When Yosef interprets the dream of the butler, he gives a very positive interpretation, whereas he gives the baker a very pessimistic one. This is very puzzling in light of the teaching of our Rabbis that: Dreams follow the interpretation (literally: the mouth). In other words, the interpretation that is given will determine the outcome. So why did Yosef not give the baker a pleasant interpretation, as well as the butler? The butler dreamed of returning to his former glory, once again preparing the king’s cup and presenting it to him – a dream of optimism, ambition, and hope.
The baker, however, dreamed a dream of pessimism, defeatism, and despair. Although he is carrying food for Pharaoh, it is in cheap baskets, made of twigs, and the birds are consuming the food. Dreams are expressions of aspiration! When the Ponovezher Rav was mocked for his plan to build a large yeshivah in Bnei Brak after the Holocaust by those who said that he was a dreamer, his response was, “Yes, I am a dreamer, but a dreamer who is awake!” The butler has great aspirations – he will be restored to his former honor. The baker lacks aspirations – he stands no chance! It is fascinating to see how aspirations change reality in the dreams of Yosef himself.
When Yosef tells his brothers about his first dream, he says, “We were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood erect; behold your sheaves encircled and bowed down to my sheaf.” In this dream, Yosef is represented by his sheaf. However, in his account of his second dream, Yosef says: “Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” Now, Yosef is not represented by a star but is himself present in the dream. The aspiration represented by the first dream impacts the second dream.
With these insights, we can understand a puzzling teaching of our Sages (Berachos 55b): Rebbe Yona taught, quoting Rebbe Zeira: “Anyone who remains seven days without a dream is called bad.” Why is the fact that one did not have a dream make one “bad”? Why seven days?
Seven is the number that corresponds to the world of nature. Seven days is the period corresponding to our working in this physical world. The idea being taught is that if one goes through such a period with no aspirations, then one is not growing and, as such, one is a bad person because he is not fulfilling the purpose of being in this physical existence.
