I discuss the parsha with Rabbi Rabbs Mondays at 7pm PST on my live cam.
I put together these challenges for Rabbi Rabbs:
Parashat Miketz (Genesis 41:1-44:17):
Joseph goes from interpreting the dream for pharoah to giving advice. This from a guy fresh out of prison. It takes a lot of self-confidence. Jews do not generally lack for confidence.
Joseph interpreting dreams sounds like modern psycho-therapy. Today we turn to shrinks to interpret our dreams.
AS: “According to the Tanchuma, Pharoah gave a changed version of the dream in order to confuse and test Joseph, but Joseph corrected him every time, until Pharoah was amazed and exclaimed, “Were you eavesdropping on my dreams?”"
A good therapist detects the thru-line in your session even if you go off course and say contradictory things. A good shrink doesn’t accept your recapitulation of events as gospel truth. He asks questions and probes for truths not immediately in your ken.
That’s why I often feel like I understand myself better after psycho-therapy.
In a sermon at Stephen S. Wise one Sabbath morning in 1998, Dennis Prager shared this story: After his first divorce, he entered therapy. When he relayed a painful story from childhood, the psychiatrist said, “I suspect that didn’t happen the way you relayed it.”
And Dennis said he doubled up in pain.
One of the characteristics of a leader is that they don’t only try to tell you things you want to hear.
