At the beginning of our parashah, Yosef tells his brothers about two dreams he had. Here’s the way he reports the first dream:
וְהִנֵּה אֲנַחְנוּ מְאַלְּמִים אֲלֻמִּים בְּתוֹךְ הַשָּׂדֶה
וְהִנֵּה קָמָה אֲלֻמָּתִי וְגַם נִצָּבָה
וְהִנֵּה תְסֻבֶּינָה אֲלֻמֹּתֵיכֶם וַתִּשְׁתַּחֲוֶיןָ לַאֲלֻמָּתִי׃
“There we were binding sheaves in the field. Suddenly, my sheaf stood up and remained upright.
Then, your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to my sheaf.”
And here’s his description of the second dream:
…הִנֵּה חָלַמְתִּי חֲלוֹם עוֹד
וְהִנֵּה הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ וְהַיָּרֵחַ וְאַחַד עָשָׂר כּוֹכָבִים מִשְׁתַּחֲוִים לִי׃
“...Look, I have had another dream.
This time, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
- How are Yosef’s dreams similar to each other? How are they different?
- What might they represent? Can you think of a few possibilities?
- When Yosef tells these dreams, what is he saying about himself and his brothers and his family?
- If you were one of Yosef’s siblings, how might you react?
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