Reply To: Short & Sweet

Mikeitz: The Cause is really the Effect

The Parsha begins with ויהי מקץ שנתים ימים ופרעה חולם, and at the end of two years Pharaoh dreamed. The פסוק implies this dream had been waiting to happen for 2 years.

The Beis HaLevi explains that we might have thought that Yosef freedom was a result of Pharaoh’s dreams. But in reality, the opposite is true. Since Hashem decided that now is when Yosef should go free, He sent these dreams to Pharaoh to make it happen.

When Yosef finally reveals himself to his brothers, he says a similar thing: Don’t be upset that you sold me, for Hashem sent me here to help you survive. Me helping you is not an incidental effect; it is the reason Hashem orchestrated my coming down to Mitzrayim.

We sometimes look at current events as if they determine what happens to us. But really, that’s backwards. Hashem brings about events based on what He has decided should happen.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום