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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. Yosef was the cause, – Pharoh’s dream 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. [-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, 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.
We 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.
Its true: dreams follow their interpretation, but only a great scholar understands a dream 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??
Sometimes a person is bogged down by his experiences. He broods on them, not moving past to accomplishment. Forgetting is great blessing to him; it frees, enables and empowers. Cut 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 kept him remembering it. This was the whole idea.
And 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. 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, but 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.
Another thought is that something unappreciated isn’t owned. The people of Canaan took Yaakov for granted. So Canaan didn’t have Yaakov, and his merit couldn’t help them. Egypt appreciated Yaakov; and 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 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 its 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 friends 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 on 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.
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 “The man warned us that we will not see his face without our young brother! If you will send him, we will go, but 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 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 will deliver him back to you etc.”
This had all been covered before: as soon as the brothers arrived home they told Yaakov that the ruler of the land demanded Binyamin and that they would not be let in without him. Is Yaakov going over old ground?
Why ask Yehuda why he disclosed his brother – its over and done with. Is there any point in laying blame?
Rashi in Vayechi on the Pasuk ‘M’teref b’ni alisa’ explains that Yehuda was cleared of Yaakov’s suspicion against him. When Yaakov exclaimed ‘Yosef has been killed, a wild animal mauled him!’ he meant a specific wild animal: 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!!
Now Shimon too has not returned home. Yaakov did not believe a word the brothers had told him. As 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. 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!