It is two years later. Pharaoh has a dream. He is unsatisfied with all attempts to interpret it. Pharaoh's wine chamberlain remembers that Yosef accurately interpreted his dream while in prison. Yosef is released from prison and brought before Pharaoh. He interprets that soon will begin seven years of abundance, followed by seven years of severe famine. He tells Pharaoh to appoint a wise person to store grain in preparation for the famine. Pharaoh appoints him as viceroy to oversee the project. Pharaoh gives Yosef an Egyptian name, Tsafnat Panayach, and selects Osnat, Yosef's ex-master's daughter, as Yosef's wife. Egypt becomes the granary of the world. Yosef has two sons, Menashe and Ephraim.

Yaakov sends his sons to Egypt to buy food. The brothers come before Yosef and bow to him. Yosef recognizes them but they do not recognize him. Mindful of his dreams, Yosef plays the part of an Egyptian overlord and acts harshly, accusing them of being spies. Yosef sells them food, but keeps Shimon hostage until they bring their brother Binyamin to him as proof of their honesty. Yosef commands his servants to replace the purchase-money in their sacks. On the return journey they discover the money, and their hearts sink. They return to Yaakov and retell everything. Yaakov refuses to let Binyamin go to Egypt, but when the famine grows unbearable he accedes. Yehuda guarantees Binyamin's safety and the brothers go to Egypt. Yosef welcomes the brothers lavishly as honored guests. When he sees Binyamin, he rushes from the room and weeps. Yosef instructs his servants to replace the money in the sacks and to put his goblet inside Binyamin's sack. When the goblet is discovered, Yosef demands Binyamin to be his slave as punishment. Yehuda interposes and offers himself instead, but Yosef refuses.

PARSHA INSIGHTS

It's in the Genes

“…and he (Pharaoh) gave him (Yosef) Osnat, daughter of Potiphera, Chief of On, for a wife.” (41:45)

Osnat was Potiphar’s daughter. The Alschich says that by allowing Yosef to marry his daughter, Potiphar vindicated Yosef in the eyes of the Egyptians from the charge that he had molested Potiphar’s wife. By resisting a supreme challenge, Yosef bequeathed to his offspring a tremendous strength, one which has halachic ramifications to this day.

It’s Chanukah. The whole family gets together for a party. There’s music and words of Torah and food. You wash, you eat, and you say birkat hamazon. But, whoops, you forget to say Al hanisim and don’t know what to do! You quickly leaf through your Siddur and you see that you can insert in a Harachaman: “The Compassionate One! May He perform for us miracles and wonders as He performed for our forefathers in those days, at this time!

The issue is that there’s an explicit Gemara saying that we’re not allowed to pray for miracles.

Rabbi Sholomo Kluger answers that the miracle of Chanukah was different from all the other miracles in the history of the Jewish People. The splitting of the sea, the manna, the ten plagues – all other miracles were preordained from the beginning of the world. They were built into the fabric of Creation.

The miracle of Chanukah was brought about by the Jews’ willingness to give up our lives rather than allow the Greeks to eradicate our holy Torah.

From where did this immeasurable strength come? Rabbi Shlomo Harcavi says it was a spiritual inheritance from Yosef Hatzaddik. Yosef withstood an ultimate test for the sake of Hashem, and thus Yosef instilled into the collective DNA of the Jewish People the strength for us to withstand the overwhelming allure of the physicality of the Greek world to this day. Because the Jewish People were prepared to give up their lives on Chanukah, we have the birthright to ask for miracles in return.