Tonight we lit the first candle of Chanukah.
It feels like the days of yesteryear.
The miracle of Chanukah was twofold.
Yes when the Cohanim, the priests in the Temple wanted to light the Menorah they were only able to find one cruse of pure oil which would only burn for one day. It would take eight days to get more oil.
The oil ended up lasting for a full eight days.
And that is why we celebrate.
But there was another miracle.
It was the battle that was won despite the overwhelming odds against us.
It was the might of the Greek empire, using their tanks (ie elephants) against a small band of brothers.
And yet, despite the ridiculousness of the situation, the Jewish people prevailed.
We need another miracle.
The times seem so dark now, we need the lights of our people to lead the way.
And there are so many lights.
Story upon story of courage on the battlefront and the home front, as we band together like brothers and sisters to engage in the battle for our lives.
How will we do it?
Once again it is uncanny how the Torah Portion is speaking to us.
This week’s Torah Portion is Vayeshev, and it tells the story of Joseph, the beloved son of Jacob, and the travails he encounters.
Rabbanit Yemima Mizrachi, beloved and inspirational Torah teacher from Israel shared the following incredible thoughts and I want to share her insights with you.
Rabbanit Yemima was just in Munich, she addressed a conference of European Rebbetzins who are seeking guidance on how to lead their sisters in these very challenging times.
When the Rabbanit was in the airport to return home, she suddenly heard terrible screaming. She saw the screams were coming from an Israeli young woman whose fiancée had just been killed in the fighting in Gaza.
It was such a deep and bitter cry, a cry of darkness overcoming the light.
It made the Rabbanit think of how our Patriarch Jacob cried when he was told that his son Joseph was dead. Jacob blamed himself, he had sent Joseph to inquire after his brothers and he felt he had failed to protect him.
That is what the parents of our fallen brave soldiers are grappling with right now.
They feel they failed to protect their kids and they are grief stricken.
Joseph is actually not dead, but he has been put in a pit, underground. He has been abducted.
He has no idea what has happened to his Father, is his Father alive?
He doesn’t know if his family knows where he is and where he has been taken.
It’s an eerie foreshadowing of the exact circumstances today.
Hostages abducted, being held underground, we not knowing their fate, they not knowing the fate of their loved ones.
The parallels continue.
The story continues as well.

Joseph is held with other prisoners, the butler and baker of the Pharoah, who were incarcerated over their carelessness in their service to their ruler.
One was ultimately released, the other killed but Joseph is still left in the darkness.
It can’t seem to get worse than this.
And we too feel the hopelessness of our hostages who have not returned to us.
Where is the hope?
Rabbanit Yemima teaches us the secret of our ancestors, the key to Jewish survival.
It is embodied in a word that appears three times in reference to our ancestors.
The word is
He REFUSED.
The word first appears in the context of Jacob who refused to be consoled over the death of Joseph. He refused to be consoled because in his heart of hearts he believed Joseph was still alive.
The next REFUSAL comes when Joseph is being pursued by the wife of his boss for pernicious reasons. She sees him as an object with which to fulfill her desires, but he refuses to fall prey to her, and literally escapes from her clutches.
The word which means to refuse is Vayemaein.
When the word is mentioned with Joseph it has the trop, the cantilation, of a shalshelet. It’s a three dimensional note which goes higher and higher. It is an indication of the three pronged connection that spans the three individuals. A note which goes up, it indicates hope and a future.
The third individual who expresses the characteristic of refusal is our matriarch Rachel, mother of Joseph and wife Jacob. Her refusal appears in relationship to her acceptance of the fate of her children.
They are going to exile, but she refuses to remain passive, to accept consolation, she will continue to ferociously advocate on their behalf so that Gd will ultimately bring them home.
The word of defiance, the refusal to be comforted, is Rachel’s attitude when it comes to her children. She continues to pray for the future of her children and refuses to be consoled.
As Rabbanit Yemima says so beautifully:
“One family. All defiant. We come from that family. We have defiance in our blood.”
The root of Vayemaein has the root word of Amen.
Trust.
They refuse to mourn and say nothing good will happen again.
We have trust that good things will happen. Rachel refuses to be consoled because her children will return.
Jacob refuses to be consoled because Joseph still lives and he will emerge from the depths.
The Rabbanit says that this kind of refusal is not just about saying no.
Rather it’s an act of courage.
We will light a candle.
We will push away the darkness with whatever light we can generate.
Lighting the first candle is the most important one of all.
It may be just a tiny light but it is the first step to making a chink in the dark.
The act of defiant refusal is a Jewish tradition.
We have defiance in our blood.
We don’t allow ourselves to collapse in despair.
The mother of Hersh Goldberg Polin is a modern day warrior, fighting with all her might for the son she refuses to believe is gone.
It does not mean we don’t cry.
We cry very deep and bitter tears over the unimaginable losses, we scream in agony over the tragedy.
But we will continue to fight.
Tomorrow we will continue to ignite the flame.
“We know we are soul strong”
There is a picture that has been posted on social media.
It’s a picture of a gun toting soldier packing up to return to the war.
And on his back is strapped a menorah.
Grandson of Jacob, Rachel and Joseph.
Modern day Macabbee!
Defiantly lighting a candle in the darkest of times.
May the light prevail!
Happy Chanukah!
Shabbat Shalom and so much love!