‘Parsha Growth Spurts’
Rabbi Dani Staum
Parshas Miketz
(41:1) “Pharaoh was dreaming and behold! He was standing upon the river…”
What was it about Pharaoh’s dreams that shook him so much? Did he never have a strange dream before?
Rabbi Shimon Schwab zt’l explained that Pharaoh lived under the illusion of nature. He believed Egypt was nurtured by the overflowing of the Nile River, and that the might and success of Egypt made it the greatest superpower of the ancient world. Egypt dominated the world politically, financially, and economically and feared no one. In a world of survival of the fittest they were unquestionably the fittest, and Pharaoh was their king.
Therefore, when Pharaoh dreamed that the weak consumed the mighty and the inferior overpowered the superior, it shook him to his core. In fact it was an absolute nightmare. If the mighty did not dominate than the foundation of his monarchy was no longer secure. Therefore, he gathered every advisor and demanded an explanation of his dream.
Rav Schwab explains that with this idea we can understand why Parshas Miketz is invariably read on Shabbos Chanukah. Essentially Pharaoh dreamed about the negation of the rules of social politics. His dream was a foreshadowing of what would eventually befall his people, when the minority nation of Klal Yisroel triumphantly marched forth from his land. His dream contained the underlying miracle of Chanukah, when an outflanked, under-experienced army of Maccabes miraculously overpowered the far superior armies of the Syrian-Greek forces. Pharaoh dreamt “the giving over of the mighty into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of the few”. He dreamed of the transcendence of quality over quantity, which essentially is the secret to our eternity as a people.
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(42:24) “He turned away from them and wept… he took Shimon from them and imprisoned him before their eyes.”
Rashi explains that Yosef imprisoned Shimon because he was the one who initiated and instigated the sale of Yosef years earlier. Rashi adds that Yosef only imprisoned Shimon ‘before their eyes’, for right after they left he removed Shimon from prison and provided him with food and drink.
On one occasion, a man who had slighted the honor of Rav Yisroel Salanter zt’l, approached Rav Yisroel to beg his forgiveness.
Rav Yisroel warmly replied that he forgave him wholeheartedly. Then Rav Yisroel asked him how he could help him. Did he perhaps need a loan or some other favor?
The man was dumbfounded. “Rebbe, is it not enough that I slighted your honor; now you want to do me a favor?”
Rav Yisroel explained that it was a lesson he gleaned from the interaction of Yosef with Shimon. Shimon was the forerunner of all of the tragedies that befell Yosef. It was he who suggested that they kill him in the first place. The gemara (Kiddushin 59) states that actions ‘take away’ (i.e. supersede) thoughts. When Yosef wanted to eradicate every trace of anger from his heart towards Shimon, he felt that he needed to do something positive for Shimon in order to conquer the negative feelings he may have still harbored. Therefore, as soon as the brothers left, Yosef not only removed Shimon from prison, but he also made sure to provide him with food and drink. It was not enough to merely say he forgave him, he felt he needed to go the extra mile for him to in order to foster a feeling of connection.
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(41:14) “So Pharaoh sent and summoned Yosef, and they rushed him from the dungeon…”
Towards the end of the Chofetz Chaim’s life, the communists seized control of Russia, and immediately sought to eradicate all traces of Torah and mitzvos from the country. They passed numerous decrees that made Jewish life in Russia practically unbearable.
The Chofetz Chaim commented that Yosef was left to languish in the misery of the Egyptian prison for twelve years. He was forsaken in a foreign country with no one who cared about him. But as soon as the time of his redemption arrived, within moments he was hoisted from his prison, dressed in royalty, and stood before Pharaoh himself.
“So too”, said the Chofetz Chaim, “our situation seems hopeless. We are frightened of the future and don’t know what tomorrow will bring. But when the moment of our redemption arrives, we too will be redeemed in a sudden accelerated pace. We too will merit the fulfillment of the b’racha, “Who performed miracles for our forefathers, in those days, at this time.”
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Sources: Rav Schwab – Ma’ayan Bais Hashoayvah; Rav Yisroel Salanter – V’karasa L’Shabbos Oneg; Chofetz Chaim al haTorah