Parashat Miketz continues the story of Yosef, who was sold as a slave by his brothers, and brought down to Egypt. He miraculously became the vizier of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh himself. When the surrounding countries faced a harsh famine, many people – including Yosef’s brothers – came to Egypt to buy grain. At one point in the story, Yosef ordered that a special feast be prepared for him and his brothers. He instructed his servants, וטבוח טבח והכן – that they should slaughter an animal to prepare meat for the feast (43:16). Several commentaries pointed out that these words contain an allusion to Hanukah, as the letter ח at the end of the word טבח , together with the letters of the next word, והכן , spell חנוכה . Indeed, Parashat Miketz is read during Hanukah, or, in some years (such as this year), immediately after Hanukah. What connection is there between the story of Yosef and the story of Hanukah? The answer might be found in Rashi’s comments later, in Parashat Shemot (1:5). The Torah there says, ויוסף היה במצרים (“And Yosef was in Egypt”), and Rashi explains this to mean: להודיעך צדקתו של יוסף - הוא יוסף הרועה את צאן אביו, הוא יוסף שהיה במצרים ונעשה מלך ועומד בצדקו . This teaches you Yosef’s piety. He was Yosef who shepherded his father’s sheep, and he was Yosef who was in Egypt and became a king – and retained his piety. One of Yosef’s outstanding qualities is his ability to maintain his values and his faith even while living alone in a foreign culture. All around him, people had different beliefs than him, and led a drastically different lifestyle than him. Nevertheless, he remained steadfastly committed to the beliefs, traditions and values he received in his father’s home. This is, in essence, the story of Hanukah. The Greeks tried to impose their thinking and their beliefs upon the Jews, but the Hashmonaim and their supporters refused. They were insistent on preserving their faith and their way of life no matter what kind of pressure was applied. Yosef’s story is, in a sense, the Hashmonaim ’s story – the story of retaining Torah commitment even in the face of pressure. This explains also another curious connection between Hanukah and the story of Yosef, which is indicated by the Gemara. The Gemara discusses the halachot of Hanukah in a small section consisting of several pages, in the second chapter of Masechet Shabbat. Surprisingly, in the middle of this discussion (22a), the Gemara makes a seemingly unrelated comment about the story of Yosef. It brings the Torah’s description of the pit into which Yosef’s brothers threw him: והבור רק אין בו מים – “and the pit was empty; there was no water in it” (Bereshit 37:24). The Gemara explains that מים אין בו, נחשים וערבים יש בו – the pit had no water, but it had snakes and scorpions. Yosef miraculously survived the pit, despite the fact that it contained deadly creatures. I believe there is a deeper message being taught here, one which is very relevant to the story of Hanukah. Water is often used as a metaphor for Torah. Just as water is essential for sustaining physical life, Torah learning is essential for sustaining spiritual life. The Gemara is telling us that if מים אין בו , if we do not fill our minds with Torah, then נחשים ועקרבים יש בו – our minds will become filled with dangerous ideas. There is no vacuum. A person’s mind will be occupied by something. And if it isn’t filled with Torah, then it will be filled with spiritually harmful material. As we recite in the על הניסים prayer added on Hanukah, the Greeks’ plan was להשכיחם תורתך – to make the Jews forget the Torah. They understood that once the Jews stopped learning Torah, the “pit” will be filled with “snakes and scorpions,” the Jews will fill the void with Greek beliefs and culture. This is why the Gemara teaches us about Yosef and the pit in the context of its discussion of Hanukah – because the symbolism of the pit is extremely relevant to the Hanukah story. Today, society is trying to force its values and ideas into our minds. It wants us to accept beliefs and ideologies that are so foreign to Torah. The way we resist these efforts is to fill our minds with מים , with Torah knowledge. Never before has it been more important to fill our minds with Torah – and, fortunately, never before has it been easier to do so. Technology poses many difficult challenges, but it also has given us so many wonderful opportunities for Torah learning. In our time, there is simply no excuse for not spending time learning Torah. Classes are available in our community, and online, for people on all levels, and on every Torah topic. If we are going to follow the examples of Yosef and the Hashmonaim , and resist the cultural pressures that we face, then we must make an effort to fill our minds with as much Torah as possible. We need to put in the time and work to learn, to hear what the Torah tells us, to imbibe its sanctity, and this will give us the strength we need to protect ourselves against the foreign influences that abound.