The G-d of your father has placed for you
A man relates that HaKadosh Baruch Hu bestowed upon him a mitzvah that not everyone gets to do. He had a sick father, and he had to support him and take care of him for many years. Every day he would come to his father’s house, help him get dressed, and take him to shul. Of course, elderly people do not rush through davening so this took a long time. Every day he would spend a lot of time with his father, this was not easy...
The man relates that in time he felt a special siyata d’shmaya – help from Heaven – in all his matters, and he attributed this in the merit of devoting himself to honor parents. But the best thing that he felt was having the merit to be by his father’s side for many years. He was able to serve him and hear gems and sayings of chachamim that he was certain he would not have heard had he not been with him all those hours, and this was very rewarding.
When Yosef HaTzaddik saw the connection between the holy brothers to their father, and the devotion for him, he told them, 'שלום לכם אל תיראו' – ‘Peace unto you, fear not’ (43:23), and by way of a hint perhaps we can say that he told them, “I know there is ‘peace unto you’. How do I know this? For 'אלוקיכם ואלוקי אביכם' – ‘Your G-d and the G-d of your father’, I see that you cling to devotion to fathers, and your G-d is the G-d of your fathers, and you do not forego your faith, rather, you continue the heritage of your fathers. This in itself is 'נתן לכם מטמון' – ‘has placed a hidden treasure’, for aside from the large reward of going in the ways of the fathers, the very going is a gift from the Creator Who bestows on the person to continue the heritage of his fathers, and this something great that not everyone merits.
Even the miracle of Chanukah was in the merit of some children listening to the voice of their fathers without complaint. Even when he went against the whole world and there is no logical reason for this, they went out together with him and waged a war they had no chance of winning, but they were victorious! Today as well, we should not be confused by what is happening in the world, we must continue to keep the heritage of our fathers in everything and remember that the connection to the heritage of the fathers is a connection to our roots. This is true strength, and aside from other benefits, the very going in the ways of our fathers is a wonderful gift that we received from HaKadosh Baruch Hu, and we should not forego it under any circumstances.
-Tiv HaTorah – Mikeitz, Chanukah sichah
