Parshas Vayeishev

The Rebbe says:

1. In the beginning of this week’s Parshah the Torah tells us about Yoseph having two dreams.

Yoseph’s first dream was that he and his eleven brothers were busy working in the field binding stalks of grain into bundles when suddenly Yoseph’s bundle stood up and all the brothers bundles bowed down to it (Chapter 37, Verse 5 through 7).

Yoseph’s second dream was that the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to him (Chapter 37, Verse 9). The eleven stars resemble Yoseph’s eleven brothers (the tribes). The sun and the moon resemble Yoseph’s father Ya’akov and one of Ya’akov’s wives Bilhah who had raised Yoseph as his mother (because Yoseph’s real mother Rachel had passed away early on).

Both of these dreams have the same point: Yoseph will one day rule over his brothers and they will bow down to him. [In the second dream “the sun and the moon” were added which resemble Yoseph’s father Ya’akov and one of Ya’akov’s wives Bilhah].

2. We begin to build a question:

Pharaoh also had 2 dreams (in next weeks Parshah of Mikeitz, Chapter 41, Verse 1 through 7). Both of Pharaoh’s dreams had the same point: There was going to be 7 plentiful years and then 7 years of famine.

We see that since both of Pharaoh’s dreams have the same point the Torah felt the need to explain to us why Pharaoh had 2 repetitive dreams. The Torah tells us (Chapter 41, Verse 32) that Pharaoh had 2 dreams because Hashem was going to make the dreams a reality really soon.

Q: We see that the way of the Torah is to explain the reason for 2 repetitive dreams. So how come the Torah does not give us a reason for Yoseph’s 2 repetitive dreams?

3. A: It must be that Yoseph’s 2 dreams do not have the exact same meaning!

How are Yoseph’s 2 dreams different?

Yoseph’s first dream was all about earthly things: The bundles of grain.

Yoseph’s second dream was about heavenly things: The stars, the moon and the sun.

4. What is the significance of one dream being about earthly things and one dream being about heavenly things?

It means that a Jew is connected to both earthly and heavenly realms at the same time! A Jew is not limited to only the physical world, a Jew is connected to heavenly things even while he is in this world.

This is not the case by a non-Jew. A non-Jew is only connected to this physical world. As we see by Pharaoh that both of his dreams were of physical things.

[ A story to illustrate this point that a Jew is connected to both the physical and spiritual worlds while a non-Jew is only connected to the physical world: The Previous Rebbe (the 6th Chabad Rebbe), Rebbe Yoseph Yitzchak Schneerson tells about his arrest while he was in Russia in the year 1922:
One of the interrogators pulled out a revolver and threatened to take the life of Rebbe Yoseph Yitzchak (God forbid). Rebbe Yoseph Yitzchak said to the man with a gun pointed at his head “Those people who have many Gods and one world are afraid of a revolver. However he who has one God and two worlds has nothing to be afraid of”.]

5. The lesson we can learn from Yoseph’s two dreams:

A Jew must make both worlds one thing. The spiritual world and the physical world should become one. Meaning: not only should physicality not get in the way of one’s service to Hashem, but physicality should help a Jew come closer to Hashem.

Translated and adapted by Shalom Goldberg. Taken from Likutei Sichos Chelek Gimmel.