Miketz
Seeing the Plan to Fruition
By Rabbi Pinchas Avruch
Our parsha begins two years after the butler's liberation from prison by
Pharaoh and restoration to his prior position. "And it was at the end of
two year's time and Pharaoh dreamed, and, behold, he was standing on the
shore of the Nile." (Beraishis/Genesis 41:1) The juxtaposition of verses
and concepts is essential in understanding the Torah. What is the
significance of the end of the two-year time lapse since the butler's
release and his forgetting to advocate for Yosef's release to Pharaoh's
dreams?
The Bais HaLevi (Biblical commentary of Rabbi Yosef Dov HaLevi Soloveichik,
1820-1892, one of the greatest Talmudic minds of the nineteenth century;
Rosh Yeshiva/Dean in Volozhin, Rabbi of Slutsk and Rabbi of Brisk) explains
that the Torah is clarifying the relationship of cause and effect. It is
analogous to a merchant with wares to sell and a buyer with disposable
funds. With the sale of the goods, the merchant will realize a profit. A
mundane perspective would dictate the sale is the "cause" and the profit is
the "effect". But in truth, we know that it is G-d who provides us with our
daily income. G-d inspires the purchaser to buy these goods at this time so
that the seller will make his profit. Indeed, the profit is the "cause" and
the sale is the "effect".
So, too, continues Rabbi Soloveichik, a superficial look at the event of
Pharaoh's dream, which "happened" to be two years after the events with the
butler, would indicate that the dreams led to Yosef's release from
incarceration; the dreams are the "cause" and the release is the "effect".
This is backwards. G-d had predetermined at the butler's discharge that
Yosef would spend another two years in prison. The dreams were a means to
get Yosef out of prison and into the leadership position for which he was
destined. Release was the "cause" and the dreams the "effect". Therefore,
the verse states it clearly as cause and effect: "And it was at the end of
two year’s time and Pharaoh dreamed..."
Last week's Kol HaKollel elucidated how we have the Divine gift of freedom
to make choices that have the potential to impact our lives and the lives
of others, but our choices are only "potential". Our difficulty is
comprehending how G-d absorbs our choices and shapes events to bring His
ultimate plan to fruition. We invest so much of ourselves into the choices
we make and the results appear obvious. Pharaoh's dreams help us appreciate
that appearances often are deceiving and the cause and effect are often not
nearly as clear and they may seem at first glance.
Have a Good Shabbos and Happy Chanuka!
Copyright © 2002 by Rabbi Pinchas Avruch and Project Genesis, Inc.
Kol HaKollel is a publication of the Milwaukee Kollel Center for Jewish
Studies 5007 West Keefe Avenue; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; 414-447-7999
