Chanukah Day #7: Judaism Inward or Outward?

According to the Bala Tanya, the Sfas Emes, rough cook, the dispute between Joseph and his brothers was a very profound and important one, and one that pervades much of Jewish history. What is the role of the Jew? What is the role of Judaism? The brothers of Joseph felt that Judaism will only thrive in isolation and segregation. Our job is to be shepherds, spending time in nature, singing God's praises, and being insulated in a cocoon of spirituality and holiness. Joseph had another vision. For Joseph, the vision of Judaism was ultimately to change the landscape of planet Earth, l'saken olam b'malchut Shaddai, to repair the whole world under the sovereignty of God. Joseph dreams about changing the world. Joseph feels that Judaism's mission is not just parochial, it's universal. The brothers are very suspicious of him. They feel that his desire for universal brotherhood will ultimately cause the assimilation of the Jewish people, the lack of Jewish identity. The Jewish people will never survive. They will be lost in a chaotic, fragmented, and diverse world. During the time of Hanukkah, it's the Hellenists, the Jewish Hellenists, under Greek influence, who maintain that they are upholding the philosophy of Joseph. The Megillah says, "Do you know the numerical value of the word Yosef is 156, the same numerical value as Antiochus, the Syrian Greek emperor, the same numerical value as Melech Yavan, the Greek king?" In fact, Yavan, Greece, is the same letters like noyi, beauty. Joseph is described as yefei to'ar yefei mar'eh, the beautiful one. It was Greek culture that extolled beauty and aesthetics and sports and Olympics and human creativity and human handsomeness and the beauty of the world and beauty of nature. They told the Jews, "Kiss v'lo alechem al keren asho, she'ein lachem chelek b'Elokei Yisrael, write on the horn of the ox that you don't have part in the God of Israel." Why the HORN OF THE OX? Of course, Joseph in the Torah is defined as k'vor shor adar lo, v'karnav as the ox, and the horns of the ox, which are beautiful and appealing. They tell the Jews, "We just want you to follow in the footsteps of Joseph." He was an assimilated Hellenist Jew, the prime minister of Egypt, dressed in Egyptian garb, speaking the Egyptian language, and running the greatest economic system in the world. But they missed the point, because Joseph's universal instinct was not coming from weakness, it was coming from strength. Joseph was so deeply rooted in Judaism, the world did not confuse him. On the contrary, he had the power to transform the whole world. And that's why on Hanukkah, we synthesize both languages. We light the menorah at our homes, at the window or outside. Anchored in our faith, we light up the world. And we use oil. Oil penetrates almost every substance it comes in contact with. But with every liquid, it always floats to the top. It's friends with everyone, but it remains true to itself, anchored and centered in our own deepest core and faith. We can change the world.