28 | DECEMBER 10 • 2020 

SPIRIT

Everyday ‘Miracles’
A

t this time each year, 
at the holiday of 
Chanukah, we read 
Parshat Vayeshev. The rabbis 
of old found connections 
between the two. 
In this week’s por-
tion, we learn that 
Joseph is sent by his 
father to check on his 
brothers who were 
in Shechem, where 
they had gone to 
pasture their father’s 
flock. When Joseph 
reached Shechem, a 
man approached him; 
Joseph asked the man 
if he knew where the 
brothers were. The 
man told him that 
they had left and gone 
to Dothan.
The rabbis looked at 
Joseph’s encounter with this 
unknown, unnamed man 
with great interest. They 
wondered who this man 
was and why he was there. 
Many commentators posit 
that his sudden appearance 
in this story was no accident. 
They believe he was put 
there by God to help Joseph 
find his brothers and to put 
into motion all of the events 
which occurred afterwards: 
Joseph being cast into a pit 
by his brothers, sold into 
slavery and winding up in 
Pharaoh’s household, where 
he eventually saved the peo-
ple from famine.
During Chanukah we 
recall the story of the 
Hasmonean family (also 
known as the Maccabees) 
who fight against Antiochus 
Epiphanes’ army to reclaim 
the Temple, which had been 
conquered and dedicated to 
Zeus. The Talmud tells us 
that when the Temple had 
been rededicated, there was 
only one jar of oil available 

for lighting the Temple 
lamps. It should have been 
sufficient for only one day; 
but miraculously, the oil last-
ed eight days. From where 
did that miracle come? The 
rabbis understood that mir-
acles come from God. 
They weren’t comfort-
able with people cele-
brating Chanukah as 
solely a military victory, 
so they injected God 
into the story with the 
idea of the miracle of 
the oil.
And so, we see God 
in both the Joseph story 
and the Chanukah 
story. This parashah is 
studied at the time of 
Chanukah as a remind-
er for us to look for 
God and miracles in 
our daily lives. We are also 
reminded in our daily liturgy 
to look for the nisim b’khol 
yom (everyday miracles). We 
never know when a seem-
ingly insignificant encounter 
might serve a holy purpose, 
such as a man helping Joseph 
along his journey, which 
eventually led to his saving 
people from a famine.
We never know when one 
encounter with someone 
(perhaps even a stranger!) or 
one simple act of kindness 
will change our lives; nor do 
we know when we do one act 
of kindness if it will change 
the life of someone else.
As we celebrate the ancient 
miracles this Chanukah, may 
we look for the miracles in 
our own lives and make mir-
acles happen for the people 
around us. 

Rabbi Amy B. Bigman is rabbi at 

Congregation Shaarey Zedek in East 

Lansing.

TORAH PORTION

Rabbi Amy 

Bigman

Parshat 

Vayeshev: 

Genesis 

37:1-40:23; 

Zacharia 

2:14-4:7.

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Happy Chanukah

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Judy Jassenoff

12/10/2020