 |
| Imhotep often believed to be Yosef |
In parshas MeKayts Pharaoh has a
nightmare. In it seven beautiful healthy cows arise from the Nile
and are shepherded in the meadow (ותרעינה באחו). After that seven bad looking skinny cows
come out of the river and eat up the good looking cows. This dream is followed
by a similar one. In it seven ears of wheat healthy and good are growing on one
stalk. After that seven ears of shriveled wheat, parched and scorched by the
east wind, appear. Like the cows before the bad consumes the good but remains
as bad as ever. Pharaoh wakes up shaken.
When his mystics are unable to
successfully calm him, the royal wine steward suggests that Yosef be brought in
to interpret the dream. Yosef lucidly explains that it is a portent of seven
years of great prosperity followed by seven years of abject famine. It is a
genuine message from G-d to Pharaoh and its onset will be immediate. Based on
this Yosef advises Pharaoh to appoint a wise and understanding man over Egypt
who will take a portion of the crops during the good years and distribute them
during the bad years. Pleased with the interpretation and impressed by Yosef,
Pharaoh gives him the job and considerable glory.
Pharaoh gives Yosef authority
that is only to be exceeded by his own. He dresses him in fine clothes places a
gold chain around his neck. Yosef is given an honorable Egyptian name, "Divine
Perception of the Recondite", and married off to the daughter of the high
priest. He rides his chariot second to Pharaoh and everybody calls out avrech (אברך). The
simple meaning of the word is to bend the knee. It can also be read as a
compound word אב and רך or tender father. The basic idea is willing submission to a
benevolent authority.
Yosef responds favorably to all
of this splendor. He calls his first born son Menasha מנשה. The name means forget or disregard. The Chumash reports that
he is putting behind him his aggravation and the house of his father. The
twelve years of imprisonment, based on the slander of lust for a decent person,
is properly recompensed. In terms of his troubled relationship with his family way
back in Canaan , it's over. He is now a ranking
member of the high culture that is Egypt .
Even with all of this magnificence
it doesn't work. Yosef names his second son Ephraim אפרים, saying that G-d has made him fruitful פורה in the land of his affliction עניי (Bereshis 41:2). Onkolos narratively renders the phrase as the
land of his bondage. The idea is that even with all of this luxury, status, and
power, Yosef is still a slave. With an eye on future developments in the story,
Yonasan ben Uziel construes the verse as, "saying Hashem gave me a heavy
ordeal so that in the future that I will scourge the house of my father thusly
[in order to mete out] their punishments". The idea is that all of his
experiences and everything he has in Egypt are simply preparations and
tools to deal with his family. In addition regardless of how much time and gain
in Egypt , Yosef is not an
Egyptian rather he is still of Israel .
Pharaoh's dream also had a message
for Yosef. The healthy beautiful cows and corn are a representation of the
brothers' normal state. The phrase shepherded in the meadow (ותרעינה
באחו) can also be read as
shepherded by his brother. When they become emaciated and ugly it is because
lack Yosef's influence and have become consumed with evil. The vision of the
seven ears of wheat growing on one stalk is a symbol that they are all sons of
one man. The repetition of the number seven means that the dream is from heaven
and that which has happened to Yosef is also G-d's will, therefore must be good.
The basic message of this passage
concerns the sufferings of the righteous especially at the hands of the Jewish
people. No matter how much he suffers at the hands of the Jewish people a
Jewish tsadik remains a Jewish tsadik. In focusing on brother's hostility and
subsequent sale of Yosef, one can see that there are certain very evil
characteristics that can only be uprooted by ruthless means. The nature of a
tsadik, though, is to be kind and certainly not to terrorize his family even
for the best of reasons. Consequently G-d puts him through an ordeal so that he
can carry out actions he would ordinarily consider unthinkable so as to fulfill
his mission. Even so the tsadik will have the strength to withstand the
adversity and receive just remuneration. There will be improvements and they
will be noticeable. In the end the all of the people will be righteous and
those that suffered during the bitter exile because of the sins of others will
the elite of a sacred nation.
-------
>>>>> *^*^*^*^* <<<<< -------
There is a debate among
historians if Imhotep, one of the leaders of ancient Egypt , was the Biblical Yosef. The
following links will show images made of Imhotep during his lifetime.
Statue with Papyrus Scroll
http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRo-bX85q_mW1U2CdFglaciBN35ugoZNZEJvoLjzfvJwdByshd3RQ
Close up of Face of Statue
http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRTDSWx2BTxc_FyK6V2w2fVYfZowZiDyWJ9vcKWJj1W_uzlRtWU
Hieroglyphic figure
http://www.vopus.org/ro/images/articole/imhotep-mural.jpg
-------
>>>>> *^*^*^*^* <<<<< -------
A discussion of the failure of assimilation and what is to
be learned from ordeals
To download Audio click:
https://www.box.com/s/lrdf60f12tphxw9usoot
No comments:
Post a Comment