When It Feels Like the End — It’s Really the Beginning
The parsha begins with a quiet but fateful phrase:
“And it came to pass at the end of two full years…”
Vayehi miketz shnasayim yamim (Bereishis 41:1)
Two years have passed since Yosef asked the royal wine steward to remember him.
Two years of silence. Of waiting. Of nothing.
Then, suddenly — Pharaoh dreams.
And Yosef’s entire life changes.
But let’s ask:
What does “miketz” — “at the end” — really mean?
Is “The End” Really the End?
The Ibn Ezra offers a surprising twist:
The word “ketz” doesn’t have to mean only the end.
It can also mean… the edge — the beginning of something new.
That’s profound.
Because when we think something is ending —
G-d might be saying:
Now it begins.
Rashi Disagrees — But Not Really
Rashi insists:
Miketz means the end. Period.
But even then — the moment Yosef reaches the deepest point of his despair,
that’s the exact second G-d starts his redemption.
The two ideas are actually not opposites.
They’re one.
The end is the beginning.
Right Before It Breaks, It’s Darkest
The Rebbe explains this is how exile works — and redemption.
At the very end,
right before it all breaks open —
that’s when it’s hardest.
The silence feels permanent.
The darkness is thickest.
Hope seems naive.
But that’s the sign.
When it’s so dark you can’t see anything —
that means the dawn is already on its way.
Ending the Darkness, Starting the Light
In Chassidus, this “ketz” has two meanings:
🔸 “Ketz d’smola” — the end of the left side, of judgment, pain, and spiritual concealment.
🔸 “Ketz ha’yamin” — the beginning of the right side, of kindness, of clarity, of G-d’s presence in full light.
But it doesn’t switch like a lightbulb.
We don’t skip the darkness.
We walk through it.
We refine it.
We uncover the light that was hidden inside it all along.
The Turning Point Is Now
So if you feel stuck…
If you’re in the “last two years” of your own story…
If it seems like the world forgot you…
Hold on.
This might be your “miketz.”
This might be the moment where everything hidden starts to emerge.
Where G-d, who seemed so silent, begins to whisper again.
And that whisper?
It’s the beginning of redemption.
Not just for you — but for all of us.