Mikeitz

Parashas Mikeitz

Genesis 41:1 – 44:18

In the name of Yahushua

Our Messiyah, (Jesus Christ)

I pray for the Spirit of Understanding

The Spirit of Knowledge and

The Spirit of Wisdom

As I read through this Parasha

Happy Channukah.

Miketz is the tenth portion of the Torah Cycle, Veyeshev the portion before this one, ends with a tremendous amount of sadness. Jacob seems to have lost his favorite son Joseph, and is in a state of morning. The ten older sons were unable to ease the grief of Jacob. Miketz describe how Joseph was sold into slavery, how he was falsely accused, of sexual advances to his bosses wife, his sentenced to prison.

The story of Miketz begin with when two years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream. This dream should have  happen two years earlier. Joseph had two years added to his prison sentence, the dream was delayed for the length of time.

The lesson to be learn from this Torah portion is that when we try to make our desired events happen as quickly as possible, we should remember that everything has already been prepared for us. Our efforts and desires are important and can have an effect, but when our efforts are on behalf of ourselves our power is drastically altered.

The secret lies in knowing what kind of effort is important and how much of an effort is enough. The truth is if we had our consciousness in the right place, we would be able to have everything we need in just one second. While it is very nice to have money, the effort to raise the spiritual consciousness that we are talking about here brings not just money, but literally complete joy and fulfillment in all things.

The results of our works in this life are not so much about our physical effort as about our spiritual effort. It is important to truly believe that blessings do not come to us a result of our own physical efforts, but rather that they come from the Creator and that our spiritual effort to connect to the Creator draws them to us.

Miketz starts with Pharaoh two dreams: One with the seven lean cows rising from the Nile and devouring seven fat cows, and the other dream where the seven withered ears of grain devour seven fat ears.

Pharaoh so-called wise men are unable to interpret his dreams, but the head wine steward, who had met the Kabbalah master Joseph in prison, he remember his extraordinary Kabalistic gift. Pharaoh orders Joseph taken out of prison and brought to the Palace.

Like the sixth days of creation, which depict the sixth stage to our spiritual development, we see Joseph entering into another stage of his spiritual enhancement. After years of hardship, where the principles of the Heavenly Kingdom had been cemented into his life, His final test was about to begin.

The departure from Egypt is the epic battle of good over evil, Channukah.

The life of a believer is like studying for a major test; now a major corporation will be in town looking for the most qualified person to fill the role as Vice President, only the best will do.

The time had come to free Joseph and begin the chain of events that would bring Jacob and his family to Egypt to fulfill the last part of the prophecy to Abraham that his offspring would be subjugated and persecuted (15:13-16).

The events of this experience begin two years after the release of the Cup-bearers, and a total of twelve years since Joseph was imprisoned. At this point Joseph was almost thirty two years old, Jacob 120, and Isaac 180. Isaac would die soon after.

The Kabbalah teaches that the twelve children of Jacob were not simply people; they were channels of the Light of the CREATOR. Each of them had their own spiritual task and his role as a spiritual channel in their generation, as it is ours.

Joseph’s task was to gather all of the light before it could be revealed to the world. He had the power then, as our Messiyah do now, that would unite the scattered light and prepare it to be manifested. When Joseph was sold into slavery, all his brother did not know why, they think that it was just a coincidence. Not knowing that the stone that the builder refused would become the chief corner stone.

This illustrates an important lesson. When we are not aware of those people in our life that support us spiritually and physically, we will not appreciate their assistance. It is only when those people are either taken away, that we begin to realize how much we need them.

The Kabbalists say that when Joseph was separated from his brothers, Benjamin took his place spiritually. Although Benjamin was not on the same spiritual level as Joseph, he still brought a measure of unity and spiritual elevation to the broken family. Now the rest of the story!

Gen 41:1 And it came to be, at the end of two years’ time, that Pharaoh had a dream, and saw himself standing by the river, - Pharaoh dream of himself standing by the river Nile, reflecting upon it suggests that his thoughts was focused on the river whose annual overflow determined the agricultural fate of Egypt for the next year.

Gen 41:2 and saw seven cows coming up out of the river, fine looking and fat, and they fed amongst the reeds, - The symbolism of Pharaoh’s dreams are figurative since famine and abundance in Egypt depends on the overflow of the Nile, Pharaoh saw the cows coming out of the river. Since oxen or cow are usually harnessed for the purpose of plowing the land, farming the fat cows alluded to prosperity. They came from the river symbolized that the ensuing prosperity would be limited to Egypt. The cows or oxen were beautiful alludes to years of prosperity, in farming the land.

Gen 41:3 then saw seven other cows coming up after them out of the river, ugly and lean of flesh, and stood by the other cows on the bank of the river. - The other cows were symbolic of another season of plowing. The lean cows emerged from the river immediately after the seven fat cows intimating that famine would follow immediately on the heels of prosperity.

Gen 41:4 And the ugly and lean of flesh cows ate up the seven fine looking and fat cows. Then Pharaoh awoke. – The other cows, which represent leanness or lack of prosperity eats, began to consume all that the prosperity cows had accomplished. The land would be worked, but poor crop was harvest. All the joys of the past seven years would be consumed by the lean years.

Gen 41:5 And he slept and dreamed a second time and saw seven heads of grain coming up on one stalk, plump and good, - The passage did not suggest that he dream more, but it suggested that he dreamt another dream. As Joseph said in his interpretation, the repetition of the dream was to show that it would be fulfilled quickly, not that it indicates a new message. Grain is a symbol of harvest, that one stalk had seven ears indicated an abundance of grain.

                         

Gen 41:6 and saw seven lean heads, scorched by the east wind, coming up after them. – Any attempt to harvest would be unsuccessful. All the new crops would be scorched by the east wind.

Gen 41:7 And the seven lean heads swallowed the seven plump and complete heads. Then Pharaoh awoke and saw it was a dream. – Pharaoh realizes that it was significant, complex dream that require interpretation. The singularity of the dream suggests that both were to be understood as one.

Gen 41:8 And it came to be in the morning that his spirit was moved, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Mitsrayim and all its wise men. And Pharaoh related to them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them for Pharaoh. – EL YAHVEH has the power to move the spirit of Pharaoh as He also has the power to place a dream on Pharaoh mind. However, there were none who could interpret the dream, even though there were interpreters’ galore.

Gen 41:9 Then the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh, saying, “I remember my crimes this day. – As EL YAHVEH place the dream on Pharaoh Mind, EL YAHVEH brought back to the Cupbearer the memory of Joseph. He said I remember my crime against Joseph, what I was ask to do I did not do.