The Sidra of Mikketz describes Joseph’s miraculous rise to power. Unfortunately, ancient Egyptian documents, which shed clear light on the whole story of the Israelites’ migration and stay in Egypt, have not yet been discovered. Therefore, there are different opinions regarding the identity of the King of Egypt who appointed Joseph to his high office. Various suggestions have been made which focus on the period between the 18th and 15th centuries BCE. Most scholars conjecture that Joseph came to Egypt during the period of the Hyksos, an Asiatic people, who invaded and ruled Egypt in the years between 1732-1570 BCE. This theory is supported by the fact that the Pharaoh who elevated Joseph had great respect for God, as we can see from his response to Joseph’s interpretation in chapter 41, verse 39. By contrast, the Pharaoh whom Moses confronted two centuries later was extremely arrogant about God. The Hyksos made Egypt a military power by introducing the horse, which the Torah mentions specifically when it forbids the King of Israel to return to Egypt in order to purchase horses for his army. Since the Hyksos themselves were foreigners in Egypt, they were content for non-Egyptians to occupy high offices.

The Sidra of Mikketz is usually read during Chanukah. Some commentators suggest a thematic connection between them. Chanukah celebrates the victory of the few against the many and the weak against the strong; the triumph of Jewish values of morality and modesty over the ubiquitous Hellenistic culture, in which physical prowess dominated and was worshipped. Similarly, the story of Joseph represents the triumph of one single individual over his many brothers, who ganged against him. He was sold as a completely helpless young man of 17. But, by the age of 30, he rose to great heights. His brothers, who had persecuted him, were forced to acknowledge his greatness.

This Sidra begins with an incident that happened two years after the butler was released from prison. Joseph was in his 10th year in prison and was becoming extremely impatient. The Torah tells us that the butler deliberately ignored him and had absolutely no interest in helping him. At this point, Pharaoh had a remarkable dream which alarmed and frightened him. Throughout the description of the dream, which consisted of two separate episodes, the Hebrew word VEHINEH, which means behold, occurs six times – an unusually frequent occurrence. It emphasises, in every scene of this dream, that Pharaoh was experiencing renewed shock and puzzlement.

In his dream Pharaoh saw seven cows, which were symbols of farming and agricultural work in ancient Egypt. They were holy to the gods of the land, whereas the bull was the holy symbol for the Nile and the Sun.

Pharaoh asked his experts to interpret his dreams. His experts were known as CHARTUMIM, magicians from the educated priestly classes who could read and write Egyptian HIEROGLYPHS. They used to write or engrave their pictorial interpretations. Some scholars have suggested that the word CHARTOM is connected with the Hebrew word, CHERET, which means to chisel out.  A more modern interpretation is that it is an Egyptian expression meaning a priest who reads. The Chartumim were in charge of magical activities, which were an inseparable aspect of the Egyptian religion. These activities were not based on logic and Joseph deliberately emphasised, in his response to Pharaoh, God’s supremacy over all these magical practices.

When Joseph concluded the presentation of his interpretation, he was immediately elevated to the position of VIZIER, known as the seal bearer of the King of lower Egypt. This is the reason why Pharaoh transferred to Joseph the royal seal, had him dressed in robes of fine linen and also gave him the gift of the gold chain. He also had him ride in the chariot, to be second in command and, as he was passing, people shouted AVRECH before him. The meaning of the word AVRECH is not known for certain. Some people have suggested that it is connected with the Hebrew word BERECH, which means a knee. Thus, people were calling on the crowds to bow down to him as he was sitting in his royal chariot.  Our rabbis also interpreted this word on the basis of the Hebrew language and said that it means “father in wisdom, but tender in age”. The problem with these interpretations is that the Egyptians spoke Egyptian, rather than Hebrew. Therefore, we have to rely on the Egyptian language to discover its meaning which is: “God speaks: he lives”.

Chapter 42 begins with Jacob’s realisation that there was SHEVER in Egypt. Rashi explains this rare Hebrew word in a Midrashic sense and links it with the word SEVER, hope. According to this interpretation, Jacob had an idea that, maybe, Joseph could still be found alive there. However, the literal meaning of the word SHEVER is plenty of food. It means breaking the hunger. No doubt it is similar to the English word breakfast. Once Jacob realised that it was possible for something to be done, he asked his sons why they were looking at each other as though all was lost and were not making any effort to find food in Egypt. The brothers obeyed their father and went down to Egypt. All 10 brothers went together because they were concerned that every person could only bring back food for his own personal use, or immediate family, and not for anyone else. When they arrived, Joseph recognised them, obviously because he expected them and they were together in a group. He behaved towards them in a most peculiar manner. His feelings were in turmoil. He went through a terrible inner struggle: he did not actually know exactly what to do. On the one hand, he wanted to cause them distress for the terrible evil that they had done to him whilst, on the other hand, he loved his father and Benjamin very much indeed. In the end, his feelings of love for all of them became increasingly dominant and he forgave them. The story of Joseph has become one of the greatest stories about forgiveness in the whole of Literature.