Community Blog

Shabbat Shalom! This week’s Torah portion is Parashat Miketz, in which Joseph is brought out of jail with a fresh cut and grooming, a total glow up to be presented before the court of Pharaoh. There, he speaks truth to power, foretelling the years of famine that will come after the years of plenty and warning Pharaoh to start preparing for the welfare of all. 

Notably, however, when Pharaoh asks Joseph about his ability to interpret dreams, Joseph says, “Not I! God will see to Pharaoh’s peace” (Genesis 41:16). The arrogance of youth has faded and Joseph has been humbled by hardship over the years since his own prophetic dreams. Now he defers to greater powers to see him through what he has started with his own dreams and his deciphering of dreams for others. 

This week is also, of course, Chanukah. The haftarah for Shabbat Chanukah is Zecharia 2:14-4:7 in which the prophet envisions the building of the Second Temple, the redemption of the High Priest in exile, and the lighting of the holy seven-branched 

menorah in the rededicated Temple. The second to last verse of the Haftarah is line, “This is the word of GOD to [Governor] Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit—said GOD of Hosts” (Zecharia 4:6), from which we get the rockin’ Debbie Friedman tune. 

On Chanukah, we light our chanukiah, based on that seven branched menorah from the days of the Temple, but with extra candles to commemorate the eight days of the Festival of Lights, plus the Shamash. Following the custom of Beit Hillel, we add a candle each night, increasing the light and brightening the darkness a little more throughout the holiday. Some rabbis also teach each person in the household should have their own menorah, multiplying the lights of the festival season. By using a Shamash, we share light with each candle, demonstrating how the flames only grow stronger by sharing. Lighting the core candles of the chanukiah does not dim the light of the Shamash. We too can learn to share our light and in doing so only increase the love and justice of the world, without burning out. 

Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, of blessed memory, taught:

 “THERE ARE TWO FORMS or dimensions of leadership. One is power, the other, influence … Imagine you have total power, and then you decide to share it with nine others. You now have one-tenth of the power with which you began. Imagine, by contrast, that you have a certain measure of influence, and now you share it with nine others. How much do you have left? Not less. In fact, more. Initially there was only one of you; now there are ten. Your influence has spread. Power operates by division, influence by multiplication. With power, the more we share, the less we have. With influence, the more we share, the more we have.

So deep is the difference that the Torah allocates them to two distinct leadership roles: king and prophet. Kings had power. They could levy taxes, conscript people to serve in the army, and decide when and against whom to wage war. They could impose non-judicial punishments to preserve social order…

Prophets, by contrast, had no power at all. They commanded no armies. They levied no taxes. They spoke G-d’s word, but had no means of enforcing it. All they had was influence – but what influence! To this day, Elijah’s fight against corruption, Amos’ call to social justice, Isaiah’s vision of the end of days, are still capable of moving us by the sheer force of their inspiration. Who, today, is swayed by the lives of Ahab or Jehoshaphat or Jehu? When a king dies, his power ends. When a prophet dies, his influence begins.”

We may not be or know prophets in the modern age, at least not the way they are depicted in the Tanakh. But we too have the ability to influence those around us, for better and for worse. Let us choose for better. Let us share our inner light and warmth with our community, that we may see a brighter and better world for all in the future. With humility, we can share what we have and what we know, so that we are able to better serve our communities, and grow and change as people. And May we all find our own strength to speak truth to power this Chanukah season.