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Most of the Torah portions of this month (Kislev) are concerned with dreams. In a certain way, this is indicative not only of the time of year, but of the overall period of Jewish history before the meshiach arrives. Like the verse in Psalms (126) says, “We were like dreamersŔ referring to the Jews before the final redemption, who live in an imaginary reality, until the dawn of the messianic age. Until then, the things that we observe, the events that we experience, and the sufferings that we undergo are all like dreams that occur before we finally “wake up.” And then, with the advent of the true reality – that G-d is the boss and the world is nullified to His will – it will become clear that all that we went through was nothing more than a passing “dream.”

But on the more immediate level, the month of Kislev is the month of dreams, because the dreams tell us of warmth and blessings that are hidden under a veneer of strange and incomprehensible circumstances. Like a dream that contains many details, some of which are possible to decipher and others of which are lost in a tangle of impossible fantasy and intrigue, so the month of Kislev hints at blessings to come and yet shrouds the hints in warnings of cold things ahead of us. Joseph’s dreams contained messages which demanded interpretation. The sages told us that dreams follow the interpretation that one lends to them, and on the other hand, the sages told us that there is no such thing as a dream without nonsensical details. Not everything in a dream can be relied upon. It takes the right person to both lend interpretation, and sort out the reliable from the fantasy within the dream.

Yakov, our forefather, was such a person. When his favorite son, Yoseph had a dream, Ӆand behold the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me,” Yakov knew that he had to act swiftly. Ӆand his father growled at him, saying, what is this dream that you dreamt, will then I and your mother and brothers bow down to the ground to you?” (Gen. 37:9-10)
Yakov’s immediate need was to prevent Yoseph’s eleven brothers from becoming so jealous that they would do Yoseph harm and try to get rid of him. As Rashi explains, “Yakov said to Yoseph, ‘Your mother passed away already.’ What [Yakov] failed to realize was that the events of the dream applied to Bilhah, Rachel’s maid-servant, who brought up Yoseph as if she were his mother. And the sages learned from here that there is no dream without false details. Yakov’s intention was to remove the jealousy from the hearts of the brothers, which is why he said, ‘will then I and your mother bow down! – just as this is nonsense, so the rest of the dream is also nonsense.” (Rashi on Gen. 37:10)

Most commentators say that here, Rashi’s intention was to make two comments upon the verses. One, that Yakov was unaware that Yoseph’s dream was about Bilhah, who raised Yoseph (instead, Yakov assumed the dream was about Rachel, who gave birth to Yoseph). And two, that from here, the sages (in Berachot 55A) derived that there is no dream without false details in it. But if so, then Rashi’s two comments are contradictory. For, the first comment implies that the dream was accurate because it was about Bilhah bowing down, and not about Rachel, who was no longer alive. And, the second comment assumes that the dream was false, because just as Yoseph’s mother did not bow down, so the rest of the dream is entirely false.

If we accept this version of how to understand Rashi, then the second comment is problematical. For in the very next verse (Gen. 37:11), the Torah continues and tells us, “And his father watched over the matterŔ meaning, as Rashi explains, that he “watched and waited for it to happen.” That is, Yakov not only waited for Yoseph’s dreams to come true, but actually hoped and expected to see them come to fruition. So, we cannot say that the second comment (on verse 10) meant that the entire dream was false, in Yakov’s eyes. If he thought the entire dream were false, he would not have watched and waited for it to come to fruition.

Another way to understand Rashi may be the following: The entire explanation is one, and the two comments are linked. As mentioned above, the Talmud tells us that dreams follow the interpretation that is lent to them. Yoseph sought interpretation of his dreams. He first went to his brothers, but their resentful reaction did not satisfy his need. He then went to his father for interpretation. And although at first glance, Yakov responded similarly to the brothers, saying somewhat sarcastically, “Will then we all bow down to you!” in reality Yakov both offered his own interpretation of the dream, and made a positive statement. He knew that the dream would materialize and come true, and that the brothers would bow down to Yoseph. At the same time, like a good father, he realized that something needed to be done to assuage the jealousy felt by the brothers. Yakov needed to appease his other sons, lest they do some damage to Yoseph. So, he picked out the one detail of the dream that was glaringly inconsistent - that his wife Rachel would bow down to Yoseph. That simply could not be, since Rachel had passed away while giving birth to Yoseph. Overall, Yakov accepted the truth of the dream. But, in order to take the “sting” out of the brothers’ jealousy, he allowed them to think that just as the detail about Rachel was nonsense, so the entire dream was nonsense. Of course, that detail really applied to Bilhah, not to Rachel, but that escaped Yakov’s attention at that moment.

In summary, we see from the words, “And his father watched over the matterŔ (meaning that he waited and hoped for the dream to come true), that Yakov sincerely expected the dream to happen. But, in the meantime, he also had to appease the brothers, so he pointed out the detail in the dream (from which the rabbis learned that all dreams contain some falsity) that was untrue – that Rachel would bow down to Yoseph. And just as that was untrue, they reasoned, the entire dream was untrue.

With this explanation, we solve another problem. Rashi did not divide the two parts of his commentary (one, that Yakov did not realize that the dream applied to Bilhah, and two, that all dreams contain some untrue details) in his normal language, by prefacing with the words, “another explanationŔ or “the sages interpretedŔ which would indicate two different comments. Rather, he said, “And from here the sages learnedŔ indicating that the second comment was one continuation and in fact derived from the first comment. That is, if we learn that there is no separation between the comments, and because Yakov didn’t realize that the dream applied to Bilhah, this allowed to rabbis to derive that there is no dream without false content…then Rashi’s transition makes sense. The phrase, “and from here the sages learnedŔ connects the two explanations together, and they are one.

However, there is a problem that makes this interpretation untenable. And that is, if Yakov indeed erred, and the dream that Yoseph’s mother bowed down to him applied to Bilhah, then in the last analysis the dream was correct. This detail was not properly understood by Yakov, but if it had been properly understood, then we would have seen that the dream was correct in all of its details. And that just does not fit the statement of the sages, that “there is no dream that is without false details.”

However, the answer to that is in the “fine print” and the particulars of the sages’ statement. They did not say, “There is no dream that is without an untrue detail,” but “There is no dream that is devoid of untrue detailsŔ in the plural. And in fact, Yakov probably suspected several details within the dream. For, not only was it impossible for Rachel to bow down to Yoseph, as Yakov pointed out, but he must have doubted that he himself would ever bow to down to Yoseph. For, although a father may learn from his children, and may rectify his own behavior based upon things that his offspring bring to his attention, it is highly unlikely that the parents ever need to physically bow down to their children. So, in addition to pointing out the falseness of Rachel bowing down, Yakov must have been aware of the implausibility of he himself bowing to Yoseph. He agreed with the general overall message of the dream, which was that Yoseph would rule the world and that the brothers would bow to him since he was the king, but he did not agree to the possibility of Yoseph’s parents bowing to him.

And quite possibly, Yakov was correct in his assessment. For, nowhere do we find that Yakov actually bowed to the ground before his son. What we do find (Gen. 47:31) is that “Yoseph bowed at the head of the bed.” So, in this detail, as well as the detail regarding Rachel, Yakov found multiple faults in the dream, from which the rabbis derived that “there is no dream lacking untrue details,” in the plural.

Nevertheless, there is something lacking in our basic understanding of the dream and its interpretation. For, even if Yakov gave an interpretation that satisfied his own opinion that all of the tribes would eventually bow to Yoseph, as well as the opinion of the sages that there is no dream “without false details,” while taking the “sting” out of the dream so that Yoseph’s brothers would not be offended, something remains unexplained. And that is, why would Yakov “watch with expectation and hope” for the dream to come true? Why would he be so eager for the brothers to bow down to Yoseph that the Torah takes note of it and points it out?

For an answer, we must go back to the original promise that G-d made to Abraham (Yakov’s grandfather), at the “covenant of the pieces.” At that time, G-d told Abraham that his seed would go into exile in a strange land, and that after four generations, the Jews would emerge from there (Egypt) with much property and return to the land of Israel. At that time, they would become a great people living in their own land and serving G-d. Abraham, and of course his son Isaac and grandson Yakov waited expectantly for this to occur, since it was the fulfillment of G-d’s promise to turn their seed into a great nation. In fact, at the beginning of our parsha, when Yakov initially sent Yoseph from Hevron to “check on his brothers in Shechem,” the verse (Gen. 37:14) says that Yakov “sent him from the Valley of Hevron.” Rashi explains this means that Yakov sent Yoseph “upon the advice of the righteous man buried in Hevron [Abraham], in order to fulfill the promise made to Abraham that his seed would live in a strange landŔ That is, the events that befell Yoseph in Shechem were a prelude to fulfillment of G-d’s promise to Abraham at the “covenant of the pieces.” Since this was the beginning of transforming the Jews from a group of tribes into a mighty people, it was an event to be looked forward to with great expectations. And therefore, Ӆhis father watched over the matter,” watching and waiting for it to happen.

In essence, the descent to Egypt could have occurred in a myriad number of ways. However, if it were to occur as illustrated in Yoseph’s dream, and he would become a king and rule, then Yakov would also descend to Egypt in great honor, and the Jewish people would live there comfortably and respectfully (as did indeed occur, for many years). And this was enough reason for Yakov to look forward expectantly for the fulfillment of Yoseph’s dreams.
However, the problem with this explanation is that Yoseph’s dream was not about ruling over other nations and peoples, but about ruling over his own family. In the dream, it was not the nations of the earth who bowed down to him, but his own brothers. Moreover, the language, “waiting and expecting hopefully” does not generally apply to a process that plays itself out over a long period of time, such as four generations. This kind of language applies to something that one looks forward to occurring soon, and taking place shortly. For, why should Yakov wait expectantly for the galut to occur – it is plausible that he “knew” it would happen, but not that he waited for it expectantly. Therefore, we must search for yet another explanation…

Regarding the forefathers – Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – we say that maaseh avot siman lebanim – “The behavior of the forefathers is a sign for their descendents.” That is, looking at the behavior of the forefathers, we gain knowledge of how we ourselves should act in similar situations. We say something similar regarding Yoseph; but more specific. We say that we are all “like the sheep of Yoseph.” Since he supported and fed the Jews in Egypt, not only physically, but also taught and educated the Jews spiritually, we are named after Yoseph. And Yoseph’s special trait was that he could maintain his unity and connection with G-d even while he was absorbed and involved in matters of the world. Unlike his brothers (the rest of the tribes), who were shepherds precisely because they needed to get away from worldly matters in order to serve G-d in meditation, prayer and study, Yoseph was able to maintain his spiritual equilibrium even while literally swamped with the details of running and administering the vast empire of Egypt.

And Yoseph passed this trait on to the rest of the Jews as well. Living in galut, in exile away from our land for thousands of years, we nonetheless possess the traits of Yoseph – we are able to maintain our focus and concentration on G-dliness, even as we get involved in matters of the world. Not only did matters of the world not disturb Yoseph from his spiritual pursuits, but he was able to govern over and exert his own will on the people and culture of Egypt. They did not influence Yoseph, rather, he influenced them. And that is a power that he bequeathed to all Jews, throughout the generations; the power to pass through exile and maintain our spiritual equilibrium even while involved in the business and events of the day. But, in order to pass this unique ability on to the rest of the brothers (and by extension, to the Jews in general), it was necessary for them to “bow down” and nullify themselves to him. Since he was the king and spiritual leader, Yoseph could supply all of the Jews with their physical and spiritual needs. But, that was only if the rest of the Jews would prostrate and nullify themselves to him in order to share in his unique qualities.

And that is the real reason that Yakov “waited expectantly” for Yoseph’s dream to come to fruition. He did not expect to bow down to Yoseph, just as Rachel did not bow down. But, he did look forward to the nullification of the brothers to Yoseph, so that the entire family would receive its sustenance from him. And by extension, all Jews should be nullified to their leaders, who provide them with the G-dly influence that they need to succeed, whether physically or spiritually. That is why Yakov “watched over the matterŔ He watched and waited for Yoseph’s dream to come true, so that all of the Jews would be able to function during the long exile. In this manner, they would not only survive, but be able to uplift and elevate their environment, preparing for the ultimate redemption and arrival of the meshiach.

From Likutei Sichot of the Lubavitcher Rebbe ztz’l, vol. 35, pp. 156-162 Rabbi David Sterne, Jerusalem Connection in the old city of Jerusalem