Parshas Mikeitz-Chanukah - Yosef Hatzaddik and Matisyahu ben Yochanan - The Power of a Jew to Rule Over Exile - Alshich on Our Parsha, Or HaTorah on Our Parsha, D"H Rani Vesimchi 5730 (Maamar 2), Reshimos booklet 2

00:00 As is known, the Alter Rebbe was imprisoned twice. The first time, he was released on 19 Kislev, in the year 5559. Afterward, people again tried to advance new measures and raised all kinds of claims against Chassidus: that Chassidus was unsuited to the world and to the way the world ordinarily functions. They wanted to prohibit the study of Chassidus. In 5561, the Alter Rebbe was taken to prison a second time, and he remained imprisoned until Chanukah. Then came the Geulah, on the third night or the fifth night, as is known from the differing accounts and their details. And the Alter Rebbe was not the only one imprisoned then; several chassidim and other tzaddikim, students of the Maggid of Mezritch, were also imprisoned, as is known from the accounts of the events and of the Alter Rebbe’s liberation. The Alter Rebbe said afterward that the second ordeal, or the second imprisonment, though easier physically—because they knew he was a great man and treated him respectfully and made him comfortable—was much harder because of the trials he faced. He had to present his innermost teachings, profound matters. Difficult questions were asked about spreading the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov, and this demanded great self-sacrifice from the Alter Rebbe:

01:27 He had to take it upon himself to explain profound and delicate matters of the inner dimension of Torah to those “coarse heads,” as he put it, to those shallow and coarse minds. Many questions were asked, and the Alter Rebbe always explained them clearly and thoughtfully. There were also all kinds of debates and issues raised by learned people, even non-Jews. There were great scholars there who knew the Talmud and Midrashim, and they took advantage of the opportunity to have a great genius and tzaddik like the Alter Rebbe among them, so he could explain the questions they had. The Alter Rebbe said that this demanded great self-sacrifice of him and that it was very bitter for him. Having to take such lofty and delicate matters and bring them down to such coarse and lowly minds was deeply dispiriting for him and caused him tremendous suffering. Among the stories the Alter Rebbe told was an interesting question. One of the scholars asked about a Midrash he had seen that says, “And Moshe and Aharon, who made Hashem.” Where did this verse come from? The verse in the Book of Shmuel says, “Hashem, who made Moshe and Aharon.” That is the verse in the Book of Shmuel, where Shmuel the prophet speaks of the miracles and wonders that Hakadosh Boruch Hu performed at the time of the Exodus from Egypt. The wording of the verse is “Hashem, who made Moshe and Aharon.” But the Midrash says that the words can be reversed

03:00 and read, “Moshe and Aharon, who made Hashem.” A strange thing. What do these words mean, “Moshe and Aharon, who made Hashem”? [unclear] Some even wanted to draw heretical and idolatrous nonsense from it. The Alter Rebbe heard the Midrash and explained it to them. He said: When the Jewish people were in Egypt, they were subjugated, slaves and servants, and they were, nebach, poor, embittered, and broken in spirit. And Pharaoh went around proclaiming that he was a god. “I do not know Hashem”—I do not want to know about Hakadosh Boruch Hu; I have nothing to do with Him. Egypt and the entire land were completely cut off from G-dliness. They did not know “Who is Hashem, that I should heed His voice?” And when Moshe Rabbeinu was sent to speak with Pharaoh, Pharaoh continued to insist that he did not know, did not want to know, and had no interest in the whole matter. Moshe Rabbeinu told him that soon he would be shown: “Egypt shall know that I am Hashem.” You will see the plagues, you will see the wonders, and you will recognize that I am G-d in the world. And that is what happened: plague after plague, plague after plague, Pharaoh gradually [unclear], more and more, until the land [unclear] completely. “Egypt shall know that I am Hashem.” And this is what we see in the Geulah from Egypt: that same kelipah, that same darkness, that same evil, which cried out

04:36 that it believed in nothing, was nevertheless forced to believe. And not only to believe in the name Elokim, which has the same numerical value as “nature”—in truth, it did not even believe in that. As far as Pharaoh was concerned, the rain, the Nile—in Egypt it did not rain, and the Nile itself overflowed its banks—and all the things described in the Midrashim. His entire outlook was one of denial. But here he saw the miracles and wonders and was forced to acknowledge that there is a G-d in the world. He was forced to say that there is a G-d, that Hakadosh Boruch Hu is present in the world, and that changed the entire [unclear] that was taking place then. And the Alter Rebbe said: This is what the Midrash means by “Hashem, who made Moshe and Aharon.” The verse says that Hakadosh Boruch Hu made Moshe and Aharon, but there is, in fact, another side: “Moshe and Aharon, who made Hashem.” What caused Hakadosh Boruch Hu to once again be recognized as Master of the world? What brought—“made,” meaning brought—Hakadosh Boruch Hu into the world? There is a world and there is G-d, but G-d was, as it were, alone above, and the world did not recognize Him: “Who is Hashem, that I should heed His voice?” Through Moshe and Aharon, through their signs and wonders, through their faith, through their trust, through their self-sacrifice—that is “Moshe and Aharon, who made Hashem.” They brought G-dliness down and revealed Hakadosh Boruch Hu in the world. And concerning this, the Alter Rebbe [unclear].

05:56 So that is 19 Kislev. And on Chanukah, when the miracle of the Geulah took place, the Alter Rebbe writes in a well-known letter, [unclear], that even the nations of the world, their ministers and peoples, acknowledged that all this was among the wonders of the Creator, that it was the work of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. They were compelled to see Hakadosh Boruch Hu in the miracles and wonders. And all this was accomplished through the tzaddik: through Moshe and Aharon, and through the Alter Rebbe, for there is, of course, an aspect of Moshe in every generation. This is the role of a tzaddik: to bring out and reveal G-dliness in the world, and to show that this world has a Master, that there is a G-d in the land, so that people will know that Hakadosh Boruch Hu [unclear] throughout the earth, and that there is nothing besides Him. And “Moshe and Aharon, who made Hashem”—they brought about and revealed G-dliness; they showed that there is a G-d in the world. As it were, they “made” Hakadosh Boruch Hu, [unclear], meaning that they caused Hakadosh Boruch Hu to shine and radiate here in the world. And we find this holy theme in Parshas Mikeitz and in Chanukah. When we look into the parsha, Parshas Mikeitz, we find the story of Yosef Hatzaddik, the dreams Pharaoh dreamed, everything Yosef explained to him, and the underlying message of the entire parsha. The holy Alshich asks: Seemingly, why does

07:26 the Torah tell us the whole story at such length? Why go into such detail about Pharaoh’s story and dreams? Why do we need to know what Pharaoh dreamed, down to every last detail? And why do we need to know what Yosef explained to him, down to every last detail? The Ramban also asks this question, and the Alshich discusses it at length. There are a number of explanations. But the Zohar says that the entire story of Yosef in Egypt—with all its details, the dreams, Pharaoh, the famine, and everything that happened—was preparation so that the Jewish people would later be able to endure the darkness of the Egyptian exile, prepare to refine all the sparks of holiness, and prepare us for the Geulah. This is really the deeper meaning of the parsha when we look at it through the understanding of the inner dimension of Torah, its hidden and inner teachings. And that was really the entire [unclear]. Yosef Hatzaddik interpreted the dreams. In other words, from the six days of Creation, regarding exile, the Jewish people had to enter exile; the exile was beginning. As is known, as it says in the Gemara [unclear], what the decree was, [unclear], that it was decreed that the Jewish people would go into exile. And Hakadosh Boruch Hu sent Yosef Hatzaddik ahead to prepare the exile, make it easier for the Jewish people, and help them refine the sparks. The whole parsha follows this course. “Yosef gathered all the money”—Chassidus explains that

09:03 Yosef Hatzaddik refined the sparks, “all the money.” And also what [unclear], as it says, “Yosef was brought down to Egypt”—Yosef’s presence in Egypt gave strength for two things: both exile and Geulah. Yosef was the “tzaddik, foundation of the world,” as is known of Yosef Hatzaddik, and through his presence in Egypt he changed Egypt’s condition. First, by becoming master over Egypt, following everything that happened to him, he made it possible for a Jew to be master over the exile, rather than the exile being master over Jews. He eased the exile for the Jewish people, so that even amid hard labor and all the suffering and difficulties, a Jew could always maintain an uplifted spirit. The exile [unclear]. This is the idea of Yosef Hatzaddik, who placed the Jewish people in that position in Egypt—from the standpoint of exile. And likewise, from the standpoint of Geulah: by gathering the sparks, collecting all the money, and bringing about everything that happened there in connection with the dreams, Yosef Hatzaddik changed the situation and prepared us to reach the Geulah, the complete Geulah. That is how it was during the Egyptian exile, when the Jewish people were in exile. And similarly, “He leads Yosef like a flock,” as we say in Tehillim, chapter 80,

10:27 “Shepherd of Israel, give ear, You who lead Joseph like a flock.” Throughout the exile, the Jewish people are called by the name of Yosef Hatzaddik, and they have his strength. Yosef Hatzaddik was the “tzaddik, foundation of the world,” who revealed G-dliness in Egypt. And it began with dreams, which is why the Torah goes into such detail about them. What did Pharaoh see in his dream? Bad cows and good cows, empty ears of grain and good, full ears of grain. All this showed that there would be seven years of famine and seven years of plenty. That is the state of the world. Yosef Hatzaddik revealed this, and so Pharaoh declared, “There is none as wise and discerning as you.” Yosef Hatzaddik revealed the Divine purpose in the whole matter. He showed that Pharaoh’s entire dream came to demonstrate that this world has a Master. And this is what he said: the whole purpose of the years of plenty is to provide strength for the years of famine. In serving Hashem, this means that there is a G-dly soul and an animal soul, and both work together, one giving strength to the other. There are times when G-dliness shines openly for the Jewish people, and there are times of exile, when it is not openly revealed. When they were in the Land of Israel, [unclear], it was a time of light. When they came to Egypt,

12:05 they entered a state of exile. Through the dream he interpreted, Yosef showed that one thing belongs with the other, that everything is connected. That was Yosef’s great strength. There was [unclear] that the two kinds of cows stood side by side, the fat cows and the lean cows; likewise, the ears of grain were side by side, because one must lead to the other, and one receives from the other. So it is with times of Geulah and times of exile: times of Geulah give us the strength, today in exile, to be in charge and to stand firm as we should. And conversely, times of exile bring strength into times of Geulah. For example, I see it in this whole matter: it is specifically in exile that we have the strength for mesirus nefesh, and so on. In light of this, we can understand more deeply why the parsha tells us all this, and how these matters relate to our time. Yosef Hatzaddik’s work throughout the parsha—everything he did there, and the whole matter of provisions and food—was precisely to give strength and prepare for the work in both situations. A Jew in exile need not be afraid. A Jew in exile need not be afraid, because he knows that he is in charge of the world. He is in—

13:28 charge of Egypt. [unclear]. Yosef Hatzaddik already prepared everything, for “Yosef gathered all the money”; everything is ready. “And he made him master”—Yosef Hatzaddik became master over Egypt, became second to the king, and “without you, no man shall lift his hand or his foot.” Yosef felt that circumcision was necessary, and through it he brought about that when the tribes entered Egypt, they did not enter as slaves; they entered as kings. A Jew is in charge of the world. A Jew is not a slave to the world. And there is an interesting story I want to tell. It concerns Rabbi Avraham Shemtov, may he be healthy and strong, a shliach of the Rebbe whose principal missions included work at the White House, with the president. He was there regularly; the Rebbe sent him on that mission. And Chanukah arrived. He told this story: it was Chanukah during the presidency of Jimmy Carter, a time that was not so good for the Jews. It was a very difficult period in America. Americans had been taken captive; there was the crisis with Iran, where hostages were taken. There were many difficulties then. It was a bitter time. And on Chanukah, people came for the menorah lighting. The Chabad custom is to put up a large menorah and hold a whole ceremony. And the president said he would come out and take part. This—

15:00 was remarkable; I don’t think anything like it had happened before. He said that, given the situation in America, people needed encouragement and light, and he wanted to be there for that moment. He came, and there was great excitement, [unclear]. It was around the fifth night of Chanukah, and they lit five candles. The president, who was not Jewish, did not know that you do not light the entire menorah. He said to Rabbi Shemtov, “Well, America needs light. Please light the whole menorah.” Well, when the president says that, he lit the whole menorah. The ceremony and everything else ended; they thanked him and spoke about the light that was so badly needed, and so on. Afterward, Rabbi Shemtov returned to the Rebbe. When he finished his mission, he traveled back to the Rebbe. And when he came in to the Rebbe, the Rebbe received him coolly, with a pained look. And the Rebbe said to him, “I thought you would be—I thought you would be stronger... that you would be stronger.” I don’t remember the exact words, but the gist was: “I thought you could do better. How could such a thing happen? A Jew can say that today we light five candles. Today we bring light with five candles, no more. We want to bring light; we bring light—

16:33 as Hakadosh Boruch Hu wants, not as we want.” That is how a Jew stands. He must stand with pride and hold firm. Yes, and you think: How can you stand like that? This is the president, and you’re going to tell him? The whole thing feels uncomfortable. But to the Rebbe, it was simple. Yosef Hatzaddik is second to the king. Every Jew is Yosef Hatzaddik. Every Jew is second to the King. That is the essence of every Jew. Yosef Hatzaddik placed the Jews in a position where not only are they not swallowed up by exile, they illuminate the exile. “And Moshe was tending the flock of Yisro” [unclear]. The tzaddik reveals G-dliness in the world. He transforms the darkness and reveals light in the world. This is the strength Yosef Hatzaddik instills in every Jew, in “You who lead Joseph like a flock,” throughout the exile, as a Jew stands proudly and firmly and is not swallowed up by the darkness of exile. And so it is with the story of Chanukah. This was the strength of the Chashmonaim—Mattisyahu, Yochanan, Mattisyahu son of Yochanan the Kohen Gadol—who revealed the strength of mesirus nefesh. There had never been a moment of greater darkness. As the Midrash says of the Greek kingdom, “They darkened the eyes of Israel”: they brought immense darkness into the world. The darkness of Greek wisdom, the darkness of impurity, the darkness of the sitra achra. They defiled all the oils, bringing their impurity and all their filth into every [unclear]. And because of this, through this—

18:02 Mattisyahu son of Yochanan, who was the Moshe Rabbeinu of his generation, was the Jew who stood firm and proud and revealed the strength of mesirus nefesh in all the Jewish people. Because he stood proud and was not absorbed into the darkness, he transformed the entire situation, until the many were delivered into the hands of the few and the impure into the hands of the pure. Everything we say in “Al Hanissim,” and the miracle of Chanukah, were revealed through the flask of oil sealed with the seal of the Kohen Gadol—Mattisyahu son of Yochanan the Kohen Gadol. The Rebbe writes in a Reshimah that everything is contained in that name: Mattisyahu son of Yochanan. “Mattisyahu” means that a Jew knows the strength for mesirus nefesh is a gift from Hakadosh Boruch Hu. It is not a power of his own; on our own, we can do nothing. As Yosef says at the outset, “It is not from me; G-d will answer concerning Pharaoh’s welfare”—it comes from Hakadosh Boruch Hu. So too here, that is “Mattisyahu”: everything is a gift from Above. The strength for mesirus nefesh, as the Rebbe explains in Tanya, comes from the fact that Hakadosh Boruch Hu shines within us. The infinite light shines in the soul of every Jew, and because of the very essence of his Jewishness, he has mesirus nefesh and simple faith, to the point that he gives his life to sanctify Hashem’s name without making any calculations. That is “Mattisyahu”—a gift from Above. “Yochanan”—miracles upon miracles were performed for him. The Gemara in Berachos says, “One who sees Yochanan—miracles upon miracles were performed for him.” At that time, because the strength of mesirus nefesh was revealed in him, miracles upon miracles were revealed. [unclear],

19:32 “Miracles upon miracles” means beyond every measure and limitation. This removed all measures and limitations and brought about an even greater miracle: that they were able to find the oil, that it burned for eight days, with all the details of the miracle. And this is the lesson we learn from Parshas Mikeitz, from Chanukah and from 19 Kislev: [unclear]. Through our connection to the tzaddik of the generation, we receive the strength not to be absorbed into the world but, on the contrary, to illuminate the world. A Jew stands above exile and reveals the Geulah within his soul, the Moshiach within his soul. As the holy Baal Shem Tov says, a spark of Moshiach burns within each person, and every Jew has the strength of Moshiach. With that strength, we can transform the entire exile, [unclear]. Chanukah—“We kindle for the eight days of Chanukah”: the initials spell Moshiach. May we merit the revelation of Moshiach—“I have prepared a lamp for My anointed one”—and the complete Geulah through Moshiach Tzidkeinu. [unclear] May we indeed merit its revelation in the true and complete Geulah. A joyous Chanukah, and a whole year of joy.