Reb Ginsbourg – Mikeitz

Pharaoh: There is no one as wise and discerning as you, Joseph

Who asked Yosef to offer his advice, in addition to proffering the solution to the dream, with which he was charged?

The Torah in our Parasha relates that Yosef, after solving Pharoah’s dream, in which Hashem was forewarning him that seven years of plenty were about to come, followed by seven years of famine - which (41:8) ‘none of his ‘necromancers and wise men.. were able to interpret to Pharoah’s satisfaction’ - Yosef explained in a ’way that pleased Pharoah and all his courtiers’. He also advised Pharoah as to the steps he needed to take, to deal with the coming famine (41:33-36):

’And now let Pharoah seek out a man of discernment and wisdom and put him in charge of Egypt. Let Pharoah..appoint officials..(to) prepare Egypt during the seven years of plenty. Let them gather all the food during these coming good years, and let them store grain to be under Pharoah’s control..The food will then be held in reserve..for the seven years of famine that will occur..so that that the land not be depopulated by the famine’.

We then read that, on hearing this, (41:38-40:

‘Pharoah said to his courtiers: ’Could we find another man like this, who has the spirit of G-d within him’? Pharoah said to Yosef: ’Since G-d had made all this known to you, there is no one as wise and discerning as you. You will be in charge of my court, and by your otders will all my people be provided for. Only by the throne will I outrank you.’

Rav Yosef Salant expounds: ’The Rishonim’ - the early commentators - ‘and the later parshanim, all raise the unsolicited advice of Yosef to Pharoah, on the matter he was not asked, namely: he was only called to solve the dream, and not to be an adviser, and several answers have been given to this matter, that it was relevant to solving the dream.

‘Perhaps we still need to understand, that though Yosef found favor in the eyes of Pharoah and his courtiers, that ‘there was no one as wise and fiscening as him’, what need was there to hand him the rule over the whole of Egypt.

‘Pharoah seemingly removes himself from running the nation, as this is emphasized by Pharoah later answering his people, when they pleaded with him for bread, subsequently, ‘go to Yosef, and whatever he says, do’.

Would it not have sufficed that he should only appoint Yosef for the gathering of the crops, and its storage - in charge of the economy, if you will - and not to give over to him the running of the country, in all its aspects?

‘It may be, that what Yosef said: Let Pharoah seek out a man..and put him in charge of Egypt’, was all in the dream, and was, in fact, its solution: meaning: though the awakening of Pharoah between the dream of the cows and the dream of the crops, though there being two visions, was to emphasize that the matter was from Hashem, and would soon occur, this, in itself, is not a sufficient explanation, as he could have had both visions, without waking between them.

‘Rather, the message of the intermediate awakening, was to teach that, at the conclusion of the seven years of plenty, and the seven years of famine, Pharoah would be ‘as asleep’ - meaning that he would play no role in deed, not in regard to the crops, or to any affairs of state.

Only at the outset would he awaken and be awake, that in appointing ‘a wise and discerning person in his place’, but he himself would be removed from all active involvement, ‘as if asleep’.

‘He would, however, even when ‘asleep’, as even when not awake he remains king, but takes no active part in running the country.

‘This is the meaning of the words of Yosef:’And now let Pharoah appoint a man of discernment and wisdom and put him in charge of Egypt’, meaning: to run the country, and that all will only be by his word.

‘This, then, was the meaning of the intermediate awakening - that Pharoah should awaken, so as to appoint such a person, and then return to slumber, removing himself from the running of the country.’

Sforno, as elucidated by Rav Yehuda Cooperman, also notes the query of the parshanim, ‘who asked Yosef to offer his advice, in addition to proffering the solution to the dream, with which he was charged?

He answers:’After Hashem foretold the forthcoming famine, in Pharoah’s dream, this was so that you, Pharoah would take steps to save your people.

‘As Hashem showed you, how you could do so, by showing you the preceding years of abundance, it was proper for you, so that you do not ‘transgress’ against Him, to appoint a ‘discerning and wise man’, practical and active to conduct the nation, to attend to this.’

Rav Cooperman expounds:’Therefore Yosef’s advice is but a continuation of his solution of the dream, by putting it into action.’

The Alshich Hakadosh adds:’Yosef remembered his dream of the sheaves, in which all came to him for their sustenance, and understood that the hour for this was now nearing it, but lest it enter Pharoah’s mind that Yosef was alluding to himself, as the right person, after he said: ‘Let Pharoah seek out a person of discernment and wisdom’, he added: ‘Let Pharoah appoint officials..’, meaning: Now I advised seeking ‘a person of discernment..’, I also said, that if Pharoah wishes to do all this himself, and not wish to appoint another over Egypt, but to do so himself, he would still need to appoint others to conduct the collection and storage of the crops.

‘Lest Pharoah choose this course, this will only result in ‘the land not being depopulated by the famine’, whereas if he were to appoint ‘a person of discernment and wisdom’, not only would this ensure that they would not be depopulated, but there would also be great bounty in what grew in the seven good years.

‘Pharoah therefore did not choose the first course, but only chose ‘to appoint a person of discernment and wisdom, which is why it is not said, after this, that he appointed officials, or that they collected and stored, only ‘and Yosef gathered and stored the produce’.

‘Now Pharoah had in mind to appoint Yosef, and lest his advisers would seek to prevent thid, he made as if to consult with them, saying to them:’Can we find such a person?’ , . saying to himself:’If I say to them: is there to be found such a person of discernment and wisdom’, they would surely reply, that the sages of Egypt were also ‘men of discernment and wisdom’.

‘Hetherefore said, instead:’Is there such a person who has the spirit of G-d in him?’, which the sages of Egypt could not claim, as, if so, why were they unable to solve the dream!

‘They therefore stood mute, as they saw that none of them was like Yosef, and despite the fire of envy burning in them, were unable to speak words of objection.

Pharoah then turned to Yosef, saying:’Since G-d has made all this known to you, there is no one as wise and discerning as you’, and as G-d revealed this to you, and not to t sages of Egypt, this proves that that ‘there is no one as wise and discerning as you’.’

The Abarbanel also expounds that Pharoah, in his wisdom, having decided that Yosef was the right person to be appointed, ‘was concerned that this would cause his servants to be envious, and lead to their animosity against him, Pharoah.

‘He therefore contrived that they themselves admit that Yosef was the right choice, as well as being careful to consult with them, on this weighty matter.

‘He therefore asked his servants:’Can such a man be found? meaning: were we to seek him in the whole of the land, a land replete with sorcerers, and even in the entire world, a man ‘in whom there is the spirit of G-d, would we find such a person?

His servants undoubtedly thought that Pharoah himself would do what was necessary, and appoint officials, them, who would derive great benefits from this appointment.

‘They therefore conceded this, that ‘the spirit of G-d’ was in him, which is what Pharoah asked them - not if Yosef was ‘discerning and wise’, and it did not enter the minds of the servants that Pharoah would appoint Yosef, as he was an Ivri who was detested in their eyes, and, as to him being ‘discerning and wise’, this had not been shown in practice.

‘Further, as to the ‘spirit of G-d being in him’, enabling him to solve dreams, this, in itself, did not obligate his appointment to run the country.

‘Once the servants admitted that Yosef did indeed have ‘the spirit of G-d in him’, Pharoah added, as to Yosef:’Since Hashem revealed all this to you, there is none as discerning and wise as you’, meaning: since all now admit that your wisdom is prophetic from the spirit of G-d, it is clear that ‘there is no one as dscerning and wise as you’, since prophecy is only given to the wise and to those with lofty attributes.

‘Therefore, ‘you shall be on my house..’.’

The Ktav Sofer brings a Midrash, on our subject, which says:’Were we to go from one end of the world to the other, we would not find such a person, as ‘wise and discerning’.

Asks the Rav: 'From where does the Midrash derive that Pharoah, in his words, was alluding to the entire world? Maybe he only said ’in his kingdom’.

‘The Ramban expounds that Pharoah did not want to appoint Yosef, without the consent of his advisers, and, to this end, was lavish in his praise of Yosef, in their ears, so that they would agree to the appointment.

‘However, by his words:’Can such a person be found’, he was embarrassing his advisers; to obviate this, he said ‘in the whole world’, and since you, my advisers are the wisest men in the entire world, and no king has been blessed with wiser advisers than you, therefore there cannot be found in the whole world a wise man, like Yosef.

‘His words, therefore, were words of appeasement to his advisers.’

The Ktav Sofer, in another exposition, adds:’In saying: ’Is there such a person in whom can be found the spirit of G-d’, we find that Pharoah saw in Yosef to seemingly contradictory qualities: On the one hand, that he knew to solve dreamd in his divine ruach, which is a divine wisdom; yet, in his advise as to dealing with the crops, he displayed his wisdom in earthly matters.

‘Yet, to achieve the spirit of G-d requires separation from this world, so as to always be connected with the divine wisdom.

‘On the other hand, to be wise in the conduct of affairs of this world, requires constant involvement in these affairs

‘To be able to do both at the one time, in the natural order of things, is almost impossible, as they are contradictory.

‘This was the essence of Pharoah’s quest:’Can there be found such a person, in whom the spirit of G-d can be found, and who also to be wise in the affairs of this world, surely cannot be found’

‘Immediately Pharoah exclaims:’After Hashem having told you all this, both the solution of the dream, and the wise advise as to the sustenance of the people - and they are two opposites, there is no man as wise and discerning as you.’

Rav Eliezer Shlezinger raises a sweet new query:’On a literal reading of the parsha, by appointing Yosef to run the country, Pharoah is as saying that he, Pharoah, is ‘not discerning and wise’, and that, for that reason, he is incapable of running the country and solving its problems!

‘How did Yosef dare to suggest this to Pharoah?

‘When we delve into the matter, no- where do we find that the Torah tells us why Phaoah rejected the solutions of his advisers, and accepted the solution proffered by Yosef.

‘The answer may be found in a passuk in Parashat Vaetchanan(4:5-6) ’Behold I have taught you חקים ומשפטים..: statutes and ordinances.. And you shall keep them and do them, for that is your wisdom and understanding in the eyes of the peoples, who will hear all these חקים: statutes, and say: ‘Only this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what great nation is there that has G-d so near to it..’

‘Why does the Torah here emphasize the חקים: the ordinances?

‘We can say, that specifically by observing the חקים, which have no revealed reason, lies the great strength of our people.

‘By our observance of them, we show our subjugation to Hashem, and, as the Torah states, this, in the eyes of the nations, shows our wisdom.

‘We can now answer the question we posed at the outset: Why did Pharoah reject the solutions to his dream offered by his wise men? ‘Because he perceived that this dream was in the nature of a חוק, as logically it could not be explained, so that when his advisers offered solutions based on their logic and intellect, Pharoah understood that their solutions were as nothing.

‘However, when Yosef came, and opened his words, saying (41:16):’It is not by my own power; G-d will provide an answer for Pharoah’s welfare’ - meaning: it is also to me as a חוק, and who am I to proffer a solution to your dream; but here I am not doing so from myself, but from the power of Hashem, Who knows all the secrets of dreams, and He will solve it.

‘We can now also understand how Yosef seemingly had the audacity to say his worfds to Pharoah, as if saying: ‘You, Pharoah are not discerning and wise’, as Pharoah understood that the words that emerged from the mouth of Yosef, were not the words of Yosef, but the words of G-d, and he therefore was not offended by them.

‘To the contrary, Hashem’s advice to appoint ‘a person who was discerning and wise, but who is first and foremost subservient to Hashem, and receives the words of Hashem as they are - only such a person, like Yosef, can solve the problems confronting Egypt, as (Ps’ 111:10): ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom’.’

A parting gem from Rav Israel Yaakov miBaraniwitz - brought by Rav Matityahu Solomon:

‘What special wisdom was involved in Yosef’s advice, to store in the years of plenty, for the years of famine - this seems simple logic!

‘No! This requires great wisdom, because in the years of abundance, when the crops are plentiful, it is very hard to actually feel the times of famine, when every seed of wheat is important.

‘Only one who is able to picture during the years of plenty, famine, as if he is now already suffering pangs of hunger - one who ‘can see the future’ before him, is worthy to save Egypt - because he will utilize the opportunity to gather the crops also in the times of plenty, as if they are times of famine, ‘so that the land will not be decimated’.’

לרפואת כל פצועי צה"ל ולרפואת נועם עליזה בת זהבה רבקה ונחום אלימלך רפאל בן זהבה רבקה, בתוך שאר חולי עמנו.