37:25 “והנה ארחת ישמעאלים באה מגלעד וגמליהם נשאים נכאת וצרי ולט הולכים להוריד מצרימה”
“And behold a caravan of Yishma’eilim were leaving Gilad and their camels were carrying spices, balsam, and lotus to bring down to Mitzrayim.” Why did the Torah tell us what the Yishma’eilim were carrying? Rashi explains – Yishma’eilim usually transport foul smelling cargo. Hashem deliberately caused them to be transporting pleasant smelling cargo so that Yosef should not have to be transported in a foul- smelling caravan. What is Rashi telling us? Yosef was just sold as a slave. He went from being on top of the world, the apple of his father’s eye, to being sold as a slave. Does it really matter if he was going to be in a caravan with foul smelling or pleasant-smelling items?
The Yivanim went into the Bais Hamikdash and made all of the oil tamei. Klal Yisroel only found one flask of oil, which at most should have burned for one night. The Ribbono Shel Olam performed a miracle, and the oil burned for eight nights. Why was the nes of finding the one flask of oil, and its burning for eight days, necessary? The halacha is tumah hutra b’tzibbur. The Yidin could have lit the Menorah with Tamei oil. The whole nes of Chanukah is that the Ribbono Shel Olam showed His love for Klal Yisroel. The Yidin could have lit with tamei oil, but Hashem wanted them to have the hiddur of shemen tahor – pure, holy oil. Hashem made a nes that should have lasted for one day and instead lasted for eight days to show Klal Yisroel that He loves us. Hashem takes care of all our needs in the optimal fashion. (פני יהושע – מסכת שבת כ"א:)
Klal Yisroel are banim, children, to the Ribbono Shel Olam. He is always watching over us, even when we don’t see it. When we are zoche, Hashem shows us signs that He is here and helping us in everything that we do. Times may look bad to us, but we do not see where it is leading us. Yosef Hatzaddik was going through a very difficult period in his life. He was thrown into a pit with nechashim v’akravim, snakes and scorpions, by his own brothers, sold as a slave, and then thrown into jail. Things were not looking very good for Yosef. However, because Yosef was worthy, he was constantly receiving signs from the Ribbono Shel Olam that He is with him. He was in a pit with nechashim v’akravim and came out alive. He was sold as a slave, and was placed on a caravan. That caravan normally would have had foul smelling cargo on it. Hashem showed Yosef a sign that He is with him. He made the caravan have pleasant smelling cargo. The nechama was not that he had pleasant things to smell, but rather that Hashem was with him.
On Chanukah, Hashem showed us that even after we do aveiros, if we do teshuva, Hashem will let us see with our own eyes the nissim that He does for us. Hashem is with us. There is a light ahead, but we need to do our hishtadlus to be zoche to be able to see that light. May we be zoche to see the true light – to see yeshuos for all of Klal Yisroel, and be zoche to see the building of the Bais Hamikdash במהרה בימינו אמן!
- RABBI YAKOV YOSEF SCHECHTER
