Miketz: Awakening

Dreams dominate parshath Miketz.  Pharaoh's dream calls forth Joseph from prison.  He is identified as the great interpreter of dreams by the royal  wine steward, the beneficiary of Joseph's talent.  Joseph's interpretation of Pharaoh's dream wins him the position of viceroy.  From that vantage, he arranges to fulfill the dreams  of dominance (which turn out to be dreams of providence), that he shared with his family, that led to his enslavement, putting him in the current position. 

It is Chanukah. Psalm 126 begins:  הָ֝יִ֗ינוּ כְּחֹלְמִֽים    we were like dreamers. Those who returned to Zion were like dreamers.  Chanukah celebrates the maintenance of Zion , the defense of the Temple from the onslaught of its attackers.  The dream of restoration takes on physical form in the  improbable victory over the far superior military forces and the oil that, miraculously, lasts eight days.  Dreams come true. 

Some dreams are the fulfillment of wishes and the expression of fears  in a way in which they do no harm, in fantasy. One can  read the dreams in Miketz as communications from the Divine.  I can also  see the interpretation of these dreams as an opportunity for the analyst. 

When Joseph interprets the dreams of the wine steward and the baker in prison, they all know that it is 3 days from the Pharaoh's birthday, when he commonly passes final judgement on his prisoners.  The wine steward can muster some confidence from the dream interpretation that  Joseph delivered . It was foretold that he will be restored to his position,  Imagine how dejected the baker looked standing before Pharaoh, trying to deny his fatal interpretation.  Imaging Pharaoh choosing between them:  the smiling wine steward, the sweating baker.

The interpretation of the dreams of Phaoraoh may , also , have contributed to their fulfillment.  Confronted with an impending famine, the farmer will work the land  as hard as possible, year after year,  until it is depleted of nutrients ( fixed nitrogen, see Haber).  The depleted soil will cause the predicted famine.  The famine makes the people dependent upon the central government, eventually, they become the subjects, serfs of the Pharaoh. ( Is this a  plot shared with Stalin?)

The end of the parsha hints at  this use of dreams as opportunities.  Benjamin is framed for the theft of the vizier's chalice of divination.  Joseph's servant  implies  that it is obvious that a vizier will see the future in his hallucinations prompted by the grape dregs.  I do not think that Joseph took the divination course. The text is telling us that ideas prompted by fantastic visions can lead to great outcomes, depending upon their interpretation  " All dreams follow the mouth" Brochoth 55b

The dream of the Maccabees, for an Israel that that is true to its traditions, required the extraordinary courage that could only come from a dream, a dream that has been shared for thousands of years and comes down to us, in a time when the state of Israel has been re-established.  We are now charged with the interpretation of  that dream, and the interpretation is what  can make the dream come true.