Pharaoh had asked Yosef to interpret his dreams. Nowhere do we find him asking for advice. Yet, after Yosef paints a picture of prosperity followed by hunger, doom and gloom, he adds that Pharaoh should immediately appoint a wise and discerning man to administrate the country. Horav Yitzchak Volozhiner, zl, explains that Pharaoh’s dream occurred on Rosh Hashanah, as Chazal (Rosh Hashanah 10) teach that Yosef was taken out of prison on Rosh Hashanah. Yosef wondered why Pharaoh had his dreams on this auspicious day. Indeed, Chazal (Rosh Hashanah 16a) teach that four times during the year Hashem judges the world for certain needs. On Pesach, he grants tevuah, grain, produce. On Rosh Hashanah, the entire world passes by Him like sheep going through the pen. In other words, this is when Hashem decides who will live and who will not. Therefore, one would think that a dream which addresses and conveys a vital message concerning parnassah, livelihood, would occur on Pesach – not Rosh Hashanah, when human life is decided.
This question prompted Yosef to think about and analyze the dream, its message and specifically the time in which it took place. Yosef surmised, that on Rosh Hashanah (together with the question, “Who will live?),” the question is Mi yishafeil u’mi yarum, “Who will be demoted, and who will be elevated.” Thus, when Yosef encouraged Pharaoh to seek a wise, discerning man to manage the country, he was intimating that this was part of the dream. Why would the dream have occurred on Rosh Hashanah, if not to elevate Yosef from the pit of despair? Yosef understood that everything that occurs in our lives is a Heavenly message. We must make every attempt to seek to interpret that – objectively, rationally and with sincerity. After all, Hashem is speaking to us.
