The Wisdom of Joseph: Saving Self and Country
Nov 27, 2013 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Miketz
Parashat Miketz opens with Pharaoh plagued by two disturbing dreams pregnant with meaning.
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Fruits of the Land, Song of the Soil
Dec 12, 2012 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Miketz | Hanukkah
The Joseph narrative continues its dramatic twists and turns as Joseph, through his talented dream interpretations, rises to become the second most powerful figure in the land of Egypt.
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What’s in a Name
Dec 11, 2004 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Miketz
Names and titles speak to our very essence. This truism becomes all the more clear as we explore Parashat Miketz.
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Remaining Jewish
Dec 23, 2006 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Miketz
The First Book of Samuel teaches, “just as his name, so too is his essence” (I Samuel 25:25). Such wisdom reflects more than a kernel of truth.
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Why There Is Suffering
Dec 24, 2011 By Charlie Schwartz | Commentary | Text Study | Miketz | Hanukkah
Who among us has not experienced suffering? After all, loss, sadness, and struggle are as much a part of life as joy, happiness, and triumph. This is as apparent in the emotional arc of Joseph and his family in parashat Miketz as it is in life’s experience.
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Miketz—Hanukkah—Thanksgiving
Nov 27, 2013 By Burton L. Visotzky | Commentary | Miketz | Hanukkah
Hanukkah is the original Thanksgiving. While it is true that our ancestors did not eat turkey (a North American bird), they certainly were cooking with oil.
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An Alternative Hero
Dec 19, 2014 By Alisa Braun | Commentary | Miketz
Joseph, not Moses, torn apart
dreams snakes brothers father
sins and returns loves and is silent
wanders between the gleanings of Ephraim and the delight of Manasseh
Joseph knowledge Joseph pain
Joseph summer
The Fortitude of the Jewish Soul
Dec 15, 2001 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Miketz | Hanukkah
This year I will not be celebrating Hanukkah at home. I’m off to Israel on December 6, and will not be back till the seventh day of the festival, just in time to light a full complement of eight candles on the last night in the midst of family. It is hard to capture the beauty of this holiday or any other on your own. Neither synagogue nor prayer begins to exhaust the repertoire of ritual that enlivens the distinctive character of every Jewish holy day. The home is the great aquifer of our Judaism, indispensable but undervalued.
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