Joseph, like his father Jacob, was a man who dreamt dreams, interpreted dreams and fulfilled dreams.
Jacob dreamt the dream of the ladder: ?He had a vision in a dream. A ladder was standing on the ground, and its top reached up towards heaven.? (Genesis 28:12) In that dream, G-d promised him and his seed the Land of Israel: ?I will give to you and to your descendants the land upon which you are lying.? (verse 13) Jacob also dreamt the dream of the bucks mounting the sheep, in which G-d commands him, ?Set out and leave this land. Return to the land where you were born.? (31:13)
Joseph, as well, dreamt dreams. First there was the dream of the sheaves: ?We were binding sheaves in the field, when my sheaf suddenly stood up erect. Your sheaves formed a circle around my sheaf, and bowed down to it.? (37:7) Then there was the dream in which ?the sun and the moon and eleven stars? bowed down to him (37:9). Joseph thus earned the title of ?dreamer? amongst his brothers.
Joseph was also an interpreter of dreams. Pharaoh thus called him ?Tzofnat Pa?aneach,? meaning ?interpreter of hidden things,? after he interpreted Pharaoh?s difficult dreams.
Yet, Joseph also fulfilled his dreams, taking an active part in solving the difficulties and complications involved in them. He was not just a dreamer, but ?a man blessed with insight and wisdom,? (41:39) who knew how to run a country during the crisis of a famine. As Pharoah said, ?There can be no one with as much insight and wisdom as you. You shall be in charge of my government, and food will be distributed to my people by your orders.? (41:39-40)
By contrast, his brothers did not dream, neither did they understand his dreams. Moreover, despite their being partners in fulfilling the dreams through their coming down to Egypt and their bowing down to Joseph, they had forgotten about the dreams and did not wish to know about them. As Joseph says, ?You might have meant to do me harm, but G-d made it come out good. He made it come out as it actually did, where the life of a great nation has been preserved.? (50:20)
Today, ?as the L-rd brings back those returning to Zion, we are like dreamers.? (Psalm 126:1) In our generation, the great dream of the return to Zion is being fulfilled. We are not dreamers, but ?like dreamers.? We are active partners in the dream?s fulfillment, in the ingathering of the exiles and the establishment of the State.
In our own day as well, some people are like Joseph, in that they are both dreamers and fulfillers of dreams. For them, the return to Zion is a fulfillment of the prophetic vision of the rebirth of the Jewish People in the Land. They know that the rebirth process will be fraught with complications, difficulties and crises, but like Joseph, they are partners in the dream?s fulfillment, and they are dealing with the situation out of faith and patience and anticipation of complete salvation.
In contrast, there are in our generation people and politicians who are like Joseph?s brothers, people who ignore the dream and the vision. They only relate to the present situation. In their despair, they seek easy, instant solutions to difficult, complex problems. They join together in the nations? plottings and suggest to us that we should divide the land and establish an Arab state. Yet, of them Scripture already said: ?The L-rd brings the nations? counsel to nought; He makes the thoughts of the peoples to be of no effect.? (Psalm 33:10); ?There are many devices in a man's heart; but it is the L-rd?s counsel that shall endure.? (Proverbs 19:21); ?The L-rd will not cast off His people, neither will He forsake His inheritance.? (Psalm 94:14)
With blessings for a joyous Chanukah.
Jacob dreamt the dream of the ladder: ?He had a vision in a dream. A ladder was standing on the ground, and its top reached up towards heaven.? (Genesis 28:12) In that dream, G-d promised him and his seed the Land of Israel: ?I will give to you and to your descendants the land upon which you are lying.? (verse 13) Jacob also dreamt the dream of the bucks mounting the sheep, in which G-d commands him, ?Set out and leave this land. Return to the land where you were born.? (31:13)
Joseph, as well, dreamt dreams. First there was the dream of the sheaves: ?We were binding sheaves in the field, when my sheaf suddenly stood up erect. Your sheaves formed a circle around my sheaf, and bowed down to it.? (37:7) Then there was the dream in which ?the sun and the moon and eleven stars? bowed down to him (37:9). Joseph thus earned the title of ?dreamer? amongst his brothers.
Joseph was also an interpreter of dreams. Pharaoh thus called him ?Tzofnat Pa?aneach,? meaning ?interpreter of hidden things,? after he interpreted Pharaoh?s difficult dreams.
Yet, Joseph also fulfilled his dreams, taking an active part in solving the difficulties and complications involved in them. He was not just a dreamer, but ?a man blessed with insight and wisdom,? (41:39) who knew how to run a country during the crisis of a famine. As Pharoah said, ?There can be no one with as much insight and wisdom as you. You shall be in charge of my government, and food will be distributed to my people by your orders.? (41:39-40)
By contrast, his brothers did not dream, neither did they understand his dreams. Moreover, despite their being partners in fulfilling the dreams through their coming down to Egypt and their bowing down to Joseph, they had forgotten about the dreams and did not wish to know about them. As Joseph says, ?You might have meant to do me harm, but G-d made it come out good. He made it come out as it actually did, where the life of a great nation has been preserved.? (50:20)
Today, ?as the L-rd brings back those returning to Zion, we are like dreamers.? (Psalm 126:1) In our generation, the great dream of the return to Zion is being fulfilled. We are not dreamers, but ?like dreamers.? We are active partners in the dream?s fulfillment, in the ingathering of the exiles and the establishment of the State.
In our own day as well, some people are like Joseph, in that they are both dreamers and fulfillers of dreams. For them, the return to Zion is a fulfillment of the prophetic vision of the rebirth of the Jewish People in the Land. They know that the rebirth process will be fraught with complications, difficulties and crises, but like Joseph, they are partners in the dream?s fulfillment, and they are dealing with the situation out of faith and patience and anticipation of complete salvation.
In contrast, there are in our generation people and politicians who are like Joseph?s brothers, people who ignore the dream and the vision. They only relate to the present situation. In their despair, they seek easy, instant solutions to difficult, complex problems. They join together in the nations? plottings and suggest to us that we should divide the land and establish an Arab state. Yet, of them Scripture already said: ?The L-rd brings the nations? counsel to nought; He makes the thoughts of the peoples to be of no effect.? (Psalm 33:10); ?There are many devices in a man's heart; but it is the L-rd?s counsel that shall endure.? (Proverbs 19:21); ?The L-rd will not cast off His people, neither will He forsake His inheritance.? (Psalm 94:14)
With blessings for a joyous Chanukah.