Machshavot HaLev - Yeshivat Lev HaTorah

62
Vayeishev
People Say I’m a Dreamer, but I’m Not the Only One
Elliot Gerson
Y osef ’s dream at the beginning of the parsha seems odd: ,םי ִמּ ֻל ֲא םי ִמ ְלּ ַא ְמ וּנ ְח ַנ ֲא ה ֵנּ ִה ְו
)ז:זל( יתִ ָמּ ֻל ֲא ַל ָןי ֶו ֲח תַּ ְשׁ תִּ ַו ,ם ֶכי ֵתֹמּ ֻל ֲא ה ָני ֶבּ ֻס ְת ה ֵנּ ִה ְו ;ה ָב ָצּ ִנ-ם ַג ְו ,י ִת ָמּ ֻל ֲא ה ָמ ָק ה ֵנּ ִה ְו ,ה ֶד ׂשָּ ַה ךְוֹת ְבּ.
“Behold! We were binding sheaves in the middle of the field, when, behold – my sheaf
arose and also stood; then behold – your sheaves gathered around and bowed down
to mine” (37:7).
From this pasuk, Yosef ’s brothers begin to get angry at him, eventually resulting in his
kidnapping and sale to the Egyptians. We all grew up taking Yosef ’s side, but honestly,
who would want to be around someone who said this to them? How effective can
telling someone that you’re superior to them actually be? It sounds as though Yosef is
being condescending!
The Shem Mishmuel sites the following pasuk from Tehillim: םוּק ָי-י ִמוּ ;’ה-ר ַה ְב ה ֶל ֲע ַי-י ִמ
וֹשׁ ְד ָק םוֹק ְמ ִבּ. “Who will go up to the mountain of Hashem, and who will stand in His
holy place?” (24:3).
The Maggid of Kozhnitz divides this verse into two sections: the pasuk refers to one
who toils to be close to Hashem, and one who retains that closeness through times
of struggle. The one who can constantly stay on the same high level is deemed a
tzaddik, who can show everyone else how to overcome their hardships and stay close
to Hashem. This was the meaning of Yosef ’s dream as well: his sheaf stood in the
sense of the pasuk in Tehillim. Yosef ’s dream wasn’t one portraying his arrogance to