ON THE PARSHA Parshas Mikeitz by Dovid Lipman, Jerusalem The World Of The Supernatural (41:12) "He interpreted each according to his dream." The gemara (Chap. 9, Bera.) deals extensively with dreams, especially a principle learned from this pasuk, that a dream is fulfilled according to the way the interpreter explains it (if the explanation is logical). Two more principles are best illustrated by the explanations of Rashi and the Ramban of the pasuk (42:9), "And Yoseif remembered the dreams..." Rashi says he noted that the dreams had been fulfilled, although the dreams referred to all eleven brothers, and only ten had bowed. This points to the gemara principle that dreams always contain "some nonsense". The Ramban learns the pasuk the opposite way, that Yoseif went through the whole scheme of accusation, etc., to bring about the total fulfillment of the dreams. He (apparently) understands Yoseif's dream to have been a prophecy, including a hint to Yoseif to bring its fulfillment about, if he could. Theis points to the gemara principle that dreams are related to prophecy. In any case, we see that understanding a dream can be tricky. A Time To Laugh (43:12) "And take double the money with you, and return the money that was returned to your sacks, for perhaps it was done by mistake." Yaakov's actions clearly point to the Rambam in Hilchos G'neiva Va'Aveida (theft and lost objects), Chapter 11, Halacha 2, that it's a mitzvah to return even the lost objects of a non-Jew, if it will nake a Kiddush Hashem. However, there is a twist here. The Rambam later in the chapter (Halacha 11) writes that if someone isn't careful with his property, even though one is not obligated to return it, he cannot keep it. The Tur argues, bringing the principle from Bava Metzia that when one loses an object and knew what he was doing, it is considered hefker, ownerless, so why shouldn't the finder be able to take it? This would also seem to be a question on Yaakov here, because if the Egyptians aren't careful with their money, shouldn't it be considered hefker, like the Tur says? The Kessef Mishneh explains the Rambam's rationale for disagreeing with the Tur, that just because a person is a fool, that doesn't mean he KNOWS he's a fool, so he may still intend to keep the object. Here, too, (and in this case maybe the Tur would agree to the logic of the Kessef Mishneh), just because the Egyptians aren't careful with money doesn't prove they are wiling to give it up. So there's room to make the Kiddush Hashem. Now we understand the first part of the pasuk, "V'Kessef Mishneh k'chu b'yedchem," meaning, "Apply the logic of the Kessef Mishneh," and only then, "and return the money..." Worthy Of Note (42:30) "The man spoke...harshly." The gemara (Makkos 11a) derives from here that "dibbur" is a word for speech appropriate when one speaks harshly, contrary to the apparent meaning in another pasuk. But why didn't the gemara use the earlier pasuk (42:7), "...and he spoke to them harshly...", which describes how Yoseif spoke in the first place? Perhaps that would not be a proof, for we could have read the pasuk differently, and still interpreted "dibbur" to connote gentleness, "VaYedabeir," Yoseif spoke, and he meant no harm, so the gentle term is used, but "Itam Kashos", "to them it was harsh", for they didn't know. The later pasuk is proof, because the brothers themselves use the term "dibbur", so it MUST connote harshness. From the Gemara (43:9) Makkos 11b - When a person excommunicates someone with a condition, even if the condition is not fulfilled, the excommunication needs to be revoked to be ignored. We see this from Yehuda, whose self-excommunication was conditional upon failure to bring Binyamin back, yet Moshe had to pray "hear the voice of Yehuda", to revoke the excommunication. (44:3) Pesachim 2a - Only travel in daylight, when it's safer, as the brothers waited until the morning caused it to be light before traveling. (44:12) Pesachim 7b - From the linking of the language of "searching" and "finding", coupled with other p'sukim linking the language of "searching" with "candles", we learn that the seacrh for Chametz, to prevent transgressing "it shall not be FOUND", should be done with a candle. Rare And Unusual Words (43:34) "Mas'os" Rashi says it means portions, and we see that the word is appropriate for food. The gemara (Makkos 19b) learns from this that "lo suchal se'aiso", the excuse permitting Ma'aser Sheni to be redeemed for money, can even be in Yerushalayim itself, if the Ma'aser is impure (and therefore forbidden to be eaten), since "ki lo suchal se'aiso" can mean "if you cannot eat it", not just "if you cannot carry it".