The Vine in the Butler's Dream and Israel's Future

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 88:5 View source
Curated by The Jewish Mythology Team ·

The Torah is brimming with them, and Jewish tradition loves to unpack their layers of meaning. Take the dream of the chief butler in the Joseph story. In (Genesis 40:9), he recounts, "In my dream, behold, a vine was before me." Sounds innocent enough. But let's see what Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations of Genesis, has to say about it.

"And on the vine were three tendrils, and it was as though it was budding; its blossoms emerged, and its clusters produced ripe grapes" (Genesis 40:10). The rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) don't see a random vine. Oh no. They see Israel. As it says in (Psalms 80:9), "You transported a vine from Egypt." So, if the vine represents Israel, who are the tendrils? According to Bereshit Rabbah, they're Moses, Aaron, and Miriam – the siblings who led the Israelites out of slavery.

And the budding, blossoming, and ripening? That's the redemption of Israel unfolding, according to the Midrash. It's a beautiful image – the promise of freedom growing and flourishing. The butler continues, "And Pharaoh's cup was in my hand; I took the grapes, pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand" (Genesis 40:11). Then Joseph interprets the dream, saying the three tendrils are three days, and in three days, Pharaoh will restore the butler to his position (Genesis 40:12-13).

But the Rabbis don't stop there. They ask: What deeper significance might be encoded in this dream? What connections can we draw to other parts of Jewish tradition?

"And Pharaoh's cup was in my hand…" On this, the Sages instituted the four cups of wine on Passover eve, the Seder. Why four? Rav Huna, in the name of Rabbi Benaya, connects them to the four expressions of redemption in Egypt: "I will take you out…I will deliver you…I will redeem you…I will take you" (Exodus 6:6–7). That's A dream in a prison cell foreshadowing the central ritual of Jewish freedom!

Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman sees the four cups reflected in the butler's dream itself. Rabbi Levi, however, offers a different perspective: the four cups correspond to the four kingdoms that will oppress Israel. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi takes it even further, linking them to the "four cups of bewilderment" that God will give the idolaters to drink, citing verses from Jeremiah and Psalms.

But don't worry, it's not all doom and gloom! Corresponding to those cups of bewilderment, God will give Israel four cups of salvation in the future. As it says in Psalms, "The Lord is my lot," and "I will lift a cup of salvation." Bereshit Rabbah even points out that (Psalm 116:13) doesn't say "a cup of salvation" (kos yeshua), but "a cup of salvations" (kos yeshuot) – plural! This alludes to the third and fourth cups, one for the messianic era and one for the days of Gog, the apocalyptic figure from the Book of Ezekiel.

Finally, there's Joseph's plea: "If only you remember me when it shall be well for you…and take me out of this house" (Genesis 40:14). Bereshit Rabbah notes that Joseph tells the butler, you gave me good tidings, and I too will give you good tidings.

And then, a final, intriguing observation: "For I was abducted from the land of the Hebrews." The Hebrew phrase, gunov gunavti, literally, "stolen, I was stolen"—Rav Aḥa says that from here it may be derived that he was abducted twice (Genesis 40:15). Perhaps he was sold by his brothers, and then stolen again by the Midianites? Or perhaps, the act of throwing him into the pit was itself a form of kidnapping, followed by the Midianites stealing him from the pit? It's a reminder of the layers of trauma and injustice that Joseph endured.

So, what do we take away from all this? A dream isn't just a dream. It's a portal. Through careful interpretation, it can reveal profound truths about our history, our future, and our relationship with God. And sometimes, it can even give us a good reason to raise a glass – or four – at the Seder table. Next time you're at a Seder, maybe you'll remember the butler's dream and the long chain of interpretations that connect it to our deepest hopes for redemption.

Themes

Creation Hell/Gehenna Adam & Eve Joseph Moses King David Daniel Messiah Prophecy Holy Land Exile Egypt Women of the Bible Dreams & Visions

Continue Reading

Midrash Rabbah Teachings of Rabbi Meir There’s a fascinating teaching attributed to Rabbi Meir in Bamidbar Rabbah 9 that gets right to the heart of it. He asks... Midrash Rabbah When Solomon's Temple Doors Refused to Open for the Ark We find in Bamidbar Rabbah 14 a fascinating exploration of the verse, "Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up... Midrash Rabbah Four Rivers of Eden That Foretold Four World Empires Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman tells us that all the prophets, in their visions, saw the rise and fall of kingdoms, particularl... Midrash Aggadah God Himself at the Dawn of Creation They're thousands of years old, yet they speak to our struggles, our joys, our fears as if they were written yesterday. ... Midrash Rabbah Wisdom of Solomon of Temple Today, we're diving into a fascinating story from Bamidbar Rabbah 10, a section of the larger Midrash Rabbah, a collecti... Midrash Rabbah Yerovam at the Dawn of Creation It's like peeling back the layers of an onion – the deeper you go, the more you discover. Today, we're diving into Bamid... Midrash Rabbah Jacob Makes Joseph Swear to Bury Him in the Land It seems like a strange thing to worry about when, well, we're no longer around to worry about anything. But the story o... Midrash Rabbah Maintain Justice and Perform Charity Says Isaiah The Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, dives deep into this question, partic... Ginzberg Vol. 2 Joseph In Prison Joseph's imprisonment wasn't just a random act of misfortune. It was, in a way, a consequence for speaking ill of his br...