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Why does Pharaoh's dream show him standing on water, violating the Gemara (גמרא)'s rule that dreams contain impossible elements? The shiur explains that this was the devarim beteilim—idle content—of the dream: Pharaoh's false self-perception as a deity. This delusion was divinely orchestrated to ensure Pharaoh would refuse Moshe repeatedly, enabling the ten plagues foretold in the Bris Bein HaBesarim.
This shiur analyzes the opening verses of Parshas Mikeitz, focusing on Pharaoh's dream where he stands "al haYe'or"—on the Nile river. Rabbi Zweig opens with a fundamental difficulty: the Gemara (גמרא) teaches that dreams don't show impossible things like an elephant passing through a needle's eye or a person walking on water. Yet Pharaoh's dream appears to show him standing on water, which is physically impossible. The Torah (תורה) later describes the dream more naturally as "al s'fas haYe'or" (by the riverbank), raising the question of why the initial description suggests standing on the water itself. Rabbi Zweig proposes that this dream serves a much larger purpose than merely predicting seven years of plenty and famine. The dream is actually foreshadowing the entire narrative of the descent to Egypt and the eventual redemption—the geulah from Mitzrayim. The vision Pharaoh receives is designed to establish the psychological framework that will enable the unfolding of the divine plan.
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Bereishis 41:1 (Parshas Mikeitz)
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