RAV KOOK ON Vayeshev Part 2: The Reality of Dreams

Joseph, the ambitious protagonist of the final four readings of Genesis, was the “master of dreams.” In addition to his own two dreams of future greatness, Joseph was called upon to interpret four more dreams: the dreams of the royal baker and steward, and Pharaoh’s double dream about the seven-year famine. All six dreams bore prophetic messages. “A dream,” the Sages taught, “is a sixtieth of prophecy” (Berachot 57b). And yet, Joseph’s dreams contained inaccuracies. Joseph dreamt that the sun and moon would bow down to him — i.e., even his father and mother would acknowledge his greatness. But, as his father quickly pointed out, Joseph’s mother had passed away long before! Nevertheless, “Jacob waited to see the results” (Gen. 37:11). He knew that this impossibility did not invalidate the rest of the dream. As the Sages noted in Berachot 55a: “Even if most of a dream comes true, not all of it will come to pass.” Why do dreams include extraneous elements and inaccurate details?