Waiting... and Waiting...
Two long years passed after the chief butler was freed from jail. He had totally forgotten his promise to Yosef. And so Yosef still sat in the dungeon. He had been a prisoner for twelve long years already - when would it end? Would the butler ever remember to tell Paraoh that Yosef didn't deserve to be locked up? Yosef could only sit and wait and wonder.
The First Strange Dream
One night, Paraoh had two strange dreams. In the first dream, he stood near the Nile River and saw seven fat, healthy cows rising out of the water. Then seven more cows walked out of the water, but these seven had seen better days - they were sickly-looking and skinny. Suddenly the seven skinny cows swallowed up the seven fat cows - and stayed just as skinny as before! Paraoh woke up and thought about the dream until he became very sleepy. He closed his eyes and dreamed again.
The Second Strange Dream
In this dream there were seven good and healthy ears of grain growing from the ground on a single stalk. Then out of the ground grew seven thin, dried-out ears of grain, each on its own pathetic, weak stalk - and the thin ears of grain swallowed up the healthy ones! Paraoh was extremely upset and confused. What could these dreams mean? In the morning, Paroah ordered in his dream wizards, told them his dreams, and they all offered explanations. But not even one was able to crack the secret of his dreams!
From Rags to Riches
Paraoh was really getting frustrated with all of his wizards' interpretations, when the chief butler suddenly had a flash of memory: "Paraoh! Remember when you got angry at me and threw me in prison? Well, the chief baker and I both had dreams one night, and a slave named Yosef interpreted them perfectly!" "I must meet this amazing servant right away!" exclaimed Paraoh. Yosef was given a haircut and nice, clean clothes and was brought to the mighty king Paraoh. "Yosef, I hear you can interpret dreams," said Paraoh. "Not really - it's HaShem Who understands dreams and He tells me their hidden meaning." And then Paraoh told Yosef his dreams from beginning to end. Yosef replied, "These seem to you to be two separate dreams, but they are actually one dream, with one meaning:
"For the next seven years, there will be plenty of food in this land. This is the meaning of the seven fat cows and the seven good ears of grain. But for the seven years after that, there will be a terrible hunger, and everyone will forget all about the good years! That's why the seven skinny cows and ears of grain ate up the fat ones." Aha! That made sense to Paraoh! But what should he do now? Yosef then gave Paraoh this advice: "It's important to choose a very wise man to be in charge of gathering grain all over Egypt during the upcoming seven good years. If you do this, then there will be plenty food to eat during the seven bad years." Paraoh was very pleased with Yosef. He said to his officials, "Can you think of anyone better suited to be in charge of the country during this difficult time than Yosef himself?" It was decided. Paraoh exclaimed to Yosef, "I hereby appoint you ruler over all of Egypt! I will be the only one higher than you in power. And from now on, you will be known as Tzafnat Panayach, which means 'one who explains the hidden.' " Paraoh took off his royal ring and placed it on Yosef's finger.
Married With Children
Paraoh arranged for Yosef to marry Osnat, the adopted daughter of Potifar (now called Poti Fera). Yosef was then thirty years old, married - and the ruler of Egypt! Not bad for a boy who had been thrown into a pit filled with snakes, then sold into slavery by his brothers! Two sons were born to Yosef and Osnat before the years of hunger. Their names were Menashe and Efraim.
Feast and Famine
The good years came to Egypt, just as Yosef had predicted. There was more food than anyone could possibly eat. As planned, Yosef made sure that the extra food was put in huge storehouses for the seven years of hunger. All of the food Yosef put away stayed fresh - but any food that the Egyptians had tried to store in their homes became spoiled. Everyone from Egypt and all over the world traveled to Yosef to buy food from him.
Down to Egypt
Meanwhile, in the land of Canaan, Yaakov called a meeting with his sons. "Reuven, Shimon, Levi, Yehudah, Yissachar, Zevulun, Dan, Naftali, Gad, and Asher, we will soon run out of food here in Canaan. I hear there's food down in Egypt. I want you to go there and buy grain before we have no food left at all! But Binyamin, you'll stay here with me. I don't want anything to happen to you." The ten brothers set out for Egypt.
Arrested!
The brothers finally arrived in Egypt and were called to come before Yosef. He recognized them right away; they hadn't changed much since he last saw them. But when the brothers last saw Yosef, he didn't even have a beard, and now he was a grown man. They had no idea that this Egyptian ruler - who sat on a throne in a palace, dressed in royal garments - was actually their very own brother! They approached Yosef and all bowed down to him. His dream from long ago (the eleven bundles of grain all bowing down to Yosef) had now been fulfilled... almost. Where was Binyamin?
Yosef wanted to ask about his younger brother, but was afraid to reveal his true identity too fast. First he wanted to test his brothers, to see whether they felt sorry about what they had done to him. So Yosef pointed an accusing finger at them. "You are spies!" he said, harshly. "Spies?" the brothers answered, surprised by the way the ruler had spoken to them. "We're just brothers who have come to buy food. In fact, there are really twelve of us brothers in all. The youngest stayed home with our father. We also had another brother but he is... gone." "Do you expect me to believe any of that? You'll have to bring me proof! I want you to bring your youngest brother to me... or else!" Yosef demanded. Before allowing them to leave the country, Yosef sent all of the brothers to jail for three days. When he released them, he said, "Now, go home and give your families food. Then, return to me with your youngest brother. Go!" The brothers were trembling in their sandals!
We're Sorry!
Yosef's brothers turned to each other and began speaking in Hebrew, thinking that Yosef could not understand them. (All along, he had been speaking to them through an interpreter so that it would appear that he spoke only Egyptian.) "What is going on? Why are we being punished?" they asked each other. "This is all because of what we did to our brother Yosef many years ago... He begged us not to sell him, but we did it anyway!" "Well," Reuven said, "I told you not to do it! I told you to have mercy on him! He was just a child!" Yosef understood everything they said. He turned away and cried - he couldn't help himself. But he couldn't let his brothers know who he was yet - it was still too soon. Yosef interrupted, "Go, I said! But you" - he pointed to Shimon - "stay here as my prisoner until the rest return!"
Unpleasant Surprises
Before the nine brothers went back home to Canaan, Yosef secretly told his son Menashe, "Fill up their sacks with food... but also put back the money they brought to pay for it. And don't let anyone see you do it!" When the brothers arrived back at Yaakov's place in Canaan, they opened their sacks to show their father the food - and noticed their money sitting on top of the grain! They were totally shocked and terribly frightened. Was the ruler playing some kind of trick on them? They told their father everything about their trip down to Egypt. When they got to the part about bringing Binyamin to see the Egyptian ruler, Yaakov cried, "Oy vey! First Yosef, then Shimon... not my Binyamin, too! I absolutely won't let you take him!" Days passed. Weeks passed. The food they had brought from Egypt was running out. Yaakov gathered his sons and told them, "Now is the time for you to go back to Egypt to buy more food." Yehudah spoke up: "Father, we can't go back to Egypt without Binyamin. I will personally guarantee that he will return safely to you. But time is running out for us; we must hurry." With a sad heart, Yaakov finally agreed for them to take his beloved Binyamin. When they were ready to leave, Yaakov instructed them, "Take double the money this time, in case prices have gone up. And bring the ruler, Tzafnat Panayach, plenty of gifts... and don't forget to return the money that was in your sacks - it was probably just a mistake." And then Yaakov blessed his sons, "May HaShem soften the heart of the Egyptian ruler, so that you will return home safely together with Binyamin and your other brother!" (When Yaakov said "your other brother," he meant Shimon, who was still in prison in Egypt. But of course, there was another "other brother" whom Yaakov hoped to see again someday: Yosef himself!) The brothers said good-bye to their father and their families, and off they went on their dangerous trip to Egypt for a second time. Down to Egypt... Again
What a Lunch!
The brothers arrived in Egypt in the morning and went straight to Yosef's grand palace. When Yosef saw Binyamin, he ordered his chief servant to tell the cooks to prepare a delicious lunch for the guests from Canaan. The brothers were amazed and confused to see how nice Yosef was to them. Reuven then said to the chief servant, "We want to return to you the money we found in our sacks. We have no idea how it got there but we want to give it back to you. Here, give it to Tzafnat Panayach." The chief servant smiled. He knew who really put the money into the sacks. "Don't worry," he said.
The time for lunch came and suddenly Shimon came into the room. The brothers ran to hug him! Yosef made his grand entrance into the huge room, and the brothers bowed out of respect for the great ruler. Now Yosef's first dream had been completely fulfilled - all eleven of his brothers had bowed to him. Yosef spoke to them in a kind and gentle way. "How was your trip? How is your father? Is he still alive?" "Why, yes - he is alive," they said, bowing. Yosef couldn't stop looking at Binyamin, and he said to him, "Do you have another brother, who has the same mother as you?" "Yes... but we don't know where he is," said Binyamin. "And do you have any sons yourself?" asked Yosef. "Yes, I have ten," said Binyamin. "All have names that remind me of my lost brother. Like the name 'Bela,' which means 'swallowed,' since Yosef has been swallowed by strangers and has disappeared." After hearing this, Yosef quickly ran out of the room so no one would see him crying. When he finally got himself together, he washed his face and went back into the dining room. "Serve the bread," he commanded his servants. When they were all ready to sit down, Yosef held up his tall, silver wine goblet. He said, "This is a magic cup! Watch." He tapped on the cup and called out the name of each brother to be seated, in their correct birth order, grouped according to their mothers. So Reuven, Shimon, Levi, Yehudah, Yisachar, and Zevulun were seated, then Dan and Naftali, and then Gad and Asher. Binyamin was told to sit with Yosef. "Because you have no mother, and neither do I," explained Yosef. Wow, now that was some impressive trick! The brothers still had no clue who this Egyptian ruler, who performed magic with his wine cup, really was. They ate and drank, and drank and ate. Binyamin ate the most of all, since Yosef had served him five times as much food as everyone else!
Framed!
When the brothers were preparing to leave, Yosef said out loud to his son Menashe, "Fill up their bags with plenty of grain!" Then he added, secretly, "And this time, hide my wine cup in Binyamin's sack" In the morning, the brothers went off, riding on their donkeys, carrying their heavy sacks of food. They didn't have a chance to get very far, though. Menashe was chasing after them! "Stop!" he called. He had been sent by Yosef and he said just what his father had told him to say: "Is this how you repay kindness? By stealing my master's precious magic cup?" What?" said the brothers in shock. "We would never do that! We are honest men! Go ahead and search our bags, if you like!" Menashe looked in each one's bag, starting with the oldest, and working his way down to... "AHA! What is the magic cup doing here in Binyamin's sack?" The brothers' jaws dropped and their eyes widened in fear. "You're all coming back to the palace with me," said Menashe. "Let's go!"
On Trial
Soon all eleven brothers were standing before Yosef again."You!" Yosef pointed to Binyamin. "Since you stole from me, you will stay here as my slave. The rest of you are free to go."Yosef was testing the brothers: Would they abandon their brother, just as they had abandoned Yosef that day in the desert? Or would they come to his defense?
