The Impact: Miketz 5783
Miketz 5783
Join us this year for an exploration of the weekly Torah portion and the story of the Jewish people in connection and conversation with my musical compositions. Through this journey, I hope we find deeper meaning in these melodies, stronger ties to our tradition, and true relevance to the work we are doing in the world today. I’m not exactly sure where this journey will lead, though I hope it will lead to new conversations, new ideas, new relationships, new inspiration, and new music. I’d love to hear your thoughts along the way.
Days and Years.
How do we count our days?
The opening verse of Miketz, Genesis 41:1, reads “ויהי מקץ שנתים ימים” and is usually translated as, “And so it was after two years time.” But that’s not exactly what the words mean. If we were to translate them literally, it might read, “And so at the end of two years of days.” Why does the Torah need to mention both years and days?
Rabbi Meir Yechiel of Mogielnica answers this question by way of a parable. He says, “Once my father’s soul went up to heaven, and he noticed that up there with him was a very young person, but they called that person an elder. Right next to him was a very wizened and old looking person, and they called that person a child. The rabbi’s father asked, ‘this is the heaven of truth, so why are you talking like this?’ And they answered him, “This is the truth: the younger one is actually older in years, for in the years that she lived, she did much, and her days were numbered like years. And this older person, even though she lived eighty years, did not do much in the world, and is therefore considered like a child.’”
These words call on us to challenge our concept of time and think instead about impact. How can we make the days, weeks, and years that we have on this earth meaningful? The word “Miketz” means “end,” and serves as a warning for us. It says to us, “Be careful, my friends, that your years don’t pass by like days! Make something meaningful happen every day.”
I’m reminded of the Yehuda Amichai poem, “What is My Lifespan?”
“The years of my life I have broken into hours,
And the hours into minutes and seconds and fractions of seconds.
These, only these, are the stars above me that cannot be numbered.
What is my lifespan? I’m like a man gone out of Egypt.
The Red Sea parts, I cross on dry land,
Two walls of water on my right hand and on my left.
Pharoah’s army and his horsemen behind me.
Before me, the desert, perhaps the promised land too.
That is my lifespan.”
Every day has the potential to be a year and every year has the potential to be a day. When we fill our lives with love, joy, intention, prayer, and meaning, we expand the impact of those days for us. This Hanukkah, let’s take the time to ask ourselves and those we love this question, so that we can continue to make something meaningful happen each and every day.
Shavua Tov.
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