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This story has a fascinating parallel, more than a thousand years later, in the life of the Jewish courtier, Daniel. He too was exiled from his land as a captive. Due to his ability to interpret the dreams of the ruler (Nevuchadnetzar), he obtained a high stature. While we will not go into detail about other similarities between Yosef and Daniel, we will look at a fundamental difference between them.
While Yosef started his "dream career" as a dreamer and continued as a dream interpreter, Daniel started as an interpreter and only later in Sefer Daniel do we see him having prophetic dreams (until chapter 5, he interpreted dreams; in chapter 6, he stood the moral test and was thrown into the lion’s den; from chapter 7 and on, he tells his prophecies.). The more logical order is that of Daniel, to rise from the lower level of interpreting to the higher level of receiving prophecy. Why, then, does Yosef go in the opposite direction?
It would seem that the answer is that power and dominion are liable to be spiritually destructive. This is one of the biggest problems that mankind has had to deal with throughout history. Yosef should not have allowed his dreams, even if they were prophetic in nature, to cause a situation where his brothers hated him because they felt he wanted them to bow down before him. This is as the brothers complained to him: "Will you be king over us or rule us" (Bereishit 37:8). In the dream, not only did his brothers bow down to him, but so did even his parents and, perhaps, the entire universe. Therefore, it is no surprise that his adoring father joined in the criticism of Yosef. In the dreams and their presentation there is not even a mention of Hashem as the one who gives man dominion. This apparent haughtiness is what Chazal refer to elsewhere as silsul b’sa’aro (lit., playing with his hair). This is one of the things that brought Yosef down to the level of a dream interpreter. Yosef learned the lesson to the fullest degree and openly told the dreamers: "Alas, Hashem has the solutions" (ibid. 40:8) and "It is not from me; Hashem will answer the peace of Pharaoh" (ibid. 41:16).
May we merit having leaders who understand that their stature is from Hashem and view themselves as servants of the people (as Rav Kook said and practiced) instead of rulers over them.
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Rabbis in Midrash
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Hosha'ana Rabba FLYDUBAI & HOSHANA RABBA- ANI VAHU HOSHIA NA- I & HIM SAVE US
"Ani vaHu Hoshia Na", "I and Him, Save Us". We don't just pray to Him, but we also pray to and for ourselves that we should emulate and educate our children to have that instinctive altruism with which He created the world. President Trump seemed amused about Yaniv Hayon, our PLUMBER who confidently worked with G-d like Superman (he learned from a pilot on a TV show!) to save 174 lives on the Dubai hijacking, but we in Israel are totally accustomed already 78 years to our plumbers, teachers, garbage-men, rabbis, farmers & doctors being Hashem's shlichim! This is what Zionism is about.
