מקץ

 The Meaning of a Dream

After deciphering the meaning of Pharaoh's dreams, Yosef proceeds to advise Pharaoh on what needs to be done to ensure that Egypt survives the years of famine. He proposes to establish a network of storehouses to stock the surplus grain in the seven plentiful years to sustain the country during the seven years of famine; 'repair the roof when the sun is shining', as someone famously said.[1]

The suggestion is as bold as it is smart. Surely instructing Pharaoh how to protect against the future crisis went beyond his mandate as dream interpreter? Add to this the fact that Yosef was not just any dream interpreter; he was a hitherto unknown foreigner and long-term prisoner. One might suggest that Yosef was emboldened to provide the unsolicited advice after receiving a positive reaction from Pharaoh,[2] however this seems insufficient as the text presents the interpretation and the advice as part of a continuous monologue. At the very least, the fact that the Torah presents the two together suggests that the advice offered by Yosef is intrinsic to the dream itself.

Another interesting point to note is that the solution proposed by Yosef serves to undermine the interpretation. From the fact that the appearance of the lean cows was unchanged after consuming the fat cows, Yosef initially inferred that the seven years of famine will be so harsh that they will cause the years of plenty to be forgotten. Through the storage plan, however, Yosef ensures that the years of plenty will not be forgotten during the years of famine.

To address these points, it is worth briefly considering the significance of dreams in ancient Egypt. Alongside other forms of superstition, dreams were taken extremely seriously and seen as omens for future events. The practice of dream interpretation (oneiromancy) was the domain of the elite, and the class of diviners or seers responsible for dream interpretation often had great political and social influence.[3]

One of the famous ancient documents on this subject is the Egyptian 'Dream Book' estimated to date back to the early reign of Ramesses II (1279-1213 BCE). According to the British Museum description: 'on each page of the papyrus a vertical column of hieratic signs begins: 'if a man sees himself in a dream'; each horizontal line describes a dream, followed by the diagnosis 'good' or 'bad', and then the interpretation. For example, 'if a man sees himself in a dream looking out of a window, good; it means the hearing of his cry'. Or, 'if a man sees himself in a dream with his bed catching fire, bad; it means driving away his wife''.[4] For our purposes it is important to appreciate the deterministic and highly specific nature of these interpretations.

A clash of worldviews

Against this backdrop, the significance of Yosef's response to Pharaoh can be fully appreciated. By tying together, the dire prediction on the one hand, and the potential for pre-emptive action on the other, Yosef asserts that the main purpose of the dream is a call to take responsible preventative action. That is the sole reason why 'God has revealed his plans to Pharaoh' (see 41:25).[5]

This approach of Yosef stands in marked contrast to the fatalistic view of Egypt, where intervention is seen as pointless in the face of the supposed inevitable. The contrast with Pharaoh can be seen in Pharaoh's reconstruction of his own dream. The fear which grips Pharaoh is not simply the fear of the unknown or lack of certainty. Rather, the bad omen Pharaoh senses in the dream is what paralyses him, even without knowing its precise meaning. One can discern this from the various changes Pharaoh makes when he retells the dreams to Yosef, which are absent from the objective narrative. I would like to focus on three significant differences which shed light on the subjective position of Pharaoh.     

1.      The appearance of the lean cows.

וְהִנֵּה שֶׁבַע־פָּרוֹת אֲחֵרוֹת עֹלוֹת אַחֲרֵיהֶן דַּלּוֹת וְרָעוֹת תֹּאַר מְאֹד וְרַקּוֹת בָּשָׂר לֹא־רָאִיתִי כָהֵנָּה בְּכָל־אֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם לָרֹעַ: (בראשית מא:יט)

The bolded phrase does not appear in the objective narrative. Pharaoh's obsession with the 'bad' appearance of the cows is reflective of someone who is fixated on the problem and sees no way out.

2.      The lean cows and the fat cows stand side by side (original version only)

וְהִנֵּה שֶׁבַע פָּרוֹת אֲחֵרוֹת עֹלוֹת אַחֲרֵיהֶן מִן־הַיְאֹר רָעוֹת מַרְאֶה וְדַקּוֹת בָּשָׂר וַתַּעֲמֹדְנָה אֵצֶל הַפָּרוֹת עַל־שְׂפַת הַיְאֹר (בראשית מא:ג)

The objective narrative contains this bolded phrase suggesting an overlap or even co-existence between the lean cows and the fat cows. This phrase does not appear in Pharaoh's own account. Consciously or subconsciously, this element of the dream is fulfilled by Yosef who ensures that the food surplus from the good years is distributed during the years of famine.[6]

3.      The 'bad' appearance of the lean cows after swallowing the fat cows

וַתֹּאכַלְנָה הַפָּרוֹת הָרַקּוֹת וְהָרָעוֹת אֵת שֶׁבַע הַפָּרוֹת הָרִאשֹׁנוֹת הַבְּרִיאֹת׃ וַתָּבֹאנָה אֶל־קִרְבֶּנָה וְלֹא נוֹדַע כִּי־בָאוּ אֶל־קִרְבֶּנָה וּמַרְאֵיהֶן רַע כַּאֲשֶׁר בַּתְּחִלָּה וָאִיקָץ׃ (בראשית מא:כ-כא)

This, to my mind, is by far the most important difference. Pharaoh states that the lean cows were unchanged after eating the fat cows – but this is not stated anywhere in the objective narrative(!). This insertion by Pharaoh seems to be a consequence of his worldview that everything is governed by fate and destiny with little room for humans to influence what is written in the stars. If indeed the lean cows are a bad omen, then there is no reversal and no room for optimism. The possibility that the fat cows may be intended to sustain the lean cows does not occur to Pharaoh. Yosef, on the other hand, who understands the limitations of dreams and the role of human action senses the imposition. On the contrary, he sees in the dream a call to action. The purpose of the fat cows is to feed and sustain the thin cows; it is the key to survival rather than the source of the problem. This alternative ending is certainly a possibility within the objective narrative. The years of plenty may be used to sustain the population in the years of famine[7]; however, it is contingent on responsible action and governance.

Power and responsibility (the Peter Parker principle)

I would like to take this one step further and suggest that part of Pharaoh's fear in relation to the dreams, lies in the symbol of the weak consuming the strong. In the worldview where might is right, the lean cows consuming the fat cows is worrying and disorientating. Yosef's interpretation on the other hand, asserts that it is not a zero-sum game - the strong may use their power to assist the weak, rather than to dominate. This, of course, is exactly the way Yosef himself will soon act in relation to his own family as he sustains them during the famine:

וְעַתָּה אַל־תֵּעָצְבוּ וְאַל־יִחַר בְּעֵינֵיכֶם כִּי־מְכַרְתֶּם אֹתִי הֵנָּה כִּי לְמִחְיָה שְׁלָחַנִי אֱלֹהִים לִפְנֵיכֶם (בראשית מה:ה)

Thus, Yosef's message to Pharaoh was equally a lesson to himself. Recall that in Yosef's earlier dreams, he was the central figure to whom everyone bowed:

וְהִנֵּה אֲנַחְנוּ מְאַלְּמִים אֲלֻמִּים בְּתוֹךְ הַשָּׂדֶה וְהִנֵּה קָמָה אֲלֻמָּתִי וְגַם־נִצָּבָה וְהִנֵּה תְסֻבֶּינָה אֲלֻמֹּתֵיכֶם וַתִּשְׁתַּחֲוֶיןָ לַאֲלֻמָּתִי (בראשית לז:ז)

Like Pharaoh's subjective perceptions are reflected in his recounting of his dreams, the fixation on power in Yosef's dreams – also conveyed through subjective narrative - reflects his mindset at that stage in his life. Between these dreams, however, Yosef undergoes a transformation. Instead of rising to the top as he originally dreamt, he quickly finds himself down at the bottom of a pit. When he does obtain power in Potiphar's house, his protest to the attempted seduction is based on concerns of abuse of power and trust:   

אֵינֶנּוּ גָדוֹל בַּבַּיִת הַזֶּה מִמֶּנִּי וְלֹא־חָשַׂךְ מִמֶּנִּי מְאוּמָה כִּי אִם־אוֹתָךְ בַּאֲשֶׁר אַתְּ־אִשְׁתּוֹ וְאֵיךְ אֶעֱשֶׂה הָרָעָה הַגְּדֹלָה הַזֹּאת וְחָטָאתִי לֵאלֹהִים (בראשית לט:ט)

Yosef has here begun to learn the equation of power and responsibility. At the start of the story, we are told that the master leaves everything in Yosef's hand -  ויעזוב את כל אשר לו ביד יוסף – but Yosef, in order not to abuse his position of trust, is even prepared to leave his garment in the hands of Potiphar's wife – ויעזוב בגדו בידה.[8]

Retuning to Pharaoh's dreams, when Yosef sees how the lean cows can be sustained by the fat cows, he understands how his own dreams reveal a future point in which the rest of the family would be dependent on him for material support. This is the meaning of the other sheaves bowing down to his sheave. It symbolises dependency not supremacy.[9]

Later, when the brothers (minus one) bow down to Yosef in Egypt, it acts as a superficial trigger to remind Yosef of the deeper calling of his dreams. The reader who eagerly awaits to see the literal fulfilment of the dreams where the entire family bows down to him, is sure to be disappointed. If the literal fulfilment of the dreams was the anchor to the plot, then surely this should have been explicitly recorded.[10] The shift in the understanding of the dream which the reader experiences, reflects the transformation which Yosef himself undergoes.

The connection between Pharaoh's dream and his own personal life is strengthened if we consider that the 7 years depicted by the respective set of cows remind Yosef of Rachel and Lea, each for whom Yaakov worked 7 years.[11] Like the fat cows which sustain and pave the way for the lean cows – Yosef's leadership in Egypt sustains the people and paves the way for a son of Lea (Yehudah) to eventually take on the mantle of leadership. The son of Rachel leads in exile, however, it is the son of Lea who obtains the ultimate blessing of leadership (with wording reminiscent of Yosef's dream[12]) and eventually becomes king.

 

 

 

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[1] John F. Kennedy used this phrase in the 1962 State of the Union address. It later became a favourite of George Osborne to justify his policy of fiscal prudence and commitment to run a surplus in ‘normal’ times.

[2] See, for example, N. Sarna (JPS, p.284) who makes this suggestion.

[3] https://www.britannica.com/topic/oneiromancy

[4] From the British Museum description - https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/the-dream-book/MwFiHsBS2T_Qug?hl=en . This context explains a number of points in the story of Yosef. When the butler and baker are in prison, they say they are depressed as there is no one to interpret their dreams. Outside the prison walls, they would have gone to their local dream specialist to determine its meaning, but now they are at a loss. When Yosef interprets the dreams, however, he is at pains to emphasize that God alone holds the keys of interpretation. 

[5] In the view of Shadal, this is sufficient to explain why Yosef could offer the unsolicited advice:

ועתה ירא פרעה וגו': לפי מה שאמרתי מבואר הוא שהוצרך יוסף להכנס למחיצה שאינה שלו ולעוץ את המלך עצה, כי המבוקש מן החלום הוא לקבל ממנו תועלת למלך ולארצו

[6] See Jonathan Grossman, פיתרון חלום פרעה, VBM. Grossman sees these differences as deliberate red herrings planted by Pharaoh to test Yosef – I have not gone in this direction.

[7] Along similar lines, the Ohr HaChaim explains Yosef's advice as being an integral part of the interpretation based on the lean cows swallowing the fat cows. He does not comment on the difference between the original and Pharaoh's recollection in this respect.

[8] This places the story of Potiphar's wife as the turning point in Yosef's life. This corresponds well with the story of Tamar, positioned immediately beforehand, as the turning point in Yehudah's life. There are indeed numerous parallels between the stories.

[9] See R. Elchanan Samet, יוסף פותר חלומות בארץ מצרים (ב) יוסף בעמדו לפני פרעה מלך מצרים VBM. His overall approach is also similar.

[10] This is one of several problems with the explanation of the Ramban that Yosef was acting to bring about the fulfilment of his dreams by engineering a situation where the brothers and his father bow down to him.

[11] It is trickier to figure out which set of cows correspond to which side of the family, if indeed any correspondence is intended. I have assumed that the fat cows allude to Yosef (= Rachel) who is the first to arrive in Egypt and obtains a position of privilege. The brothers (led by Yehudah = Lea) arrive second, in a weak and vulnerable state and become dependent on Yosef to survive. R. David Fohrman places significance, amongst other things, on the use of יפות מראות to describe the fat cows – a phrase used to describe both Rachel and Yosef. However, this phrase is not uncommon. Grossman, in contrast, sees the correspondence the other way round.

[12] Compare:

וְהִנֵּה הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ וְהַיָּרֵחַ וְאַחַד עָשָׂר כּוֹכָבִים מִשְׁתַּחֲוִים לִי (בראשית לז:ט)

יְהוּדָה אַתָּה יוֹדוּךָ אַחֶיךָ יָדְךָ בְּעֹרֶף אֹיְבֶיךָ יִשְׁתַּחֲוּוּ לְךָ בְּנֵי אָבִיךָ (בראשית מט:ח)