Joseph's Dreams: A Deep Dive into the Family Drama

Joseph had a seemingly surprising dream, but when we look at the reactions of his family, we find two surprising things. As described in the Torah: "And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brothers, and said, 'Behold, I have dreamed another dream; and, behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars bowed down to me.' And he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, 'What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?'"

Joseph dreamed of becoming a lord and master over his family. His father rebuked him, and we might think that Jacob, and certainly the brothers, saw this as nonsense. But this is not what the Torah tells us: "And his brothers envied him; but his father kept the matter in mind."

Not only did his father, despite rebuking him and dismissing the dream, keep the matter in mind, pondering if there was truth in it, but the brothers also envied him. Envy arises over something the other has that I do not. If the dream was meaningless, and even Jacob, who loved Joseph, dismissed it, what is there to envy?

Moreover, the Torah presents the brothers' reaction before Jacob's, so we do not think they noticed Jacob keeping the matter in mind and thus became envious. Once more, the brothers, even before Jacob, secretly believed there was truth in the dream, hence their envy. They understood that Joseph might indeed acquire something. Despite wanting to dismiss it, there was truth there.

People do not fight against something that lacks truth. If Joseph meant nothing to the tribes, they wouldn't have fought him, wouldn't have bothered to sell him. They fought him because there was a kernel of truth in what he represented, reaching deep into their core. There were arguments, and Joseph did things the brothers considered truly wrong. Yet, their struggle with him indicates they recognized something unnatural in his vision.

Even as they came to kill him, they said, 'Behold, here comes that dreamer.' A scoffing phrase, yet it concealed a fear: fear of Joseph's dreams. They held truth, and they would come to fruition. Hence, 'Let us kill him.' They were people of property and of sword and spear, but Joseph was a dreamer, possessing a spiritual asset in dreams, of a vision of kingship.

The tribes wanted to kill Joseph to cut off the dream, but Judah proposed a remarkable alternative: 'Let's sell him... and lay no hand upon him.' We, too, believe in destiny and the fate Hashem directs in the world; we need not fear his dreams. Indeed, if it's Hashem's will, He will return him even from the Ishmaelites. It's not our hands that decide. Let’s see Joseph contend with Egypt. If he’s destined for kingship, he will face all the weights of this world, embodied by mighty Egypt.

The tribes didn’t want to support Joseph or let him dominate them, as they believed he was on the wrong path. But precisely because they envied his dream, potentially true, they gave the dream a 'fair chance', not as a beloved son of his father, but as a lone man in a pagan and cruel empire. Go pursue your dream. If it's truly yours after all, we'll bow to you, which indeed happened.

Judah’s descendant, King Solomon, faced a similar trial: Jeroboam, a descendant of Joseph, received a prophecy from Ahijah the Shilonite granting him kingship. Solomon had the opportunity to acknowledge this prophecy and give it some place for what would rightfully come to Rehoboam due to this vision to be realized. But instead, Solomon sought to kill Jeroboam, who fled to Egypt, like his ancestor Joseph. Rehoboam continued this policy of ignoring the vision of Ephraim’s tribes. Jeroboam, for his part, no longer listened to Ahijah the Shilonite and decided to fight for everything, leading to the split of the kingdom of Israel.