Mikeitz

The passuk states that Pharaoh said, “and behold 7 other cows were coming up after them דלות ורעות תואר מאד ורקות בשר.” When Yosef said over the dreams and explained them he did not mention the word דלות. Why didn’t Yosef mention the word דלות?

The Bais HaLevi answers that in truth Pharaoh never saw דלות in the dream. He made it up to test Yosef whether he indeed knew how to interpret his dream. The chartumim interpreted Pharaoh’s dream as being about 7 provinces or 7 daughters which Pharaoh didn’t accept. Yosef understood from the word דלות that the dream was referring to grain, as the passuk says about grain וידל. Although Pharaoh spoke in the Mitzri language he used a word which would refer to grain, as the work דלות in lashon hakodesh refers to grain. Pharaoh tried tricking Yosef by adding the word דלות. Yet because of the added word דלות Yosef figured out that the interpretation of the dream had to do with grain. When Yosef repeated the dream he did not put in the word דלות, and from this Pharaoh understood that Yosef had divine knowledge.

The Bais HaLevi says, Yosef understood that it was min hashamayim that Pharaoh added the word דלות to trick him, as this actually helped him interpret the dream. From here we see that even if another person wants to do bad to him he should understand that this is also from Hashem and is for his good.

We see this lesson throughout the parshiyos with Yosef hatzaddik. First he gets sentenced by his brothers to be killed. Then he gets thrown into a pit and sold to Mitzrayim as a slave. He becomes a servant in Potifar’s house and becomes head of the house. Next is a nisayon with Potifar’s wife and he gets thrown into prison for 12 years. The Midrash brings that the sar hamashkim and sar ha’ofim sinned and were thrown into jail in order for Yosef to become recognized as an interpreter of dreams. He interpreted their dreams and then was brought to Pharaoh to interpret his dream. All of a sudden he becomes head of Mitzrayim, only second to Pharaoh. After all the bad, it became clear that even the bad was for the good.

May Hashem help us learn from Yosef hatzaddik to have emunah and bitachon in Hashem and recognize His tov constantly!