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Cause Or Effect?
Yosef seemed to gain freedom as a result of Pharoh’s dream. Actually, however ‘It was at the end of two years, and Paroh dreamt’; Yosef’s two years were up, so Pharoh dreamt. The dreams were part of the process to free Yosef. In fact, Yosef was the cause, – Pharoh’s dreams the result.
We imagine that if not for this idea or that deal we could not have succeeded. Truth is success is ordained, the idea and deal are the result, the method devised to help us get there. [-Beis Halevy]
An old Indian tale illustrates the matter: Little Beard, a mean old chief, died. A few days later the sun was totally eclipsed. The Indians were astonished, dismayed and alarmed, for without sun it would quickly turn cold and dark.
After short consultation they agreed that Little Beard, having an old grudge towards them, must have placed himself between them and the sun, so their corn might not grow.
Having found the cause, they removed it with powder and ball. Every gun in town was loaded, and firing commenced without cessation till the sun shone once again, to the great joy of the ingenious and fortunate Indians.
Go ahead and laugh. But the joke is ourselves…
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Who Needs To Interpret Dreams???
Yosef succeeded in interpreting Pharoh’s dreams. No one else could. And so Yosef was crowned viceroy.
The Gemarah tells that dreams follow their interpretation. If so, what’s the big deal about interpreting dreams? What wisdom is there in doing something that can be either way?
Following their interpretation does not equal free for all. Dreams have specific imagery and translation, which only someone very skilled and intuitive could achieve. However the language can be grouped or arranged variously. There are alternative legitimate interpretations, but they must fit the dream.
When Egyptologists came up against hieroglyphics, a chief problem stalled them: no one knew if the language was right to left or left to right! Even if one figures out what each symbol meant – an idea, word, syllable or letter – the writing direction made all the difference. The same sentence read backwards means something totally different.
So dreams have a distinct language. Only Yosef could even read the dreams properly. Making use of the symbols, however, also determine their meaning. If the dream is interpreted in one way it will cause one result, if they are interpreted differently, another.
It’s true: dreams follow their interpretation, but only a great scholar understands a dream to offer any interpretation at all.
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Cutting Loose
Yosef called his son Menashe, meaning Hashem had made him forget his pain and his father’s house. Forgetting his pain is nice, but to commemorate forgetting his father’s house?? Isn’t that a bit extreme?
Sometimes a person is bogged down by his experiences. He broods on them, not moving past them to any accomplishment. Forgetting is great blessing to him; it frees, enables and empowers. Cut yourself loose!
Another thought is that a reminder that he forgot his father’s house (each time he called his son by name he was reminded again!) actually – paradoxically – kept him remembering it! This was the whole idea…
And finally, perhaps Yosef was an outsider, someone who never really fit in. For twenty two long years he suffered lonesomeness, not sharing life with family. He was homesick – sick for the warmth of his father’s house, sick for the love of a family. When his own family finally began, Yosef was finally able to forget his father’s house. What a blessing!! That’s worth thanking Hashem for!
Keep your blessings in mind!
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You Don’t Own What You Don’t Know
Why did Yaakov’s merit stop the hunger in Egypt he visited, yet not in Canaan, where he lived?! (Of course, that would have defeated the whole purpose of the hunger, for it was Divinely designed to bring Yaakov to Egypt: however HOW did it happen?)
Rashi explains that the Nile rising to greet Yaakov stopped the hunger. This worked in Egypt, where the low Nile caused the hunger, but not in Canaan. Technical.
Another thought is that something unappreciated isn’t owned. You don’t have it if you are unaware of it. It will never accrue you any benefit. The people of Canaan took Yaakov for granted, and therefore Canaan didn’t have Yaakov, and his merit couldn’t help them. Egypt appreciated Yaakov; and therefore his merit worked wonders.
To have something you need to appreciate it. Appreciate what you have!
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Let The Other Guy Do It
Yaakov said to his sons: lamah tisra’u? What does this mean?
There was no food, and everyone stood around just looking at each other.
Something needed to be done, no one wanted to do it. Yaakov asked ‘Why look at one another, get moving!’ [-S’forno]
This behavior is pretty common. Sometimes the garbage needs emptying, and the kids look at one another… and nobody does it.
Get moving!!
Another meaning is ‘Why stand out? Why should our neighbors see us not suffering from the hunger?’ [-Chazal]
And why not??
One reason is that if our neighbors see we have food they will invite themselves over and clean us out. Let’s pretend that we are starving too.
Another reason is that suffering people ask why the other guy deserves goodies. Hashem hears that complaint, and takes it to account. He is forced to be fair, which may mean taking the fortune away from the one enjoying it.
As an example: sometimes Mommy will treat one of the kinderlach to something special Just Because. If that child will show off his treat, the other kids will complain that it’s not fair. That child will lose his treat.
The moral: if you wish to retain your good fortune, keep news of it to yourself!!
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How To Catch A Liar
Yosef demanded to see Binyamin. If he indeed suspected the brothers of spying, would bringing their brother help?
When cops suspect someone they start asking questions. ‘Where do you live?’ ‘Tell me your friend’s name and where they live’ ‘What’s your mother’s name?’ and so on. Then follow-up questions. Then side details, always watching for telltale hesitation in answering. Then they verify the details independently.
That’s how they catch people.
If the brothers were making things up, a lie from the beginning to the end, verification of a peripheral element in their story can verify the entire story. They probably took care that their main alibi worked; a peripheral element, however, is the strongest test of truth.
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Figuring Out Tragedy
‘…for we are guilty regarding our brother [Yosef]. We saw his distress, begging us for mercy yet we did not heed him…’
Was this the only sin Yosef’s brothers could think of? Over twenty years had passed – had there been nothing else they could be punished for?
Perhaps the hint to figure out why one is being punished is to look at the punishment itself; it will contain clues. The brothers noticed that the only ones in danger were those ten brothers who had sold Yosef. Yaakov was not there, nor Binyamin.
That hints to why they were punished: it was connected to the sale of Yosef, something that related to this specific group of ten.
The Torah teaches us to use this method. When something less that optimal happens, take a step back and think what this event suggests. What does it hint of? Does it seem to remind you of something?
Hashem gives us pain as learning experiences; He tips us off to what they mean, so that we can learn from them!
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My Son The Killer
‘And it was when they finished the food they had brought from Egypt, Yaakov said to them “Return and bring us a bit of food”’.
Yehuda said to him “This man warned us that we will not see his face without our young brother! If you will send him, we agree to go. If not, we will not leave, for the man will not see us without our brother”
Yaakov asked him “Why did you compromise me, telling him that you have a brother?”
Yehuda answered “The man asked us about our families and parents, did we ever think he would tell us to bring our brother down to him?”
And Yehuda said to his father “Send the boy with me, so that we live, not die, – us, you and the children. I guarantee him; I promise to deliver him back to you etc.”
This had all been explained and covered before already: as soon as the brothers arrived home they told Yaakov that the ruler of the land demanded Binyomin and that they would not be let in without him. Why is Yaakov reviewing old ground?
Why ask Yehuda why he disclosed his brother – that’s over and done with. Is there any point now in laying blame?
Rashi in Vayechi on the Pasuk ‘M’teref b’ni alisa’ explains that Yehuda was finally cleared of Yaakov’s suspicion against him. When Yaakov exclaimed ‘Yosef has been killed, a wild animal mauled him!’ he meant a very specific wild animal: his son Yehuda.
When Yehuda walked into the room, Yaakov would mutter ‘Here comes Yosef’s murderer!’
Little wonder Yaakov never resigned himself to Yosef’s death…!!
At this point in the story, Shimon has also not returned home. Yaakov was wary. Yaakov did not believe a word his sons had told him. So far as he knew, it was all a lie. What really happened, suspected Yaakov, is that these brothers, the killers of Yosef, had done Shimon in too. His body was lying along some dark lonely road.
Now they want Binyamin too. Will he share his brothers’ fate? Yaakov was feeling his way, hesitating. He deliberately ignored that they had told him that the ruler wanted to see Binyamin. He asked why they had supposedly told the ruler about Binyomin at all. He was trying to gauge if they were legit.
Only when Yehuda, – prime suspect, – took personal responsibility, could Yaakov trust that they were for real. A person out to murder would not voluntarily put his own name on the line.
I think this is a change from what I thought about Yaakov’s knowledge of what went on all along. He suffered exquisite agony all those years!
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Honest Talk
Yosef accused his brothers of spying. They said “No, we are simple folk, brothers, who came to buy food”.
Yosef repeated: “Not so, rather you scout for the the weaknesses of our land”
The brothers replied: “We are twelve brothers, sons of one man from Canaan, and one brother is with our father and the other is lost”
To this Yosef responded: “This is what I said – that you are spies!”
How does this compute? Where did Yosef see in their words that they were spies? (See Rashi)
We suggested that an honest man is confident about his truth and answers sparingly, stating his version simply. There is no need for much detail or talk. If the brothers simply came to get food they would have looked Yosef in the eye and said “No, sir. We are honest.” There was no need to talk about their brothers at all. By their babbling too much, Yosef homed in “You guys are not strictly on the level. Were is so simple, why talk so much?”
Yosef was referring to their talk, not what they said.
Remember that next time a cop pulls you over…
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Thinking Like A Paroh
Paroh was impressed that Yosef translated the dreams, and so he crowned him vizer of Egypt. To my mind, that is extremely poor thinking; why would skill in dream-interpretation necessarily translate into wisdom in dealing with other people, economics and leadership?
Some have suggested that Paroh talked to Yosef for several hours before crowning him, and only afterwards, recognizing his overall wisdom, appointed him to the post. Not every detail of their encounter was recorded in the Torah. Or that perhaps Paroh was a indeed a megalomaniac, convinced of his own opinions and given to rash action. He crowned Yosef on whim.
I once heard a talk from someone who was hired to infiltrate far-eastern cults and pull Jewish kids out. He became friends – never positioning himself as a follower, but rather only as an interested outsider – with the cult leader, an intelligent man with a western education. He noticed how people would fall prostrate on their face when this cult leader would enter the room. He asked him “Guru, how do you take people falling on their faces before you – doesn’t it feel odd?” The guru replied “It makes me so very aware of the awesome power and responsibility I have for this entire planet!”
Yikes! The guru was smoking his own dope…
So too, in Ye Olde Egypte the Paroh was worshiped as a demi-God, and he soon came to think of himself accordingly. His decisions, he thought, were divinely inspired, and necessarily correct…