Yosef – A Wise Interpreter
This week’s Torah reading begins with Pharaoh’s dreams. Pharaoh dreamed one dream in which he saw seven fat and healthy cows rise from the Nile, and then they were swallowed up by seven skinny, ill-looking cows. In the next dream, he saw seven good and healthy stalks of wheat growing, only to be swallowed up by seven thin, ill-looking stalks of wheat.
Pharaoh understood that these dreams were for a purpose and were intended to give him a message. He summoned all his advisors to interpret the dreams, but no one gave him a satisfactory interpretation. One of the ministers advised Pharaoh that he had a personal experience in which Yosef (Joseph) interpreted his and a fellow inmate’s dreams accurately when they were in prison. Yosef, who was still in prison, was rushed to Pharaoh, and indeed, he gave a satisfactory interpretation.
Yosef said that a period of seven years is about to begin, in which there will be a bounty of food. Following this period, a terrible famine will strike the land, which will last for seven years. Yosef then advised Pharaoh to appoint someone to oversee an operation of storing all the extra produce that they will have over the next seven years, and preserve it for the years of famine. Pharaoh was very impressed with Yosef and said that he is the wisest man around. Because of the great wisdom he possessed, Pharaoh appointed him to oversee the task of preserving the extra wheat, and made him a ruler over the entire Egypt.
Why Appoint a Wise Man?
The question begs to be asked, why was it that Pharaoh saw fit to assign the task of amassing wheat for the future to Yosef, out of all people? Yosef proved himself to be a person with profound wisdom. But this is not the quality one would seek to be deemed ideal for the task of storing grain. It would seem more appropriate to seek someone who excelled in logistics, organizational skills, warehouse managing and the like. Why should Yosef be the one chosen to oversee this project because he proved to be extremely wise?
Rabbi Yisroel Yaakov Lubchansky provided the following explanation: People find it difficult to relate to others who are in different situations. A poor person finds it difficult to relate to how a rich person can spend money on things which seem to him to be a complete waste of money. A rich man can find it hard to relate to the frugality of a poor person who saves and reuses anything he can. Even the same person can find it hard to relate to the way he felt in a certain situation, once he experiences a change in his circumstances.
Mindset of the Future
Pharaoh realized that the project at hand required a lot more than storehouse managing skills. For a person to properly preserve food at a time when there is plenty, for the future when there will be a dearth, he must possess great wisdom. When the fields are producing an abundance of food, it’s very difficult to put yourself into the mindset of how you will be feeling a few years later when there is absolutely nothing to eat. When food is cheap, it is very likely to be wasted unnecessarily. But when food is scarce, every bit of produce is extremely valuable. Pharaoh understood that only a wise man can act with the mindset of a time of famine, at a time when crops are producing an abundance, to properly conserve food.
Grab Those Mitzvot When You Can!
Rabbi Lubchansky concluded that this concept is a great lesson for us. In This World, mitzvot (good deeds) are “cheap.” There are plenty of opportunities to perform mitzvot all the time. Because there are endless opportunities for mitzvot, we often neglect to take advantage of our time. We must acquire the wisdom Yosef possessed and realize that there will come a time, after a person passes away, that there will be a “famine” of mitzvot. Once a person dies, he can no longer perform even a single mitzvah. We have to put ourselves now, when mitzvot are readily available, into the mindset that we will be in then, when we will be desperate to acquire even the smallest single additional merit.
Rabbi Zelig Rueven Bengis would complete the Talmud every so often, and make a banquet to honor the occasion. One time, he announced that he was making such a banquet. But this time, a much shorter time had elapsed since the last time he did. The banquet was particularly elaborate, and Rabbi Bengis was especially happy. When asked what was unique about this time, he said, “Many times I find myself waiting for others. I utilize this time to study Talmud. This banquet is celebrating the completion of the Talmud which I accomplished during these intervals alone.” This is an example of someone who has the wisdom to utilize every moment of life to accomplish greatness.
This is something we can all practice. It just takes a few moments every day to think about the fact that there will come a day when we will be desperate for more merits. This will encourage us to take advantage of our time and push ourselves to grab as many mitzvot as we can, while we still can.
By Rabbi Yitzchok Aryeh Strimber torah4every1@gmail.com
