The beginning of the parsha describes the dreams of Yosef HaTzaddik. In the first dream, he was in a field gathering bundles of grain, and his bundle was standing tall and erect. The bundles of his various family members bowed down to his bundle. Yosef then has a second dream in which the sun, the moon, and eleven stars all bow down to him.
While a cursory reading of the parsha seems to yield that Yosef had two dreams, a closer analysis of the pasukim reveals that in fact this is not the case.
How Many Dreams Did Yosef Have?
In this week’s parsha the pasuk says: ויחלם יוסף חלום ויגד לאחיו ויוספו עוד שנא אתו – “Yosef dreamt a dream which he told his brothers, and they hated him even more” (Bereishis 37:5). The next pasuk states that he told his brothers to listen to his dream, which he then describes to them. “Hear if you please, this dream that I dreamt: Behold! – we were binding sheaves in the middle of the field, when, behold! – my sheaf rose and also remained standing: then behold! – your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to my sheaf” (Bereishis 37:6-7).
The pasukim seem to indicate that there was an additional dream, the details of which are not revealed to us. If only one dream was being referred to, then the pasuk should have read, ויגד לאחיו לאמר – “and he told his brothers, saying” as they would only begin to hate him once he shared the details of the dream. From the fact that the Torah tells us that ויגד לאחיו ויוספו עוד שנא אתו, and only thenשמעו נא החלום הזה - “Hear if you please, this dream...”, it seems clear that the dream that the Torah enumerates is not the original dream that contributed to their dislike of him. This idea is further supported by the fact that the Torah continues, “They hated even more – because of his dreams and because of his talk” (37:8). This newfound hatred, this increase in their dislike, is prompted by חלמתיו, his dreams – plural. Yet up to this point the Torah had only related the details of one dream – that of the bundles. This is yet another inference that up to this point Yosef had in fact shared at least one additional dream. Thus, after we read the details of his dream about the stars, we see that Yosef had three dreams.
The Missing Dream
These questions are raised by Rabbeinu Ovadiah M’Bartenura (his sefer is called עמר נ קא), and he answers by providing us with the details of the missing dream. In Parshas Vayechi, we read that after Yaakov Avinu’s passing and subsequent burial in Me’oras HaMachpelah, the brothers were very worried, as they thought that now that Yaakov was no longer alive, Yosef would seek to take his revenge for having sold him as a slave.
Yosef is quick to comfort his brothers, and he offers them assurance that he will not seek to cause any harm at all, saying, “So now, fear not – I will sustain you and your young ones. Thus, he comforted them and spoke to their heart.” (50:21) The Gemara (Megillah 17b) informs us that Yosef consoled his brothers by advancing a kal vachomer: “If ten flames could not extinguish one flame, then how could one single flame possibly extinguish ten others?” When Yosef – the one flame – was dominated by his brothers – the ten flames – they had sought to kill him but were unsuccessful. Now that they are all under Yosef’s domain, he, as a single flame, would defiantly not be able to harm them. Rashi (50:21) cites this Gemara to explain how Yosef consoled his brothers.
Yosef’s parable of candles is curios. Why flames? Why not any other example? Off all the myriad examples he could have used, he chose candles. Why? The Bartenura explains that Yosef did not simply just choose a random parable. He was referring to his first dream – the dream referenced in Parshas Vayeishev, whose details are not specified in the Torah. In that dream, Yosef had visualised ten flames attempting unsuccessfully to extinguish one flame.
Why Is This Dream Absent From the Torah?
The Bartenura then explains why this dream is not discussed in the Torah. This dream displayed the hatred of the ten flames and their ineffectiveness to extinguish the light of the single flame, representing the hatred of the ten brothers and their futile attempts to harm him. However, as it did not allude to Yosef being victories over them, as his other dreams indicated, there was no need to include it in the Torah. The torah recorded for posterity only the dreams that brothered the brothers, the dreams that contribute to their course of action.
Forty-Four Candles
Based on the above we have a hint to the forty-four candles we light on Chanukah (including the shamash). Yosef had a dream that ten candles tried to extinguish an eleventh candle. Yosef then related this dream to his brothers, which gives us a total of twenty-two candles. Eleven in the actual dream, and another eleven in the repetition.
Then in Parshas Vayechi, Yosef reassured his brothers by saying “If ten candles could not extinguish one, how can one candle possibly extinguish ten.” This statement, plus the twenty-two candles in the dream and retelling of the dream totals forty-four. Thus, the forty-four candles of Chanukah are alluded to in the dreams and consolation of Yosef. (R’ Doniel Glatstein)
