Beautiful dreamer, dream unto me.
Yosef was a dreamer. The "little brother" who dreamt that one day he would be a prince indeed became one. Yosef learned that dreams can really come true - with hard work and HaShem's blessing.
Yosef also interpreted the dreams of others. In our sedra, the butler dreamt about grapevines whose buds blossomed and whose three fruitful clusters ripened into grapes, to then be squeezed into wine for Pharaoh's cup. The baker dreamt of three baskets of fine white bread and fancy pastries.
Though the dreams were somewhat similar, Yosef drew radically different conclusions from them. The butler, he said, would be returned to his post in three days. The baker, however, would be hanged in three days.
(We Jews, alas, have little sympathy for Mr. Baker!)
Now, if the dreams had a similar theme, why did Yosef give them such opposite interpretations?
One Chassidic source suggests that the butler's dream revolved around works of nature, which emanate directly from G-d, while the baker's dream contained images of that which was man-made. When man recognizes that everything comes from G-d, there can be a positive outcome. But when man believes his own hands fashion the universe around him, no good can come of it.
Chanukah carries a similar message. The oft-asked question, "If there was enough oil in the jar for one day, then why do we celebrate for eight nights and not seven?" has many answers (e.g., the military victory was a miracle, finding even one jar of pure oil was in itself a miracle, etc.).
One of those answers is that just the fact that oil burns is enough of a miracle to justify that extra day of celebration. We may take Nature's work for granted - that oil is flammable; that things fall down, not up; that the sun rises and sets, etc. - but the truth is that everything comes from G-d, and everything in this world, and beyond it, is a marvel to behold and appreciate.
Perhaps, that is why the heroes of Chanukah adopted the code name "MaKaBi" - "Mi Kamocha B'Eilim HaShem" - "Who is as great as our G-d" - as their battle cry.
Though they were required to fight like any army would - with swords and shields and strategy - they never lost sight of the fact that, ultimately, our strength comes from Above, and that HaShem is always the center of the equation. He is the Supreme Shamash that sets the other lights aglow.
Yosef was a dreamer. The "little brother" who dreamt that one day he would be a prince indeed became one. Yosef learned that dreams can really come true - with hard work and HaShem's blessing.
Yosef also interpreted the dreams of others. In our sedra, the butler dreamt about grapevines whose buds blossomed and whose three fruitful clusters ripened into grapes, to then be squeezed into wine for Pharaoh's cup. The baker dreamt of three baskets of fine white bread and fancy pastries.
Though the dreams were somewhat similar, Yosef drew radically different conclusions from them. The butler, he said, would be returned to his post in three days. The baker, however, would be hanged in three days.
(We Jews, alas, have little sympathy for Mr. Baker!)
Now, if the dreams had a similar theme, why did Yosef give them such opposite interpretations?
One Chassidic source suggests that the butler's dream revolved around works of nature, which emanate directly from G-d, while the baker's dream contained images of that which was man-made. When man recognizes that everything comes from G-d, there can be a positive outcome. But when man believes his own hands fashion the universe around him, no good can come of it.
Chanukah carries a similar message. The oft-asked question, "If there was enough oil in the jar for one day, then why do we celebrate for eight nights and not seven?" has many answers (e.g., the military victory was a miracle, finding even one jar of pure oil was in itself a miracle, etc.).
One of those answers is that just the fact that oil burns is enough of a miracle to justify that extra day of celebration. We may take Nature's work for granted - that oil is flammable; that things fall down, not up; that the sun rises and sets, etc. - but the truth is that everything comes from G-d, and everything in this world, and beyond it, is a marvel to behold and appreciate.
Perhaps, that is why the heroes of Chanukah adopted the code name "MaKaBi" - "Mi Kamocha B'Eilim HaShem" - "Who is as great as our G-d" - as their battle cry.
Though they were required to fight like any army would - with swords and shields and strategy - they never lost sight of the fact that, ultimately, our strength comes from Above, and that HaShem is always the center of the equation. He is the Supreme Shamash that sets the other lights aglow.