BS”D
DREAMER
DETERMINATION: PARSHAT VAYESHEV
Shira Smiles shiur
2019/5780
Adapted by Channie
Koplowitz Stein
Do
you have a dream? Everyone has dreams, whether they are part of your nightly
sleep, daydreaming, or your metaphorical hopes and aspirations for the future.
And do you keep those dreams to yourself, or do you share your dreams with
family, friends, or your therapist? In Parshat Veyeshev we are
introduced to the ultimate dreamer, Yosef Hatzadik Hatzadik.
Yosef
Hatzadik Hatzadik has two dreams we know of. He relates the first dream to his
brothers: “Behold!, We were binding sheaves in the middle of the field
when, behold! - my sheaf arose and remained standing; then behold! your
sheaves gathered around and bowed down to my sheaf.” The brothers reacted
predictably. They replied, “Would you then reign over us, would you dominate
us?” and they hated him even more.
Then
Yosef Hatzadik has a second dream which he relates both to his brothers and to
his father: “The sun, the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” His
brothers were jealous of him, and, while his father seemed to protest, “I and
your mother and your brothers will bow down to you to the ground?” his
father kept the matter in mind.
Rabbi
Epstein z”lin Sefer He’orot is puzzled by Yosef Hatzadik’s actions. What
was Yosef Hatzadik thinking about the dreams, and why did Hashem give him these
dreams to begin with? Further, if his brothers already hated him and couldn’t
speak peaceably to him because their father acted preferentially toward him by
giving him a special coat, why would Yosef Hatzadik relate these dreams to
them? Did he mean to fan the flames of hatred? And there is yet another seeming
anomaly here, notes Rabbi Chanan in Torat Chesed. Usually, jealousy and
envy precede hatred. Here, the brothers hated Yosef Hatzadik after the first
dream while envy followed the second dream. How can we reconcile these
problems?
Let
us begin our discussion by noting that there are different kinds of dreams.
Rabbi Munk z”l gives us three different categories. The first category of
dreams is those brought on by unhealthy and impure “demons” of thought. The second
group are dreams which arise naturally from our psychological or physical
situation. Both of these dreams contain an element of falseness. However, the
third category of dreams contain elements of prophecy through which Hashem
communicates with man. Yosef Hatzadik may have related many previous dreams to
his brothers, writes the Ktav Sofer, dreams that earned him the nickname
of “Dreamer.” But here Yosef Hatzadik is insisting they pay attention to these
dreams. These are different. He keeps insisting, “Behold!” He is imploring them
not to think of these dreams as part of his imagination or an ambitious psyche,
but as messages from Hakodosh Boruch Hu.
Dreams
are quixotic, often offering multiple possible interpretations (and sometimes
none at all). But interpreting a dream and putting it into words creates
a reality, continues Rabbi Munk z”l. Therefore, one should relate one’s dreams
to a friend who will put a positive spin on the dreams. Even in one’s own mind,
one should interpret dreams and events positively, adds the Tallelei Chaim.
Both the positive and the negative can become self fulfilling prophecies.
The
Maharal often focuses on the three relationships involved in every interaction:
the relationship with oneself; the relationship between oneself and his fellow
man; the relationship between himself and God. The Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh
explains these dreams as Yosef Hatzadik recognizing all three of these
relationships. First, Yosef Hatzadik recognizing that these dreams are messages
from Hashem, is relating them to his brothers as a message from Hashem, not as
a product of his own ambition. He is telling them his dreams as one tells his
dreams to his friends, hoping they will see that he loves them and that they
will reciprocate. But since these are also prophetic dreams, he is also
alerting them that they will need his help in the future. It would be helpful
to not to act hatefully to him now.
Since
these were prophetic dreams, writes Rabbi Ginsberg z”l in Ben Melech, it
was incumbent on Yosef Hatzadik to reveal them to those for whom the message
was intended. Therefore, Yosef Hatzadik told the first dream only to his
brothers who were represented by the eleven sheaves of wheat. On the other
hand, the second dream included the sun and the moon, representing Yaakov, in
addition to eleven stars, so Yosef Hatzadik had to tell this dream to his
father in addition to his brothers.
How
can one differentiate between a meaningful, prophetic dream from the other
kinds of dreams? Rabbi Zalman Sorotzkin z”l offers the following insight in Oznayim
Latorah. If a dream is just a figment of the imagination, it doesn’t make a
tremendous impact on the dreamer. However, a dream imparting truth will jolt
the dreamer, will fill him with a sense of unease and disquietude until he can
find some interpretation to it. Yosef Hatzadik’s dreams bothered him so much, he
had to share it. This too, the need to share and the added animosity of the
brothers was also part of God’s plan so that the brothers would sell Yosef
Hatzadik to Egypt, adds the Ktav Sofer.
According
to Rabbi Ginsberg z”l, Yosef Hatzadik himself interpreted the dream and then
told the dream and its interpretation to his brothers. They could have
presented a different interpretation. In fact, Benzion Firer presents a
possible alternate interpretation. In the first dream, the sheaves are
surrounding the center sheaf, perhaps ready to attack. Will the center sheaf
rise up against them, overpower them, and force them to bow down to him? Will
we, the brothers, willingly let Yosef Hatzadik reign over us, or will he
dominate over us? The outcome is still questionable. Therefore, this dream
increased the animosity but did not create jealousy. The second dream, however,
was more transparent. Here everyone is bowing to Yosef Hatzadik without
resistance. Therefore, the brothers became jealous as well.
Actually,
the dreams were realized quite accurately as the family history transpired,
writes Rabbi Pincus z”l. When the brothers came to Egypt the first time, they
came requesting wheat, and they bowed down to whoever provided the wheat, not
knowing he was Yosef Hatzadik. Only later, when they came back and knew it was
Yosef Hatzadik did they bow to him as Yosef Hatzadik.
We
know that the tribal ancestors as well as our Patriarchs and Matriarchs were
above petty jealousy, hatred and anger. What were these emotions in the fathers
of the tribes really about and how do the dreams reflect these considerations,
asks Rabbi Ginsberg? After all, even before they threw Yosef Hatzadik into the
pit, the brothers convened a beis din, joining Hashem into the trial,
and judged Yosef Hatzadik worthy of his sentence for being a rebel against the
destined Judaen Monarchy. However, the symbolism of the dreams offers us an
insight into the hatred and jealousy of these great men, as Rabbi Yoffe z”l
explains. The first dream was about wheat, material superiority. The brothers
would need the help from Yosef Hatzadik for physical sustenance. In other
words, there would be no change in character, but the brothers’ sheaves, or
“pocketbooks” would bow and receive from Yosef Hatzadik. On the other hand, the
stars signify light and spirituality. In the spiritual realm the brothers were
envious of the future spiritual superiority of Yosef Hatzadik, an envy that
would spur them to greater spirituality. In other words, all of this hatred and
envy were for the sake of heaven.
Rabbi
Matlin continues along this same explanatory arc. Rabbi Matlin agrees that all
this hatred and envy were for the sake of heaven. The brothers felt that Yosef
Hatzadik was attempting to pervert the will of God. When Hashem gave Avraham
Avinu the vision between the halves, Hashem told Avraham that his descendents
would inherit the Land of Canaan after having been enslaved in a strange land.
Yosef Hatzadik’s dream, however, was not about sheep that could move around
with them, but about wheat that would need to be planted permanently in earth
as if they already possessed the land. The brothers felt this undermined the
original prophecy, and they hated the vision. In the second dream, the
implication was that their father Yaakov Avinu would bow down to Yosef
Hatzadik. In this instance, the brothers were envious and zealous for the honor
of their father.
But
the brothers already hated Yosef Hatzadik before the dreams. They hated him for
the coat their father gave him. Rabbi Zaidel Epstein explains that their hatred
was not the kind of hatred most of us would think, but rather a hatred for the
spirituality that this coat represented. This coat, according to our mesorah/tradition,
was the original garment Hashem made for Adam in the Garden of Eden. This was
the garment that Esau had wrested from Nimrod and that was in Yaakov’s
possession. And this spiritual garment created a spiritual envy.
What
the brothers failed to realize was that Hashem was giving Yosef Hatzadik these
dreams so that he would be prepared for the implementation of Hashem’s plan.
The dreams were Hashem’s “heads up” to Yosef Hatzadik, just as later Dovid
Hamelech knew that killing the lion and the bear were practices for his future
challenges and roles. Yosef Hatzadik, in relating these dreams, is asking his
brothers to join him in what will inevitably be the future mission. He is
asking for their help and support. The brothers, on the other hand, are
interpreting the circle of sheaves as a royal entourage.
In
these stages of our history, Bnei Yisroel lived in the two lands known for
their immorality, Canaan and Egypt. Yosef Hatzadik would soon leave the support
of his family in Canaan and be immersed in the culture of Egypt. He will be the
proverbial canary in the coal mine. That Yosef Hatzadik withstood the culture
of Egypt and the wiles of the wife of Potifar served as the model for Bnei
Yisroel who would also retain their moral values in Egypt. As Rebbetzin Smiles
adds, Yosef Hatzadik’s sheaf arose and stood up against the temptation of
Potifar’s wife. Potifar himself had put Yosef Hatzadik in charge of his entire
household, “except for the bread in his house,” a euphemism for his wife,
symbolized by the sheaf of wheat, the raw material for bread. In the 210 years
that Bnei Yisroel lived in Egypt, only one person succumbed to the immorality
of Egypt.
Nevertheless,
we must still consider these dreams as prophecies of future monarchy, as Yosef
Hatzadik himself probably did. This prophecy was definitely fulfilled, however
briefly, when Yosef Hatzadik was the regent over all of Egypt, including his
brothers. However, within Klal Yisroel itself, in spite of the monarchy being
destined for the tribe of Judah, there seem to be two ruling lines interwoven
in the fabric of the nation, writes Rabbi Lopiansky in Golden Apples.
Our first king, Saul, was a descendent of Yosef Hatzadik, and our tradition
tells us that a Moshiach ben Yosef Hatzadik will precede Moshiach ben
Dovid. What is the point of Moshiach ben Yosef Hatzadik if the final
savior will be Moshiach ben Dovid? What do Yosef Hatzadik’s dreams
really mean?
Dreams
come at night, in the darkness. Dark night is a time of immobility One cannot
move forward physically. Yet it is at night, during sleep, that one’s neshama/soul
is set free from its earthly body, and can see a vision beyond itself, a vision
of his better spiritual self and arouse him to reach that image of himself.
That is the purpose of dreams, continues Rabbi Lopiansky, for without that
vision we would never move forward.
This
was the purpose of Yosef Hatzadik’s dreams and Yosef Hatzadik’s descent to
Egypt, to set the stage for the descent of Bnei Yisroel while keeping the
vision of the moral compass and spiritual high intact. This was the purpose of
having a king from the house of Yosef Hatzadik precede the king of Judah, so
that Bnei Yisroel would have a vision of leadership before the permanent king
rose to the throne. This too will be the purpose of Moshiach ben Yosef
Hatzadik, to arouse us to the concept of redemption and prepare us for the
full redemption of Moshiach ben Dovid. It is the dream that is the
impetus to reach a goal.
A
person needs to dream, to have a vision. It is dreams that give us insight into
ourselves and provide us with visions of greatness, writes the Tallelei
Chaim. The dream is our catapult into the realm of the spiritual that
propels us from the realm of the physical. Yosef Hatzadik the Dreamer is the
paradigm for greatness and leadership.