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By Rabbi Rami Pavolotzky,
B’nei Israel Congregation, Costa Rica

Translated by Inés Baum - Proofreading by Ellen Zindler

At the end of last week’s parashah, we read that Joseph was bound in the same prison with the chief of the butlers and the chief of the bakers of the Pharaoh of Egypt. Both unfortunate officers had disturbing dreams, and their interpretation fell upon Joseph. He told them that after three days, the chief of the butlers would be restored to his post, while the chief of the bakers would be hanged from the royal gallows. Joseph, before saying good-bye and obviously convinced of his interpretation of the dreams, begs the chief butler to intercede on his behalf before Pharaoh: “But have me in thy remembrance when it shall be well with thee, and show kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house” (Gen. 40:14). The torah goes on to tell that although what Joseph had said came to be, “Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgot him” (40:23).

Our parashah starts exactly two years after the chief of the butlers was released from prison (see Ibn Ezra’s commentary on Genesis 41:1). It is written in the Torah: “And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river” (41:1). Joseph was the only one who could interpret the dreams that intrigued Pharaoh, which was what brought about his freedom and his becoming the second most important man in Egypt.

Joseph had to wait two years from the moment he revealed the meaning of his dream to the chief butler until the time when he was remembered for his own good. During those two years, Joseph continued imprisoned, probably wondering whether he would ever see daylight again. A midrash (Yalkut Reubeni) explains that those two years were a punishment to Joseph, for having entrusted his freedom to the chief of the butlers instead of to God: a person as remarkable as Joseph should not have deposited his trust on a simple human. There is another midrash (quoted by Menachem Beker in “Parperaot LaTorah”) that is the complete opposite, which maintains that, in truth, those two additional years Joseph spent in prison had the purpose of increasing his honor and greatness: by being called forth by Pharaoh still as a prisoner, and going straight from the dungeons to power in Egypt, his fame and glory were magnified.

I cannot but be amazed before the fact that one and the same event can be considered by some people as a punishment and by others as a means to reach more honors. Therefore, waiting two years in prison may be considered as a blessing or as a curse. I think this apparent contradiction deserves some reflection.

Postponements in life can indeed be considered in opposite ways: while some may believe that they constitute a waste of time, others may see them as a period of maturing and growth. While some may despair to achieve success quickly, others prefer to go step by step.

Joseph experienced several abrupt changes of position in his life: from being his father’s favorite son, he went to be sold into slavery by his brothers. He earns his master’s trust, but once again fell into the pit of prison. Finally, from there he gets to be the second person in command of one of the greatest empires. Joseph’s father, Jacob, learned in the flesh the meaning of having to wait in order to achieve a goal, when he promised to work seven years before marrying his beloved Rachel. Afterwards, he had to labor seven more years, due to his uncle Laban’s deception.

It is difficult to establish with certainty whether having to wait long for some purpose is beneficial or detrimental. It would be easy to find examples justifying both views. Not even in Joseph’s case and the two additional years he had to endure in prison, could we conclude point-blank in favor of any one of the two midrashim quoted above. In any case, what we can learn is that in life, we don’t generally have the chance to decide whether we want to wait or not: sometimes, opportunities come to us all of a sudden, while other times we have to wait for them patiently. In both cases, we must be equipped with faith and hope to act when the time comes, be it in the near, medium or long term. And even when waiting may be tough and generate anxiety, let us hope that we can leave aside the idea that postponement is a punishment, a curse for having failed, and instead consider the wait as a blessing, as a heavenly present for us to be able to prepare ourselves seriously for the challenge that awaits us. Perhaps that was the secret that allowed Joseph to bear two more years in prison, to finally emerge in all his splendor.

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Forwarded by Rabbi Gustavo Kraselnik, from Kol Shearith Israel Congregation, Panama.
Translated by Inés Baum and proofread by Ellen Zindler, from B’nei Israel Congregation, Costa Rica.

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