I am a firm believer in the power of perspective. How our choice to see the world impacts our way through it.
How we interpret the world around us matters.
In this week’s Torah portion, Miketz, we learn about Pharaoh’s dream and its interpretation. It begins (Genesis 41:1-7) here:
וַיְהִ֕י מִקֵּ֖ץ שְׁנָתַ֣יִם יָמִ֑ים וּפַרְעֹ֣ה חֹלֵ֔ם וְהִנֵּ֖ה עֹמֵ֥ד עַל־הַיְאֹֽר׃ וְהִנֵּ֣ה מִן־הַיְאֹ֗ר עֹלֹת֙ שֶׁ֣בַע פָּר֔וֹת יְפ֥וֹת מַרְאֶ֖ה וּבְרִיאֹ֣ת בָּשָׂ֑ר וַתִּרְעֶ֖ינָה בָּאָֽחוּ׃ וְהִנֵּ֞ה שֶׁ֧בַע פָּר֣וֹת אֲחֵר֗וֹת עֹל֤וֹת אַחֲרֵיהֶן֙ מִן־הַיְאֹ֔ר רָע֥וֹת מַרְאֶ֖ה וְדַקּ֣וֹת בָּשָׂ֑ר וַֽתַּעֲמֹ֛דְנָה אֵ֥צֶל הַפָּר֖וֹת עַל־שְׂפַ֥ת הַיְאֹֽר׃ וַתֹּאכַ֣לְנָה הַפָּר֗וֹת רָע֤וֹת הַמַּרְאֶה֙ וְדַקֹּ֣ת הַבָּשָׂ֔ר אֵ֚ת שֶׁ֣בַע הַפָּר֔וֹת יְפֹ֥ת הַמַּרְאֶ֖ה וְהַבְּרִיאֹ֑ת וַיִּיקַ֖ץ פַּרְעֹֽה׃
וַיִּישָׁ֕ן וַֽיַּחֲלֹ֖ם שֵׁנִ֑ית וְהִנֵּ֣ה ׀ שֶׁ֣בַע שִׁבֳּלִ֗ים עֹל֛וֹת בְּקָנֶ֥ה אֶחָ֖ד בְּרִיא֥וֹת וְטֹבֽוֹת׃ וְהִנֵּה֙ שֶׁ֣בַע שִׁבֳּלִ֔ים דַּקּ֖וֹת וּשְׁדוּפֹ֣ת קָדִ֑ים צֹמְח֖וֹת אַחֲרֵיהֶֽן׃ וַתִּבְלַ֙עְנָה֙ הַשִּׁבֳּלִ֣ים הַדַּקּ֔וֹת אֵ֚ת שֶׁ֣בַע הַֽשִּׁבֳּלִ֔ים הַבְּרִיא֖וֹת וְהַמְּלֵא֑וֹת וַיִּיקַ֥ץ פַּרְעֹ֖ה וְהִנֵּ֥ה חֲלֽוֹם׃
After two years’ time, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile, when out of the Nile there came up seven cows, handsome and sturdy, and they grazed in the reed grass. But presently, seven other cows came up from the Nile close behind them, ugly and gaunt, and stood beside the cows on the bank of the Nile; and the ugly gaunt cows ate up the seven handsome sturdy cows. And Pharaoh awoke.
He fell asleep and dreamed a second time: Seven ears of grain, solid and healthy, grew on a single stalk. But close behind them sprouted seven ears, thin and scorched by the east wind. And the thin ears swallowed up the seven solid and full ears. Then Pharaoh awoke: it was a dream!
We jump right into the action! I have to admit, this dream would freak me out. Clearly, this freaks the Pharaoh out also because we’re told in the next verse:
וַיְהִ֤י בַבֹּ֙קֶר֙ וַתִּפָּ֣עֶם רוּח֔וֹ וַיִּשְׁלַ֗ח וַיִּקְרָ֛א אֶת־כָּל־חַרְטֻמֵּ֥י מִצְרַ֖יִם וְאֶת־כָּל־חֲכָמֶ֑יהָ וַיְסַפֵּ֨ר פַּרְעֹ֤ה לָהֶם֙ אֶת־חֲלֹמ֔וֹ וְאֵין־פּוֹתֵ֥ר אוֹתָ֖ם לְפַרְעֹֽה׃
Next morning, his spirit was agitated, and he sent for all the magicians of Egypt, and all its wise men; and Pharaoh told them his dreams, but none could interpret them for Pharaoh.
The Pharaoh is reasonably agitated and seeks out help and advice from those around him. Nothing succeeds in resolving his sense of impending doom and confusion.
It is fascinating, on some level, the language of ability here. We’re told, “none could interpret them [the dreams] for Pharaoh.” Why is that? Why not? Certainly, they could offer some interpretation. We all could say something and make it up. The seven healthy cows are the steaks you ate last week, one representing each day, and the seven gaunt ones are your digestion! Not really, but you get my point.
Clearly, Pharaoh was looking for either a specific answer or a specific feeling. He knew, on some level, what he wanted from an interpretation and wasn’t getting it. Also, to me, there was a dynamic of power playing out. Who wants to tell their boss something they don’t like, especially when it is true? As a person who tends to do that, it can be awkward.
In the end, the hero of our story, Joseph, already known as a dream interpreter, comes to save the day. And yet, when confronted with an opportunity to interpret, Joseph says:
וַיַּ֨עַן יוֹסֵ֧ף אֶת־פַּרְעֹ֛ה לֵאמֹ֖ר בִּלְעָדָ֑י אֱלֹהִ֕ים יַעֲנֶ֖ה אֶת־שְׁל֥וֹם פַּרְעֹֽה׃
Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “Not I! God will see to Pharaoh’s welfare.”
This is usually understood as, “I’m not the interpreter, God is sending you a message and telling me what it means.” No human intelligence required. This could be really satisfying, depending on your theology, or kind of a cop-out.
Sforno, in response to this, writes:
[Joseph says,] I will utter words which will restore Pharaoh’s peace of mind, seeing that the realization of matters foretold in a dream is determined largely by the words of the interpreter.
Namely, Joseph is going to tell Pharaoh what is going to make him feel better. If you were in his role, what would you say?
Sforno is clearly taking a different interpretation than the surface reading of the text of the Torah, which comes from a story in the Talmud on Brachot 55b:
In a long chain of those transmitting this statement, it is said that Rabbi Bizna bar Zavda said that Rabbi Akiva said that Rabbi Panda said that Rav Naḥum said that Rabbi Birayim said in the name of one elder, and who is he, Rabbi Bena’a: There were twenty-four interpreters of dreams in Jerusalem. One time, I dreamed a dream and went to each of them to interpret it. What one interpreted for me the other did not interpret for me, and, nevertheless, all of the interpretations were realized in me, to fulfill that which is stated: All dreams follow the mouth of the interpreter.
Sforno’s view is summarized by the last line of this section: All dreams follow the mouth of the interpreter.
This is not just about dreams, but about life. We are constantly interpreting the world around us.
Our perspectives matter because they create and impact our lives.
If we take the dream more literally, we understand it to be the difference between an abundance mindset and a famine mindset. The sturdy cows versus the gaunt ones, the healthy ears of grain versus the scorched ones.
At all points in our day, our week, or our lives, we can make the choice to look at the world with abundance or with famine.
The Narrative of Erosion
This is something I learned through my work with CLAL, as a Rabbis Without Borders Fellow, as a Rabbinic Innovation Consultant for CLAL’s Leadership Through Innovation course, and as a part of the Glean Network Start incubator.
It is the idea that the world is getting worse over time. That our lives, institutions, and society are gradually getting eroded. We see it in the claims that the American Jewish world is falling apart or the death of the Conservative Jewish movement is impending.
In our lives, we can recognize this worldview as the part of ourselves that thinks that tomorrow could never be as good as today, that yesterday was better than today.
This famine mindset can be harmful to us. It discourages us from acting, from growing, from challenging the status quo.
Pessimism and Nihilism
I’m a millennial. My generation has experienced skyrocketing costs for housing, healthcare, and tuition, the recessions of 2008 and what we’re facing now in 2020, and the breakdown and betrayal of institutions like banks and churches. There is good reason to want to give up.
This draw towards believing that the world is being taken away from us is one that I deeply understand and recognize. There is a streak of “nothing matters anymore” that runs through people of my generation with some decent evidence.
But the seduction of pessimism and nihilism leaves you with nothing. The gaping holes that it leaves behind only offer more frustration and pain. This famine mindset keeps us hungry, and not in a good way.
Instead, I’d like to offer something else instead.
The Growth Mindset
This abundant worldview recognizes that we’re constantly growing and improving. Like the plasticity of the brain, we can learn new things, take on new challenges, and become better at the end of it.
It is a rejection of the narrative of erosion and encourages us to see the world as full of possibilities.
Be Solution Oriented
This is one of the most important phrases in my life. There isn’t a week that goes by when these three words don’t come out of my mouth.
This is the disposition of recognizing that every challenge and every obstacle is an opportunity. The abundance that comes from considering what options we have at every moment, to make intentional choices, and to decide how to move forward.
Every scenario that we face has solutions, good ones, bad ones, mediocre ones, but solutions nonetheless.
By staying solution-oriented, we can experience the world as full of opportunities!
I-Thou Moments
Facing the world in abundant frames can allow us to experience one another more fully. If we allow ourselves to see the people around us as shells of the humans they really are, superficial caricatures of themselves, then, of course, the world looks bleak.
Instead, we can encounter one another in the way that Martin Buber described as I-Thou. Our interactions with others as intimate, intentional, and immersive experiences with other human beings. We can’t always be in this headspace, that would be overwhelming, but if we are looking for the chance to meet someone on this level, we are more likely to find it!
Spending time with someone who is showing up as their whole self and being open to it are parts of that abundance mindset.
Perspective and interpretation are everything.
Just like Pharaoh, Joseph, and the magicians, each and every one of us are free to interpret the world around us. Every single moment we make decisions about what it means.
We can choose to live in a famine mindset or we can choose abundance. Some days are harder than others, we are human after all, but we can set for ourselves a disposition.
So what will you seek this week, abundance or famine?