בראשית, פרק מ״א, פסוק ל׳

A sudden and sharp transition from extreme wealth to devastating lack stands at the heart of the impending crisis. The years of famine will arrive in a relentless, immediate sequence the moment the years of plenty end [ביאור יש״ר]. This sudden shift mirrors the appearance of the skinny cows and thin ears of grain in Pharaoh's dream [ביאור שטיינזלץ].

The primary approach among commentators is that the complete forgetting of the prior abundance serves as Joseph's interpretation of the swallowing action seen in the dream. Just as something swallowed whole leaves no lingering taste in the mouth, the years of plenty will vanish as if they never existed [רש״י, ביאור יש״ר, משכיל לדוד, לבוש האורה]. This profound loss will happen on multiple levels. Physically, people who grew strong and healthy from the years of plenty will lose their strength entirely, becoming as weak as if they had never known a full meal [העמק דבר]. Psychologically, the reality will be even harsher. Normally, people facing hard times find comfort in their memories of past wealth and good days. However, the agony of this famine will be so severe that the memory of the good times will be completely erased from the mind [לבוש האורה].

A deeper distinction is made between simply forgetting and completely failing to experience the past abundance. While a forgotten memory might eventually resurface, this famine will create a reality where the past plenty is not felt at all. Even if the inhabitants manage to eat leftover food stored from the years of plenty, the food will not satisfy them. It will not even be felt in their stomachs, exactly as the skinny cows showed absolutely no physical sign of having swallowed the fat ones [גור אריה, לבוש האורה, רשב״ם].

Ultimately, the famine will bring total destruction, a reality viewed from two different angles. On one hand, the devastation targets the earth itself. The ground will turn dry and scorched, becoming like salty earth completely unable to grow crops for those who work it [ביאור יש״ר]. On the other hand, the destruction primarily refers to the inhabitants themselves, who face death by starvation. This complete annihilation will strike those places that fail to plan ahead and prepare food reserves, a grim consequence hinted at by the vision of the empty ears of grain [נתינה לגר, העמק דבר].