The Land as a Preservative

… The food growing in the fields around each city was placed inside (the city).        Genesis 41:48 Every district preserves its own produce, therefore the grain was stored with earth from the place in which it grows, and this prevents it decaying.             Rashi, quoting Breishit Rabba

            According to Rashi’s explanation, every land has special qualities which positively influence the preservation of the grain grown within it.

            This approach explains the special aspect of burial within the Holy Land. Regardless of where a Jew was physically born, the Land of Israel is his natural habitat. Thus, the Land has the unique quality of helping preserve the physical remains of a Jew who has departed this life, in Rashi’s words, the Land “prevents its decaying” while awaiting resurrection.

Indebted to the Difficult Times

This Dvar Torah is in memory of Gloria.

And Joseph called the name of the first-born Manasseh: 'because God has made me forget (nasheh) all my troubles - and even my father's house.'                                               Genesis 41:51

The translation, though rooted in traditional commentaries (including the two thousand year old Aramaic translation of Onkelos), is problematic. It seems strange that Joseph would name his first-born son in celebration of having forgotten his "father's house!"

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch suggests that the verb "nasheh" in our verse is properly translated as "has made me indebted" [as in Exodus 22:24, Deuteronomy 24:11]. Thus, with the birth of his first son, Joseph acknowledged that he was indebted to his difficult experiences. Having survived his brother's jealousy and hatred, their desire to kill him, being sold as a slave and imprisoned in Egypt, Joseph appreciated that each of these experiences, difficult though it was, contributed to his personal development and advancement. Further, (at least thirteen) years after having been forced to leave his father's home, Joseph more fully appreciated the debt he owed his "father's home" in determining the person he had become.

Rabbi Hirsch's translation/commentary (for every translation is also commentary) resonates especially with me now. Three weeks after Gloria's death, I have had time to reflect and more fully appreciate not only Gloria's boundless love, but what she and her love contributed to my development and to the enrichment of my life.

While I have no pretensions of reaching the level of Joseph (known traditionally as "Yoseph haTzadik" - Joseph the righteous), I do believe that even the difficult times which Gloria and I experienced made us better people, and not the least because we shared the troubles and were able to support each other.

Different Dreamers

And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed, and behold he stood on the river.                      Genesis 41:1

          My father noted the contrast between Pharaoh’s dream and that of Jacob [Genesis 28:12-13]:

And he dreamed, and there was a ladder set up and the earth and the top of it reached heaven, and there were angels of God ascending and descending the ladder. And behold, the Eternal stood above it …

The ancient Egyptians considered the River Nile to be a divinity, yet Pharaoh saw himself standing on the Nile. Pharaoh considered himself to be above his god.

Jacob, on the other hand, saw his God as being above him and as master of everything [our Sages’ tradition is that the width of the ladder was the width of the earth]. It is Jacob’s approach which leads him to accept the divine will.

          The difference in approach of Pharaoh and of Jacob led to rather different responses to their respective dreams. Pharaoh awakened after his first dream and was able to return to his sleep [apparently without difficulty, as we read in 41:5]. Jacob, upon awakening from his dream was afraid and in awe [28:16-17]. For one who stands above his god, that god is ultimately powerless and meaningless. It is Jacob’s awareness of his being subservient to his God which gives meaning to their relationship.

The Good the Bad and Pharaoh

And, behold, seven other cows came up after them out of the river, ill-favored and lean-fleshed; and they stood by the other cows on the bank of the river.                 Genesis 41:3

          When Pharaoh related his dream to Joseph, he deleted the fact that the lean cows came out of the river, and says simply: “And, behold, seven other cows came up after them, poor and ill-favored and lean-fleshed..” [v.19]

          For the ancient idolaters, there were separate gods for good and for evil. Since the Nile was revered by the ancient Egyptians as a good deity; Pharaoh could not bring himself to say that anything bad could come out of the river.. (This inability to speak ill of the Nile seems in contrast to Pharaoh’s seeing himself as being above the river.)

One Dream, Two Dreams

And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof, and Pharaoh told them his dream, but there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh.      Genesis 41:8

          Kli Yakar notes that the verse begins with the singular “his dream” yet concludes with the plural “but there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh.”

          We can understand the change based upon Naḥmanides’ comment that Pharaoh understood that his two dreams were actually one (as Joseph would tell him [verse25]), thus Pharaoh related his dream to the magicians and wise men. However, the magicians and wise men thought the two dreams to be separate, hence they could not interpret them unto Pharaoh.

Choice of Languages

And there was a lad with us, a Hebrew, servant of the minister of cooks …                   Genesis 41:12 Cursed are the wicked, for the favors they do are never complete. The butler mentions Joseph with disparaging language: a lad – foolish and unworthy of a position of greatness; a Hebrew – who does not even know our language; a slave – it is written in the laws of Egypt that a slave may neither become a ruler nor wear princely robes.         Rashi

          The question has been raised: the butler apparently is relating a lie when he alleges that Joseph does not speak Egyptian, for Joseph must have spoken to the butler in Egyptian.

          My father explained that the intention is while Joseph speaks the Egyptian language, he is not in touch with the cultural connotations of the language. Though Joseph can converse in Egyptian, he is unaware of the value system conveyed by the language. Joseph is oblivious to the fact that Egyptians consider it an abomination to eat with a Hebrew [43:32]. This “lad” instead of trying to hide his embarrassment, takes pride in his being a Hebrew.

          Interestingly, the quality which Pharaoh’s butler sees as Joseph’s shortcoming, is in truth a great virtue. Our Sages [Bamidbar Rabba 20:29] taught us that the Israelites were redeemed from Egypt because they changed neither their clothing nor their names nor their language. Indeed, language is a vehicle which conveys culture. The fact that the Israelites in Egypt continued to speak their own language implies that despite their having sunk to the forty-ninth depth of impurity, they still maintained a connection with their own culture, and for this reason the Israelites were worthy of redemption.

True Plenty

Behold, there come seven years of great plenty (sava) throughout all the land of Egypt.                                          Genesis 41:29

          Ba’al haTurim relates our verse’s use of the word “sava” with that in Proverbs [3:10]: “So shall your silos be filled with plenty (sava), and your vats shall overflow with new wine.”

          The implication is that true “sava” plenty is when one feels that his silos are full, that is when a person feels that he has a sufficient amount. Without being satisfied with what one has, he will never achieve a feeling of “plenty”, as our Sages taught: ”who is wealthy, the one who is satisfied with his lot.” [Ethics of the Fathers 4:1]