Chasidut zu Bereschit 41:63

And the daughters of Tzelofchad ben Chefer approached etc - look, it is written "Joyfully shall you draw water from the fountains of salvation" (Isaiah 12:3). Salvation is called in the aspect of the High Holy Crown, which is where exists the fountain/origin of salvation, lovingkindness and compassion. And the two springs that come from it are Yud and Hey, which are Chochmah and Binah. And from there comes the Flow and the Salvation to the five aspects that are called the Five Salvations. And this is what we say in Havdalah "the cup of salvations I raise etc" since just as the cup is a vessel that receives the wine that is poured into it, so too is the level of "the one who claims needs to show proof", which is the Higher Sovereingty, as it were. This is the vessel to receive the Five Salvations, through the aspect of "the tzadik is the life of the worlds", since he is connected to all, and joyfully draws, and this is the secret of "the tzadik is the life of the worlds". The sages have said that JOY is a metaphor for the covenant, which is the Flow and Filling of the cup of salvation, and "the one who claims needs to show proof" is the one that wants to raise oneself up to their source and their root of Holiness. And the holy Zohar says that the five fingers around the cup are a hint of the five salvations that come from the Upper World, which is the World of Freedom, as known to those who know. ... And those are symbolized by the letters mem-nun-tzadi-pei-chaf, which are both simple and double. And those five salvations are called "daughters of Tzelofchad", and this is the explanation of the verse "and the daughters of Tzelofchad approached": they approached themselves to their higher root, that are the five salvations spoken of above, since they are called daughters that surround the Shechinah since they receive the flow from the Higher Source. And they are called daughters of Tzelofchad - [break this word into] tzalap chad [one mark], those who are one since they have no dispersion, in the secret meaning of two rays that do not separate. OR you can also say - daughters of Tzelofchad [break this word into] tzel pachad [shadow of fear] since the five letters mem-nun-tzadi-pei-chaf are double they are the hint to the Holy Strengths, and from there come Fear and Awe into those who hate Israel and all who do evil, that they are unable to come to the higher holiness. They are not able to do evil to Israel, because they [Israel] desire and want those five salvations, which are symbolized by the settling and inheriting the holy land. And that they [the daughters] were able to go up to their Source and their High Root so as to make the flow descend and fill up the cup of salvations, which is the secret of the Holy Sovereignty. And their desire was to bring about salvation and redemption, which is the messianic times, which is "and the daughters of Tzelofchad ben Chefer approached", since it is known that the secret of Exile is to raise the 288 (Refech) holy sparks, hinted in the letters of Chefer. And "Son of Gilead" - through Yaakov Our Father who called him Gal-ed, and this is also a hint to the world of freedom, in which there is the sweetening of the judgments, and there one is an E"D (witness) that the ability of changing Names for God is how we conquer our enemies, which are the ones that try to cross over the GaL (wall of stones), like the way Lavan the Aramean tried to fool Yaakov, crossing over the wall of stones to do evil to Israel. OR one can say Ben Gila"d, E"D (witness) Ayin and Dalet. Ayin and Dalet are augmented in the verse Shema etc Echad, which are the letters of E"D. Since we are with the Blessed One and we unify God's name, above and below, and we give witness to God's unity, Blessed be the Name.And what is left of the letters of Shema is SH"M, and from Echa"d, A"CH; so we can make the combination ASHMA"CH (which is Shem Ach due to our witnessing of the unity of the Holy Blessed One, and this is Ben Gil"ad, that it becomes revealed to us the Name A"ch brother/ an idea of God as Brother, through the E"D written augmented.) Ben Machir - Ben Machir with patach - that he will recognize and know and reveal and publicize the Holy One of Blessing to Israel. And as it is written "For a child has been born to us, a son has been given us. And authority has settled on his shoulders...in token of abundant authority and of peace without limit" (Isaiah 9:5-6). Ben Menashe. From the expression "God has made me forget completely my hardship" (Genesis 41:51). That is, through him Israel forgot completely all their hardship in exile. And these are the names of his daughters: the five salvations spoken above, each with her specific name, due to the good action that each has. The name of the first is Machl"ah - from the expression machul lah - it is forgiven to her, there is the source of Forgiveness (Selichah); or the expression "forgiven to the righteous." The name of the second is to be read together with the name of the first: Machla"h Noa"h, meaning constantly advancing [n"a] sickness from the seed of Israel due to the sweetening of judgments. The name of the third Chogla"h: from the expression Cha"g La"h (a festival to her), happiness and rejoicing there. The name of the fourth Milka"h: the revealing of the holy sovereignty (Malkhut). The name of the fifth Tirtza"h: a hint that Kneset Israel (?) is happy in the presence of the Holy One of Blessing, to do all according to their will after the revelation of the higher light, the world of freedom. And to become sorry (metzerah), wanted (ratzah) from the sweetening of judgment, and all becomes Compassion. And THIS IS the explanation of "and they stood (fem. verb) - the five salvations spoken of above. In front of Moshe - the aspect of Awareness (Da'at). And in front of Eleazar haKohen - the higher (sphere). And in front of etc, why will the name of our father be diminished etc give us a holding etc - since through Israel Sh"en A"ch (the name Brother) is remembered (and expanded) influencing (the world) - this is "among the brothers of our father". A"v (father) is an expression of will, like "and they did not want" Av"u (Judges, 19:25; I Samuel 15:9) - our will is that we have a holding on the aspect of Brother A"ch remembered/male. And this is "among the brother of our father". And this is "they brought their claim to Moshe" - the world of freedom, the 50 levels of Binah. In front of Hashem - specifically. "And Moshe spoke to Ad-nai" - the aspect of Awareness. "

When Menashe was born, (Genesis 41,51) the Torah quotes ‎Joseph as referring to the trials and tribulations he had ‎undergone before becoming ruler in Egypt, i.e. ‎כי נשני אלוקים‎, ”G’d ‎has made me ‘pay my dues’”, a reference to the troubles he had ‎endured, whereas when naming his second son, Joseph speaks ‎only about the manifestly positive experiences that had followed ‎his painful experiences, i.e. ‎כי הפרני אלוקים‎, “for G’d has made me ‎fruitful, etc.” When the Torah describes Yaakov as positioning ‎Ephrayim ahead of Menashe, this reflects that both he and Joseph ‎were aware by now that any trials and tribulations were meant to ‎help bring about the ultimate good that is perceived as such. In ‎other words, “G’d sends the cure before He inflicts the disease,” ‎He does not have to search for it after the disease is already ‎ravaging the patient. The experiences of both Yaakov and Joseph ‎foreshadow the experiences of the Jewish people.‎

Behold, there came up out of the Nile seven cows, healthy and good (Gen. 41:2). For man and beast you save, O LORD (Psalm 36:7), “These are people who are mentally crafty but consider themselves as animals” (Hullin 5b). For a person, of his own account, has nothing; and the fact that he does have some good thing or quality comes from God, since the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth [come knowledge and understanding] (Proverbs 2:6). Now, the seven characteristics are: (1) Love [Hesed], to love God; (2) Awe [associated with the Kabbalistic sefirah of Gevurah (Strength)], to be in awe of [God]; (3) Beauty [Tiferet], to glorify God; (4) Victory [Netzah], to triumph over the Evil Inclination – “A person should always incite his Good Inclination against his Evil Inclination” (Berakhot 5a); (5) Splendor [Hode], to praise God; (6) Foundation [Yesod], so he will be connected to all these attributes; (7) And Majesty [Malkhut], to give dominion and power to God and to declare [God] King over all the world. Therefore the characteristics are called cows, because a person must consider himself as an animal. And they fed in the reed grass (Gen. 41:2), which is translated as “in fellowship;” for to the extent that a person hates his fellow, it is on account of arrogance, and it appears to him that he deserves the honor and the greatness and envies his fellow. But one who considers himself as an animal, then he loves all the world and he bears no hatred against his fellow.

Exodus 1,6. “and Joseph had meanwhile been in Egypt ‎already.” We need to examine why the Torah had to repeat ‎the word ‎במצרים‎, “in Egypt,” when it would have sufficed to ‎simply write ‎ויוסף היה שם‎, “while Joseph had already been there.” ‎Perhaps the Torah wanted to stress that during all the years that ‎Joseph had been in Egypt without the moral support of his family ‎he had not changed his name (although Pharaoh had given him ‎an Egyptian title, i.e. ‎צפנת פענח‎). He himself used to refer to ‎himself by his Jewish name. Even Pharaoh realized this when ‎during the early days of the famine he had instructed the people ‎to turn to Joseph for help, i.e. ‎לכו אל יוסף אשר יאמר לכם תעשו‎, ‎‎“what Joseph will tell you, you are to do.” (Compare Bereshit ‎Rabbah 20 slightly differently wording.)‎

Exodus 1,6. “and Joseph had meanwhile been in Egypt ‎already.” We need to examine why the Torah had to repeat ‎the word ‎במצרים‎, “in Egypt,” when it would have sufficed to ‎simply write ‎ויוסף היה שם‎, “while Joseph had already been there.” ‎Perhaps the Torah wanted to stress that during all the years that ‎Joseph had been in Egypt without the moral support of his family ‎he had not changed his name (although Pharaoh had given him ‎an Egyptian title, i.e. ‎צפנת פענח‎). He himself used to refer to ‎himself by his Jewish name. Even Pharaoh realized this when ‎during the early days of the famine he had instructed the people ‎to turn to Joseph for help, i.e. ‎לכו אל יוסף אשר יאמר לכם תעשו‎, ‎‎“what Joseph will tell you, you are to do.” (Compare Bereshit ‎Rabbah 20 slightly differently wording.)‎

And behold, seven other cows etc. (Gen. 41:3), for the Evil Inclination comes to induce him to sin in the seven characteristics: to love the desire for money and other pleasures; to be in awe of punishment; to glorify himself; to triumph over his enemies; to praise himself; to be attached to all these things; and to take dominion for himself. And the cows swallowed etc. (cf. Gen. 41:4), for with all of the mitzvot he performs, he gives power to the Shell, God save us; and that is [the meaning of] swallowed, that is to say that the Shell swallows the Torah and the mitzvot. But no one would have known that they had eaten them etc. (Gen. 41:21), therefore when the person does teshuvah “His sins become good deeds” (Yoma 86b), meaning he extracts the good deeds that he performed from under the Shell’s hand. And Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream (Gen. 41:7), when a person awakes from a sleeping time and behold, it was a dream [halom], which suggests “He returned and healed [halim].” Based on this reason, we read the Torah portion in question on Hanukkah, because the Torah is advice as is written, I have advice [and sound wisdom; I am insight, I have strength] (Proverbs 8:14) – it advises a person how to serve God and to return to [God] (omitted)[*The notation נשמט ("omitted") appears in the Hebrew text in all editions.]. Therefore it is forbidden to use [the Hanukkah candles’] light, since a person can turn in no direction other than to God alone – not for the sake of this world and also not for the sake of the next world.

And behold, seven other cows etc. (Gen. 41:3), for the Evil Inclination comes to induce him to sin in the seven characteristics: to love the desire for money and other pleasures; to be in awe of punishment; to glorify himself; to triumph over his enemies; to praise himself; to be attached to all these things; and to take dominion for himself. And the cows swallowed etc. (cf. Gen. 41:4), for with all of the mitzvot he performs, he gives power to the Shell, God save us; and that is [the meaning of] swallowed, that is to say that the Shell swallows the Torah and the mitzvot. But no one would have known that they had eaten them etc. (Gen. 41:21), therefore when the person does teshuvah “His sins become good deeds” (Yoma 86b), meaning he extracts the good deeds that he performed from under the Shell’s hand. And Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream (Gen. 41:7), when a person awakes from a sleeping time and behold, it was a dream [halom], which suggests “He returned and healed [halim].” Based on this reason, we read the Torah portion in question on Hanukkah, because the Torah is advice as is written, I have advice [and sound wisdom; I am insight, I have strength] (Proverbs 8:14) – it advises a person how to serve God and to return to [God] (omitted)[*The notation נשמט ("omitted") appears in the Hebrew text in all editions.]. Therefore it is forbidden to use [the Hanukkah candles’] light, since a person can turn in no direction other than to God alone – not for the sake of this world and also not for the sake of the next world.

And behold, seven other cows etc. (Gen. 41:3), for the Evil Inclination comes to induce him to sin in the seven characteristics: to love the desire for money and other pleasures; to be in awe of punishment; to glorify himself; to triumph over his enemies; to praise himself; to be attached to all these things; and to take dominion for himself. And the cows swallowed etc. (cf. Gen. 41:4), for with all of the mitzvot he performs, he gives power to the Shell, God save us; and that is [the meaning of] swallowed, that is to say that the Shell swallows the Torah and the mitzvot. But no one would have known that they had eaten them etc. (Gen. 41:21), therefore when the person does teshuvah “His sins become good deeds” (Yoma 86b), meaning he extracts the good deeds that he performed from under the Shell’s hand. And Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream (Gen. 41:7), when a person awakes from a sleeping time and behold, it was a dream [halom], which suggests “He returned and healed [halim].” Based on this reason, we read the Torah portion in question on Hanukkah, because the Torah is advice as is written, I have advice [and sound wisdom; I am insight, I have strength] (Proverbs 8:14) – it advises a person how to serve God and to return to [God] (omitted)[*The notation נשמט ("omitted") appears in the Hebrew text in all editions.]. Therefore it is forbidden to use [the Hanukkah candles’] light, since a person can turn in no direction other than to God alone – not for the sake of this world and also not for the sake of the next world.

Genesis45,22. “he gave to each of them a change of ‎clothes; to Binyamin he gave three hundred silver pieces and ‎five changes of clothes.” Our sags in Megillah 16 ask: ‎‎“is it really possible that Joseph erred in the same way as had his ‎father when he showed Joseph preferential treatment? Was ‎Joseph not aware that by what the Torah describes him as doing ‎for Binyamin, he would arouse the brothers’ jealousy?” They ‎answer that the Torah alluded to the five Royal garments that ‎Mordechai, a descendant of Binyamin would be dressed in as we ‎read in Esther 8,15.
Our author, clearly not too enthused with the Talmud’s ‎answer, suggests a different way of understanding the Talmud’s ‎answer. Our sages, understood that Joseph foresaw and hinted to ‎Binyamin that Mordechai, a distant descendant of his brother ‎Binyamin, would play a great part in the miracle of Purim. He ‎intimated that he and Binyamin shared a similar experience, ‎seeing that they were both the sons of the same mother, Rachel. ‎He had attained high rank as a result of someone’s dream ‎‎(Pharaoh’s) and Mordechai also rose to eminence as a result of a ‎dream, as our sages in the Targum on the Book of Esther ‎‎(chapter10) have told us. According to the Targum, on the ‎night when the king could not fall asleep (again), he had been ‎dreaming that Haman wanted to assassinate him. This is why he ‎became angry at Haman and commanded him to dress Mordechai ‎in the Royal robes, and paraded him throughout the capital on ‎the king’s horse. Joseph had been paraded similarly. (41,43) Just ‎as Joseph remained under the rule of Pharaoh at the time, so ‎Mordechai would remain under the rule of Achashverosh. ‎‎(Compare Rashi on 41,40)‎
This is another example of the approach of our sages to the ‎details the Torah has revealed about the lives of our sainted ‎forefathers, i.e. that they always were at pains to perform deeds ‎that foreshadowed future, critical, events in the lives of their ‎descendants. (Our author lists more examples of this theme when ‎relating to Shimon and Levi’s killing the inhabitants of Shechem ‎as being a forerunner of the Hasmoneans in the Chanukkah ‎story). [I will omit the balance of the paragraph as, seeing ‎this portion is also read sometimes on Chanukkah, the author felt ‎compelled to introduce this subject here, although those events ‎occurred in post-biblical times. It is somewhat forced, as it ‎requires us to see in Levi rather than Shimon, the principal ‎activist, otherwise the connection with the Hasmoneans who ‎were priests is too tenuous. Ed.]‎

And behold, seven other cows etc. (Gen. 41:3), for the Evil Inclination comes to induce him to sin in the seven characteristics: to love the desire for money and other pleasures; to be in awe of punishment; to glorify himself; to triumph over his enemies; to praise himself; to be attached to all these things; and to take dominion for himself. And the cows swallowed etc. (cf. Gen. 41:4), for with all of the mitzvot he performs, he gives power to the Shell, God save us; and that is [the meaning of] swallowed, that is to say that the Shell swallows the Torah and the mitzvot. But no one would have known that they had eaten them etc. (Gen. 41:21), therefore when the person does teshuvah “His sins become good deeds” (Yoma 86b), meaning he extracts the good deeds that he performed from under the Shell’s hand. And Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream (Gen. 41:7), when a person awakes from a sleeping time and behold, it was a dream [halom], which suggests “He returned and healed [halim].” Based on this reason, we read the Torah portion in question on Hanukkah, because the Torah is advice as is written, I have advice [and sound wisdom; I am insight, I have strength] (Proverbs 8:14) – it advises a person how to serve God and to return to [God] (omitted)[*The notation נשמט ("omitted") appears in the Hebrew text in all editions.]. Therefore it is forbidden to use [the Hanukkah candles’] light, since a person can turn in no direction other than to God alone – not for the sake of this world and also not for the sake of the next world.

Another approach to help us understand the line ‎ועשית בגדי ‏קודש לאהרן אחיך לכבוד ולתפארת‎: We know that of the twelve ‎months of the year 6 months belong to the season known as ‎‎“winter”, whereas the other 6 months are known as “summer.” ‎The twelve months correspond to the 12 lunar cycles each of ‎which is identified by star patterns described as ‎מזלות‎, ‎‎“constellation of stars in the sky.” Each month another one of ‎these constellations carries out its assigned tasks. The twelve ‎constellations may be summed up as 6 holy attributes, part of the ‎mystical ‎אור ישר ואור חוזר‎, “direct light emanating from the ‎source, and reflected light carrying the spiritual input by the ‎creatures who had encountered it. The six holy attributes are: 1) ‎man’s love for his Creator, and his desire to serve Him out of love ‎so as to provide Him with pleasure from His creatures. 2) The awe ‎in which man holds G’d; his dread of transgressing rules that ‎outlaw certain activities and defy His wishes. 3) the glory of G’d ‎that man must experience when he sees how G’d “boasts” of ‎man’s good deeds, compare Isaiah 49,3: ‎עבדי אתה ישראל אשר בך ‏אתפאר‎, “You are My servant Israel in whom I glory.” 4+5) the ‎faith Israel displays. These are two virtues, even though they ‎have a common heading. [The author had on a previous ‎occasion distinguished between faith which is totally oblivious of ‎any advantage one might personally gain from it, and faith which ‎is tied to certainty that G’d will reward one tangibly. Ed.] ‎‎6) The attribute of negating self interest by linking oneself ‎unreservedly to G’d and being completely content with whatever ‎it is that He has in mind for him.‎
The 12 constellations are represented in the gemstones of the ‎breastplate of the High Priest where they symbolize the 12 tribes ‎of the Jewish people, the holy nation.‎
The month of Adar corresponds to the tribe of Joseph ‎from whom 2 of the twelve tribes emerged. This is why when ‎there is a need to insert an extra month in the calendar to ‎compensate for the 11 days plus, that the lunar “year” is shorter ‎than the solar year, this month appears in our calendar as both ‎Adar I and Adar II. The appropriate zodiac sign for this month is ‎therefore that of ‎דגים‎, fish, which are a symbol of fertility as we ‎know from Genesis 48,16 where Yaakov blessed Joseph by ‎predicting that his sons’ offspring would be as numerous as that ‎of fish. Another example of Joseph’s numerous offspring is ‎alluded to in the words ‎בן פרת יוסף‎ “Joseph is a fruitful son.” ‎Genesis 49,22. Just as fish are safe from the evil eye, seeing they ‎are not visible on the earth’s surface, swimming beneath the ‎surface of the oceans, so the Talmud in B’rachot 20 ‎understands the words ‎עלי עין‎, in the same verse as the protection ‎afforded Joseph’s offspring from the potential damage from the ‎evil eye of people envious of them.‎
When the letters of the word ‎דג‎, “fish” are inverted, the result ‎is ‎גד‎, a word related to ‎מזל‎ in the sense of good fortune. (compare ‎Talmud Shabbat 67) There the sages accuse people who wish ‎themselves “that their mazzal, ‎גד‎ (protective star), not be ‎tired either by day of by night,” as uttering idolatrous phrases. In ‎the case of Joseph, whose two sons were called ‎מנשה‎ and ‎אפרים‎ ‎respectively, the former is an allusion to historically negative ‎phenomena, whereas the word ‎אפרים‎ is symbolic of historically ‎favourable occurrences. Joseph already presaged this when ‎naming his sons (Genesis 41,51-52) when he saw in the birth of ‎his first son a reminder of his years of suffering, whereas he ‎predicted a better future as being associated with the birth of his ‎second son. The month of Adar similarly symbolizes hard times ‎for the Jewish people during the first half, until after the 14th ‎when the nation during the reign of Ahasverus had been saved ‎from Haman’s wicked plots.
According to the Talmud Shabbat 104, where ‎positioning of the letters and its symbolic significance is ‎discussed, the symbolism of the letters of the Jewish calendar ‎telling us something through the sequence in which they appear, ‎our sages see in the sequence ‎גד‎ an abbreviation of the words ‎גומל ‏דלים‎, “G’d at work in reversing the fate of the poor, (Jews in ‎exile)” The letter ‎ד‎ is understood to refer to the initial ‎subjugation of the Jewish people, whereas the letter ‎ג‎ is ‎understood as the subsequent turn for the better in the fortunes ‎of this people. This is used as a reversal of the normal ‎interpretation of such pairings of letters when the letter that is ‎later in the alphabet appearing first, is considered as a bad omen. ‎It was reserved for G’d to demonstrate that when He, as opposed ‎to astrological factors, i.e. mazzal, is involved, He can ‎reverse the predictions of the astrologers based on idolatry. ‎Besides, we must never forget that even when G’d subjects us to ‎harsh measures, the ultimate objective is to bring about our ‎repentance and subsequent redemption. The Purim story is the ‎best example of this, although it was unique in that not a hair of ‎a single Jew was touched on that occasion, the disaster having ‎been warded off by the people’s repentance in time.‎

Genesis 47,19. “and provide us with seed so that we ‎may live and not die.” See Rashi’s commentary on ‎this verse who explains that since the arrival of Yaakov in Egypt ‎and his blessing, the people had begun to sow seed again ‎although the famine had been predicted to last for seven years. ‎Compare also the answer to the question of Nachmanides how ‎Yaakov was able to annul an interpretation given by his son of ‎Pharaoh’s dream according to which the famine would last for ‎seven years. After all, Joseph had spoken in the name of G’d when ‎he had told Pharaoh: ‎את האלוקים עושה הגיד לפרעה‎, “G’d has ‎revealed to Pharaoh that which He is about to do.” (Genesis 41,28) ‎Joseph had implied that no tzaddik could interfere with this ‎decree of G’d, although the Talmud in Moed Katan 16 told ‎us of the ability of the tzaddik through his prayer to bring ‎about a cancellation of harmful decrees. We must answer that ‎what Joseph had told Pharaoh at that time concerned the existing ‎circumstances, when there was no tzaddik in Egypt whose ‎prayer could influence G’d to rescind part or all of His decree. ‎With the arrival of Joseph’s father in Egypt, circumstances had ‎changed, as there now was a tzaddik of sufficient caliber to ‎bring about a cessation of this decree. This is why Joseph could ‎hand out seed and this was not a waste.‎

Genesis 47,19. “and provide us with seed so that we ‎may live and not die.” See Rashi’s commentary on ‎this verse who explains that since the arrival of Yaakov in Egypt ‎and his blessing, the people had begun to sow seed again ‎although the famine had been predicted to last for seven years. ‎Compare also the answer to the question of Nachmanides how ‎Yaakov was able to annul an interpretation given by his son of ‎Pharaoh’s dream according to which the famine would last for ‎seven years. After all, Joseph had spoken in the name of G’d when ‎he had told Pharaoh: ‎את האלוקים עושה הגיד לפרעה‎, “G’d has ‎revealed to Pharaoh that which He is about to do.” (Genesis 41,28) ‎Joseph had implied that no tzaddik could interfere with this ‎decree of G’d, although the Talmud in Moed Katan 16 told ‎us of the ability of the tzaddik through his prayer to bring ‎about a cancellation of harmful decrees. We must answer that ‎what Joseph had told Pharaoh at that time concerned the existing ‎circumstances, when there was no tzaddik in Egypt whose ‎prayer could influence G’d to rescind part or all of His decree. ‎With the arrival of Joseph’s father in Egypt, circumstances had ‎changed, as there now was a tzaddik of sufficient caliber to ‎bring about a cessation of this decree. This is why Joseph could ‎hand out seed and this was not a waste.‎

Genesis 47,19. “and provide us with seed so that we ‎may live and not die.” See Rashi’s commentary on ‎this verse who explains that since the arrival of Yaakov in Egypt ‎and his blessing, the people had begun to sow seed again ‎although the famine had been predicted to last for seven years. ‎Compare also the answer to the question of Nachmanides how ‎Yaakov was able to annul an interpretation given by his son of ‎Pharaoh’s dream according to which the famine would last for ‎seven years. After all, Joseph had spoken in the name of G’d when ‎he had told Pharaoh: ‎את האלוקים עושה הגיד לפרעה‎, “G’d has ‎revealed to Pharaoh that which He is about to do.” (Genesis 41,28) ‎Joseph had implied that no tzaddik could interfere with this ‎decree of G’d, although the Talmud in Moed Katan 16 told ‎us of the ability of the tzaddik through his prayer to bring ‎about a cancellation of harmful decrees. We must answer that ‎what Joseph had told Pharaoh at that time concerned the existing ‎circumstances, when there was no tzaddik in Egypt whose ‎prayer could influence G’d to rescind part or all of His decree. ‎With the arrival of Joseph’s father in Egypt, circumstances had ‎changed, as there now was a tzaddik of sufficient caliber to ‎bring about a cessation of this decree. This is why Joseph could ‎hand out seed and this was not a waste.‎

An alternative explanation of G’d’s directive to take along ‎provisions. [The following is based on the Torah choosing the ‎word ‎מאכל‎ instead of the customary word ‎אוכל‎, for food. Ed.] ‎‎(Compare Genesis 41,35; 41,48; 42,7 et al) By using the causative ‎mode, ‎מאכל‎ as in ‎מאכיל‎, the Torah suggests that G’d made it ‎Noach’s task to feed others, primarily the animals, of course. ‎When understanding the word ‎מאכל‎ in this way, a commentary ‎by Bereshit Rabbah 19,12 becomes clearer. Rabbi Abahu ‎there draws our attention to Adam when challenged by G’d ‎‎(Genesis 3,12) if he came by the knowledge that he was nude ‎because he had eaten from the tree that G’d had forbidden him to ‎eat, having said: ‎האשה אשר נתת עמדי הוא נתנה לי מן העץ ואכל‎, “the ‎woman that You have given me to be my mate, she gave me from ‎the tree vaochel”. Adam used the future tense when describing his ‎having eaten instead of saying ‎אכלתי‎, “I ate.” The author of the ‎‎midrash sees in this Adam’s implied promise to repair ‎whatever damage he had done by eating the forbidden fruit, by in ‎future pronouncing a blessing before partaking of anything that ‎G’d put at man’s disposal in this universe. He hoped to undo any ‎harm his eating from the tree of knowledge had done. When ‎Adam’s eating from the tree is looked at in this light, he had ‎indeed “fed” the human beings that were born after him, by ‎bequeathing them a world that they could call their own. This ‎was confirmed by G’d at the moment when He told Noach ‎קח לך ‏מכל מאכל אשר יאכל‎, “Take for yourself of all the food that is ‎fit to be eaten.” Noach’s taking with him all the animals into the ‎ark set the stage for man’s being permitted to eat the meat of ‎animals after they had died and become fit as food. This is also the ‎allusion contained in Yoel 2,26 ‎ואכלתם אכול‎, “and you will eat ‎your fill (and praise the name of the Lord).” The repetition of the ‎word ‎אכול‎ is the veiled reference to Adam’s having been ‎responsible for all this in a constructive sense. [This editor views ‎this midrash as especially inspiring, as it suggests that ‎Adam himself “invented” the principle of the punishment ‎having to fit the crime. Ed.]‎

Genesis 39,17. “your servant has done to me unspeakable ‎things.” According to Rashi the conversation described ‎in the Torah here occurred while Potiphar and his wife were ‎having marital relations. At first glance, this appears somewhat ‎difficult to understand as in Genesis 41,45 when the Torah ‎reports that Pharaoh gave Joseph as a wife the daughter of ‎Potiphar, Rashi points out that Potiphar was impotent, as a ‎penalty for having desired to use Joseph for homosexual ‎practices, and that Ossnas was not his biological daughter. We ‎must therefore assume that the attempted seduction of Joseph ‎occurred earlier. If so, why did he become impotent only at a later ‎stage?‎
Actually, the Almighty Who performs wonderful deeds ‎completely unassisted, arranges events in such a way that the ‎wicked will commit fatal errors, as we know from Job 12,23 ‎משגיא ‏לגויים ויאבדם‎, “He leads (wicked) nations astray and causes their ‎destruction.” If G’d had made Potiphar impotent earlier, he could ‎not have believed his wife when she described that Joseph had ‎engaged in similar activities to the ones practiced by her husband ‎during marital intercourse. In addition to this, the Torah testified ‎that Potiphar was aware of and admired Joseph’s absolute loyalty ‎and sincerity, as we know from 39,3 and 4. The Torah sometimes ‎shows us how G’d, on occasion, lets a wicked person enjoy a ‎degree of success even when they are in the process harming the ‎righteous, so that the righteous has a chance to become stronger ‎in his faith in G’d. When this happens the wicked interprets it as ‎proof that G’d approves of what he has been doing, whereas in ‎fact G’d is only preparing the downfall of the wicked. Ultimately, ‎in retrospect, G’d will be seen as having misled the wicked, as per ‎Job 12,23.‎

At the time when Joseph advised Pharaoh to appoint wise and ‎insightful men to collect parts of the harvest of the good years ‎and store it for use during the seven years of famine, thus ‎implying that the hardship of these years could be counteracted ‎by human endeavor, (Genesis 41,33-36) all the commentators ‎question who had appointed Joseph to volunteer advice to ‎Pharaoh?
However, we must examine Pharaoh’s dream and the manner ‎in which he related it to Joseph in greater detail. The Torah’s ‎objective report of the dream describes him as dreaming that he ‎stood “above” the river. (41,1). This was an arrogant Pharaoh, ‎who, according to our sages, considered himself as a deity, owner ‎and creator of the Nile river, economic mainstay of the whole land ‎of Egypt. In 41,17 this Pharaoh had humbled himself by telling ‎Joseph that in his dream he had been standing on the banks of ‎the river. Joseph, who knew what Pharaoh had really seen in his ‎dream, realized that this king had undergone a change of heart ‎since the time he had had the dream. Joseph had not offered an ‎interpretation of the dream as related by Pharaoh, but as ‎dreamt by Pharaoh. He had therefore left himself an opening, ‎allowing for a change in G’d’s decree on the basis of Pharaoh no ‎longer being as arrogant as he had been at the time when he had ‎dreamt the dream. When Joseph spoke about an ‎איש חכם ונבון‎, ‎‎“wise and full of insight,” this was hyperbole for a tzaddik. He ‎meant that when the need arises such a man would intervene on ‎behalf of Egypt at G’d’s court and plead for G’d to rescind the ‎decree of such a disastrous famine.
He explained to Pharaoh that G’d is not interested in bringing ‎disasters on His creatures, but in order to prevent such disasters ‎there had to be at least one tzaddik who would pray to Him ‎for deliverance of the people among whom he resided. This was ‎the reason that Joseph brought his father to Pharaoh so that ‎Yaakov could bless him. Yaakov assured Pharaoh that in spite of ‎Joseph having predicted seven consecutive years of famine, this ‎decree would be changed so that in the following year seed ‎planted would grow as the Nile would again overflow its banks as ‎was customary in normal years. The reason that Joseph himself, ‎also a tzaddik had not personally prayed for a cancellation ‎or softening of G’d’s decree, was that he was in the employ of the ‎Egyptians, and as such he was not independent but bound by ‎Egyptian laws. His father Yaakov, was a free agent. Moreover, ‎when Yaakov arrived in Egypt he had brought with him a whole ‎clan of monotheistic people, all of whom were obedient to G’d’s ‎laws so that Yaakov, when praying, could point with pride to the ‎number of G’d fearing people he had raised, all of whom would be ‎directly affected by return to normal life in Egypt after cessation ‎of the famine.‎

(a) In the name of my grandfather and teacher, of blessed memory: He explained the disagreement between Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel as to whether one increases day by day or decreases. He explained that, in the lamp, there is an aspect of illumination and one of combustion, that being to burn the waste material and to purge the inside by the fire of desire for Him, may He be blessed. And Beit Shammai are of the view that, initially, it is necessary to "depart from evil [and (then) do good]" (Ps. 34:14), and thus the practice of decreasing day by day. And Beit Hillel are of the view that the main idea is to increase day by day, such that the enthusiasm that illuminates through him will purify his body and will automatically purge the waste material. (b) And this is also what is written that Yosef placed Menashe first, while Ya'akov placed Efraim first. For the name Menashe is from "God has made me forget [nashani] ... my travail" (Gen. 41:51), as with "forget your people and your father's house" (Ps. 45:11), and he thought this about Ya'akov. But Ya'akov our ancestor, peace be on him, realized that not everyone is prepared for this, and he placed Efraim first [see Gen. 41:52: Efraim "for God has made me fertile (hifrani)"], corresponding to the view of Beit Hillel. Thus far [my grandfather's] statement, may his memory be for a blessing. (c) And according to this, both the formulation "increases day by day" and the formulation "decreases day by day" make sense, for they are in truth two paths. There are those who proceed by diminishing the subjugation of the body, and there are those who proceed by increasing the light of the spirit and of the insides. And this is a matter of "Ehad marbeh v'ehad mam'it" [originally, it is all the same whether one does much or one does little, provided that one directs one's mind towards Heaven. Ber. 5b, 17a]. And these two aspects are of Hallel and Thanksgiving, as we have said elsewhere.

(a) In the name of my grandfather and teacher, of blessed memory: He explained the disagreement between Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel as to whether one increases day by day or decreases. He explained that, in the lamp, there is an aspect of illumination and one of combustion, that being to burn the waste material and to purge the inside by the fire of desire for Him, may He be blessed. And Beit Shammai are of the view that, initially, it is necessary to "depart from evil [and (then) do good]" (Ps. 34:14), and thus the practice of decreasing day by day. And Beit Hillel are of the view that the main idea is to increase day by day, such that the enthusiasm that illuminates through him will purify his body and will automatically purge the waste material. (b) And this is also what is written that Yosef placed Menashe first, while Ya'akov placed Efraim first. For the name Menashe is from "God has made me forget [nashani] ... my travail" (Gen. 41:51), as with "forget your people and your father's house" (Ps. 45:11), and he thought this about Ya'akov. But Ya'akov our ancestor, peace be on him, realized that not everyone is prepared for this, and he placed Efraim first [see Gen. 41:52: Efraim "for God has made me fertile (hifrani)"], corresponding to the view of Beit Hillel. Thus far [my grandfather's] statement, may his memory be for a blessing. (c) And according to this, both the formulation "increases day by day" and the formulation "decreases day by day" make sense, for they are in truth two paths. There are those who proceed by diminishing the subjugation of the body, and there are those who proceed by increasing the light of the spirit and of the insides. And this is a matter of "Ehad marbeh v'ehad mam'it" [originally, it is all the same whether one does much or one does little, provided that one directs one's mind towards Heaven. Ber. 5b, 17a]. And these two aspects are of Hallel and Thanksgiving, as we have said elsewhere.