Parshas Miketz tells of Pharaoh’s unusual dreams and his quest to find a satisfying interpretation. The wine steward recalls the successful interpretation that the young Hebrew slave had suggested to his own dream while i n prison, and in response, Pharaoh calls for Yosef to come interpret his dream. Yosef appears before him and the king says to him, “I have dreamed a dream, but there is nobody who can interpret it, and I have heard about you that you can hear a dream and interpret it.” In reply, Yosef says, “It is not me; G-d shall answer to Pharaoh’s satisfaction.” The Medrash Tanchuma views Yosef’s response as reflecting his extraordinary humility: “He attributed the greatness to its Master. The Almighty said: You did not want to boast about yourself; I swear that for this you will rise to greatness and kingship!”

     Yosef here attributed his talents to Hashem, to the “Master.” He resists the instinctive tendency to take full credit for his achievement, announcing to Pharaoh, “It is not me.” And for this self-effacing humility he is rewarded with power and kingship.

     R’ Avraham Pam zt"l draws a parallel between Yosef’s remark to Pharaoh and the response of the Chashmonaim to the events of Chanukah. Although they had achieved a remarkable and unlikely victory, they made a point of downplaying their role and underscoring Hashem’s intervention. This likely explains what otherwise would appear as the disproportionate emphasis placed on the miracle of the oil, which might seem, at first glance, to have been far less consequential and noteworthy than the stunning victory of the Chashmonaim. In fact, the Talmud seems to focus almost entirely on the miracle of the candles, leaving precious few words that make mention of the mighty victory that the Jewish people accomplished over the Greek invaders. R’ Pam explains that in their effort to shift the credit from themselves to the Almighty, the Rabbanim and religious leaders of the time drew the people’s attention toward the miracle of the oil, which clearly signified the hand of G-d and demonstrated that it was He who had enabled the Chasmonaim to prevail. They, like Yosef, refused to pride themselves for their accomplishments, and instead recognized Hashem’s intervention through which their success was achieved.