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Judah becomes the leader of the brothers due to his taking on personal responsibility for the safety of all of them. That is the true meaning of leadership.

The story of Hanukah is that the anti-Jewish forces did not want to kill the Jews but that they should not live as Jews. By us living as Jews is our ultimate victory and their ultimate defeat.

In this week’s portion we have the beginning of the brother reuniting as a family. The striking this is that the Hashmonaim were always united in their mission to save the Jewish people.

The story of Hanukah is the story of wisdom over knowledge. The Greeks had a lot of knowledge but very little wisdom. The Jews had wisdom based on the Bible.

While we recognize that God controls the world we are commanded not to rely of miracles in our lives. God wants us to act. Once we act God will act, not before.

Hanukah was not a war between the Jews and the Greeks but a war against the immorality of the day.

While Reuben is the first born he is not the leader of the brothers, Judah is. This is to teach us that according to the Torah leadership does not come by our birth but by our actions.

When Joseph is sent to find his brothers he has a seemingly chance encounter with a stranger. The stranger directs him to his brothers. The encounter did not happen by chance. It was directed by God.

Just as Jacob thinks he is able to relax from the troubles of facing Esau, Laban and Schem new troubles begin. This time from within the family.

Jacob’s reaction to Simeon & Levi’s attack on Schem can only be explained in that he was afraid of becoming like Esau. There is some Esau in all of us and we have to fight to keep Esau at bay.