Parashah #10
Miketz ~  At The End
Torah: B’resheet/Genesis 41:1~44:17
Haftarah: M’lakhim Alef/1st Kings 3:15~4:1; Z’kharyah/Zechariah 2:14~4:7
B’rit Hadashah: Acts 7:9-11 & 12-16; Yochanan/John 10:22-39

I don’t know about you . . . but these last several days have been very, very special for me. Lighting the Hanukkiah each night, saying the blessings, and just resting in His presence is oh, so incredible.  Approaching this Shabbat, I’m thinking how extra special it is since we get to celebrate Hanukkah as well as the Sabbath!!!  As I was wrapping up this study, I got what I call a “Kiss from Abba”. I guess we better go over our Parashah first and then I will tell you about it. 🙂

CHAPTER 41

We begin with Yosef still sitting in prison for a crime he did not commit. Verse 1 tells us “at the end of two years” Yosef is freed from prison. The Sages say this was on Rosh Hashanah / Yom Teruah, a time when many prayers are answered. I don’t know if it is actually true but it sounds good! Especially since so many important events occur on Yehovah’s feast days. Also in verse 1, the Chumash says Pharaoh was standing over “the River”. Usually, throughout Torah, “the River” refers to the Nile River because of its importance in Egyptian life. (The Complete Jewish Bible renders these words as “the Nile River”). Networks of canals were dug from it to irrigate as much farmland as possible. Because it was a source of Egypt’s prosperity, it was considered one of the country’s many “gods”. (A parallel with the USA and money?)

Pharaoh had a dream, no; make that two dreams (verses 1-7). Finding no one in all of Egypt able to interpret them, he was in great anguish. At this point (verse 9), the Cupbearer confesses he was at fault for not mentioning the young Hebrew slave earlier. If in fact, this is at the time of Rosh Hashanah/Yom Teruah, it is a good time for him to be confessing his sins.

Did you notice the disparaging manner in which the Cupbearer referred to Yosef? It’s really quite easy to read over it. Verse 12, “and there, with us, was a Hebrew youth, a slave of the Chamberlain”.

• A “youth”, implied he was ignorant and unfit for distinction;
• a “Hebrew”, meant he was a foreigner who didn’t understand the Egyptian language
• and, on top of that, he was a “slave”.

It was written in the laws of Egypt a slave can neither be a ruler nor wear the robes of a noble. It’s important to remember this “written Egyptian law”!

As we read in verses 14-36, Yosef is summoned from prison “and they rushed him” to Pharaoh, who says no one can interpret his dream but he has heard Yosef can. Yosef quickly replied it was beyond him but “God will respond to Pharaoh’s welfare.” We all know about the interpretation of seven years of abundance, quickly followed by seven years of famine. Not once but twice Pharaoh dreamed this only with different “characters” if you will. It made me think of Mattityahu/Matthew 18:16 “By the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word may be established.” Yosef recommends Pharaoh appoint a discerning and wise man to oversee the land. He explains how this feat can be carried out for the good of all. Pharaoh asks his officials, (verse 38) “Can we find anyone else like him? The Spirit of God lives in him!” Pharaoh says to Yosef, “There is no one as (bee-nah veh coke-mah) binah veh chokmah (חכמה‘ו בינה)/discerning and wise as you are.” (verse 39). So Yosef’s interpretation is accepted. He becomes Viceroy of (Mitz-rah-yeem) Mitzrayim/Egypt, second in command only to Pharaoh.

I believe the Hebrew terms binah/understanding and chokmah/wisdom are characteristics associated with the Holy Spirit as well as excellent descriptions of Messiah, in whom the Spirit of The Holy One fully dwells.

Concerning the dream of the soon coming famine, (verses 25-32) did you notice? Yosef tells Pharaoh THREE times Yehovah has . . .

(1) told him
(2) shown him and because the dream was doubled
(3) it was fixed and would happen soon

Again, we see “By the mouth of two or three witnesses, every fact may be established.” (Mattityahu/Matthew 18:16)

I want to revisit verse 14, “and they rushed him”. Sometimes, divine salvation comes quickly and unexpectedly. Just as the coming of Yeshua Ha Mashiach/Jesus, the Anointed One/The Messiah will be sudden and hasty. We need to remember, Yehovah’s timetable may appear to be slow (or late for that matter) but He is an “on-time” God and His timing is perfect!!! However, He has given us His (mo-eh-deem) moedim/appointed times so we shouldn’t be caught totally unaware.

Also, the same verse (14) says, “he shaved and changed his clothes”. At first I thought, well, this makes sense; he’s been in prison, albeit not the dungeon, he still would need toclean up before approaching Pharaoh. But then, I had another idea. Perhaps the “shave” included his head as well as his face, which is the way Egyptians presented themselves in those days. I wonder if perhaps he donned Egyptian attire instead of his Hebrew clothing. In approaching Pharaoh in this manner, perhaps Yosef felt he would have more favor. (Actually, I’m not sure he really had a choice in the matter; he was probably given Egyptian clothing to put on.) Maybe this is what Rav Sha’ul (Rabbi Paul) wrote about in 1 Corinthians 9:22 “To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some.” And perhaps this is where we get our cliché of “when in Rome do as the Romans do”.

Remember the disparaging remarks from the Cupbearer, back in verse 12? Every derogatory comment the Cupbearer said about Yosef didn’t seem to hold any water (pun intended). When The Almighty wills something, it will come to pass; neither nature nor politics will keep it from happening

Despite the “written Egyptian laws”, in verses 42 & 43, we see Pharaoh placing his ring on Yosef’s hand, fine linen garments on his body and a gold chain around his neck. I believe Yosef deserved these honors because of his virtuous life. The hands, neck and body which refused to sin with Potiphar’s wife are now adorned with items of royalty. “And they proclaimed before him: Avrech!” Avrech is a composite of two words: av which means father (i.e. counselor, mentor) and rach which means king in Aramaic. Obviously, Yosef did find favor with Pharaoh, so much so Pharaoh gave Yosef his second best chariot. This is the first mention of chariots in the scriptures!!!

Pharaoh gives Yosef a new name (verse 45) (Zahf-naht Pah-nay-ahk) Tzafnat~Pa’neach which means he who explains what is hidden. It seems this was Divine Providence because in the future it would conceal Yosef’s identity from his family. In addition, Pharaoh gave him a wife, (Ohs-naht/Ah-seh-nahth) Osnat/Asenath, who, some say, was the daughter of Potiphar. The Artscroll Chumash commentary says she is the daughter of Poti-phera, Chief Priest of On and they, Potiphar and Poti-phera, are one and the same. Isn’t this an interesting turn of events, the slave of a Chamberlain has now become his son-in-law! Further commentary says allowing his daughter to marry Yosef vindicated Yosef in the eyes of the Egyptians from the charge of assaulting Potiphar’s wife.

Following are some interesting facts concerning Asenath. From history, the sages teach early in life, Potiphar became ill with a disease which rendered him impotent. Consequently, he and his wife could have no children so he was named Poti-phera, which literally means the mutilated one unable to bear children. So this would make Asenath an adopted daughter. Adopted from whom? More importantly, adopted from where?

According to one commentary, historical documentation says Asenath was the daughter of Dinah. Remember Dinah? She was Ya’akov’s/Jacob’s only daughter who was raped in Shechem. Ultimately, she returned to her father’s house and gave birth to a baby girl. As I understand it, the brothers were not able to tolerate the presence of this child because it represented the shame brought upon their sister. So, while the child was still young, she was sent to Egypt. It is told, before she left, Jacob gave her a necklace he had fashioned which contained the words “Asenath, daughter of violent tragedy”. Long story short, she was adopted by Potiphar and his wife, who raised her in their home as their daughter. Do you have the picture of Asenath’s lineage? Jacob was married to Leah, who gave birth to Dinah, who was raped in Shechem, which culminated in the birth of Asenath, which would make her Jacob’s granddaughter. Hmmmm, a little Jewish girl raised in the home of a pagan priest! So would this make Yosef/Yosef her uncle as well as her husband? And how awesome of Pharaoh to give her to Yosef!!!

It is important we take note of Yosef’s age, at this point. Verse 46 says he was 30 when he stood before Pharaoh. According to “my little book of numbers” by Rose Crownover, 30 is the number of “consecration” as well as “maturity for ministry”. Fast forward to Luke 3:23, “Jesus himself, when he began to teach, was about thirty years old . . .” Just think, if it were not for Yosef’s God-given wisdom and grace, one his age could not have risen to the highest position, especially in a foreign land. Another thing to bear in mind is the fact Yosef has been separated from his family for 13 years. One of the meanings assigned to the number 13 is “double portion”.

Man, I’m having a hard time getting out of chapter 41. Abba, help me, please!!!

Anyway, verses 50-52 tell about two sons being born “to Yosef”. There seems to be an emphasis here on TO HIM. One of the leading rabbis, Rabbi Hirsch, indicates: “The sons were dedicated to the ideals of Yosef, not to those of the idolaters among whom she had been raised. As the daughter of aristocracy married to a foreign slave and former convict who owed his position to Pharaoh’s whim, she might well have dominated the home atmosphere, in which case the children would have been “hers”. Yosef named his firstborn, M’nasheh/Manasseh (causing to forget) “because God has caused me to forget all the troubles I suffered at the hands of my family.” His second son was named Efrayim/Ephraim which means “fruit” because “God has made me fruitful in the land of my misfortune.”

Whenever Yehovah takes us through the land of affliction, He will do two things through the affliction:

1. He will bring such healing we will be able to forget the pain and
2. He will make us fruitful from the painful experiences.

The Almighty does not waste our afflictions if we allow Him the freedom to complete His work in us. His desire is to create virtue which remains during the times of testing so He can bring us into the place of fruitfulness in the very area of our testing. He has never promised to keep us from entering the valleys of testing but He has promised to make us fruitful in them. He is the Almighty who turns the Valley of Achor (trouble) into a door of hope (see Hoshea/Hosea 2:15).

Asenath adopted Yosef’s spiritual and moral outlook. To be the only Hebrew (supposedly) in Egypt, and to be married to the daughter of an idolatrous priest, yet to raise children who remain the model for whom Hebrew parents bless their sons, is no small privilege. By the way, the blessing, “May Yehovah make you like Ephraim and Manasseh” is found in B’resheet/Genesis 48:20). But stop and think about this!!! Before Asenath was sent to Egypt, she would have been raised worshiping the one true God of Avraham/Abraham, Yitz’chak/Isaac and Ya’akov/Jacob. In my opinion, she would, naturally, have been attracted to Yosef and when she learned Yosef was a Hebrew, she repented for the way she had been raised with idols and false gods and chose to raise her sons in the spirit of her husband. This is another one of those “but God” things!!!!

CHAPTER 42

FINALLY! B’resheet/Genesis 42. In verses 2 and 3 Ya’akov tells “the boys” to “go down” to (Meets-rah-yeem) Mitzraim/Egypt and buy food. That is, all “the boys” except Benyamin! According to Rabbi Ya’akov Youlus, of blessed memory, the Biblical Hebrew word for going down is reh-doo. As most of us know, each Hebrew letter has a numerical value and the numerical value of reh-doo (ר resh = 200, ד dalet = 4, ו vav = 6) is equivalent to 210. Rabbi Youlus indicates this was prophecy saying to the brothers, they were going down to stay in Egypt for 210 years.

So, Ya’akov sends his sons to Egypt; the brothers prostrate themselves before Yosef; (verse 7) “and he recognized them . . .” Initially, I wondered, if Yosef recognized his brothers, why didn’t they recognize him? Analytical thought processing finally kicked in and I came up with this solution. Yosef was sold at the age of 17, when he was a mere lad. Now he is a man of probably 38/39 years of age, dresses as an Egyptian and more than likely has a shaven head as was the custom in those days in that society.

Then the “cat and mouse” game begins. Yosef accuses them of being spies, which they vehemently deny. For a total of four times he accuses them of being spies. The second time he accuses them of being spies, they let him know they are 12 brothers of one man in Kena’an. How did you like the way the brothers walked around the issue of the 12th son. There are 10 of them; the youngest stayed home with his father and “another one is gone”. It’s a good thing for them Yosef didn’t press them as to his whereabouts! Nonetheless, Yosef stands his ground but offers them a way out. First of all, Yosef says he’ll keep all but one, whom he will send back to fetch Benyamin. “Then he put all of them together in prison for three days” (verse 17). So on the third day, Yosef kinda does an about face . . . this time he says “let one of your brothers remain incarcerated in the prison you’re being kept in, while you go and carry grain back to relieve the famine in your homes. But bring your youngest brother to me. In this way your statements will be verified and you won’t die.” (Verses 19-20) Could the three days be the same three days the Northern Kingdom will be in captivity (divorced – out of The Land) according to Hoshea/Hosea 6:2? I’m not exactly sure what it is, but there is something about the brothers being incarcerated for THREE days. If you have a handle on this, let me know!

And, by the way . . . Simeon was the brother kept for security.

Bear in mind, during this time there has been an interpreter involved in this communication. “The boys” have no idea Tzafnat~Pa’neach can understand their conversations perfectly. During this time the brothers regret their treatment of their younger brother 22 years earlier. Verses 25-28 Yosef sends them back – with their money and in verses 29-38 “the boys” have a conversation with Ya’akov concerning their ordeal. Reuben even offers his own two sons to Jacob if he fails to return without Benyamin. At this point, Ya’akov says (Batyah’s translation) “IT AIN’T GONNA HAPPEN!!!!”

If we examine our own hearts, we will find there are many things we are unwilling to let go. We all have certain things which are non-negotiable to us. They may be material things, like jobs or possessions, or they may be relationships or they may be loved ones. The walk of faith demands we entrust even these non-negotiable things to Yehovah and learn to rely on Him alone. Sometimes The Almighty will ask such things of us simply to teach us to trust Him better. Ultimately, all things are in His hands. When we relinquish our non-negotiables to Him, we experience the freedom, confidence and joy which come from really trusting in Him.

It’s not easy to just quit worrying. Ya’akov was terribly worried about allowing Benyamin to go to Egypt but in order to save the family from starvation, as well as liberate Sh’mon/Simeon, he had no other choice. According the Rashi, after Ya’akov had done all he could by providing his sons with gifts to bring to Egypt, he said, “Now you lack nothing but prayer. I will pray for you.” In the text of the Torah, he prays, “May God Almighty grant you compassion in the sight of the man, so he will release to you your other brother and Benyamin” (verse 14). When we have done all we can do, we should do like Ya’akov and convert our worries into prayers.

CHAPTER 43

Finally, the famine is so severe (verses 1-15) Ya’akov allows Benyamin to go to Egypt with his brothers. Did you notice in verse 12 Ya’akov advises them to take double the amount of money which had been put into their sacks? Not only that, they were to take some of the best of their lands produce . . .

• Healing resin
• A little honey
• Aromatic gum
• Opium
• Pistachio nuts
• Almonds

This would be a good place to point out, when someone makes a mistake in giving us change or merchandise different than what we purchased, we should always correct the situation as quickly as possible. This action should take place regardless of whose favor the mistake is in!!!

In verse 14 Ya’akov prays mercy over them from El Shaddai. This name depicts God, literally as one Who is sufficient in granting His mercies and Who has sufficient power to provide whatever is necessary. A week or two ago, I mentioned this but it bears repeating. The Hebrew root word shad, (pronounced shod) means breast, as a mother’s breast for feeding. A mother sufficiently supplies all her baby needs nutritionally, from her breast (shad). In verses 16-34 Yosef sees Benyamin and tests his brother’s sincerity. Verse 26 reveals the fulfillment of Yosef’s first dream about all his brothers bowing down to him. We should learn a lesson here. We should not despair when things don’t fall within our timeframe. God will do what He says He will do but He will do it in His perfect timing. We must learn (beet-a-cone) bitachon, which means trust in God. In verse 29 Yosef says “is this your ‘youngest’ brother?” We need to look at this in proper perspective. At this point, Benyamin was probably 31 years old, being neither too little nor too fragile to make the journey as Yosef had been led to believe by the brothers on their first trip.

I am still unable to read verse 30 without getting “teary-eyed”. I know the feeling of not being able to contain my feelings, especially over a very sensitive, emotional matter.

In verses 32 & 33, did you notice everyone seems to be eating separately? The custom of the land was for the Egyptians not to eat with Hebrews because it was loathsome to the Egyptians, so the brothers were served separately from Yosef. Also, at this point, Yosef is Viceroy so he wouldn’t eat with “commoners”. In addition, he doesn’t eat with the other Egyptians either because of their custom. The brothers are astonished to find themselves seated according to their seniority. One of the reasons this was so amazing is, the first six brothers were approxi-mately only a year apart and physical appearance would not necessarily reveal their ages. Each was given their individual servings but Benyamin received five times as much as they. Again, we notice the number five representing grace.

CHAPTER 44

On with the saga . . . In this chapter, Benyamin is accused of thievery. We know the wine goblet was “planted” in Benyamin’s sack, as a means of keeping Benyamin so Yosef can bring his family to Egypt, according to Yehovah’s plan. I found verse 15 to be interesting. Yosef says a man like him practices “divination”. Wait just a minute!!! Isn’t “divination” a form of witchcraft? Would a Godly man like Yosef really do that??? Actually, it was a ruse! Were Yosef an Egyptian, he probably would have practiced divination and for all intents and purposes, at this point, the brothers thought he was an Egyptian. So all the more reason for this scenario to be played out and Yosef demands Benyamin become his slave.

Yosef retains Benyamin and to the other brothers he says “go in peace to your father”. Something tells me those “boys” didn’t have much peace on their journey back to Ya’akov and not much peace after they arrived. So . . . until next week, like any good serial drama, this week’s Parashah ends on a cliffhanger note. To be continued . . . . . . . .

Miketz ~ ץקמ ~At The End
Haftarah: M’lakhim Alef/1st Kings 3:15~4:1
Z’kharyah/Zechariah 2:14~4:7

I don’t suppose there is anyone who has attended church or synagogue at one time or another who hasn’t heard this story about King Solomon and his decision concerning the child which each of two women claimed was hers. And most of us know when Sh’lomo/Solomon was appointed king, he asked Yehovah to give him “wisdom”. Actually, in Ivrit/Hebrew, he requested (lehv show-may-ah) lev shomea (שמע לב), literally a heart that listens. This is a rather remarkable request to be made by a 12 year old. Yep, that’s what several commentaries indicate, though I have a hard time believing it! I believe he was a young man, perhaps late twenties or early thirties. Nonetheless, what Sh’lomo requested is right in line with what we learn in the B’rit Hadashah/Renewed Covenant from Ya’akov/James (1:6-8), “but if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God . . . but let him ask in faith without any doubting.”

Before we leave Sh’lomo, I have a couple of interesting tidbits I would like to share with you. After David had sinned with Bathsheba and their child died, a second child, Sh’lomo/Solomon was born. Another name David gave him was (Yeh-dee-dee-ah) Yedidiah/Jedidiah, which means beloved of the Lord, since David had been reassured Yehovah had forgiven him and still loved him. By the way, Sh’lomo comes from the Hebrew word shalom which means peace.

Another thing I learned during my studies . . . The Book of Proverbs contains many proverbs of Solomon, including one section entitled “The Proverbs of Solomon: (Solomon 10:1 – 22:16). In this section there are exactly 375 proverbs and strangely enough but not coincidentally, 375 is the numerical value of Sh’lomo’s name.

Remember at the very beginning I spoke of a “Kiss from Abba”? Well, here ya go . . . Ya see, I had read the regular Haftarah reading from M’lakim Alef/1st Kings 3:15~4:1. But when I began to study in my Chumash, it said when Hanukkah falls during Miketz (and it usually does) we should read Zechariah 2:14~4:7, so I did. And guess what . . . we learn how (Zk-har-yah) Z’kharyah/Zechariah was shown a vision of the Menorah, made entirely of gold, complete with the reservoir and tubes to bring it oil. There are also two olive trees to make the oil. It is a complete self-supporting system. Could the two olive trees represent the House of Israel and the House of Judah? I believe they could! Gosh, there is SO much prophecy hidden in plain sight in the Prophets!!!!!

It seems apparent Yehovah provides a system, which supports us continuously, but it is up to us to open our eyes to see where the support is coming from. Many don’t see our support system as a miracle. They see our day to day support system as nature but I’m here to tell ya, Mother Nature has a “Father” and His name is (El-o-heem) Elohim, Creator God. This is another reason we light the eight candles during Hanukkah: to celebrate “His miracles, His wonders and His salvations”.

Miketz ~ At The End
B’rit Hadashah: Acts 7:9-11 & 12-16; Yochanan/John 10:22-39

Acts 7:9-11 & 12-16     I really have nothing new to add to the Acts account. It is quite straight forward and gives us an overview of Yosef and his family from the time of his “pit” experience to the taking of his bones back to (Eh-rehtz Yish-rah-ehl) Eretz Yishra’el/Land of Israel. However, there is one note about this passage. Steven is talking and verses 13 & 14 say false witnesses testify Steven and the others were NOT teaching Torah. This is a death sentence according to D’varim/Deuteronomy 13. This scripture tells us they WERE teaching Torah. So much for the modern teaching Torah was done away with after Yeshua’s death on the cross.

Yochanan/John 10:22-39      However, with regard to the reading which falls this time of the year because of Hanukkah, we do find some interesting information we haven’t been taught during our “church” years. Most translations say in John 10:22 “And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. 23 And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon’s porch.” The Hebrew word for Feast of Dedication is Hanukkah. Hanukkah has nothing to do with Christmas and everything to do with celebrating the rededication of the Temple in Yerushalayim/Jerusalem. This celebration has taken place since 164 BCE. This is the earliest mention of the holiday in all literature and the only mention of it in the Bible, since the Tanakh was completed before that date.

So, for those of us who are familiar with WWJD (What Would Jesus Do) bracelets and necklaces . . . guess what?!?!?! We should be celebrating Hanukkah!!! That’s what Jesus/Yeshua did!!!! Come on . . . ya might as well enjoy it now . . . . especially if you are planning on being with Him in Eternity. I can guarantee ya if He celebrated it when He was here before, He’s gonna celebrate it in the hereafter!!!

One final note: In the book of Daniel, Chapter 8, Daniel does prophesy about the destruction and the restoration of the sanctuary which is the celebrated event of Hanukkah. It seems to me there are both near (those which happened during Biblical times) and far (those which are yet to happen) fulfillments of prophecy in the Book of Daniel!!! Keep watching!!!!

The corresponding Psalm for this Torah portion is: Psalm 40

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

As most of you know, I love Jewish traditional symbolism and gemmatria. I believe The Almighty didn’t leave anything to chance and there is a reason and a purpose behind each and every letter and number of the Hebrew Alefbet. This may seem a little off course but stay with me. I hope when I am through you will be blessed by my findings.

One of the items associated with Hanukkah is the Dreidel, which is a four-sided top. There is a Hebrew letter on each side: (Noon) Nun (נ), (Gim-mehl) Gimmel (ג), Hey (ה), (Sheen) Shin (ש) and they are an acronym for Nes Gadol Hey Sham, which means, A great miracle happen-ed there. Those same four letters, rearranged, spell the word Goshen which is where Y’hudah / Judah built the Yeshiva in Egypt. As with B’nei Yisrael/Children of Israel reversal of our circumstances is achieved through the light of Torah

Another twist to this idea of dreidel letters has to do with the dreidels in Israel today. They have one letter different. Instead of the (Sheen) Shin, they have a (Pay) Pey so the words would be Nes Gadol Hey Po which changes the meaning to A great miracle happened here. Instead of the four letters forming the word Goshen, an Israeli dreidel spells Gafen meaning wine.

Each Hebrew letter has a numerical value assigned to it and the numerical value of these four letters equals 358 (Nun=50, Gimmel=3, Hey=5, Shin=300). So what’s the importance of 358? (Hint: The Jews are awaiting His coming; we’re awaiting His return)

Mashiach/Messiah is spelled with the Hebrew letters Mem (40), Shin (300), Yud (10), and Chet (8) which equal 358. So what’s the connection between Hanukkah and Mashiach? It is said after Mashiach comes, the other holidays will not be celebrated any more but Hanukkah will still be celebrated as the Light of the World will be kindled from Yerushalayim. The Light of the World like the shamash, the servant candle, which lights all the others. Let me be quick to say I believe all of Yehovah’s moedim (God’s appointed times) will be celebrated as long as there is a heaven and an earth according to Mattityahu/Matthew 5:18.

Another little tidbit: Parashah Miketz is usually read at Hanukkah time and consists of 2,025 (Hebrew) words. The Sages find an interesting connection between this number and Hanukkah.

• The numerical value of Ner which is Hebrew for candle equals 250
(Nun=50 & Resh=200).
• There are 8 Hanukkah candles X 250 = 2,000.
• Hanukkah begins on the 25th of Kislev (the Hebrew month) therefore the 2,025 words of the Parashah allude to the eight candles (2000) plus the 25th of Kislev.

One more, actually, make that two more acronyms. During the Hanukkah season, we learn about a small number of renegade Jews who were sick and tired of their Temple being desecrated so they rose up against the mighty Syro-Grecian Army and they won! This group was known as the Maccabees.

Maccabee is an acronym for the following words of the Torah: Mi Kamocha Ba’elim Yehovah ~ “Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?” (Sh’mot/Exodus 15:11) These were the words on their banner proclaiming their faith in Yehovah. Maccabee is another acronym for Mattithias Kohen Ben Yochanan, which means Mattithias, the Priest, son of Yochanan/John. He was the head of the priestly Chashmonai family, leader of the Maccabees, who led the revolt.

Remember earlier, I mentioned the Israeli dreidels are different and the Hebrew letters spell Gafen a word meaning wine? We are told when Ya’akov/Jacob blessed his sons before he died, the blessing he gave to Judah was a blessing of Gafen or wine. It helps to remember Yeshua Ha Mashiach is a descendant from Judah. And the Talmud says a dream of wine foretells the coming of the Messiah!

Do you see how we can find Yeshua all the way through both the Original Covenant as well as the Renewed Covenant? Bottom line . . . it’s all about Yeshua!!! Ha Or HaOlam/The Light of the World

Next week’s lesson: Parashah # 11
Vayigash ~ He approached
Torah: B’resheet/Genesis 44:18-47:27
Haftarah: Yechezk’el/Ezekiel 37:15-28
B’rit Hadashah: Acts 7:9-13-15-16

Who fills his mind with Torah clears it of fear and folly.
Rabbi Chanina Sgan HaKohanim

Organize yourselves into classes for the study of Torah,
since it can best be acquired in association with others.
Talmud: Berkot 63b