end,“ is instructive.
This term - “the end” - is found in biblical literature at the end of the book of Daniel; a book that deals extensively with the future of the world. The final period that follows all of the travail that goes along with life the way we know it, is referred to there as “ketz hayamin,” - the end of days.”
Hence the term “the end” is a reference to the period known as the messianic age or the era of Redemption.
We may now ask, what is the connection between Joseph’s rise to power, that came as a result of his successful interpretation of Pharaoh’s dream, and the “end of days?”
The answer lies in a better understanding of the significance of Joseph becoming the leader of Egypt and the provider of food for the entire world.
Joseph’s Uniqueness: Quantum Leap
Joseph’s very name expresses his uniqueness. The root of the word Joseph is to increase. Simply stated it means that one should always grow and never remain fixed on one level.
On a deeper level, the term increase implies a quantum leap. While most people can be satisfied with an incremental measure of growth, a Joseph personality is one whose growth must be exponential.
Joseph’s Brothers’ Philosophy
We can now perhaps appreciate why Joseph and his brothers could not see eye to eye. Joseph’s brothers, our Sages tell us, were not petty, jealous and violent people.
Rather, they were holy people consumed with intolerance for those who would violate that which they would perceive as the “G-dly norm.” While they certainly believed in and endeavored to grow, their notion of growth was normative and calculated. To them, Joseph’s unconventional approach was inconsistent with the G-dly system of order.
In the end, it was Joseph’s approach that was validated. Judaism, while it respects the norm and convention, asks of us to sometimes rise above that norm and to make quantum leaps.
By Joseph rising to power and providing for the needs of the world, Joseph endeavored to sow the spiritual seeds that would give the entire world its ability to rise above all constraints and obstacles and remove all traces of spiritual hunger.
The Eighth Day of Chanukah
This is ultimately the lesson of Chanukah with its practice of constantly adding on a new candle each night. The eighth night, however, is referred to as “Zos Chanukah-This is Chanukah.” Why is the last day more expressive of Chanukah than all the others?
It is because the increase from seven to eight is a qualitative measure of growth. As an essay on last week’s Parsha, eight is the number that symbolizes rising above the natural cycle represented by the number seven. This quantum jump - the Joseph leap - is what provides us with the ability to change the world and to bring about Ketz Hayamin-The End of Days the way we know them.
As Jews we don’t believe in the destructive end of the world; we do believe in a positive transformation that will take place. It is the era when Joseph’s model of meteoric rise above all the constraints - from spending two years in prison etc. - will become the norm for the whole world.
Our way of preparing for this “end experience” is by following the message of Joseph and Chanukah. The end!
From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Miketz by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
