The time has arrived for Joseph to engage his brothers in the debate with Pharaoh (See “Table Talk: Vayeishev” & “Who’s In Charge?”). Pharaoh is testing Joseph who remains confident (“More Than a Feeling”). However, the family will have to master the Ivri approach, to understand the Chess Moves of the “Master of Memory,” and prepare for the exile in Egypt, or, to rephrase it; to appreciate what’s On the Menu.

Jacob prepares them for “The Debate.” “But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with the others, because he was afraid that harm might come to him (Genesis 42:4).” Jacob the Patriarch concerned that an accident will happen to Benjamin!

Jacob is sending a message to the brothers who claimed that Joseph was dead and that God was not in control of the destiny of the entire family: “If it happened to Joseph, it can happen to Benjamin, and we cannot rely on Divine Providence!”

Joseph forces the brothers to acknowledge God’s Guiding Hand (See: “A Long Speech,” & “Master of Memory IV”): “They said to one another, ‘Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that’s why this distress has come on us’ (21).”

Joseph masterfully moves them step by step to the point at which they can understand, “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but the Lord (45:8),” and, “Am I in the place of the Lord? You intended to harm me, but the Lord intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives (50:20),” and, ultimately, “But the Lord will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land He promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.’ And Joseph made the Israelites swear an oath and said, “The Lord will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place’ (24-25).”

When the brothers swear their oath, they are acknowledging that they will continue to play an active role, engaging Divine Providence.

Joseph’s menu was provided with a sense that we are active participants in our destiny, engaging Divine Providence. We reject the Egyptian demand for independence of God, just as we reject Adam’s need to feel that he wanted to play a more active role.

Joseph’s menu is our ultimate response to the Serpent’s claim: “For the Lord knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like the Lord, knowing good and evil (Genesis 3:5),” God created us to be “powers,” to have independence in choice, engaged with Him, not against His Guidance. This will support them through the exile, and guide them as they prepare for, and experience the Exodus, and the Revelation at Sinai. They will be chased from Egypt as Adam was chased from the Garden; but this time it will be an opportunity to repair what Adam did not. They will achieve at Sinai, the state of Adam and Eve before their sin.

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Learn & discover the Divine prophecies with Rabbi Simcha Weinberg from the holy Torah, Jewish Law, Mysticism, Kabbalah and Jewish Prophecies. The Foundation Stone™ is the ultimate resource for Jews, Judaism, Jewish Education, Jewish Spirituality & the holy Torah.

“I looked out this morning and the sun was gone

Turned on some music to start my day

I lost myself in a familiar song

I closed my eyes and I slipped away

It’s more than a feeling (more than a feeling)

When I hear that old song they used to play (more than a feeling)

I begin dreaming (more than a feeling)”

(Boston: More Than a Feeling)

The debate has begun. Joseph responds to Pharaoh’s (inaccurate retelling of the dreams) by further provoking his adversary: “It is just as I said to Pharaoh: The Lord has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do (41:25).” The Lord is in control. He then quickly tempers his words, “The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by the Lord, and the Lord will do it soon (Verse 32),” however, there is something you can do; there’s a reason the Lord informed you of what will happen: “And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food. This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine (33-36).”

Your sense that your dreams were a summons was more than a feeling; It’s a message about your most basic struggle with life: God wants you to engage Divine Providence.

God’s involvement does not preclude you from acting. You can accept the Ivri approach and still shape your destiny.

“The matter seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his servants. So Pharaoh said to his servants, ‘Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of the Lord’ (37-38).”

Pharaoh well understands Joseph’s message, and immediately applies it by consulting his servants and making them active participants in his decision; exactly how Joseph explained Divine Providence!

But…

Pharaoh is not an easy, nor quick, convert to the Ivri approach:

“Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Since the Lord has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you (39-40).”

“‘Since the Lord has made all this known to you,” all what? The interpretation? The strategy? Or, is Pharaoh referring to this, your Ivri approach to engaging what God has already determined what will happen? Pharaoh has decided to test Joseph’s approach; he will bear full responsibility for his plan’s success. However, “Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you,” I will remain in control.

“Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘I am Pharaoh, but without your word no one will lift hand or foot in all Egypt.’ Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah and gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, to be his wife.” He again insists, “I am Pharaoh,” and challenges Joseph to remember that his Ivri approach landed him as a slave to Potiphera, the attempted violation of his master’s wife, and his imprisonment. Joseph may be elevated to a grand position, but he will always have his past on his mind!

When the Midrash insists that Asenath was the result of Shechem’s rape of Dinah, they are hinting that Pharaoh wanted this Ivri to remember how his family had acted in Shechem!

I can picture Joseph chuckling to himself as he names his children: “Before the years of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On. Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh and said, ‘It is because the Lord has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.’ The second son he named Ephraim and said, ‘It is because the Lord has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering’ (50-52).” Joseph does not feel what Pharaoh intended about being married to Potiphar’s daughter! The Ivri approach allows him to view all that happened as God’s Guiding Hand, Divine Providence.

I’m a new soul

I came to this strange world

Hoping I could learn a bit ’bout how to give and take

But since I came here, felt the joy and the fear

Finding myself making every possible mistake

See I’m a young soul in this very strange world

Hoping I could learn a bit ’bout what is true and fake

But why all this hate? try to communicate

Finding trust and love is not always easy to make

This is a happy end

Cause you don’t understand

Everything you have done

Why’s everything so wrong

This is a happy end

Come and give me your hand

I’ll take you far away

Yael Naim: New Soul

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Learn & discover the Divine prophecies with Rabbi Simcha Weinberg from the holy Torah, Jewish Law, Mysticism, Kabbalah and Jewish Prophecies. The Foundation Stone™ is the ultimate resource for Jews, Judaism, Jewish Education, Jewish Spirituality & the holy Torah.

The first meeting between Joseph and Pharaoh is about to begin, and the wine steward felt safe involving himself, however, he also realized that he had to carefully choose his words to ingratiate himself with Pharaoh, even as he was about to hint that Pharaoh was not in control of his destiny:

“Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, ‘Today I am reminded of my shortcomings. Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and he imprisoned me and the chief baker in the house of the captain of the guard. Each of us had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own. Now a young Hebrew – Ivri – was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us, giving each man the interpretation of his dream. And things turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us: I was restored to my position, and the other man was hung’ (Genesis 41:9-13).” The Ivri, the one who argues that God is in control, had predicted Pharaoh’s choices based on a dream; Joseph knew before the king what Pharaoh would choose; “I was restored to my position, and the other man was hung.”

If Pharaoh is searching for someone who has a grasp of the higher source that sent the dreams/messages/summons to the king; there is an Ivri, who knows how to read such messages.

“So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.’ ‘I cannot do it,’ Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but the Lord will give Pharaoh the answer he desires’ (Verses 14-16).”

Joseph enters the Throne Room, can’t help but notice his old acquaintance the wine steward, and immediately understands that he has been summoned to interpret a dream. He also understands that, his dreams so long delayed, was about to be realized, “he was quickly brought from the dungeon,” things, for him, are beginning to move. He stands on a delicate point balancing control and Providence, a lesson he has considered over two extra years in prison. He also understands from the presence of the wine steward that this is the issue that stands between Pharaoh and him.

“I had a dream, and no one can interpret it,” not exactly true; Pharaoh heard interpretations that came about. He left out, “no one can interpret it to my satisfaction.”

“When you hear a dream you can interpret it,” and you will understand what I need from your interpretation. Pharaoh wants a semblance of control even as he turns to this Ivri to decode the message of the Higher Source.

“I cannot do it, Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but the Lord will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.” The Lord is in control. The debate has begun.

“Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile’ (Verse 17),” again, not completely accurate: In the actual dream. Pharaoh was “Standing on the water (Verse 1).” In the dream, Pharaoh was above the water; controlling the Nile, something he cannot say to the young man, the Ivri, who insists that the Lord is in control. Joseph has successfully begun to shape the terms of the debate.

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Learn & discover the Divine prophecies with Rabbi Simcha Weinberg from the holy Torah, Jewish Law, Mysticism, Kabbalah and Jewish Prophecies. The Foundation Stone™ is the ultimate resource for Jews, Judaism, Jewish Education, Jewish Spirituality & the holy Torah.

We posited that Pharaoh and Joseph are engaged in a debate that began with the formation of Adam. Let’s study the text:

“Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, ‘Today I am reminded of my shortcomings. Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and he imprisoned me and the chief baker in the house of the captain of the guard. Each of us had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own. Now a young Hebrew – Ivri – was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us, giving each man the interpretation of his dream. And things turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us: I was restored to my position, and the other man was hung.’

So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh.

Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.’

‘I cannot do it,’ Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but the Lord will give Pharaoh the answer he desires’ (Genesis 41:9-16).”

Pharaoh’s wine steward is courageously taking a great risk: He is reminding the king that he was imprisoned for angering Pharaoh. He is only remembering now that two years earlier Joseph, the Master of Memory, asked him for help. He knows that if Joseph is successful, and given a position of power as a reward, he, the wine steward, will have to face Joseph, and perhaps even Pharaoh, and explain how the boy who interpreted his dream slipped his mind, allowing the boy to remain in prison for two extra years.

{By the way, have you ever wondered why Joseph was asked to interpret dreams – the baker’s, wine steward’s, and Pharaoh’s – that would immediately come true, while having to wait years for his dreams to be realized?}

Why take the risk? The wine steward is not a dream interpreter, and is not expected to help Pharaoh in this situation.

“They offered interpretations that immediately came true, but Pharaoh did not find peace from any of the interpretations (Rashi: 41:8).” Imagine the frustration of the necromancers and wise men of Egypt (41:8), who, not official interpreters (for some reason, Pharaoh had not summoned the official dream interpreters!), had offered interpretations that came true, and Pharaoh was still dissatisfied! Everyone in the room understood that Pharaoh understood something they had not from his dreams. The Nile, the source of Egyptian independence, grain, the source of Egyptian wealth, and cows, which the Egyptians did not eat, indicated that these dreams were more than predictions; they were a summons to do something; an idea that resonated in the mind of Pharaoh who represents the drive for action; human independence from God. There was in the throne room a call to action from a higher source. The wine steward would be safe from repercussions for having forgotten about Joseph, because all would accurately sense that this higher source had caused him to forget.

Joseph is walking into a tense Pharaoh: The King who represents the rejection of Divine Providence cannot find inner peace from his dreams without accepting that he is being guided by a higher power. Pharaoh’s inner turmoil comes out in his words and response to Joseph.

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Learn & discover the Divine prophecies with Rabbi Simcha Weinberg from the holy Torah, Jewish Law, Mysticism, Kabbalah and Jewish Prophecies. The Foundation Stone™ is the ultimate resource for Jews, Judaism, Jewish Education, Jewish Spirituality & the holy Torah.

We have come full circle with the Master of Memory back to his dreams, and his guiding his brothers to restore their relationship with each other and with Jacob, and all the way back to Adam just outside the entrance to the Garden.

“Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it (Genesis 37:6-7).” Parts of the dream have been realized; the brothers bowed as they came to Joseph for grain. We have already explained how the dream was about the brothers, not Joseph, their greatness and unity, and, how one can bow with a sense of greatness without forfeiting his dignity. Yet, there is still far more to this dream: This was not the first time that Egypt fed the world during a famine leading to a meeting between Egypt and an Ivri. “There was a famine in the land, and Abram descended to Egypt to sojourn there for the famine was severe in the land (12:10).”

There was almost, but not quite, another meeting between Egypt and an Ivri; “Now there was a famine in the land—besides the previous famine in Abraham’s time—and Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines in Gerar. God appeared to Isaac and said, ‘Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions (26:1-5).” Isaac was an unblemished offering, and, as such, it did not befit him to reside outside the Land (Rashi), although I would rephrase it and say, it did not befit him to ‘go down to Egypt!’ The verse stresses Egypt as representing the, yes, “Outside!”

This is a dream of how God feeds His creations. Egypt is watered by the Nile. Israel is dependent on rain. Egypt has food when the Land of Israel does not. Egypt represents a certain distance from God as the Sustainer, the very issue that led to the sins of the generation of the Flood, of The Tower of Babel, and of Sodom; the archenemy of Abraham. Egypt, “independent” of rain, is separated from the, “This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when God the Lord made the earth and the heavens. Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for God the Lord had not sent rain on the earth and (Rashi: Because) there was no man to work the ground (Rashi: pray for rain and acknowledge God’s continued sustenance of His creation), but mists came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground (Genesis 2:4-5).” Egypt is separated from the primal human and his work.

Although separated from Adam’s original responsibility, even in the Garden, Egypt helped “feed” him: “A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold (2:10-11).” Rashi explains; “Pishon is the Nile; because its waters gallop and rise and water the earth, it is called Pishon, as in, “Their cavalry gallops headlong – u’Fashu parashav (Habakuk 1:8).”

Joseph’s dream deals with the question of Divine Providence and how we should relate to it. Egypt, as did Adam, desired independence from God.

Cain, of the original battle over the birthright, attempted to repair Adam’s drive for independence. The Sages teach that he brought flax in the form of linen as his offering, and, guess which land is known for its flax: “A prophecy against Egypt: Those who work with combed flax will despair, the weavers of fine linen will lose hope (Isaiah 19:1 & 9).” [There’s more to the prohibition of mixing Cain’s linen with Abel’s wool than meets the eye!]
Joseph’s dream is how his brothers who so struggled with control, would come to the realization that God controls our destiny, our food, our lives: “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but the Lord. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt (Genesis 45:8),” and, when they refused to accept Joseph’s message, he repeated, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of the Lord? You intended to harm me, but the Lord intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children (50:19-20).”

From the moment he awoke from his dreams, Pharaoh understood and debated with Joseph this issue of Divine Providence.

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Learn & discover the Divine prophecies with Rabbi Simcha Weinberg from the holy Torah, Jewish Law, Mysticism, Kabbalah and Jewish Prophecies. The Foundation Stone™ is the ultimate resource for Jews, Judaism, Jewish Education, Jewish Spirituality & the holy Torah.

It all happens so quickly! The brothers confront the Viceroy, ready for war. Joseph reveals himself, tells them to move down to Egypt, a suggestion they accept without hesitation! These brothers listen to their old nemesis in the snap of a finger! They aren’t bothered by all that Joseph, in his role as the manipulative viceroy, has put them through the last year. Pharaoh hears that Joseph’s brothers have come and, without hesitation, invites them to move to gifted property in the Beverly Hills of Egypt, and even supplies moving vans. The brothers rush back to Canaan, gently inform Jacob, who, in turn, doesn’t ask why Joseph didn’t come with them, nor does he raise the obvious issue of how did Joseph come back to life, let alone rise to become the Viceroy of Egypt, and decides to move down to Egypt with everyone and everything! It’s too fast for me.

Oh! Did I forget to mention that the verse hints that Joseph has to prove his identity to his brothers after issuing his invitation; the one he made while they were in shock: “Behold! Your eyes see as do the eyes of Benjamin that it is my mouth that is speaking to you (45:12).” The dreamer of provocative dreams then insists that his shocked brothers, “Tell my father of all my glory in Egypt (Verse 13)!” I can imagine them thinking, “He hasn’t changed a bit!”

Who comes up with the idea that the brothers should carry Jacob to Egypt? Pharaoh! “Carry your father and come (Verse 20)!”

Then, there is that matter of one of the most intense and important conversations in the entire Joseph saga; the one that followed Joseph’s unmasking, and yet, all the verse will share is, “Afterwards, his brothers conversed with him (Verse 15).” What I would give to have been a fly on the wall listening to that conversation!

Once we’re on the topic of fast forwarding through major decisions, let’s rewind to Pharaoh’s original decision to elevate Joseph to his lofty position: Does a king, even one motivated by a powerful dream, elevate an imprisoned slave because of his great wisdom to Viceroy without editing his new favorite’s previous life? Had he never heard of Jacob? of the brothers? Of what happened in Shechem? Did he not know of Abraham and his history in Egypt? Of Abraham’s great victory over the Four Kings? Of his distant relative, Hagar, and her son, Yishmael? Did he not ask Joseph about his family? Was he not concerned about the political implications of elevating a member of Abraham’s family to such a powerful position? Pharaoh gives as a wife to Joseph the daughter of the man who owned him as a slave and who threw him into prison! He allows the wine steward who shared a prison cell with him to remain alive! Can you imagine how much the Egyptian Enquirer would pay for his “exclusive story!”

Why did the Egyptians continue to treat Joseph as an outsider, “The Egyptians could not bear to eat food with Hebrews, it being loathsome to them (43:32)?” Surely Joseph did not continue eating meat while in Egypt; why would they still find it loathsome to eat with him? If it was loathsome to eat with Hebrews, the Egyptians knew about the Hebrews, and they knew that Joseph was a member of the family! Joseph was an outsider even in his position as viceroy, just as he was an outsider when a teenager.

It was so loathsome to them to eat with a Hebrew that they couldn’t eat at the same table with Joseph even after he stopped eating meat and became the ultimate Egyptian! (He even had one of those Pharaonic beards!) It was loathsome to the Egyptians to eat at the same table as the Hebrews even when they were no longer meat eaters, but they can give them property in the best neighborhood in Egypt!

PS: I’m still waiting for a response to: Playing Her Way Into Eden!

Author Info:
Learn & discover the Divine prophecies with Rabbi Simcha Weinberg from the holy Torah, Jewish Law, Mysticism, Kabbalah and Jewish Prophecies. The Foundation Stone™ is the ultimate resource for Jews, Judaism, Jewish Education, Jewish Spirituality & the holy Torah.

(Based on Likutei Moharan 80) Open your hearts like mad, this is one of the deepest Torah’les from Reb Nachman. There are a lot of beautiful things in the world, but if someone will say that Paris is beautiful, their car is beautiful and peace is also beautiful, they have no idea what peace is. Peace comes from another world completely, because peace is the only vessel for all the blessings that exist.

 

Now I want you to open your hearts in the deepest depths.

Where does G-d put all his blessings? The Gemara says (Uktzin 3:12) ‘Lo Matsa Hakadosh Baruch Hu Klee Machzik Mracha Ela Hashalaom’, G-d couldn’t find a vessel to put his blessing into besides the vessel of peace.

Why is peace a vessel for blessing? But even deeper, what is peace? To make peace is between two opposites. The Gemara says (Chagiga 12a) that heaven, shamayim is a combination of two words, Eish and Mayim, fire and water. Fire and water are so to speak the two biggest enemies in the world. The Ribbono Shel Olam makes peace between them. Since peace is above all that, you can make peace between fire and water, between all opposites in the world.

Now open your hearts in the deepest depths.

Do you need any more opposition between actually having something and not having it, between being and not being?

 

You know something friends, G-d wants to give us so much. Let’s say I have a hundred dollars, and suddenly I don’t have it anymore. G-d blesses me that I should have more, but in order to put in more, I have got to make an infinite vessel to contain what G-d wants to give me. The only thing which is infinite is peace because it’s beyond fire and water, beyond all the oppositions. The only thing which is infinite is peace.

 

Now everybody knows that from the ten emanations and from the seven emotions Avraham Avinu was love, Yitzchak was strength and Ya’akov is beauty. Who is the top with peace? Heilige Yosef Hatzadik. Yosef was Yesod, a foundation. Foundation is the combination of love and strength, which is even more than beauty. It brings peace between love and strength.

 

So Yosef is a combination of two things. On the one hand it says ‘Vayave Yosef Es Dibasam’ (Breishis 37:2), when Yosef saw something bad he spoke up. As much as he was completely filled with peace, when he sees something wrong he speaks up. However he is also looking for his brothers in the deepest way. ‘Es Achai Anochi Mevakesh’ (ibid. 37:16). He was also called an Avrech (ibid. 41:43 see Rashi there), Avrech means Av Bachochmah, a father in wisdom, and Rach Bashanim, he was young in years.

 

So Reb Nachman says this means that he has both minds, Mochin DeKatnus and Mochin DeGadlus, the little mind and the high mind. What does it mean to have both minds at the same time? I want you to understand something very deep. Let’s say someone sees me with the biggest criminal in the world. So they will come up to me and say ‘listen, this guy is the biggest murderer and criminal in the world. How can you hang out with him?’ If I answer back ‘my mind is so high and big that it doesn’t even matter, I can handle it all’, how does it sound to you? You don’t have a big mind, you don’t have a small mind, you don’t have a mind at all. Some people’s minds are so high but gurnisht… when it comes down to it there is nothing really there.

You see what it is, peace is not when there is fire and water and I just put them together. Peace doesn’t mean I’m infinite and I don’t care about anything. It doesn’t mean that I don’t care what you did in your life, just come in and have a meal with me, it  just doesn’t go this way. You see friends, peace is the utmost combination of love and of strength. Without this holiness of peace, most people are just lost. They don’t know when to speak up when something is wrong and they don’t know how to point out when something is right.

Ya’akov Avinu knows exactly when to love and when to go strong, it’s a very high level. Yosef is something deeper than that, Yosef is everything together at the same time and instant. Just like the foundation of a house holds up all functions of the house at the same time. Ya’akov Avinu is completely open, he knows when to love and he knows when to push away. Yosef is both at the same time and this is what a foundation is all about. The foundation of yiddishkeit, the foundation of serving G-d is not that I know when to push away and I know when to love, but that it’s absolutely taking place in my heart at the same time.

So here Reb Nachman say that the highest level in the world is when you give your life to G-d, because what does it mean to give your life to G-d? It is absolutely chasadim and gevuros together. I love G-d so much that I am ready to die for G-d which is the utmost gevurah, the utmost strength. The highest thing in life is to be completely given to G-d which is always a combination of utmost love and utmost strength. Therefore even the lowest yidele is willing to die before G-d because basically, we yiddelach are filled with peace. To be filled with peace means that we have this utmost love and this utmost strength, and they are both alive within me at the same time.

Now listen to this, let’s go one level deeper.

What does it mean to have a foundation? When you have a foundation it means you mamesh have a connection. I can be filled with love but it doesn’t mean that I am connected to love. I can be filled with strength but it doesn’t mean that I am connected to it. Yesod, foundation means that I am connected to it. A lot of people do everything good their whole life but there is something wishy-washy about them because they are not connected to what they are doing. A person can be a yidele for two thousand years but when you taste this yid, there is something missing. I can be married to my wife for two thousand years, we never had a fight and we love each other but inside there is nothing, no connection. Some people can fight all the time but there is something very deep connected between them. I’m not saying that it’s better like this, but there is a connection. Yosef, the foundation means to be absolutely connected to what you are doing and how are you feeling.

This is how Yosef Hatzadik makes it.  He was the first yidele who lasted in exile, he went through everything in the world. From the lowest, by being in prison, to the highest, being a king. Do you know how he made it? He always knew ‘I am a yidele’, because he was connected.

Now listen to this most beautiful thing.

The foundation is the vessel but this is not the highest level yet, it’s only the vessel. What is the Master of The World putting into this vessel? He is putting the greatest blessing in the world. The greatest blessing is if you can speak before the Ribbono Shel Olam. The greatest blessing is that you are so close to G-d that you can mamesh daven, pray, and that you can learn and utter words of holiness.

This is the aspect of Malchus, kingdom. This is what being a king is all about.

Speaking has to be a combination of both elements. Every word you utter has to be on the level of love and has to be on the level of strength. Imagine I love a girl very much and I tell her ‘I would love to marry you’, so she would say ‘listen, call me back next week’. There has to be some gevurah in it. If I walk up to a girl and scream to her ‘I want you to marry me’ then it still won’t go. Gevurah without Chesed is also bad. Real learning, real words…

When real holy people talk they always have both aspects together. It’s utmost love and utmost strength because you have to realize that holy also means the combination of the utmost strength and love together.

You know my friends, when the Bobover Rebbe’s son got married, hundreds of people came to the wedding. Nebech, his first wife was killed and he had eight children. This son that got married was the only one that was left over. You can just imagine how he felt at the wedding. He was so very broken and at the same time very high. There were hundreds of people giving him little kvitlach with their names on it. There was no time to say a lot, so I gave him a kivitele and he said to me two words, Chen Vachesed. Now friends, I’ve heard the words ‘chen vachesed’ hundreds of time in my life, but it was mamesh on the level of Malchus. Chen Vachesed… just two words that changed my life forever.

This is Yosef Hatzadik, the Yesod, the foundation which it the utmost combination of both.

“But Joseph said to them, ‘It is just as I have declared to you: you are spies! By this shall you be tested: By Pharaoh’s life you will not leave here unless your youngest brother comes here. Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother while you shall remain imprisoned, so that your words may be tested whether truth is with you; but if not, by Pharaoh’s life, surely you are spies!’ Then he herded them into a ward for a three-day period (Genesis 42:14–17).”

The viceroy repeats his refusal to believe their denial. However, this time he offers them a way to prove themselves: He will imprison nine of the brothers, while sending one back to Canaan to bring Benjamin. The Viceroy then proceeds to imprison all of them!

Who is the liar now? “I thought you were going to allow one to return to Canaan!”

How did the brothers allow themselves to be imprisoned?

They were feeling defensive. They had been manipulated into a position of having to prove their innocent intentions. However, surely they wondered why the Viceroy imprisoned all of them without allowing one of them to return home and collect Benjamin.

It was clear that the Viceroy considered them a threat, and that he wanted to exhibit his power before allowing just one to go and fetch Benjamin. They knew that they were not a threat. They knew that all their intentions were good. But it didn’t matter; the Viceroy considered them a threat, sufficiently so, that he had to display his power and throw them into prison.

Sound familiar? Was this not exactly how they had treated Joseph? They considered Joseph a threat and they certainly made a strong display of their power over him. For the first time, they reconsidered their relationship with Joseph not because of Jacob’s agony, but because they were beginning to understand that their perceptions of Joseph’s intentions led them to assert their power over him in a disastrous way. They had ended up in a prison just as Joseph had ended up in a pit.

“Then he herded them into a ward for a three-day period,” also resonated in their minds: “And it came to pass on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword and they came upon the city confidently, and killed every male (Genesis 34:25).” The people of Shechem spent three days in total confidence and security recovering from circumcision. Disaster struck on the third day. The brothers certainly did not spend their three days in quiet confidence and security. The brothers waited three days before attacking Shechem, without informing their father, Jacob, of their intentions. They were now learning to wait three days under entirely different circumstances.

Once again, Joseph managed to manipulate his brothers into a situation in which they would have to reevaluate past actions and decisions. Joseph knew that the only way his brothers could become the unified gatherers they were in his first dream, and from there become the great beings they were destined to be, represented by their appearance as stars in his second dream, was for them to reflect on their actions of the past and learn to repair them.

Joseph, the Master of Memory, was guiding his brothers to become all that he had dreamed of them becoming.

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Learn & discover the Divine prophecies with Rabbi Simcha Weinberg from the holy Torah, Jewish Law, Mysticism, Kabbalah and Jewish Prophecies. The Foundation Stone™ is the ultimate resource for Jews, Judaism, Jewish Education, Jewish Spirituality & the holy Torah.

“And he said to them, ‘No! But the land’s nakedness have you come to see’ (Genesis 42:12).” The viceroy of Egypt simply rejects their words. It is a terrible feeling to be ignored, as in, “They could not speak to him peaceably (37:4),” and, as in the story of the sale of Joseph that does not include a single word from the main character! Joseph was completely ignored. His words did not matter.

“And they replied, ‘We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the son of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father and one is gone’ (Verse 13).” They mention, for the first time, the twelfth brother. Joseph successfully triggered their memory of ignoring his words. They repeat, “the son of one man,” because they also reconnect to the moment when they ignored Jacob’s words when he rebuked them for what they had done in Shechem. The brother’s were not listeners. “Indeed we are guilty concerning our brother inasmuch as we saw his heartfelt anguish when he pleaded with us and we paid no heed; that is why this anguish has come upon us (42:21).” They acknowledge that they were not good listeners.

Interestingly, the moment they acknowledge that they were not good listeners, “Reuben spoke up to them, saying, ‘Did I not speak to you saying, ‘Do not sin against the boy, but you would not listen!’ (Verse 22).” Now, all of them are beginning to recall moments when the others did not pay attention. They had been claiming to be brothers, but at this moment, they realize that they had not been behaving as such even to each other.

Joseph had realized this, and had even spoken of it in his dreams: “Behold! We were binding sheaves in the middle of the field, when, behold, my sheaf arose and remained standing; then behold, your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to my sheaf (37:7).” Joseph dreams of his brothers as being unified. They were so bothered by the detail of their bowing to him, that they missed the point of his dream, which was they were united, just as they would be in his next dream!

Once again, Joseph is reframing their memories, having them play out his dreams in their heads so that they could rethink Joseph’s words as he said then, as good listeners,’ rather then as the poor listeners they had always been to him and, to Jacob, and, to each other.

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Learn & discover the Divine prophecies with Rabbi Simcha Weinberg from the holy Torah, Jewish Law, Mysticism, Kabbalah and Jewish Prophecies. The Foundation Stone™ is the ultimate resource for Jews, Judaism, Jewish Education, Jewish Spirituality & the holy Torah.

“They answered him, ‘Not so, my master! For your servants have come to buy food. All of us, sons of one man are we; we are truthful people; your servants have never been spies’ (Genesis 42:10–11).”

I always find it interesting how easily someone who lies can insist that he is truthful. The brothers had blatantly lied to the people of Shechem, and to Jacob about Joseph, and yet here they were, insisting that they were truthful.

The minute someone insists that he is truthful, I suspect that he is not. The Viceroy must have already been suspicious.

When they insist, “Your servants have never been spies,” they probably only increase suspicion. Why claim to have never been spies rather than simply say, “We are not spies”? Why do they describe themselves as, “sons of one man,” rather than as brothers?

Here they stand, accused of being dangerous, insisting that they are not. Once again, not a new situation for these men: “Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, ‘You have discomposed me, making me odious among the inhabitants of the land’ (34:30).” Simeon and Levi never acknowledged that their actions portrayed their father in a horrible light. At this moment, accused of being spies, something of which they had already been suspected by their late night attack on Shechem, the brothers recall that moment from their past, realize that no matter how justified their intentions, they may appear odious in the eyes of others. Jacob was right all along.

At that moment, they reconnect with their great father, “all of us, sons of one man are we.” But, if they reconnect with their father, they must reconsider the terrible lie they told him about Joseph. They insist, for themselves, “We are truthful people!” They even have to justify their behavior in Shechem by insisting, “Your servants have never been spies.”

So far, the brothers have learned that they could bow down to someone as great men, not necessarily subservient. They have reconnected to those moments when they stood by Jacob as his brethren. They have reconnected to their father’s foresight. They are confronting the moments when they did not stand by Jacob as brothers. They are confronting the moments when they lied to Jacob. They are reconsidering their actions in Shechem from their father’s perspective.

All of these thoughts will help them understand that their sin was not just selling Joseph; it was their response to him and his dreams, all along.

Joseph is taking the brothers back to their past, reframing their memories, and preparing them to connect to the way he had seen them so long ago in his dreams.

To be continued…

Author Info:
Learn & discover the Divine prophecies with Rabbi Simcha Weinberg from the holy Torah, Jewish Law, Mysticism, Kabbalah and Jewish Prophecies. The Foundation Stone™ is the ultimate resource for Jews, Judaism, Jewish Education, Jewish Spirituality & the holy Torah.