The Twelve Seven Sons of Jacob and the Seven Branches of the Menorah
Joseph was attempting to light the souls of his brothers. y exposing them to their ordeal he was removing the crust that dimmed the spark of goodness and holiness that they all possessed in ample measure.
THE TWELVE SEVEN SONS OF JACOB AND THE SEVEN
BRANCHES OF THE MENORAH
Joseph’s Demand
This week’s parsha always coincides with Chanukah. Torah logic thus dictates that there is a close connection between the two.
Miketz is about Joseph taunting his brothers who sold him into slavery; subjecting them to some cruel psychological torture. When they come to Egypt to purchase food due to the famine that persisted in their country, he had them rounded up and charged them with espionage.
When they tell him about their family and the lone brother Benjamin who stayed behind, Joseph then demands that he be brought to Egypt to confirm the veracity of the rest of their story. Joseph then arrests them, frees them except for Simon—and sends them on their way only to discover that the money they paid for the grain was mysteriously back in their knapsacks.
At one point in the narrative, the brothers break down and blame themselves for this terrible ordeal. They exclaimed that it was their lack of sensitivity to their brother Joseph when he pleaded with them not to sell him that is the cause of their present suffering.
What connection is there between Joseph’s behavior with the story of Chanukah?
Understanding Joseph’s Behavior
To help us understand the connection we must first try to make sense out of Joseph’s behavior. It was certainly not motivated by a feeling of revenge. Joseph, in next week’s parsha, is so magnanimous that when he finally reveals his identity to his brothers he attempts to impress upon then that there is not even a tinge of animosity to then in his heart; forgives them totally for all that they’ve done and goes even further. He convinces then that they actually did him, themselves and the entire world a great favor. Their actions resulted in Joseph being in the position to predict the famine and preparing for it so that no one would starve.
How do we reconcile the Joseph of next week’s parsha with the Joseph of this week’s parsha?
Testing them with Light
The answer is obvious. Joseph was testing his brothers to see whether they still harbored any trace of the hatred that caused them to sell him. Joseph wanted them to fully atone for their sin of selling him. And perhaps Joseph was personally going through a period of catharsis making sure that he was rid of all feelings of hatred; not only consciously but also subconsciously.
To employ Chanukah terminology, Joseph was attempting to light the souls of his brothers. By exposing them to their ordeal he was removing the crust that dimmed the spark of goodness and holiness that they all possessed in ample measure.
Each and every one of us possesses a Divine soul; a G-dly flame that is the cause of all that we do right.
One of the most misguided expressions that people often use as a way of excusing their lapses is: “I’m human.” Of course we are human and we have flaws. But being human also means searching for the inner divinity that makes it possible for us to surmount the insurmountable and bring light into the dark nooks and crannies of our personalities.
And lighting the menorah in the Temple—the focus of the Chanukah miracle—was intended to help us do that. And since, we are told, there are seven personality types, the menorah therefore consisted of seven branches, so by lighting the menorah, each of the seven personality types would be illuminated and their souls will shine brightly.
12 Brothers and Seven Categories
The only problem with the foregoing parallel is that there were twelve brothers while the Temple menorah consisted of only seven lights. How do we reconcile the difference between twelve and eight/seven? How do we fit twelve into seven?
Upon deeper reflection of the way the twelve brothers behaved towards Joseph, we will discover that all of the twelve brothers can be subdivided into seven categories with respect to their feelings towards Joseph and his sale into slavery; the events that led to the eventual bondage in Egypt and the beginning of Jewish history.
Reuven: Light of Compassion
Reuven was the first candle of the menorah.
His soul expressed gentleness and compassion towards his brother and was clearly against the sale; he tried to save Joseph and return him to his father. His intentions were good. But he procrastinated and failed. Reuven therefore represents the flame of good and noble intentions. But his flame was dimmed by his procrastination. He was not decisive in saving Joseph.
This can be applied to those of us whose flame of good intentions and noble character must be harnessed to action.
Shimon and Levi: Light of Holy Indignation
Shimon and Levi formed a team that represented the second branch of the menorah.
They were the zealots among the brothers and were the primary conspirators in his sale. Their G-dly flame was their moral outrage at the behavior of the Shechemites who violated their sister Dinah. They also felt that Joseph was behaving improperly and they sought to bring justice to a situation of which they perceived was unjust. Their soul’s passion however was tainted by their anger and failure to be more discriminate in the manner that they expressed their outrage.
This too can be applied to all of us who become indignant—and rightfully so—when we see corruption. But we must learn how to channel that anger in ways that will not harm the innocent. Make sure your anger is not based on some personal grudge, and that it is translated into action based on the principles of justice and not on one’s subjective feelings and impulses.
Judah: The Light of Leadership
Judah was the third candle of the Jewish menorah.
He carried the torch of leadership. Judah was decisive and unlike Reuven he did not procrastinate. However, his attempt at saving Joseph was half-baked and misguided. Instead of killing him, Judah proposed to sell him.
In our own lives, there are people who take the initiative but are content with the knowledge that they are doers and not just spectators. They are proud of the way they take the initiative instead of following others. We sometimes overlook whether we are leading others astray rather than guiding them along the right path.
Yissachar and Zebulon: Light of Respect
Yissachar and Zebulon represented the fourth flame of the menorah.
They were the youngest of the six sons that were born to Jacob by his first wife Leah. Our Sages tell us that they were silent when their older brothers conspired against Joseph. Their trait was one of respect for and deference to higher authority. They possessed the Divine trait of respect and reverence. In their case, however, it was misguided. Our Sages tell us that when G-d’s name is about to be profaned one does not show respect even to a venerable teacher or parent. In this situation their passivity, even though it is motivated by respect for higher authority, was not a virtue.
In our own lives there are many situations where our natural trait to be followers and show respect for our elders and defer to them for their leadership and judgment could be out of order. When we see that a child’s life is about to be compromised we dare not be silent and as our Sages say: “in a place where there is no person, you make the effort to be that person.”
Dan, Naftali, gad and Asher: The Light of Humility
Dan, Naftali, gad and Asher, the four sons of Jacob’s handmaidens represent the fifth candle.
They were victims of their older brothers’ prejudice against them. They were viewed as inferior because their mothers were not full-fledged wives of Jacob. Indeed, Joseph befriended them for this reason. In terms of the spiritual dimension of their souls they were crushed spirits and humbled. The Torah teaches us that G-d looks after those who are downtrodden and he dwells amongst the humble and crushed spirits. Their flame was a powerful Divine force, but it was marred by their own indifference to Joseph’s suffering. Perhaps they felt that he was patronizing and that they felt their inferior position more keenly. They too did nothing to speak up in Joseph’s defense. There was little gratitude. Or perhaps they were so absorbed in their own pitiful plight that they could not sympathize with Joseph. Either way, their “human” side got in the way of their “Divine” spark. Their menorah too had to be kindled.
In our own lives there are those whose humility is admirable but when one’s suffering makes them less appreciative of the suffering of others, and especially when we fail to be grateful for those who help lift us up, we are in need of kindling our menorah.
Joseph: The Light of Forgiveness
Joseph represents the sixth flame.
Joseph was the devoted child to his father, Joseph was the one who endured such suffering at the hands of his brothers, yet in the end he completely forgave them and acted to them so magnanimously.
In the Zohar, Judaism’s principal work on kabbalah, Joseph is viewed as the model of forgiveness and of not to hold a grudge. Joseph was also the glue that ultimately brought the entire family together. Joseph was the one who saw the whole picture and was the bridge between the past, present and future. And above all, Joseph was the one who supported and sustained his father and brothers, as well as the rest of Egypt.
But Joseph’s nobility of character and phenomenal talent, notwithstanding, Joseph was the one who provoked his brothers and was the cause of all his problems. Joseph therefore was also guilty in his own sale.
Translated into our own lives, the following can be said about the need to kindle the flame of Joseph. When we are successful in helping others, we must see to it that the light that we try to shine on others does not cause us to provoke those very people we are trying to help. We must make sure that the recipients of our kindness and leadership do not feel that we are talking down to them.
Benjamin: The Light of Purity
And then we have the seventh light, the light of Benjamin.
Benjamin was the only brother who was completely guiltless. His flame was not tainted by complicity or indifference. His flame was pure. But even a pure soul needs to increase its light and not be content with the light it already possess—the very lesson of Chanukah.
Thus, the saga of Joseph and his eleven brothers is the story of the lighting of the menorah in the Temple. When the Syrian Greeks took over the lighting of the menorah was discontinued. It was no longer able to ignite the souls of all of the seven classes of Jews.
The miracle of Chanukah was one in which we regained our capacity to have our souls on fire and go even beyond that.
We light eight candles on the last night to signify that in the messianic age we will even go beyond the limits of our souls. Eight is the number that signifies going beyond the realm of nature that is associated with the number seven. We will transcend our own souls. And a taste of that selftranscendence we get every Chanukah, particularly the last day of Chanukah when we light all eight lights.
From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Miketz by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
