The Short Vort
Sign up for The Short Vort and our other email lists
The Short Vort- “You Never Know” (1/12/12)
The Short Vort
Good Morning!
Today is Thursday the 17th of Teves 5772 and January 12, 2012
You Never Know
His brothers also went and fell before him, and they said, "Behold, we are your slaves."
But Joseph said to them, "Don’t be afraid, for am I instead of God?
Indeed, you intended evil against me, [but] God designed it for good, in order to bring about what is at present to keep a great populace alive.
(Bereishis 50: 18, 19, 20)
At the end of last week’s Sedra, the brothers come before their brother Yosef- the ‘Prime Minister’ of Egypt; the ‘ruler’ of the land; they bow and declare "Behold, we are your slaves."
This is understood. After all, the brothers were concerned that now with the demise of their father; perhaps Yosef would change his previous show of good will towards them.
However, Yosef’s reaction is strange.
He states: But Joseph said to them, "Don’t be afraid, for am I instead of God?
Indeed, you intended evil against me, [but] God designed it for good, in order to bring about what is at present to keep a great populace alive.
We understand what Yosef means when he says, “Indeed, you intended evil against me, [but] God designed it for good”; and we can understand when Yosef says that all that has transpired is “to keep a great populace alive”. After all, the ‘good’ which Hashem planned by allowing Yosef to become the ruler of Egypt through his sale to the Egyptians by the brothers is the major facilitating factor in his being able to sustain his family now.
However, what does Yosef mean when he states: [but] God designed it for good, in order to bring about what is at present?
What extra point is Yosef making when he says that all that has transpired occurred “to bring about what is happening at the ‘present’?
What momentous event is happening in the ‘here and now’ which shows G-d’s design in the world and which is separate and distinct from the claim to keep a great populace alive?
Enter the Vilna Gaon
Remember when everything began way back when?
Remember those first encounters of Yosef and his brothers when he related to them his strange dreams?
And he said to them, "Listen now to this dream, which I have dreamed:
Behold, we were binding sheaves in the midst of the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright, and behold, your sheaves encircled [it] and prostrated themselves to my sheaf."
So his brothers said to him, "Will you reign over us, or will you govern us?" And they continued further to hate him on account of his dreams and on account of his words.
(Bereishis 37: 6, 7, 8)
The brothers are clearly upset by what they deem is the absurdity of their brother’s dreams.
They dismiss the meaningfulness of the dreams by stating: "Will you reign over us, or will you govern us?"
The Vilna Gaon explains the subtle inner meanings of their dismissal.
The fist word ‘reign’ (Hebrew: HaMaloch) signifies a ruler who has been accepted by the people through their agreement and their choosing.
However, the second word, ‘govern’ (Hebrew: Mashol) implies a ruler who forces his dominion over his people against their will.
(See Tehillim 22:29- “For the kingship is the Lord’s, and He rules over the nations.”And the comments of the Vilna Gaon there [Kol Eliyahu] as he explains that Hashem’s rule over His people is b’Ratzon (with their agreement) while with regard to the nations of the world it is against their will (‘U’moshel’)
The brothers are stating to Yosef that just as it is absurd to assume that you will ever be ‘Maloch’ over us- meaning: that we will choose for you to rule over us; so too, you will never ‘rule’ over us against our will (‘Mashol’). Therefore your dreams are certainly absurd.
The brothers could never imagine Yosef ruling over them; not by force and certainly not with their consent!
The Truth is Stranger than Fiction!
Yosef, as many of the commentators inform us- knew that the dreams were prophetic and even attempted to facilitate- the culmination and the fulfillment of the dreams.
The brothers have in Chapter 44 already bowed and prostrated themselves before Yosef.
Indeed, when they return to his presence after they are brought back to his palace the Torah states: And Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, and he was still there, and they fell before him upon the ground. (Bereishis 44: 14)
Perhaps this is finally the fulfillment of dream number one which only involved Yosef and his brothers and not his father. After all the dream states: “Behold, we were binding sheaves in the midst of the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright, and behold, your sheaves encircled [it] and prostrated themselves to my sheaf."
(Bereishis 37; 7)
Are not the brothers prostrating themselves before their brother?
Yes, this is true; however, at this point they still do not know that the person standing before them is their lost brother Yosef!
At this point, their ‘acceptance’ of the ‘kingship’ of Yosef is against their will; it is still in the realm of ‘moshel’.
However, at the very end of Sefer Bereishis- when the brothers come before their now known to them- brother Yosef- and they fall before him and the Torah states “His brothers also went and fell before him, and they said, "Behold, we are your slaves."- This is the true finale of the dreams!
Only now have all aspects of the dream been fulfilled!
This final act of ‘falling’ before Yosef and their acceptance of their brother as a ruler without coercion and with their full agreement is the final fulfillment of the dream number one which took place almost forty years before hand!!!
That which was unbelievable to brothers almost forty years before hand when they declared with confidence: "Will you reign over us, or will you govern us?"
has now been fulfilled as they state: "Behold, we are your slaves."
Not only has Yosef been the ‘moshel’ over them; he is now the true ‘melech’ (accepted ruler) over them.
This therefore is what Yosef undoubtedly means when he says: [but] God designed it for good, in order to bring about what is at present.
What event is occurring at the ‘present’ which causes Yosef to declare [but] God designed it?It is the culmination of that lonely dream he dreamt many years before.
That which for so many years was a pipe dream has now come full circle as Yosef declares [but] God designed it for good, in order to bring about what is at present.
.
Perhaps this is the reason Sefer Bereishis ends with this incident.
Although Yaakov and his sons are in Mitzrayim (Egypt) and although a great bondage looms menacingly on the horizon, the previously ‘unthinkable’ fulfillment of the dreams of Yosef stands out as signpost; constantly reminding us that dreams do come true; dreams are indeed fulfilled.
It may take many decades and many twists and turns; however, dreams do come true.