Devar/5771/Mikets
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< Devar | 5771
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And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof; and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh (Gen 41:8)
It is really astonishing: Pharaoh called all the magicians of Egypt, and all of its wise men. He asked each of them what the interpretation of his dream was. That same dream disturbed him so much that he agreed to consult a "Hebrew youth", a lowly slave. Not one of the sages of Egypt managed to interpret Pharaoh's dream, but the hated slave did!
In modern terms this would be similar to us gathering all the greatest scientists in the world, and asking them some deep scientific question. And after they fail to answer, suddenly Joe Schmo the falafel vendor not only answers the question, but gives a brilliant answer. Were such a thing to happen to us, would we not wonder what use all the scientists were? In our portion, how was it possible for Pharaoh to continue relying on his sages and magicians? After all, wasn't it absolutely clear that all the "science" of Egypt was just bunk and totally useless?
In truth, it is very difficult to leave that which is familiar from childhood, and to become wise and open one's eyes to the way reality actually is. In the entire Torah, only a few who had grown up among idolatry left it -- for example, Abraham our forefather and Jethro. Pharaoh, like most people, was unable to understand that his world-view was wrong and ludicrous. And certainly he wouldn't change his world-view because of the words of one Hebrew slave. It is important that we remember that the truth is possible to find amongst the "small" just as amongst the "great", and to treat the small as we do the great.
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