Letters Jan. 2025

Joseph Proving Pharoah’s Dreams were Prophetic

Rabbi: Ibn Ezra on Bamidbar 12:6 says “all prophecies are doubled.” Joseph had two dreams when he was still home. Then the wine steward and baker had two dreams, and now Pharaoh had two dreams. Joseph new Pharaoh's dreams were prophetic. The reasoning why two dreams indicates prophecy is because a single dream is a natural psychological phenomena which Sigmund Freud says intends to keep the person sleeping, they are "guardians of sleep" as they intend to allow the person an outlet of his desires that were frustrated during the day. So naturally, a person does not dream the same content twice, as he already had an outlet for those desires. A person having two dreams that are identical must indicate a prophetic dream source. 

Rabbi Chait explained that dreams are wish fulfillment. Even in a bad dream—a nightmare—there exists some positive element. It may not be the essence of the dream, which might be very bad, but there exists some good. However, Joseph said, “Pharaoh’s dreams are one.” Now, if with “Pharaoh’s dreams are one” Joseph meant to address the dreams’ repetition, Joseph’s words later would be redundant: “And as for Pharaoh having had the same dream twice, it means that the matter is imminent by God, and that God will soon carry it out” (Ibid. 41:32).  This would be redundant. But the language in 41:32 indicates that Joseph did not yet discuss the repetition of the dreams. In truth, in 41:32, Joseph addresses the repetition for the first time. Thus, “Pharaoh’s dreams are one” stated earlier cannot address the imminent nature of the forecast. It does not mean that there are both good and bad cows, one good element and one bad. “It’s one dream” means this: there is no value in the good cows. Meaning, the subsequent emaciated cows completely obscured the healthy cows; there was no good in the healthy cows as they will inevitably be swallowed by the famine. The goodness of the healthy cows serves no good element, Pharaoh gains no benefit at all. [We can paraphrase the dream as] “One dream of bad cows completely removing the good of the healthy cows.” The dream is not “good cows” separate from “bad cows.”  Both cows are tied together; the good cows are destined to be swallowed by the bad cows. Sum total, there is no good in these dreams. [The years of plenty were obscured, as if they never were].

Thus, there was no good element in Pharaoh’s dreams. Thereby Joseph understood these dreams were prophetic, for they contained no positive element [natural dreams are partially wish fulfillment—a positive element—but Pharaoh’s dreams contained no such good; no such wish. Thus, the dreams must be prophetic]. Telling Pharaoh his dreams were one, Joseph was not explaining the duplication, but he was saying that as a whole, the dreams contained no positive element. This was not a simple nightmare with deeply rooted conflicts. As there is nothing good in these dreams, they must be prophetic.

Love of God: Only through Wisdom, all other Methods are Idolatrous

Rabbi: “Idolatrous” refers to psychological and emotional modes of relating to God. Creating an idol expresses man’s inability to detach from physical security, and properly trust in the unknowable, metaphysical God. Amulets too are idolatrous, even if it’s a mezuzah that is believed to ward-off imagined evil forces. When igniting a mezuzah, it burns. Thus, if it can’t save itself, it can’t save a person. Assuming a certain date is fortuitous is another imagined power. Man’s insecurities compels him to seek protection and security, but when he invents his own means, he acts psychologically and not in reality. This is what is means by “idolatrous.” 

In contrast, Judaism demands man follow not imagination, but reality, wisdom, which is what Torah teaches. Thus, only through Torah wisdom can man love God through placing his trust is what is real.  

Lulav

Howie S: Why do we wave the lulav?

Rabbi: Talmud says that waving lulav up (what’s above) and down (what’s is below) indicates the heavens “above” and the Earth “below.” These 2 areas include all creations, there is nothing else. Through waving, (using lulav as only a mere sample of creation) we attest thereby that God is the sole cause of all creations. Then, waving in all four directions north, south, east, and west indicates not creations, but events, what takes place “on Earth,” meaning man's actions in any location. This now addresses the other aspect of God's greatness, that God not only created everything which is up and down, but He then “governs” man after creation in all locations. Thus, God is great as He created all, and that He governs all. 

What’s their Purpose of Mitzvah & Halacha?

Howie S:  Mitzvah is the ultimate means of human perfection. How? Is it because you’re subordinating yourself to god? Or something else.

Rabbi: God knows all the areas of the human mind and emotions. Therefore He structured each individual mitzvah to improve man in every facet of his life. Each individual mitzvah addresses one part of man. But as Rabbi Chait said, the entire corpus of all mitzvahs fully addressed the entire human being, and missing out on even one mitzvah means man is lacking in that area.

Howie S:  Rabbi Chait says a person must understand Halacha for mitzvah to perfect him. But before it seemed he said just the action of mitzvah perfects, but here he says you need to know the Halacha to perfect you. Which is it?

Rabbi: No, the action of mitzvah alone without understanding it will not perfect a person. It's not the physical actions that perfect man because that does not affect his mind. Man must understand the reasons for all mitzvahs which is why Rambam wrote at length about the reasons of mitzvahs.

Can Man Bind God?

Avi: How do you understand the Rashi that the brothers put a curse on anyone— including Hashem—who revealed the truth about Joseph’s sale?

Rabbi: It means that God agreed with not revealing anything to Jacob. This was God's plan as Rashi says on Genesis 37:14. In other words just as a curse restrains all parties to a single plan not to violate it, this curse indicates that God was compliant with the same will of the brothers

Avi: Yes but not because of the curse.  It is because He willed that Yaakov should be separated from Joseph  and eventually end up in mitzrayim? True, he could have gotten them there any way He wished but there was a plan to be separated

Rabbi: Exactly, there was no curse.... it's a metaphor to show how in line the brothers were with God's will. It would be the height of foolishness and arrogance to assume that a person can bind God through a human curse. How could the mouth control its maker? It's like a puppet controlling the puppeteer