Miketz: 

וַיְהִ֕י מִקֵּ֖ץ שְׁנָתַ֣יִם יָמִ֑ים וּפַרְעֹ֣ה חֹלֵ֔ם

It was at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh had a dream

This word, miketz,  is  frightening to me.  It has these long, complex letters.  It ends in a harsh  tz sound. It means the end. At the end, things will be as they are; there is no appeal. We all all know the name of our end. When Gd brings the great flood, Gd says to Noah: 

קֵ֤ץ כׇּל־בָּשָׂר֙ בָּ֣א לְפָנַ֔י

The end of all flesh is come before Me;

There is no later, no appeal. 

The same word signifies the end of Pharaohs dream: 

וַיִּיקַ֖ץ פַּרְעֹֽה׃

Pharaoh awoke

There is a  psycho-emotional connection between ending and awakening. While the dream goes on, the possibilities are endless. Everything  is possible  - as long as we are alive. [The Vilna Gaon fingering his tzitzith on his deathbed].  Life is but a dream. 

The story of this parsha  is the realization of dreams. It starts with Pharoah awakening from the dream that will bring Joseph out of yet another prison/pit. Joseph had been thrown into the pit by his brothers who feared his dominance. He was sold into the abyss of slavery. Joseph ascended based his talents (Divine gifts) and upon the grace that Gd bestowed upon him. Excess grace resulted in another renunciation: he was imprisoned to protect his temptress/tormentor.   He was victimized by his inferior social status.

Joseph's interpretation of Pharaoh's dreams lifted him to the  position of viceroy of Egypt, second in command. Actually, he was completely in command, as Pharoah says: 

אַתָּה֙ תִּהְיֶ֣ה עַל־בֵּיתִ֔י וְעַל־פִּ֖יךָ יִשַּׁ֣ק כׇּל־עַמִּ֑י רַ֥ק הַכִּסֵּ֖א אֶגְדַּ֥ל מִמֶּֽךָּ׃ 

You shall be in charge of my court, and by your command shall all my people be directed; only with respect to the throne shall I be superior to you.”

but his status was limited. 

Despite his power and wealth, Joseph remained a second class citizen because he was a Hebrew. When Joseph arranges a feast for his brothers, neither Joseph nor his brother can sit with the Egyptians : 

וַיָּשִׂ֥ימוּ ל֛וֹ לְבַדּ֖וֹ וְלָהֶ֣ם לְבַדָּ֑ם וְלַמִּצְרִ֞ים הָאֹכְלִ֤ים אִתּוֹ֙ לְבַדָּ֔ם כִּי֩ לֹ֨א יוּכְל֜וּן הַמִּצְרִ֗ים לֶאֱכֹ֤ל אֶת־הָֽעִבְרִים֙ לֶ֔חֶם כִּי־תוֹעֵבָ֥ה הִ֖וא לְמִצְרָֽיִם׃ 

They served him by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves; for the Egyptians could not dine with the Hebrews, since that would be abhorrent to the Egyptians.

No matter how powerful the Jew becomes, the Jew remains abominable. 

Parshath Miketz is read on Chanukah. The Joseph story contrasts with the Chanukah story.  Joseph, the Hebrew,  ascends to the most powerful position in the world. Although he never becomes Egyptian, he accepts his alienation from his past. When he names his  first born Menashe: 

יִּקְרָ֥א יוֹסֵ֛ף אֶת־שֵׁ֥ם הַבְּכ֖וֹר מְנַשֶּׁ֑ה כִּֽי־נַשַּׁ֤נִי אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶת־כׇּל־עֲמָלִ֔י וְאֵ֖ת כׇּל־בֵּ֥ית אָבִֽי׃

Joseph named the first-born Manasseh, meaning, “God has made me forget completely my hardship and my parental home.”

Perhaps Joseph was forgetting only the hardships. When tumors are excised, healthy tissue always accompanies the disease. It is very likely that Joseph adopted some Egyptian customs to carry out his work. Assimilation was needed for his great success. 

The Joseph story is closely related to the Purim story. Mordechai competes for the position of Grand Vizier (viceroy) of the Persian Empire.  The Jews are dispersed, and to various degrees, assimilated through that Empire. Mordechai's refusal to adopt some of the (newly decreed) Persian practices causes the Grand Vizier to launch a genocidal  campaign against the Jews. This time, the hidden Jewish temptress, the antithesis of the mater's wife in the Joseph story, saves the Jews from destruction, and Mordechai ascend to viceroy. The Jews re-assert their faith

קִיְּמ֣וּ (וקבל) [וְקִבְּל֣וּ] הַיְּהוּדִים֩ ׀ עֲלֵיהֶ֨ם ׀ וְעַל־זַרְעָ֜ם וְעַ֨ל כׇּל־הַנִּלְוִ֤ים עֲלֵיהֶם֙

the Jews undertook and irrevocably obligated themselves and their descendants, and all who might join them,

The Jews were unified. 

The Joseph story has an important thread on the issue of unity. There are hints that the bond among the brothers was fraying. 

וַֽיְהִי֙ בָּעֵ֣ת הַהִ֔וא וַיֵּ֥רֶד יְהוּדָ֖ה מֵאֵ֣ת אֶחָ֑יו וַיֵּ֛ט עַד־אִ֥ישׁ עֲדֻלָּמִ֖י

Now it was at about that time 

 that Yehuda went down, away from his brothers 

 and turned aside to an Adullamite man

Joseph's insistence on  seeing his full brother, Benjamin, as a condition for the freedom and survival of the Israel family,  assured that the sons of Rachel were not alienated ( or worse) as Joseph had been.  The end of the story (the ketz) is the Egyptian slavery -  which unified the Israelites into a single nation.

Chanukah is another reassertion of unity. The issue that underlies Chanukah is assimilation into the post- Alexandrian Hellenism.  The trickle of voluntary assimilation  was  now promoted by laws forcing the violation of Jewish practice and custom.  The Hashmonoim, Kohanim ( temple priests) who had assumed the mantle of secular, military leadership recaptured the Temple: the symbol of Jewish unity; they rededicated ( chanukah-ed) it and thus reunified the Jewish people. The salvation brought by the  assumption of power by this select group is reminiscent of Joseph saving the Israelites; their anti-assimilation is a contrast to Joseph. 

All of these stories reinforce a perspective of the Jew living in a world dominated by other tribes and cultures. None of these ascents - Joseph, Mordechai, the Maccabees,  are complete. They are bubbles in a hostile world. 

Adam Sandler 's  1994  Chanukah song identified  entertainment celebrities who have Jewish roots .. or don't. The song is a celebration of Jewish success in the the  arts. It  identifies successful Jews so that the listener can feel connected to them. These outstanding Hebrews are lightning rods for antisemitism... and the antisemitism reinforces the Jewish identification.

In previous years I have talked about the self fulfilling aspect of Joseph's interpretation ( By predicting a famine in seven years, the land was worked mercilessly - until it was depleted, generating the famine). This year, I wonder whether Pharoah was aware of this potential manipulation of the grain market, and decided to participate in the scheme to consolidate his power and change the nature of the state from a force of intimidation to a (feudal) source of sustenance

 I have previously  mentioned how Joseph is analogous  to Fritz Haber [A Jew that was relieved of his Jewishness by Hitler, personally]  The Haber process combines carbon with nitrogen from the air  (70% Nitrogen). With that synthesis , Haber rescued the world from starvation when naturally occurring organic nitrogen [the essence of fertilizer] had been depleted.  [The Haber  process was also central to the production of explosives for the German Wehrmacht in both world wars, and underpins the production of Zyklon B]

Joseph is the original prominent Jew. He is the model for Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, Karl Marx, Fritz Haber, etc....The pleasure of  the association with these (and many more celebrities) is a unifying force among Jews, regardless of what they consider Judaism to be. It is a thin, sycophantic Judaism, often the last remnant. 

Chanukah is the answer to Miketz. When an era ends, whether in defeat or victory,  the (re)dedication of the Temple, the institution, and most importantly the people, generates the new hope, the new dreams. May the exile come to an end (ketz Bavel) and may the best  dreams be realized.

Happy Chanukah