Mikketz / “At the end”
B’resheit/Genesis 41:1 – 44:17
Parashah #1 – B’resheit 41:1 – 14
Happy birthday, Pharaoh! Well, we are at the end of two years, but two
years from when? Two years ago as far as
this record is concerned was Pharaoh’s birthday, as we can discern from the
final three verses of the previous parashah.
The chief cupbearer and the chief baker both had their heads lifted up
on that day – albeit that the lifting of the heads were quite different from
each other.
Pharaoh has dreamed through the
night, dare we say he had nightmares?
Regardless, though these were two different dreams, at least time-wise,
the dreams were of one meaning. The
scene of the dreams was the Nile River, the source of life for the nation of
Egypt, of course provided by the Creator of all. Coming
out of the Nile were seven sleek and fat cows, which began feeding in the grass
around the river. However, the river
soon provided seven other cows, emaciated cows.
These cows ate up, overcame, the previous cows, and yet, they remained
gaunt, lean, and miserable looking.
Pharaoh woke up, obviously startled and perplexed; but he was able to
get back to sleep.
During this snooze he dreamed a no
less daunting dream. Coming up out of
the Nile was a stalk of corn that had seven full, ripe, and plum ears of
corn. Yummy. However, this stalk was soon followed by
another stalk carrying seven thin ears, having been buffeted by an east
wind. Somehow these latter ears of corn
swallowed the first stalk and ears. It
must have been wildly realistic, for it was only after Pharaoh awoke that he
realized he had been dreaming.
Through the rest of the night the
dreams had stuck with Pharaoh; he could not shake them from his mind. So troublesome were they that he sought all
his advisors. Revealing the dreams to
them he desired that someone would be able to provide the meanings. Sorry, Pharaoh, not one of your advisors or
magicians could fulfill your request.
But wait! There is someone present who may be able to
help solve this conundrum – the chief cupbearer. In revealing the events of two years ago,
with an apology and I am sure some fear and trembling, Joseph is brought to the
attention of all present. Grasping at
straws, the erstwhile leader of the world’s greatest power of the time summons
this Hebrew “prognosticator”.
Joseph is called for and he is
quickly brought from the prison.
However, though it is quick, he still needs to make himself presentable,
and that is probably both a desire of his as well as a requirement for appearing
before the country’s leader. Therefore,
he shaves, changes his clothes, and then went to stand before the pharaoh.
Has the two years been a long time,
perhaps and perhaps not? Let us recall
the seven years Ya’akov waited for his marriage to Rachel. It seemed like a short time to him. We also must consider that it seemed like
eons, for was not that the perception of both Abram and Sarai for at least
twenty-four years?
We all have calls on our lives,
numerous calls covering numerous periods of time. Additionally, we may also have one or more
“major” calls that pervade the entirety of our lives. We need to walk our way through all of
them. Whether our walking out the call
seems a lengthy or fleeting period of time, we need to walk it out. After all, are we not instructed (torah-ed)
the following in Luke 14:25 - 35:
25 Now [a]large
crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to Me, and does not [b]hate
his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and
sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My
disciple.27 Whoever does not carry
his own cross and come
after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 For which one of you, when he wants
to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate
the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish,
all who observe it begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit
down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to
encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends [c]a
delegation and asks for terms of peace.
33 So then, none of you can be My disciple who does
not give up all his own
possessions.34 “Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with
what will it be seasoned? 35 It is
useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, [d]let him hear.”
The
question we must continually ask ourselves is this, “Have I counted the cost?”
Happy
counting, and shalom to all who count the cost, for I am sure that the benefit
will far outweigh the expense.
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