Last week, Stephen Sondheim, a brilliant Broadway writer and composer, passed away. In one of his famous musicals, Into the Woods, there is a line that says “Oh if life were made of moments/Even now and then a bad one/But if life were only moments/Then you’d never know you had one.”
The reason the character sings these words is not
particularly relevant. What is relevant is the underlying thought that life
cannot always be spectacular, because then we would not be able to recognize
the moments that were special. This lesson can be found in this week’s parsha
as well.
Anyone who has studied Parshas Miketz (or watched Joseph and
the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat) knows that Pharaoh’s dream of seven fat cows
being eaten by seven thin cows and his dream of seven skinny ears of grain
eating seven fat ears grain represent seven years of plenty followed by seven
years of devastating famine. But outside of the prophecy that allowed Yosef to
prepare Mitzrayim (Egypt) for the famine and thus prepare a refuge for his
family, there is a subtle lesson about life that we can learn from seven years.
Seven, according to all Jewish thought, represents completion. It is whole matter, as represented by a cube that has six sides and the matter that is within (7). Seven represent everything that is natural in this world. Life has good times and bad times, and this, perhaps, is the “every-man” lesson of Pharaoh’s dreams. To put it in another cheesey old theme song verse: “You take the good/you take the bad/you take them both/and there you have the facts of life.”
When life gets difficult, when life isn’t perfect, that’s
part of God’s plan for the way the world works. We all have the opportunity to
be our own Yosef’s, to think and to plan ahead. Of course, that immediately
makes one ask how anyone can foresee the bad that will come their way. They can’t.
Life has some shocking turn-arounds in fortune. What we can prepare for is how
we handle these turn arounds, how we strengthen our neshamos to remain
connected to positivity and simchas hachaim (joy in life) even during tough
times. Yosef prepared Mitzrayim for the famine by purchasing everything, truly
everything, in the name of the king (pharaoh). Hereto, is a hint of a lesson.
If we remember in the good years, in the happy times, to attribute our brachos
(blessings) to the King, then we can appreciate and remain grateful for those
brachos during the difficult time.
Speaking of seven and nature, it must be noted that Parshas
Mikeitz often overlaps with Chanukah. Chanukah is a reminder that the world
runs on two levels: the natural and the super-natural. Both of these are
Divine. Hashem set the world in motion during the seven days of creation, and
that is nature. Sometimes, however, He intervenes, and that is super-nature.
That is eight.
Chanukah is an amazing holiday for its simplicity. People
have wonderful and beautiful menorahs that they light… and people have
incredibly simple menorahs (hat tip to my friend who made a menorah with a
banana this year!). Whatever type of flame one lights, they usually last only a
short while before naturally fading out. Nevertheless, in that brief, beautiful
time, there is a powerful message, an incredible reminder, that while we live
our natural, every day lives, our good times and not so good times, there is
always room for miracles.
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