Για να το διαβάσετε στα Ελληνικά κάντε κλικ εδώ
In this week’s Parasha Miketz, Pharaoh makes two strange dreams.
In the first dream, Pharaoh sees seven fat good-looking cows grazing in the Nile. Then, seven lean cows arrive and after a while, they swallow the fat cows, but nevertheless stay lean!
The second dream was similar to the first one, but it had earls of grain instead of cows. A group of seven fat earls of grain and a group of seven lean earls of grain grow near each other, and the lean ones swallow the fat ones, nevertheless staying thin!
Pharaoh’s advisors could not give him a satisfactory interpretation. In his anguish, Pharaoh orders to bring Joseph from the prison to interpret his dreams. Joseph’s interpretation is simple. Egypt would go through seven years of plenty, which will be followed by seven years of such terrible famine the years of abundance will be forgotten. Joseph concludes that the Egyptians need to take advantage of the years of abundance and store food for the years of hunger.
We also have in our lives, cycles of “hunger” and abundance. There are periods where everything goes well: we are healthy, successful and our bank account is full. Sometimes, in good periods, we forget to invest time and energy in cultivating our relationships with our spouse, our friends and develop a deep connection with G-d.
But then, when the times of “hunger” and of various difficulties come, and we suddenly feel the need for help, we may not know how to communicate it. If we do not cultivate our relationships in the times of abundance, we may not have the tools that will help us go through the difficult times…
The secret is during the times of abundance to have in mind the times of “hunger”. Keeping the right set of priorities and investing in what is really important, such as the relationships with our loved ones and our connection to G-d, is what will help us go though the difficult times when they come.
Shabbat Shalom,
Hanna
