The days of Chanukah usually coincide with Shabbos Parshas Miketz. The sefarim state that there is a very beautiful connection between Chanukah and Parshas Miketz.
R’ Chaim Kanievsky, zt”l, notes that Parshas Miketz illustrates the irrational power that can change nature. Yosef HaTzaddik had been sold by his brothers, and ended up in Mitzrayim, where he was falsely accused by Potifar’s wife for inappropriate conduct. Everyone believed Yosef’s master, and Yosef could not defend himself before the court of Potifar. He sat in prison, despised and shamed for twelve years, with no ray of hope in sight.
Suddenly, the worst conditions changed, and everything became good. Yosef was freed from prison. Not only was he freed, but he was elevated from a lowly, disdained prisoner, a “na’ar ivri,” to be Pharaoh’s second-in-command. Yosef rose “from the lowest valley to the highest heights,” as it says (Koheles 4:14), “because from the prison he emerged to reign.”
Pharaoh, the king of Mitzrayim, put Yosef in charge of all the storehouses in the land and told him (Bereishis 41:44), “Without you, no man may lift up his hand or foot in all the land.” The Medrash Aggadah says that Yosef did not promote himself when he rose to power. Just as his “heart was with Hashem” in prison, at rock bottom, so too was his “heart completely with Hashem” when he ruled over Mitzrayim.
Yosef married Osnat, the daughter of Dina, and merited to establish two of the twelve tribes of Israel, Menashe and Efraim.
This power to bring about change, that can transform an individual’s status from one minute to the next, precisely defines the energy of Chanukah as well.
In the days of Yavan, most of the Jewish people had assimilated with the Greeks and adopted the Greek culture. They had abandoned the Torah and no longer fulfilled the mitzvos. Their spiritual status had sunk to the nadir. The Chashmona’i family remained insulated and apart, zealously guarding the Torah and its mitzvos and, along with a handful who were ready to put their lives on the line, went out to fight against the Greeks.
The small group was victorious over the mighty evil kingdom. They entered the Beis HaMikdash, purified it, resumed the services in the Temple, and lit the menorah. They restored the sanctity of the Jewish people and ruled for more than 200 additional years.
Hashem can change the situation from complete darkness to great light, as it says (Iyov 28:3), “He sets a limit to the darkness.”
A man related the following to Rav Silberstein: “I had been working for my employer for over twenty-one years and earned a respectable salary. One morning, without any warning, the director of the company informed me that I no longer had a job with them.
“Of course, I was deeply pained and hurt. I had been a dedicated worker, often working overtime without demanding compensation. I had a good relationship with my superiors, believed I was well-liked, and had participated in many of their family simchas. I could not understand how I could be so summarily dismissed. How would I provide for my family?
“I fell into a deep state of despair and hopelessness. The world around me looked bleak and dark. My wife refused to accept my melancholy and chided me. ‘It’s true you have been put out of work, but your life is not over. With the help of Hashem, things will get going again. But you must let go of your depression and anguish; it will not help you at all.’ She suggested that I go to a venerable rav to ask for advice and a beracha.
“I did as she asked. The rav listened closely and then took out a sefer of the renowned Zera Shimshon. He read from Parshas Re’eh, where Rabbeinu says that often, after one has been plagued by affliction or misfortune, he merits a great amount of good from Hashem. The rav then closed the sefer and offered me words of encouragement. He reiterated that often a person feels hopeless – he has lost his job, he didn’t find his partner in life – but, in truth, his bad situation is actually a conduit to bring blessing and abundance into his life. ‘Why don’t you allow Hashem to bring your salvation?’ said the rav gently.
“The words of the rav had a deep impact on me and I left greatly heartened by his words. I even smiled for the first time in many weeks. I was certain that I would benefit greatly from my adversity. I embraced a new positive attitude.
“A few days later, I was offered a new job. The company was willing to pay me a better salary for fewer hours of work that would give me ample time to daven in the morning and would even allow me time for learning. In my previous job I often had to come in early, before Shacharis, and could not maintain a regular schedule for learning.
“It soon became obvious to me that my life had greatly improved. I was embarrassed when I remembered those few weeks when I walked around miserable. I frequently repeat to myself the words of Zera Shimshon, that a setback in life is often a passageway that Hashem uses to send someone a gift of good fortune. It had actually been a blessing in disguise when I lost my job. It allowed me to begin anew, with more time to daven and to learn properly.”
R’ Nosson of Breslov once said that in our days the primary mission of the Evil Inclination is to cause a person to despair in life. It is our goal to see Divine Providence in our lives.