This week’s portion, Va’yai’shev (literally, “and he resided” as in “And Jacob resided in the land where his father has lived”) is a very interesting portion. Much shorter than its predecessor, Va’ye’shev is a succinct, wonderfully-written portion revolving around one person: Joseph, Jacob’s beloved son. Joseph (or Yoseph) is so dear to Jacob because he is one of only two sons that Rachel, his beloved wife for whom he worked 14 years, gave him. Joseph is seventeen when the portion begins, and – precisely like his mother – he is described as both “handsome looking” and “a feast for the eyes” (Gen. 39:6; cf. Gen. 29:17 (same exact description of his mother Rachel)).
Not surprisingly, this favorite son feels somewhat superior to his ten older brothers. As the portion begins, he is already painted in a non-complimenting light of a whistle-blower to his brothers, a person who brings reports of their inappropriate behavior as herders to their father (a social faux-pas even in those days). Since every action has a counter-action, it should come at no surprise that the brothers, too, “hated him and did not speak to him.” (Gen. 37:4) The portion then “bookends” with two sets of double dreams: the first dreamt by Joseph, the other interpreted by Joseph. In between these two sets of dreams we encounter a very interesting story about Judah – Joseph’s big brother – and his extremely able daughter-in-law Tamar. Unfortunately, I have room this week to discuss only the first of these three fascinating stories. I will be happy to discuss the other two should you ask separately.
I. Joseph’s Dreams
Joseph is well known today as the first “dream solver” – the person who may interpret the meaning of your dreams. Long before Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams (1899) – in which Freud has claimed to “provide proof that there is a psychological technique which allows us to interpret dreams” – the biblical Joseph realized that dreams consists of our subconscious manifestations of desires, fears, and wishes. But before turning to the dream of others – like any good therapist – he had to deal with his own.
Joseph’s dreams may be considered simple – even simplistic – in comparison with the dreams he later deciphers; they are even understood by his own brothers. In the first of these dreams, Joseph and his brothers are binding sheaves in the field, when suddenly Jeseph’s sheaf stands tall while all the others’ sheaves are gathered around it and bow. (Gen. 37:7) Indeed, the dream is simply portrayed, visibly powerful, and clearly understood. The brothers’ reaction is also quite expected: “And the brothers have said: Do you intend to rule over us like a king? To govern us like a ruler? And they have continued to despise him both for his dreams and his words.” (Gen. 37:8)
Joseph’s second dream is not much different. But this time he elevates his kingdom from merely an agricultural field to no less than the entire universe. Here, no less than the sun, the moon, and the eleven planets [an astonishing astronomical bit of information, considering the time it was written – but more on that later] are all bowing down to Joseph. Hearing about this new level of aspirations even Joshep’s own loving father Jacob cannot stand idle: “And his father scolded him and said: what is this dream you dreamt – should myself and your mother and all your brothers bow down to you? And his brothers were jealous of him, and his father kept that in his mind.” (Gen. 37:9-11).
II. Was Joseph Really That Naïve?
Let us pause for a moment and consider Joseph’s situation. He knew well, even before reporting his first dream that he is far from being his brother’s favorite. He knew all too well by the time the second dream came around that even his father may be upset with him for reporting it. It is no wonder, then, that the traditional account views Joseph a either naïve (at best) or plain stupid (at worst) when he chose to approach his brothers to tell them about both dreams. Yet everything we learn later about Joseph suggests the exact opposite – that he was neither naïve nor stupid; the opposite is true. This young man, who was immediately liked by everyone who laid eyes on him – men and women, high-officers and prisoners alike – climbed successfully through the social ranks at a very young age to become the first-ever foreign “Vice President” of the only Superpower in the region. He was smart, sophisticated, polished, and had very sharp political instincts. All that made me think again about the traditional account of the report by Joseph to his brothers. Let us try and look at those dreams again.
1. First Dream: In the Field
We begin the account of the first dream when we already know few things about Joseph: First, of all the brothers, Jacob loves him the most. Second, the brothers hate him for that. Third, the brothers don’t even speak to him anymore. With these in mind, Joseph approaches them to talk about his dream in what seems like a suicide mission: He is about to tell them about his “superiority-complex,” as if they didn’t had enough of that already. Now put yourselves for a second in Joseph’s own shoes: Suppose you had a dream putting you in charge of your ten older brothers who hate you; would you go and tell them about it?
Note also that the first dream is a bit more subtle than the second: Here, the brothers’ sheaves bow to Joseph’s sheaf; but they themselves do not bow to him. It is only in the second dream where the sun, moon, and eleven planets actually bow directly to Joseph – to him, not to his planet. Is that important? Can those dreams be interpreted differently?
2. Second Dream: The Sun, Moon, and Eleven Planets
Of all the biblical dreams, Joseph’s second dream is my favorite. Perhaps because it was depicted by Walt Disney in his magnificent adaptation of Paul Dukas’ “The Sorcerer's Apprentice” in Fantasia (the only piece, by the way, to be presented in both the original and the 2000 version of the film.) While the original story, authored by Goethe, says nothing about Joseph’s dream (see http://german.about.com/library/blgzauberl.htm), the animated depiction by Disney has Mickey Mouse dreaming about himself as standing on a very tall cliff, surrounded by gushing waters, and ordering the sun, moon, and planets around him to obey all his commands (conveyed by the magic stick). Mickey’s “dream” is based on Joseph’s.
Another reason why I like this dream so much is because of the profound cosmological knowledge it contains. Recall the period in which the dream is being reported – very little astronomical data is said to be known at the time. Yet the number 11 for planets – until recently, the exact number depicted by NASA to describe the same phenomenon (see http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/index.cfm) – in addition to the moon and the sun, strikes me as an amazing coincidence.
III. So What Were These Dreams About, After All?
I think that Joseph reported the dreams “as is” to his brothers not because he was naïve, but rather because he considered them to be divine interventions. Indeed, every time Joseph is asked later about dreams and their interpretation, he always invokes God. (see, e.g., Gen. 40:8; 41:16; 41:25). And dreams – and God – also played a major role in the life of his father Jacob. I venture to guess that the story of Jacob’s most famous dream – “Jacob’s Ladder,” which was shortly reviewed in a previous post – was told over and over to the “chosen son.” Thus, when Joseph begins to have dreams of his own he clearly senses that God has finally come to him as well. That is the reason he told the dreams’ content – without omitting any of the details – to both his brothers and his father. This is the reason he even dared to challenge the very authority of his beloved father; he truly felt that this was God’s calling. Perhaps he was right. Recall that when asked to “solve” one of the dreams later in his life, Josephs does not hesitate to tell a (former) senior official at Pharaoh’s court that he is about to be hung; this, too, could not have been a smart political move were Joseph to conduct a simple cost-benefit political analysis. But he preferred to tell the truth as God ordered him to.
I think this is one of the Portion’s most important, and often overlooked, lessons: Joseph was neither Naïve nor stupid, neither arrogant nor too shy; he simply took dreams as a serious manifestation of divine intervention. Seen in that light, I think we may all reevaluate Joseph’s actions.
Shabat Shalom,
Doron
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