Nahmanides: First to introduce mystical thought into a Torah commentary
Nahmanides: First to introduce mystical thought into a Torah commentary
Translated and edited by Hakham Nissim Elnecave and Shelomo Alfassa
INTRODUCTION: The perasha last week spoke about the two dreams Yosef had. Yosef dreamt that he and his brothers were gathering sheaves in the field, tying them up together. Yosef's sheaf stood up, and the brothers' sheaves bowed down to his (Bereshit 37:5-9). In his second dream, the sun, the moon and 11 stars bowed to him. The issue here is whether this was a prediction for the future; would the brothers bow down to Yosef? Due to their similarity, it seems that the interpretation of the dreams were the same. The simple interpretation is that Yosef would rule over his brothers. It appears that it took twenty-two years for this to be fulfilled. This happened when the brothers arrived in Egypt to buy grain and found themselves bowing before their brother Yosef. Nahmanides, in his commentary to the Torah, carefully delves into the questions that arise from this story. Nahmanides is among the first to introduce mystical thought into a Torah commentary.
* * *
Nahmanides on Fulfilling Dreams (Perashat Mikes)
On a particular night Par'o (Pharaoh) had two dreams. The best known dream is the one involving cows. Par'o was standing by a river where he saw seven beautiful meaty cows come out of the marsh. Following them were seven other cows, ugly and thin, that ate the beautiful cows. Arising in the morning and not having anyone capable of interpreting the dream, he called upon Yosef. Yosef told him the dream meant that seven years of plenty would arrive--followed by seven years of incredible famine. The Torah relates to us that after Yosef interpreted Par'o's dream, he was appointed as Viceroy of Egypt, and his duties included preparing the land for the forecasted famine. Yosef was asked to supervise and to stockpile all the produce of the land during the seven years of plenty so he could distribute the food when the seven years of famine began. Years later, when the famine started, Yosef's brothers arrived into Egypt, amongst many other people, to obtain food. Nahmanides wonders if this is the event that will show Yosef's dreams coming to fruition.
The question that should be asked is: Why are all of the people, including the brothers, having to pass directly in front of Yosef? The Torah states, "It was he [Yosef] that sold grain to all the people of the land" (Bereshit 42:6). Nahmanides explains in his commentary, "It is possible that the people from all lands came before him, and he would question and investigate them, and then [he would] command the officers, "Sell so much food of this-and-that to the people of that city. Thus it was necessary for the children of Yaakov to come before him among those who came from the land of Canaan..."
Although the Torah says, "And Yosef saw his brothers, and he recognized them," we know the brothers did not recognize Yosef. Nahmanides give us two possibilities as to why the brothers could not recognize him, he states, "Immediately as Yosef saw them, he recognized them, and he feared they would recognize him. So he made himself strange looking by putting a mitre [hood] upon his forehead and part of the face, thus disguising himself." Nahmanides gives us a second option, "It may be here that he made himself strange by his words, speaking to them harshly and asking them in anger, "From where do you come to appear before me?" And they said, "From the land of Canaan to buy food." When the men mentioned this to him, it became clear to Yosef that they were indeed his brothers. This is the meaning of the expression, "And Yosef recognized his brothers," which is mentioned a second time to indicate an additional sense of recognition of their identities.
Nahmanides says, "...Scripture states that when Yosef saw his brothers bowing down to him, he remembered all the dreams which he had dreamt. He knew that, in this instance, not one of the dreams had been fulfilled." Nahmanides feels that, as the first dream entails, all of the brothers have to bow down to Yosef. In addition, as in the second dream, the brothers also must bring the father to bow to Yosef. Nahmanides understands the dreams have not been fulfilled yet, and that Yosef must maneuver in order to make them come true.
Yosef only saw ten of the brothers, they arrived together without Binyamin. Nahmanides says, "Now since he did not see Binyamin with them, he [Yosef] conceived a strategy devising a charge against them, so that they would also have to bring Binyamin to him, in order to fulfill the first dream. Without Binyamin bowing with the other ten men, the dream was not fulfilled. For this reason, Yosef wasn't ready to tell the men that he was their brother."
It was only after fulfillment of the first dream that Yosef revealed himself, and Yosef thought the setting was ready for the men to bring the father to fulfill his second dream. According to Nahmanides, Yosef had to strategize to fulfill the interpretation of his own dreams. Nahmanides said that Yosef, "Assigned each [moment] to its proper time in order to fulfill the dreams." Ultimately, we learn that, in Nahmanides' opinion, Yosef had to maneuver to bring these dreams to fruition, even while causing his brothers and father anguish.
So what do we learn from Nahmanides' viewpoint?
Nahmanides seems to infer through his commentary that one cannot just dream of the future, one must strive to make his dream come true. It is not just fate we live, but a fate of our own making. As we have seen, Yosef was given the dreams by the Almighty, and thus Yosef knew what needed to be done. Furthermore, Yosef was great enough to wait for the right time and place, and, with effort, to follow the path God had laid-even bringing pain and suffering to himself, his brothers, and his loving father.
Translated and edited by Hakham Nissim Elnecave and Shelomo Alfassa
INTRODUCTION: The perasha last week spoke about the two dreams Yosef had. Yosef dreamt that he and his brothers were gathering sheaves in the field, tying them up together. Yosef's sheaf stood up, and the brothers' sheaves bowed down to his (Bereshit 37:5-9). In his second dream, the sun, the moon and 11 stars bowed to him. The issue here is whether this was a prediction for the future; would the brothers bow down to Yosef? Due to their similarity, it seems that the interpretation of the dreams were the same. The simple interpretation is that Yosef would rule over his brothers. It appears that it took twenty-two years for this to be fulfilled. This happened when the brothers arrived in Egypt to buy grain and found themselves bowing before their brother Yosef. Nahmanides, in his commentary to the Torah, carefully delves into the questions that arise from this story. Nahmanides is among the first to introduce mystical thought into a Torah commentary.
* * *
Nahmanides on Fulfilling Dreams (Perashat Mikes)
On a particular night Par'o (Pharaoh) had two dreams. The best known dream is the one involving cows. Par'o was standing by a river where he saw seven beautiful meaty cows come out of the marsh. Following them were seven other cows, ugly and thin, that ate the beautiful cows. Arising in the morning and not having anyone capable of interpreting the dream, he called upon Yosef. Yosef told him the dream meant that seven years of plenty would arrive--followed by seven years of incredible famine. The Torah relates to us that after Yosef interpreted Par'o's dream, he was appointed as Viceroy of Egypt, and his duties included preparing the land for the forecasted famine. Yosef was asked to supervise and to stockpile all the produce of the land during the seven years of plenty so he could distribute the food when the seven years of famine began. Years later, when the famine started, Yosef's brothers arrived into Egypt, amongst many other people, to obtain food. Nahmanides wonders if this is the event that will show Yosef's dreams coming to fruition.
The question that should be asked is: Why are all of the people, including the brothers, having to pass directly in front of Yosef? The Torah states, "It was he [Yosef] that sold grain to all the people of the land" (Bereshit 42:6). Nahmanides explains in his commentary, "It is possible that the people from all lands came before him, and he would question and investigate them, and then [he would] command the officers, "Sell so much food of this-and-that to the people of that city. Thus it was necessary for the children of Yaakov to come before him among those who came from the land of Canaan..."
Although the Torah says, "And Yosef saw his brothers, and he recognized them," we know the brothers did not recognize Yosef. Nahmanides give us two possibilities as to why the brothers could not recognize him, he states, "Immediately as Yosef saw them, he recognized them, and he feared they would recognize him. So he made himself strange looking by putting a mitre [hood] upon his forehead and part of the face, thus disguising himself." Nahmanides gives us a second option, "It may be here that he made himself strange by his words, speaking to them harshly and asking them in anger, "From where do you come to appear before me?" And they said, "From the land of Canaan to buy food." When the men mentioned this to him, it became clear to Yosef that they were indeed his brothers. This is the meaning of the expression, "And Yosef recognized his brothers," which is mentioned a second time to indicate an additional sense of recognition of their identities.
Nahmanides says, "...Scripture states that when Yosef saw his brothers bowing down to him, he remembered all the dreams which he had dreamt. He knew that, in this instance, not one of the dreams had been fulfilled." Nahmanides feels that, as the first dream entails, all of the brothers have to bow down to Yosef. In addition, as in the second dream, the brothers also must bring the father to bow to Yosef. Nahmanides understands the dreams have not been fulfilled yet, and that Yosef must maneuver in order to make them come true.
Yosef only saw ten of the brothers, they arrived together without Binyamin. Nahmanides says, "Now since he did not see Binyamin with them, he [Yosef] conceived a strategy devising a charge against them, so that they would also have to bring Binyamin to him, in order to fulfill the first dream. Without Binyamin bowing with the other ten men, the dream was not fulfilled. For this reason, Yosef wasn't ready to tell the men that he was their brother."
It was only after fulfillment of the first dream that Yosef revealed himself, and Yosef thought the setting was ready for the men to bring the father to fulfill his second dream. According to Nahmanides, Yosef had to strategize to fulfill the interpretation of his own dreams. Nahmanides said that Yosef, "Assigned each [moment] to its proper time in order to fulfill the dreams." Ultimately, we learn that, in Nahmanides' opinion, Yosef had to maneuver to bring these dreams to fruition, even while causing his brothers and father anguish.
So what do we learn from Nahmanides' viewpoint?
Nahmanides seems to infer through his commentary that one cannot just dream of the future, one must strive to make his dream come true. It is not just fate we live, but a fate of our own making. As we have seen, Yosef was given the dreams by the Almighty, and thus Yosef knew what needed to be done. Furthermore, Yosef was great enough to wait for the right time and place, and, with effort, to follow the path God had laid-even bringing pain and suffering to himself, his brothers, and his loving father.
Leave a comment