Pharoah’s Dreams

The נתיבות שלום has an interesting interpretation of פרעה’s dreams. The fat and lean cows, as well as the two types of sheaves, represent two opposing forces. One side represents the aspect of קדושה, holiness, and the other, the side of defilement. The dreams represents man’s struggle in this world. The forces of evil try to take away one’s good traits until they can no longer be seen. The reason for the two dreams is symbolic of the two main lusts that good draw a person away from Hashem. They are the lust for food as well as the lust for sex. Sometimes the word לחם, bread, is a hint to physical lust. This was said about Yosef where the Torah uses the words הלחם אשר הוא אוכל, the bread that he is eating, referred to Yosef controlling his passion. There is so much written in holy books about the war we have with the יצר הרע. It is always coming up with tricks to make us fall. The symbolism of the dreams is another example that symbolizes this struggle.