by Rabbi Yehuda Schnall
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Pharaoh, we are told at the beginning of Parshat
Miketz, rejects his wise mens' interpretations of
his dreams - seven fat and full cows and ears of
corn followed by seven lean ones. The Torah uses
the expression, "No one could interpret the dream
for Pharoah: V'ein Poter Otam LePharaoh" (Bereishit
41:8).
Rashi, following the Midrash, comments on the force
of the word "LePharaoh" in this clause: It's not
that no interpretations were offered, but not
for Pharaoh. Pharaoh did not accept their interpretation,
which was that he would have seven daughters and
bury (presumably those same) seven daughters.
Yosef is eventually brought from his prison cell
and interprets the dream to Pharaoh's satisfaction.
He tells Pharaoh that there will be seven years
of plenty, followed by seven years of famine, and
suggests a plan for coping with the famine by taking
advantage of the years of plenty.
What did Pharaoh find unsatisfactory in the interpretation
offered by the wise men of Egypt? Why did he reject
their interpretation and accept Yosef's? Several
answers have been given. I want to concentrate on
two that I think are related.
One answer emphasizes the word "Le Pharoah" even
more than Rashi does. "Pharaoh" is presumably a
title, not a proper name like "Seti" or "Raamses
II." The problem with the wise men's interpretation
was that according to it, the dream was addressed
to Pharoah - the individual person (to Seti, or
Raamses, or whatever his name was), not to Pharaoh
as Pharaoh, i.e. not to Pharaoh in his role as ruler
of Egypt, as bearer of the title "Pharaoh." What
the verse is telling us in the clause "V'ein Poter
LePharaoh" is not only that (as Rashi says) their
interpretation was not acceptable to Pharaoh, but
also that according to their interpretation the
dream was not addressed to Pharaoh as Pharaoh. And
the latter can be seen as a reason for the former;
i.e. Pharaoh did not accept their interpretation
because he felt that he was given this dream in
his capacity as ruler of Egypt, not as a private
individual.
A second answer to the question of why Pharaoh rejected
his wise men's interpretation of his dream but accepted
Yosef's is that his wise men's interpretation was
fatalistic, whereas Yosef's was activistic. If the
dream meant that he was fated to have seven daughters
and bury them, then there was nothing he could do
about it beyond merely passively accepting this
decree of fate.
Yosef's interpretation, on the other hand, left
room for significant action. Yes, there will be
a famine after years of plenty; there is nothing
we can do about that. But knowing about it now,
before the years of plenty, gives us the opportunity
to act to minimize the damage that the famine could
cause. The final outcome of the situation revealed
in the dream is as yet unknown, says Yosef, and
remains, to a large extent, up to us. So let's do
something about it!
This activist interpretation was one that Pharaoh
could accept; for why, he felt, would he be shown
something of the future, if not because he could
do something about it? The essential message of
the dream must be that Pharaoh, as the leader of
the most powerful nation in the region, can do something
to avoid disaster in the region.
Pharaoh is not the kind of person we should generally
emulate. But in this part of the story he seems
to be acting as a responsible statesman, thinking
beyond his personal life, and wanting to act for
the benefit of all. We also should aspire to have
dreams that go beyond our interests as private individuals,
addressing instead our respective roles in our families,
our communities, Klal Yisrael, and the world as
a whole - dreams that call upon us to act for the
benefit of all concerned. May we have such dreams,
and may we be instrumental in making them come true.
[prepared
by Eliezer Kwass]
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