Rosh Hashanah: The Secret of the Interpretation of Yosef's Dream and the Light of Adam HaRishon
Lesson No. 330 | Part 2, Wednesday, Parashas Tzav, Eve of 8 Nissan 5762
Rabbi Berland shlit"a in a profound lesson on the power of mesiras nefesh (self-sacrifice) and the hidden light of Adam HaRishon. The article reveals the wondrous connection between the Day of Judgment, Yosef's release from prison, and the real reason why the Egyptian sorcerers could not interpret Pharaoh's dream.
Mesiras Nefesh (Self-Sacrifice) Versus the Fire of the Evil Inclination
During the Inquisition, Marranos (crypto-Jews) who secretly returned to the Jewish faith faced terrible dangers. Especially on the night of the Seder, the priests would station detectives in the markets to track anyone buying maror (bitter herbs) and lettuce. When they identified a house where a Seder was being held, they would burst in during the dead of night with an army and soldiers, break down the secret walls, capture the Jews, and burn them at the stake in the city square.
Even before the Inquisition, in the year 4941 (1181), blood libels occurred in which Christians claimed that Jews put blood in matzahs. The libel became so deeply rooted that non-Jews refused to taste matzah, and mothers would frighten their children from infancy, warning them that "the Jews will kidnap them." This is how they educated them to believe these lies.
"But a true Jew, one who truly keeps the Torah, cannot be burned. The evil inclination is fire, and whoever escapes the evil inclination—the fire cannot control him." There is a letter from Rabbeinu Tam describing how holy Jews were thrown into the fire time after time, and the fire simply did not burn them. They walked through the flames and emerged unharmed, until the non-Jews were forced to kill them with swords. Whoever takes upon himself every day the mesiras nefesh (self-sacrifice) of stoning, burning, beheading, and strangulation, and proclaims "Hashem is One"—elevates himself above the dominion of fire.
The Light of Adam HaRishon
After the sin of Adam HaRishon with the Tree of Knowledge, he received a "mashka d'chivya"—the skin of a snake. Our current body is not the true, original body with which we were created. Hashem created us with a completely different body.
"The body of Adam HaRishon shone from one end of the world to the other, and the body of Chava shone from one end of the world to the other."
They were like two suns radiating their own light. Even the heel of Adam HaRishon's foot shone brighter than the sphere of the sun. Adam HaRishon was created on the sixth day, and his light illuminated all the worlds. His test was simple: to wait just three hours until the onset of Shabbos, and then he would have been permitted to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. But he lacked emunah (faith) and was impatient, and therefore he lost his luminous body.
Rosh Hashanah and the Day the Patriarchs Were Remembered
When was Adam HaRishon created? The Gemara in Tractate Rosh Hashanah brings a dispute: According to Rabbi Yehoshua, the world was created in Nissan, and according to Rabbi Eliezer, the world was created in Tishrei. Our halachah (Jewish law) and custom follow Rabbi Eliezer, that the world was created in Tishrei, and this is hinted at in the word "Bereshis" (In the beginning)—which contains the same letters as "Aleph b'Tishrei" (the 1st of Tishrei).
The month of Tishrei, and Rosh Hashanah in particular, is a time of being remembered for salvation. On the 1st of Tishrei, the holy Patriarchs Avraham and Yaakov were born and passed away (Yitzchak was born and passed away on Pesach, for Hashem completes the years of tzaddikim from day to day). On Rosh Hashanah, Sarah, Rachel, and Chana were blessed with children. "And on Rosh Hashanah, Yosef went out from the prison."
The Wisdom of the Sorcerers and the Staff of Moshe
The fact that Yosef was released from prison on Rosh Hashanah sheds light on a tremendous question in Parashas Miketz. Pharaoh dreams of seven bad cows swallowing seven good cows, and seven thin ears of grain swallowing seven healthy ears of grain. The interpretation seems simple and obvious: ears of grain and cows symbolize produce and satiation. Any rational person understands that the dream hints at seven years of plenty and seven years of famine. If so, why did the Egyptian sorcerers stand bewildered and interpret it for him as, "You will beget seven daughters and you will conquer seven provinces"?
To understand who these sorcerers were, the Midrash Rabbah (Parashas Va'eira) recounts the first encounter of Moshe Rabbeinu with Pharaoh. When Moshe threw down his staff and it turned into a snake, Pharaoh burst into laughter and mocked him: "Are you coming to sell us kindergarten tricks? An eighty-year-old man playing with toys?" Pharaoh called his wife, who threw down a staff and turned it into a snake, and then he ordered all the kindergartens in Egypt to be closed. A hundred thousand infants, aged four and five, arrived at the city square, threw down their sticks, and they all turned into snakes.
Only when Moshe's staff reverted to being wood and swallowed all one hundred thousand snakes of the sorcerers without swelling up—like a magnet drawing pins to itself—was Pharaoh terrified and fell from his throne. The sorcerers were tremendous magicians, incomparably wise. If so, how is it possible that a small child could understand that a dream about ears of grain hints at produce, while they did not know how to interpret it?
The Secret of Pharaoh's Dream
The answer lies in the date on which the dream occurred—Rosh Hashanah. The Mishnah in Tractate Rosh Hashanah states that there are four new years. On Pesach, the world is judged regarding the grain, but on Rosh Hashanah, the world is judged regarding the nations.
"And regarding the nations, it is declared on this day: which to the sword and which to peace, which to famine and which to plenty."
On Rosh Hashanah, Hashem decrees the judgment of all the nations: which nation will win a war, which will lose, who will become poor, and who will become rich. The necromancers knew that today was Rosh Hashanah, and therefore they searched for a solution related to the judgment of Rosh Hashanah—wars, the conquest of nations, and the birth of daughters. They immediately rejected the solution of grain, because grain is decreed upon on Pesach, and not in Tishrei!
"When Yosef interpreted the dream about grain and famine, Pharaoh was astonished: After all, it is now Rosh Hashanah, and grain is decreed upon on Pesach!" Therefore, Yosef needed to add advice: "Now let Pharaoh seek out a discerning and wise man." Yosef was not trying to appoint himself as prime minister out of pride; rather, he was answering Pharaoh's difficulty. He explained to him that although the decree had been sealed, through wisdom, proper preparation, and the appointment of a discerning man, it is possible to sweeten the judgment and save the country from the famine that was decreed upon it on the Day of Judgment.
Part 2 of 4 — Lesson No. 330
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