Elevation into Oneness1 min read

“And Yosef said to Pharaoh, ‘The dream of Pharaoh is a single dream…’”

Our Sages teach that a fundamental duality exists at the foundation of the Jewish identity: the inclinations toward alignment with, and separation from, the will of Hashem; yetzer hara and yetzer tov. The common experience is that these forces are polar opposites. While the yetzer hara is to be engaged with and strengthened, the yetzer hara is to be negated and ignored entirely.

However, the Sefas Emes teaches that because Hashem’s absolute unity sits at the core of creation, the tzaddikim who nullify themselves to the ultimate goal of life, returning to this singular Source, no longer see any disparity between the energy of the yetzer hara and the yetzer tov. The tzaddikim are able to utilize the passionate energy of the yetzer hara for holy purposes. In this way, they elevate this force to the level of the yetzer tov, demonstrating the manner in which – in a very deep way – they in fact derive from the same source in holiness.

Pharoah’s dreams of the lean cows swallowing the healthy cows and the thin stalks swallowing the full stalks represent the manner in which the darkness of the yetzer hara appears to “swallow” the light of holiness. This is why there are two dreams; the yetzer hara seems to function as a separate entity.

However, commenting on the first verse in our parsha, “Vayehi mikeitz shnasayim yamim – And it was, at the end of a two-year period”, the Midrash states, “Keitz sam l’choshech”, “An end is decided for darkness.” There is an elevated consciousness in which the darkness of “shnasayim yamim”, the duality of a yetzer hara independent of the yetzer tov is ended; “keitz sam lachoshech.” When a Jew reaches this lofty level, one realizes that, in the words of Yosef, “Chalom Pharaoh echad hu”: in truth, there is no duality. At the Source, everything in creation can be elevated and used for a holy purpose.