Why did G-d warn Pharaoh of the famine to come?
We read in our Parasha, of the miraculous chain of events, whereby Yosef Hatzadik - as he merited to be called - ascended from lowly, despised Hebrew prisoner, to viceroy of the mighty Egyptian empire.
The Torah relates (41:12-31): Pharoah was troubled by a dream, which none of his vaunted advisers could solve to his satisfaction.
The Chamberlain of the Cupbearers - not out of regard for the lowly Yosef, but to find favor in Pharoah’s eyes - brought to Pharoah’s attention, that there ‘was a Hebrew youth, a slave.. (who correctly) interpreted our dreams.. just as he interpreted.. so did it happen’.
‘So Pharoah..summoned Yosef..and said to (him):’I dreamt a dream, but no one can interpret it. Now I heard it said of you that you comprehend a dream to interpret it.’
‘Yosef answered..:’That is beyond me; it is G-d Who will respond with Pharoah’s welfare.’
Whereupon Pharoah relates his dream - with a number of changes to test Yosef - which Yosef interprets to Pharoah’s satisfaction: ‘The dream of Pharoah is a single one’, and not two separate dreams, as Pharoah’s advisers had insisted;’What האלקים is about to do, He has told to Pharoah’ - there will be seven bad years, preceded by seven years of abundance. ‘It is this matter’, the seven bad years, ‘that I have spoken to Pharoah; what האלקים is about to do He has shown to Pharoah.
‘Behold: seven years are coming - of great abundance..Then seven years of famine will arise after them and all the abundance..will be forgotten.. in the face of the subsequent famine - for it will be terribly severe.’
Yosef concluded, by advising Pharoah how to deal with the impending famine that was to come, by saving crops in the years of abundance, to sustain Egypt in the years of famine.
So impressed is Pharoah by the interpretation of his troubling dream, and - even more - by the wisdom of the solution proffered by Yosef - that the humble Hebrew slave is elevated, and appointed viceroy of Egypt, second only to Pharoah.
The Ramban expounds:’Because the seven abundant years are not a novelty, as the land of Egypt is always excptionally fertile, Yosef first mentioned the years of famine, as this was a novel thing, and the beneficial aspect of the dream, as האלקים in His mercy foretold Pharoah of the coming famine, to enable his nation to survive it.
‘This was necessary, because, as Yosef went on to say, this would only be known in the years of famine.’
The Sforno comments similarly:’’It is this matter that I have spoken to Pharoah’: the famine is ‘the matter’, so that the people should not perish in the famine.
‘To prevent this, Hashem showed Pharoah the tidings of the years of abundance, to indicate to him the way to save his people from starvation.’
The Netziv, in Haamek Davar, elucidates:’’It is this matter..’: the famine was the objective that Pharoah was shown, not the abundance, as it was for him to prepare for the problem, and therefore he is then informed that ‘Behold, seven years are coming - a great abundance throughout the land of Egypt’, and you, Pharoah, have the ability to prepare for the years of famine.’
The Dubner Magid adds:’In the normal course of things, when the land is blessed with abundance, people are inclined to eat and indulge to their hearts’ content; as Hashem was minded to bring on the land seven years of abundance, followed by seven years of famine, had they been unaware of this sequence, they would have, in the years of abundance consumed to excess, and not saved for the decreed ‘rainy days’ that were to follow.
‘Therefore האלקים in His chesed, showed all this to Pharoah in his dream, to warn him that years of famine would follow.’
The common message of all these commentaries, is that it was an act of chesed by Hashem, to reveal in Pharoah’s dream the decreed famine, so that Pharoah could make preparations to deal with it.
This leads to the difficult קשיא: question that Rav Chaim miChernovitz raises:’Why, throughout our Parasha, does Yosef refer only to האלקים: the appellation for G-d in His attribute of judgement, and not once does he use the appellation ה׳, of chesed? true, he is relaying the news of the years of famine, BUT, in his solution of Pharoah’s dream, he also brings tidings of years of abundance, of Hashem’s chesed - why then, at least when referring to those years, does Yosef not use the appellation of chesed?
‘Clearly, Pharoah and the Egyptians were not amonst those who, by their virtue, merit transforming the attribute of judgement, to the attribute of chesed.
‘Further, the teaching of our Sages (Megillah 13:) is well known:’Said Reish Lakish: Hashem does not afflict Bnei Israel, without first creating a remedy to the affliction, which He does not do for the nations.’
‘We find that the order of Hashem’s conduct, as shown to Pharoah in his dream, provided the remedy - the seven years of abundance - that preceded the affliction - the seven years of famine - to enable Pharoah to prepare in advance for the looming troubles!
‘Here we have to ask: why did Hashem give to the Egyptians the special chesed - preceding the remedy to the affliction - which our Sages teach is reserved for Israel?
‘The answer is, that though in his dream Pharoah was shown years of abundance, that was not for his benefit, but for the opposite purpose: by these good years, the bad years would be greatly accentuated; as the Sefer Hayezira says: ‘the bad is felt more acutely if it is preceded by great good’, like a person who goes out into the dark, after having been in light - in contrast to one who goes out from darkness into light.
‘This is why - as the Midrash says, of the wicked -‘their beginning is peaceful, but their ending is affliction’, as thereby their affliction is more keenly felt.
‘So too, the abundance in Egypt was only so that the famine would be felt more keenly, even in the years of abundance; it was for this reason that there should first be the years of abundance, so that they too would not be enjoyed, as the people’s years of abundance would be totally spoiled by the worries of the bad years, that were foretold.
‘For this reason, the years of famine were mentioned first, in Yosef’s interpretation of Pharoah’s dream, so that it would be in their minds throughout the good years which were to precede them.
‘We can now understand that the main message of Pharoah’s dream, was that that which Hashem showed Pharoah was the tidings of the years of famine, and the manner in which he, the head of the wicked, would be punished by the strong attribute of judgement; the purpose of showing him the years of abundance, was only so that the years of famine would be more acutely felt, even during the years of abundance.
‘This is what Yosef alluded to, in telling Pharoah:’It is this matter that I have spoken to Pharoah; What האלקים’, in His attribute of strong judgement, ‘is about to do He has shown to Pharoah.’
‘This is why Yosef, on each occasion, used the appellation האלקים, with the ה׳א, to allude that all would be by the strong attribute of judgement, not by the attribute of chesed, which is denoted by the appellation השם.’
A parting thought: Rav Avigdor Nebenzahl notes, that throughout his words to Pharoah, indeed from the very outset, Yosef ascribes the solution to G-d; thus, when Pharoah says:’I heard it is said of you that you comprehend a dream to interpret it’, Yosef answered - daring to contradict the words of Pharoah:’That is beyond me; It is G-d Who will respond with Pharoah’s welfare’.
Comment our Sages:’Yosef ascribed the greatness to its Owner; said Hakadosh-Baruch-Hu: you did not seek to magnify yourself, therefore you shall ascend to greatness.’
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