A vort from the Rebbe on this week's parsha, Parshas Mikeitz, also in connection to Chanukah. In the parsha we learn that Pharaoh had two dreams, and he brought Yosef to interpret his dream. And when Yosef came, he said to יוסף, אני שמעתי עליך לאמר תשמע חלום לפתור אותו. I heard that you are able to understand a dream and to interpret it. And then it says, ויען יוסף את פרעה לאמר, Yosef answered Pharaoh saying bil'adai, it's besides me, it's not me. אלוקים יענה את שלום פרעה, the Eibershter, Hashem is going to answer the peace of Pharaoh, meaning Hashem will give me the koach to interpret the dream. But we see here that when he said Hashem will give me the koach to interpret the dream, he used the שם Elokim. We know that the Eibershter is referred to many names, but the main two names is Havayah and Elokim. Elokim refers to Hashem the way He is in nature, the way He gives the power to the nature of the world. Because the word Elokim is בגימטריא הטבע, the nature. That means it's Hashem who makes the nature happen, but you can't see it. It's not open. When Hashem does a miracle, you could see it, that it's against nature, so it's open, but nature is something that hides the truth of Hashem. That's why the word nature in Hebrew is הטבע, because טבע means sunk in. That when something is sunk in the water, it's there, but you can't see it. So the Eibershter's koach, you can't see. And that's what Elokim refers to. Havayah refers to Hashem the way is beyond nature, because the word Havayah, י-ק-ו-ק, is made up of three words: היה, הוה ויהיה. Past, present, and future, all in one word. That's beyond time, because you can't have past, present, and future all together, so when it's all together, it's beyond nature. That's the name Havayah. So here we see that Yosef used the name Elokim to Pharaoh, he didn't use the name Havayah. And it says in chasidut, and the Rebbe explains this at length, because when it comes to Pharaoh, he doesn't recognize, he has no idea, no recognition in the fact that there is Hashem beyond nature. That's why שם Havayah is not connected to Pharaoh.

We find in Parshas Shemot, when Moshe Rabbeinu came to Pharaoh to tell him to let the Yidden out, and he said Havayah sent me, it says Hashem sent me, but he used the Shem Havayah, so Pharaoh answered, לא ידעתי את הויה, I don't know who Havayah is, because he had no recognition, no understanding in the inyan of Hashem beyond nature. That's why Yosef used the Shem Elokim when he spoke to Pharaoh, and even later he said, הוא הדבר אשר דברתי אל פרעה אשר האלקים עושה הראה את פרעה, what Hashem is doing, by this dream he's showing Pharaoh what he's doing, he used also the name Elokim. Because the name Elokim represents the nature. And that's not shaychus to Pharaoh. Bichlal not shaychus to Mitzrayim. The word Mitzrayim in Hebrew which means Egypt, also means comes from the word מצר, limitations. Hashem in nature is limited to the laws of nature. Nature is limited, so Hashem the way He gives the power and He gives the life to the nature which is limited. Havayah represents Hashem the way He is beyond nature. So that's why Mitzrayim represents מצר, גבול, limitations, that is גבול, and that is something that's not שייך- that's shaychus to Pharaoh. But Yidden are beyond that. Yidden are a shaychus to Havayah, because Yidden are connected to the Aibershter and they could recognize the Aibershter the way He is beyond nature.

And that's why we see the difference between Mitzrayim and Eretz Yisrael. In Chumash it says that in Mitzrayim it doesn't rain, in Egypt doesn't rain, but the maalah of ארץ ישראל that it rains. And again, it says in Chassidus, what's the big ma'alah if it rains? So big deal! In מצרים there's a natural phenomenon that every year the Nilos, the Nile overflows, and that irrigates the fields. And in ארץ ישראל has rains. What's the big ma'alah? Why's the Torah say this is a ma'alah? Because when it rains, you have to you feel that you have to come on to Hashem. Sometimes it doesn't, you have to daven to Hashem, and even when you daven, you pick up your eyes up, that means you're looking towards Hashem. But when there's a natural phenomenon that once a year it overflows, that's natural, so you don't even recognize Hashem. And that's the pshat here that when פרעה, יוסף came to פרעה, he told him that you are שייכות to שם אלוקים, that's why he used the שם אלוקים. But Yidden are a higher madreigah, Yidden are connected to השם למעלה מן הטבע. And that's why here he used the name אלוקים, and פרעה later on said לא ידעתי את הויה, I don't know הויה, because he is not connected to this level of Hashem, he can't recognize a level of Hashem the way is beyond nature.

This is also connected to Chanukah, because Chanukah the main thing was there were miracles beyond nature, whether it's the miracles of the victory of the war, or miracles that the oil that was supposed to last naturally only one day, lasted for eight days. So these are all miracles למעלה מן הטבע. Because by Chanukah, it was nitgaleh, it was revealed by the Yidden this koach that they recognized the Eibershter which is higher than teva, that's why the Chashmonaim and all his followers went on mesirat nefesh, knowing that naturally they cannot win, but they brought out within themselves the koach of beyond nature, connected believing in Hashem beyond nature, and therefore the Eibershter made nissim, which are takeh nissim beyond nature. And every year when it comes Chanukah, we have to think about it that we have a connection to the Eibershter beyond nature, and therefore nature should not be something that will stop us from doing what Hashem wants, because if Hashem wants us to do it, it'll happen even if it's beyond nature. And that's why it says the inyan of Chanukah is connected to the inyan of Mashiach, because when Mashiach will come, nature will not be itself. In the nature you will see Hashem who's beyond nature, and Chanukah already is the beginning of that. That's why it says in חסידישע ספרים that Chanukah, the light of Chanukah is אורו של משיח, it's the light of Mashiach.