Miketz

Joseph is obviously talented in many ways.  He is good-looking, as we saw last week here in chapter 39:

ו וַיְהִי יוֹסֵף, יְפֵה-תֹאַר וִיפֵה מַרְאֶה.

6  And Joseph was of beautiful form, and fair to look upon.

He was able to interpret dreams, as we saw last week and also this week in chapter 41:

יב  וְשָׁם אִתָּנוּ נַעַר עִבְרִי, עֶבֶד לְשַׂר הַטַּבָּחִים, וַנְּסַפֶּר-לוֹ, וַיִּפְתָּר-לָנוּ אֶת-חֲלֹמֹתֵינוּ:  אִישׁ כַּחֲלֹמוֹ, פָּתָר.

12 And there was with us there a young man, a Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard; and we told him, and he interpreted our dreams for us; to each man according to his dream he did interpret.

He realized that his power was a gift of God, not of his own making, as we read, also in chapter 41:

טז  וַיַּעַן יוֹסֵף אֶת-פַּרְעֹה לֵאמֹר, בִּלְעָדָי:  אֱלֹהִים, יַעֲנֶה אֶת-שְׁלוֹם פַּרְעֹה.

16 And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying: 'It is not up to me; God will give Pharaoh a complete and satisfying answer'.

 He is trustworthy, as we read:

לט  וַיֹּאמֶר פַּרְעֹה אֶל-יוֹסֵף, אַחֲרֵי הוֹדִיעַ אֱלֹהִים אוֹתְךָ אֶת-כָּל-זֹאת, אֵין-נָבוֹן וְחָכָם, כָּמוֹךָ.

39 And Pharaoh said to Joseph: 'Since God has shown you all this, there is no one as discreet and wise as you.

He is also manipulative, as you can see if you read what happened when his brothers appeared before him to beg for food the first time (chapter 42) and the second time (chapters 43 and 44).
Finally, in chapter 45 Joseph reveals his identity to his brothers, who return to their father with what must have seemed unbelievable news.

• What do you think caused Joseph to behave the way he did?
• What bothers you about Joseph's behavior?
• What about Joseph's behavior seems fair to you?  What seems unfair?
• Who changes the most in the story - Joseph?  his brothers?  his father?  someone else?  Explain your answer

An important aspect of the story of Joseph is related to the theme of Hanukkah.  There are two interesting stories in today's NY Times that relate to the theme of identity, a theme that is central to Hanukkah.

The first is about Poland, and the tension in that country between the forces of religion, specifically the Catholic Church, and the influence of secularism, of life independent of the rule of religion.  You may want to read the article here

Poland, Lacking External Enemies, Turns on Itself

The second article is about yoga and its relationship to the Hindu religion.

Hindu Group Stirs a Debate Over Yoga's Soul

• What is the relationship between these two stories and the upcoming holiday of Hanukkah?

Be sure to look at last year's post on Miketz here for more ideas

VaYeshev

I can remember as a young teacher that the story of Joseph was the most fun to teach - there were so many projects one could choose, there was so much detail in the text that kids could enjoy reading, and the issue of sibling rivalry was always a topic students were able to speak about with authority.
Assuming younger students have spent their time learning the narrative - who said what to whom and where, who dreamt what and what it meant, who sold Joseph to whom and why, and on and on and on, perhaps it is time to think about Big Ideas instead of storytelling.


BIG IDEA:

• Living as a minority within a majority culture is a challenge - especially when the values of the majority are different than those of the minority

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:

• How was living in Egypt different from living with his family in Canaan?
• What were some challenges Joseph faced in this story so far?

LEARNING ACTIVITIES:

• This article by Rabbi Harold Berman suggests a connection between the story of Joseph while he was in the household of Potiphar the Egyptian and the story of Hanukkah.  How does he believe they are similar?
• Amy Virshup in the NY Times writes about online preparation for Bar Mitzvah.  What does it say about the tension between traditional Jewish practice and the modern culture in which we live?
• Bruce Feiler, the author of Walking the Bible and a number of other books based on examining Jewish history and theology, wrote an article entitled Time-Shifting Holidays that examines his efforts to meld tradition with the constraints of the modern world.  What is your reaction to his solution?  To the words of the Rabbi he quotes?

ASSESSMENT:

• Students should be able to express their ideas about what it is like to live as a Jew in a world which often creates conflicts with what they ought to be doing as members of the Jewish people.
• Students should understand that being Jewish involves being part of a community, and is not simply an individual identity.
• Students should be able to articulate ways in which they can choose to be part of the Jewish community in their own lives.

As always, be sure to read the other posts which examine this parasha by clicking on the list to the right or by clicking here

Miketz

First, in case you missed it, the video of Senator Orrin Hatch's Hanukkah song.  You just can't make this stuff up!!

Hanukkah Song

And one of my personal all-time favorites as well:

Tom Lehrer's Hanukkah Song

On to the parasha:

Most all of the commentaries I came across talked about the relationship between parashat Miketz and the holiday of Hanukkah.  Since the parasha is always read on the Shabbat of Hanukkah, it is not surprising that this connection is a focus of attention.

• Rabbi Perry Netter speaks about Joseph's assimilation in this video clip.  It is easy to see the similarity between Joseph's assimilation into Egyptian culture and ours in the majority culture of our country.
• One of the themes of this parasha is Joseph's forgiveness of his brothers for what they have done.  Rabbi Joseph Telushkin offers an interesting discussion of forgiveness in this podcast which highlights Jewish thinking about forgiveness.  It also explains the difference between Jewish thinking on forgiveness and Christian thinking on the subject.  I believe it is important for our students to know that "Judeo-Christian Theology" is not an accurate title.  There are real differences on some issues.  This is one of them.
• Here's a cartoon that may make you smile.  Do you think it is appropriate for students?  Explain your thoughts.
• Please take a look at the G-dcast video which, as usual, presents the issues in this week's parasha in a way that our learners can relate to their own lives.  

I hope you are enjoying Hanukkah, and that these resources give you some new ideas and provoke some new insights.

Here are a few questions you might like to think about:

• At what point do you think Joseph sees the 'big picture?'
• What about his family?
• What is your opinion of the way Joseph acts in this parasha?
• Describe the evidence that Joseph is changing.
• How do you think your students view Joseph?
• Why do you think this story is so long and detailed, in contrast to the other stories in B'reisheet?

Hanukkah - Holiday of Lights and Ambiguity

I miss the Hanukkah I knew when I was young.
I miss the absolute truth I knew about the Maccabees and their fight for religious freedom.
I miss the unalloyed pleasure in lighting the hanukkiyah, singing the brachot and songs, and opening the presents each night.

Why do I miss these long-ago celebrations of Hanukkah?  Because my understanding of this holiday has been impacted by what I have read and learned since those days, and because it is more difficult to unpack complex ideas than to absorb simple ones.

Big Ideas:

• Hanukkah was about the preservation of Jewish practice according to the halacha as interpreted by a particular group of Jews of the time
• Violence can be justified if your enemy threatens your existence
• History is written by the winners
• Historical context and events have a powerful effect on the way we understand the world

Essential Questions:

• Who were the Maccabees?  What was their mission?
• What is a "just war"?
• How are we like both the Maccabees and the Hellenists in our lives today?
• How does the story of Hanukkah impact the various ways we understand our Jewishness today?
• How did such a minor holiday get to be so important to us?

Learning Activities:

• Read the article in My Jewish Learning about The Maccabee Revolt for a summary of the story of Hanukkah
• The Jewish Way of War is a brief summary of some of the rules governing war in Jewish tradition
• The following quotation from President Obama's speech in Oslo is here:

..."The concept of a "just war" emerged, suggesting that war is justified only when it meets certain preconditions: if it is waged as a last resort or in self-defense; if the forced used is proportional; and if, whenever possible, civilians are spared from violence...."  You may want to read Obama's entire speech here 

• Gary Rosenblatt has written a thought-provoking article about today's Maccabees
• Yosef Yerushalmi, a leading Jewish historian who died recently, suggested the following:

" ... Zakhor, still Yerushalmi’s best-known book, contrasts the study of history—in which the historian first marshals the facts, then interprets what they mean—with collective memory, in which the meaning of the story precedes and determines the events related. Yerushalmi argued that before the modern era, memory structured the stories Jews told about themselves. ..."

• David Brooks has written about The Hanukkah Story in today's NY Times

• The Eighth Day is an excellent trigger for a conversation about tradition and change in the context of the era of the Maccabees.  It is available from Ergo Media

• Finally, The Jewish Week has a special section it calls Text Context and the articles are a valuable aid to understanding what it means to be Jewish in America (and Israel) and how Hanukkah became what it is to us today.

Assessment:
Such a lot to read about what I already described as a minor holiday.  I can only suggest you read what you have time to read, and think about the issues the articles raise.  I am confident that you will look at Hanukkah differently, but please continue to enjoy the lights, the brachot, the songs and the presents.