It all begins with the king's bad dreams. As a result, a Jew becomes the second in command of his country. In recognition of his great contribution to his land he is dressed in royal garb and paraded through the city in glory. The gentile king remains nominally in control. In actual fact it is this Jewish viceroy who runs the country. As a result of his considerable influence he succeeds in saving his fellow Jews from a great threat to their lives.

Who am I describing here? Quite clearly this is the story of Joseph.

As we read in last week's Parasha, it all began with Pharoah's dream. Joseph's successful interpretation and the advice he gave the king got him out of jail and into a position of huge power. The king thus declared, "I am Pharoah, but without your permission no man may his raise his hand or his foot in the entire land of Egypt." He dressed him "in linen robes and placed a golden chain around his neck." He had him ride "in the second royal chariot and they called out before him 'this is the king's advisor.'" Joseph will use his position to bring great salvation to his family, helping them relocate to the province of Goshen in Egypt and saving them from death by famine.

But I could equally be describing another famous Biblical personality. We have just concluded the festivities of Chanukah, so we may not yet be tuned in to the next liberation festival on our calendar, Purim.

It all began with a king's dream. King Achashverosh who had a very bad dream concerning Haman, whom he thought was a loyal advisor and confidante, plotting to kill him in a palace coup. The plot is described in detail in the Talmud, Tractate Megilah. The result: "Mordechai the Jew was viceroy to King Achashverosh." He was "clad in royal apparel of turquoise and white with a large gold crown and a robe of fine linen and purple." He was paraded through the city and Haman, of all people, had to shout out, "this is what is done for the man whom the king especially wants to honour." As we know, Mordechai managed to save the Jewish nation from death as a result of Haman's decree.

We must bear this parallel in mind when we consider Joseph's very peculiar behavior in this week's Parasha. Having just identified himself to his brothers with the famous words, "I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?" he sends them home to fetch their father, with chariots to help them with their move to Egypt. To each of his brothers he gave changes of clothing, but to Benjamin he gave five changes of clothing.

Clearly they required new clothing, befitting the status of brothers to the viceroy. Besides, their own clothing had been torn in grief when they heard that Benjamin was accused of stealing Joseph's silver goblet. But why give Benjamin more than the others-particularly after his own personal bitter experience with favoritism?

Joseph had already done this once before, when he feasted together with his brothers, prior to sending them off on their journey to Canaan for the second time. He had placed portions before each of them and Benjamin's portion was five times that of the others. But this was before he had identified himself. At that time he was still the cruel ruler of Egypt who was making unfair and totally unjustified accusations about his Canaanite visitors. But at this point in the story, how can Joseph justify behavior that will incite jealousy and risk jeopardizing whatever harmony existed among the brothers?

The Talmud in Megilah explains it as follows. Joseph's gifts were to allude to the future success of a famous future descendent of Benjamin, Mordechai.

Mordechai, who would emerge from King Achashverosh's presence adorned in five royal garments.

This is yet another illustration of the principle that "Maase Avos Siman Labonim"-events in the life of the Patriarchs allude to future Jewish history. It was important for Joseph to show his only full brother that their destinies were linked.

Jacob and his family were about to embark on a dark chapter in the history of the Jewish nation. Their forthcoming trip down to Egypt was the beginning of the very first exile of the Jews-a process which would be repeated several times over the centuries. There was intense worry and fear about the future.

Joseph felt it was his duty to show his brothers and family that even as exile was born, the seeds for redemption were also being planted. Indeed there would be Hamans who would try to destroy the Jewish people. But there would also be Mordechais to assure its survival.

Yes, exile ahead would be bitter and difficult. But even before Hashem had brought down the disease, He had already thought of the cure. He would take care of us, right through all the challenges, and would redeem us, over and over again-up and until the Final Redemption.

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