בראשית, פרק ל״ז, פסוק י׳

As Joseph's dreams escalate in severity, the imagery expands to include clear references to his parents. This development brings the existing family tension to a breaking point, forcing his father to intervene directly.

Joseph chooses to share this second dream with his father because he recognizes that the sun in his vision symbolizes him [רמב״ן, רד״ק, הדר זקנים]. Although he had already informed his brothers about the dream, he repeats it to his father in their presence. The brothers had previously responded to the dream with jealous silence, refusing to interpret it. By bringing it before his father, Joseph hopes that a clear interpretation will be provided for everyone [רש״י, שד״ל, גור אריה].

Instead of a calm interpretation, Jacob responds with a sharp scolding intended to shame his son [אבן עזרא, ביאור יש״ר]. The primary approach among commentators is that Jacob did not actually doubt the truth of the dream. Rather, his harsh reaction is a deliberate public tactic designed to calm the brothers' anger and deflect their jealousy away from Joseph. Conversely, other commentators suggest that Jacob is genuinely angry. In this view, he perceives the dream not as a prophecy, but as a product of Joseph's own arrogant daytime thoughts and ambitions for power [ספורנו, שד״ל].

Seeking to invalidate the vision entirely, Jacob dismisses the details as meaningless nonsense [רמב״ן, ביאור יש״ר]. He points out a glaring logical flaw to his sons: the dream implies that Joseph's mother would come to bow down, yet Rachel is already dead. Commentators offer several perspectives on how to understand this argument. One approach explains that Jacob uses Rachel's death to convince the brothers that the entire dream is false. In reality, Jacob knows that even true, prophetic dreams contain some false or meaningless details, but he deliberately conceals this fact to maintain peace [רש״י, רד״ק, לבוש האורה].

Another perspective argues that the dream is entirely accurate and that the moon actually represents Bilhah, who raised Joseph as her own son. Within this view, opinions are divided: either Jacob genuinely does not realize the moon refers to Bilhah, or he understands it perfectly but pretends otherwise to minimize the brothers' hatred [אבן עזרא, שפתי חכמים, חומת אנך]. A third approach counters that Bilhah was also deceased by this time. Therefore, the moon does not point to a specific mother figure. Instead, it represents all of Jacob's wives and household who will eventually depend on Joseph. Alternatively, the sun and moon simply symbolize that the entire world will be subordinate to him, just as the earth relies on the celestial bodies [רמב״ן, בכור שור].

When Jacob challenges the idea of the family bowing down, he specifically adds that they would bow to the ground, a detail Joseph never mentioned in his original account. This addition emphasizes a full prostration, with hands and feet spread flat on the earth [תורה תמימה]. By amplifying this detail, Jacob highlights the absolute absurdity of the scenario, demonstrating how ridiculous it is to imagine a respected patriarch and a group of powerful older brothers submitting in such a degrading manner to their younger sibling [מלבי״ם].