“...“We dreamed a dream but there is none who can interpret it,” and Yosef said to them, “Interpretations are for G-d, tell me please [the dreams.]”” (Ber. 40:8)
Even in prison, Yosef was a kind and concerned person. He saw two men, servants of the King, who were incarcerated, but looked even more upset than normal, so he asked about it. They replied by saying they’d had a dream that was impossible to interpret because it was so confounding. Undeterred, Yosef asked them to tell him the dream.
Upon hearing what the butler had to say, Yosef explained with tremendous clarity and insight exactly what the dream meant. The baker heard this and happily told Yosef his dream, expecting the same interpretation. He was disappointed, however, for Yosef’s interpretation, just as divinely-inspired as the first, did not bode well for the baker. Both of Yosef’s interpretations were borne out in the coming days, with the butler restored to service and the baker hanged.
There is a small nuance here which is easy to miss. The butler and baker each had a dream. There were numerous similarities, so they assumed it was a single dream. However, they could not reconcile the meanings even when they consulted with local soothsayers and occultists. It was Yosef who first suggested they might not be a single dream by saying that interpretations (plural) belong to G-d.
Perhaps because they were so sure about their impression of it being a single dream, they were unable to grasp the messages because they could not see it any other way. Later, Pharaoh would have two dreams, but Yosef would tell him they were actually one.
The lesson here is that when we are so sure of something that we fail to consider any other possibility, we are hindering ourselves and preventing anyone from helping us. We will wind up depressed, hopeless, and lost, because the world won’t make any sense to us.
Yosef said, “G-d is in control of the interpretations.” That is, not only of dreams, but of every event in our lives. If we want to get the messages He’s sending, we need to be open to the possibility we don’t see things clearly, and consider we might be wrong in our perception.
He said to them, “Tell me the dreams without your commentary or opinion. Just relay to me what you experienced, and let me see if Hashem will guide me to the truth.” Because Yosef was a person who trusted in Hashem, not in his own wisdom or might, he was entrusted with the correct meanings of the dreams.
On Chanuka, the Maccabees fought a war. By all logical arguments, it didn’t make sense. It was a suicide mission, but they fought anyway, relying not on their own tactics and smarts, but knowing that Hashem would be the arbiter of the outcome. That trust was the source of their salvation, and they merited to see things in an entirely new light.
When R’ Chaim Volozhiner z”l had the idea to found his famous yeshiva in Volozhin, which came to be the paradigm for the modern-day Yeshiva, he excitedly approached his Rebbi, R’ Eliyahu, the Gaon of Vilna. He was surprised and more than a little disappointed when the Gaon did not share his enthusiasm. He shelved the project.
A few years later, he still thought it was a good idea, so he approached the Vilna Gaon again. This time his Rebbi wished him well and told him it was a wonderful idea. He was confused. Previously, the Gaon had not thought highly of the concept. What changed?
“When you first came to me,” explained R’ Eliyahu, “you were so passionate and sure this was a great idea that I was afraid the Yetzer Hara was involved. But now that you have let your passion cool, and you still think it’s a good idea, I know your intentions are pure and your efforts will be blessed.”
