This weeks Torah reading, Mikeitz, opens with Pharaoh experiencing a dream sequence in which seven fat cows are eaten by seven skinny cows, followed by seven plump ears of grain swallowed up by seven thin and beaten ears of grain. This sequence thoroughly distresses Pharaoh and he calls his advisors to interpret them for him. The Torah states that none of these advisors could interpret them to his satisfaction. Rash explains that they had interpretations but none that deemed appropriate by Pharaoh. This is because they were saying that the solution to the dream was that Pharaoh would have seven daughters and he would bury them all.

The Siftei Chachamim explains that this interpretation was incorrect as Pharaoh was the leader of the Egyptian nation and did not see this interpretation as befitting his position. As the leader, Pharaoh was aligned with his nation and therefore had no dreams for himself personally. Rather, he knew that any dream that he would have should have impacted Egyptian society as a whole as this was his focus, rather than just his own family.

Rabbi JB Soleveitchik adds further, that in his dream, Pharaoh saw himself standing beside the Nile River. The river was the cornerstone of the Egyptian economy, therefore he knew that his dreams were connected to the destiny of Egypt as a land and as a people. It is for this reason that Pharaoh rejected his advisors interpretations of his dreams as personal tragedies, rather than that of the society as a whole.