Bereshit 37:9,10 - Yosef’s dream of the stars, the moon and the sun

בראשית לז:ט,י - ויחלום חלום אחר ויספר אתו לאחיו, ויאמר הנה חלמתי חלום עוד והנה השמש והירח ואחד עשר כוכבים משתחוים לי. ויספר אל אביו ואל אחיו ויגער בו אביו ויאמר לו מה החלום הזה אשר חלמת הבוא נבוא אני ואמך ואחיך להשתחות לך ארצה?

Bereshit 37:9 records Yosef's dream of 11 stars, the moon and the sun. Dreams are very important in the story of Yosef and usually we rely on Yosef to interpret the dreams. However, by his dreams, he does not interpret them publicly. The brothers interpret the dream of the sheaves, 37:8, and Yaakov interprets the dream of the stars, moon and sun, 37:10. Is this because they were equally as talented as Yosef in understanding dreams or that the dreams of Yosef had a more obvious interpretation? One element that is missing in the interpretation of the dreams of the sheaves and stars that is important by the other dreams is the timing of the fulfillment of the dream, which might have made the interpretation easier.

Yaakov interpretation of the dream was that the sun referred to himself, the moon to Rahel, and the stars to the brothers, 37:10. As Rashi (on 37:10) points out this interpretation meant the dream could never come true since Rahel was dead. Also, this dream could not have occurred before Rahel died since there were 11 stars, which would include Binyamin. Thus, Yaakov was trying to show that the dreams could not come true, which would stop Yosef from bragging and the brothers from being upset, see Rashi and Radak on 37:10. Yet, if this was the basis for Yaakov’s interpretation and then his interpretation was not necessarily the real interpretation of the dream.

Rashi and Ibn Ezra (on 37:10) explain that really the moon refers to Bilha, who possibly raised Yosef after Rahel’s death. Ramban (on 37:10) disagrees since he claims that Bilha was dead by the time the family went down to Egypt which meant that she never could have bowed down to Yosef and also that Yosef would not have cared about Bilha bowing down to him. Ramban explains that the moon refers to the household of Yaakov. I think this is also difficult since the moon should symbolize just one person, and also the brothers would have been within the household of Yaakov.

I think that the dream had to be possible at the time it occurred or else there should not have been a moon in the dream. More likely, the sun referred to Yitzhak and the moon to Yaakov, as the bowing of Yitzhak to Yosef would have been highly significant. It is not recorded in the Torah that this dream came true, but at the time when it occurred it was possible since Yitzhak was alive then, approximately 168.