Enough for Us All (Miketz-Hannukah)

Pharaoh has a dream. 7 healthy, robust cows emerge from the Nile which symbolize the 7 years of plenty to come. Like the cows, when there is enough, everyone looks happy and healthy; the natural tendency toward competition, selfishness and jealousy is absent.  Perhaps, for this reason we learn our model of parenting from Hashem, Himself. God is the source of limitless abundance and has enough unconditional love for me and every one of my neighbors.

 

When we parent in a similar way, clearly showing our children that love is an infinite resource and our deep well has enough to nourish all of our children, they will feel less threatened. An atmosphere of inclusion and kindness will permeate our home creating warm and joyous interactions.

 

The way to do this is through chinuch. The word chinuch comes from the same root as Chanukah, the holiday in which our ancestors inaugurated the Holy Temple in the Service of God. To inaugurate something means to prepare and initiate it in the service of some value and goal. When we see our children, not as possessions, but as having been entrusted to us by God to prepare and initiate in their life’s mission (chinuch), we are more likely to love, like God, in an unlimited and unconditional manner.