Joseph was his father’s favourite son. The first-born of Jacob’s wife Rachel, he had a special place in Jacob’s heart. He made him a special coat, a source of much jealousy and hatred from his brothers.

Thus this week’s Parasha deals with the tragic rivalry between Jacob’s sons. The result was their attempt to kill him and then his sale to a caravan of Ishmaelite traders. He ends up as a slave in Egypt and then his lot seems to worsen. He is accused of indecently assaulting his master’s wife and thrown into a jail to languish.

As the story unfolds over the Torah readings of the next few weeks, we discover that this was only a temporary setback for him. Although he suffered through the pain and indignity of slavery and then imprisonment, these were stepping stones for Joseph to reach great heights. Ultimately he will be recognised for his genius and statesmanship and will end up the ruler of Egypt, second in command to the Pharaoh.

His powers of prophecy combined with his skills will save Egypt and the entire region from a devastating famine. Ironically he will be in a position to save his own brothers from a certain death, by providing them with food during the lean years. He will then assist in their relocation to the land of Goshen, the ‘fat of the land’ of Egypt.

Joseph’s saga bears an uncanny resemblance to the history of the Jewish Nation. G d’s favourite son, Israel, is singled out for “it is us that He loved more than all other nations.” He calls us “My firstborn, Israel.” He assembles us at Mount Sinai and gives us the greatest gift of all, the Torah. He then takes us to the greatest land of all, Eretz Yisrael.

Then the tzorres start. Invasions, occupations, exiles. Anti-semitism, expulsions, forced conversions. Pogroms, Holocausts, mass executions. There is one word that describes all of the above: Galut.

More than once, we think it is the end, each time we prevail. Wounded, diminished and weakened, but never defeated. The Jewish nation survives.

This is the survival we celebrate on Chanukah. Enemies may have tried to crush us and destroy our spirit but light prevailed over darkness. This is why for eight successive nights we light candles, as soon as it is dark outside. In increasing numbers each night we publicize the miracle of the victory of Hashem’s firstborn son. We send out a message to the world: We shall live on and we shall continue to fight darkness with light.

At the end of his jail term, Joseph thought he had a lucky break. Having predicted the Chief Butler’s imminent release from prison, he asked him to use his influence in Pharaoh’s court to get him freed as well. He put all his faith in a fellow human being, hoping that the butler’s sense of gratitude combined with Pharaoh’s sense of justice would now prevail, and that his freedom was only days away.

Because he put his full trust in humans, rather than having faith in Hashem, our rabbis teach us that Joseph had to languish for another two years inside.

We must make every effort not to repeat Joseph’s mistake. Our salvation depends solely on Hashem. How naïve of us to think that the nations of the world are overcome by remorse and by a strong sense of justice and that they are going to lead us to our redemption. How silly of us to think that there is anyone out there who feels indebted to the Jewish people and is going to assure their prosperous future.

Far from us to believe that we can prevail simply because of our astute political and diplomatic skills, our collective experience of many centuries of living under oppression or our yiddisher kop.

Soon the day will come when Galut will be replaced with Geula. The world will be filled with a wonderful light—millions and millions of our little Chanukah flames, combined, over many centuries. Millions of mitzvot, kind deeds performed by Jews who lived through that long and bitter exile, which will permanently illuminate the world.

Suddenly thousands of years of Jewish history will begin to make sense. We will understand what all the suffering was about, what all the pain was about—a mere stepping stone to a brighter and better place. Just like Joseph in Egypt turned to his brothers and said “You may have thought evil, but G-d turned it all for the good” we will turn to Hashem and, in fulfilment of the prophecy of Isaiah, we will say “I praise you Hashem for you were angry with me.”

May the Chanukah candles we light this year be the last ones we ever do in Galut.

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