ישועת ה׳ כהרף עין

Parshat מקץ is considered a Chanukah Parsha. The plight of Yosef is meant to demonstrate how quickly one’s fortune can change.

Yosef was in prison for twelve years for a crime he did not commit. His situation seemed pretty hopeless. As fate would have it, the dreams that got him into trouble, and led to his being sold to Egypt, had other dreams get him out of prison.

The lesson of this whole story, which is related to Chanukah, is that we must never despair. As difficult and hopeless a situation might look, we must never forget that all is in Hashem’s hands.

We clearly see how ישועת ה׳ כהרף עין, the salvation of G-d is like the blink of an eye. One minute Yosef is a lowly prisoner, and the next, he is the viceroy of Egypt.

The Jews are living under hopeless Greek oppression, and in a relatively short time, they witness the miraculous overthrow of the Greek army.

We must learn from Yosef and the Maccabees never to lose faith. Things can change very quickly in miraculous ways as long as we put our trust in Hashem. This is the message of Chanukah and of מקץ. These are examples of ישועת ה׳ כהרף עין.