Vayeshev: Dreams

This is a parsha of dreams. The explicit dreams, the dreams that are stated and interpreted, drive the plot.  But the theme is contained in the unstated dreams, revealed in the consequences of the action. 

Joseph's dreams are remembered as the opening of the parsha.  These dreams of dominance cause the other brothers to hate Joseph.  Actually,  they (doubly) hate him before his vision of lordship is ever stated.  They hate him for dreaming at all;  regardless of  the content. וַיַּחֲלֹ֤ם יוֹסֵף֙ חֲל֔וֹם וַיַּגֵּ֖ד לְאֶחָ֑יו וַיּוֹסִ֥פוּ ע֖וֹד שְׂנֹ֥א אֹתֽוֹ׃

Once Joseph had a dream which he told to his brothers; and they hated him even more. This sentence precedes the recounting of the contents of the dream.  Aspiration, regardless of the goal is a source of envy.  

We see that at the close of parsha.  Joseph has turned the dreams of his fellow prisoners - the royal wine steward and the royal baker - into prophecies that correctly foretell their fates.  He asks the winner, the wine steward, to remember him to Pharaoh. וְלֹֽא־זָכַ֧ר שַֽׂר־הַמַּשְׁקִ֛ים אֶת־יוֹסֵ֖ף וַיִּשְׁכָּחֵֽהוּ׃ (פ)

Yet the chief cupbearer did not mention Joseph; and he forgot him.  The cupbearer was not going to risk his situation for nothing. Talent is best kept dormant until needed. 

In the fifth verse, the brothers hate Joseph "more" because it had been established, in the previous verse, that :   וַיִּרְא֣וּ אֶחָ֗יו כִּֽי־אֹת֞וֹ אָהַ֤ב אֲבִיהֶם֙ מִכָּל־אֶחָ֔יו וַֽיִּשְׂנְא֖וּ אֹת֑וֹ וְלֹ֥א יָכְל֖וּ דַּבְּר֥וֹ לְשָׁלֹֽם׃

And when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of his brothers, they hated him so that they could not speak a civil word to him.The inability to speak  civilly to Joseph is reminiscent of Cain and Abel.  When Cain killed Abel, he had come to speak with him.  The topic of the conversation is not revealed, it isn't important.  Sometimes discussion magnifies anger, and what is said does not matter. 

Envy is a theme of the parsha.  Father Jacob has done things to generate the rivalry: He has made Joseph a supervisor over some of  his brothers and he has given Joseph an ostentatious gift: the striped coat.  Jacob had used gifts to steer his fate before. His tribute to Esau, his brother/rival had allowed him to come to the opening verse: וַיֵּ֣שֶׁב יַעֲקֹ֔ב בְּאֶ֖רֶץ מְגוּרֵ֣י אָבִ֑יו בְּאֶ֖רֶץ כְּנָֽעַן׃

Now Jacob was settled in the land where his father had sojourned, the land of Canaan.

Could Jacob have done better? Should we accept Jacob's sentiment?  In the end, this grievous error in child-rearing saves the family from starvation and defines the destiny of the Hebrews by bringing them down to Egypt.  My mother used to say:"Even when I am wrong I am right." Destiny trumps propriety. 

Joseph is sold as a slave.  The brothers he imagined as his vassals become Joseph's masters and degrade him into chattel. From this position, Joseph rises.  He becomes the supervisor of great estates; the administrator of a blind trust.  (I presume he has preserved his self confidence, his early  executive training. ) This is the dangerous under-dream:  The downgraded slave rises to prominence and dominance by  Divine grace. It can happen, but it is the exception.  The fantasy is far more common than the event; and the hope supports  the continuation of the slavery. 

We live in a world  of actualized dreams.  The dreams of Edison that gave us power over darkness, it put "Let there be light" into the hands of humans.  The dreams of  Ford, Gates, Jobs,  Bezos, Musk, Zuckerberg, etc. define much of our world.  These visionaries commanded armies of dreamers  to actualize devices that deeply impact us all.  Our sheaves bow to them.