Celebrating Two Faiths on Chanukah

 Our Parsha begins Vayehi Mikeitz Shenatayim Yamim. Yosef languished in jail for two more years before the Wine Steward, who had been freed, remembered to put in a good word for Yosef and get him out of jail. Rashi notes that Yosef was punished with an additional two years in prison for twice asking the Wine Steward to remember him. This is a difficult lesson to digest. After all, what was Yosef supposed to do? Only depend on God? Why was it problematic for Yosef to enlist the Wine Steward’s assistance?

Rav Chaim of Brisk is quoted as offering an important insight. Yosef asked TWICE for the Wine Steward to remember him, and as a result Yosef was punished with TWO more years in prison. Had Yosef asked ONCE for the wine steward’s help - then Yosef……. would not have been penalized at all, explains Rav Chaim.

Asking once is to be expected, it’s necessary. Yosef is not punished for asking for help. He was punished for putting all his eggs into the basket of faith in man and no eggs in the basket of faith in God.

Rabbi David Berger notes that a major theme of Chanukah is the tension - and harmony - between human effort and Divine assistance. On one hand we celebrate the miracle of the oil. This event was primarily a Divine miracle, but could not have occurred had the Maccabees not taken the initiative to light the small cruse of oil and hope to God for the best.

Chanukah also celebrates the military victory of the Chashmonaim over the Greeks. This ancient Jewish military victory, like modern ones during the 6 Day War in 1967, can be attributed to human bravery, strategy and tactics - as well as to God and His miracles. Most accurate would be to understand both causes for celebration on Chanukah as originating from this amalgam of human efforts and Hashem’sassistance - seemingly in conflict with one another but in reality working in harmony.

In the weekday Amidah we declare in the bracha of Al Hatzadikkim that “V’lo neivosh ki vecha batachnu. We will never be ashamed of depending on you God and including prayer in our response to the challenges of life.” Let us learn from both the story of Yosef and the story of Chanukah how important it is to foster both faith in ourselves and faith in Hashem.