The Chamberlain of the Baker saw that he had interpreted well, so he said to Yosef, “I too! In my dream- behold! Three wicker baskets were on my head. And in the uppermost basket were all kinds of Pharaoh’s food- baker’s handiwork- and the birds were eating them from above my head.” Yosef responded and said, “This is its interpretation: The three baskets are three days. In three days Pharaoh will lift your head from you and hang you on a tree: birds will eat your flesh from you.” (Breishis 40:16- 19)

Yosef is uniquely titled with the name HaTzadik! That being the case, there is something troubling in his dialogue with the Chamberlain of the Baker. I remember reading in a journal somewhere that doctors are most often sued by patients not because of actual malpractice but rather because of a lack of bedside manner. Usually, a person with an axe to grind based on a rude encounter with their physician will find some fault, while real victims who were treated gently have a hard time responding otherwise.

Yosef, The Tzadik, has a very direct and brutal message for the Baker after analyzing his dream. Maybe he could have let him know in a kinder fashion. That would seem more like the trait of a Tzadik, or even a decent doctor. Why does he tell him straight and strong that he has three days to live? Say, rather, “It doesn’t look so good! I don’t know what or how to break this to you…” There is a precedent in Torah and it seems to be a Midah of HASHEM not to land shocking news all at once but rather to build up slowly. We find that when HASHEM approached Adam after the sin, He asked, “AYEKCHA- Where are you?!” and when HASHEM wanted to let Avraham Avinu know about the Akeida he let on slowly at first, “Take your son, your only son, the one you love, Yitzchok…”. Why is the Tzadik in this episode seemingly so cruel in his honesty? That cannot be so!

I entered the classroom of one of my teachers years ago and listened carefully to the beautiful lesson that he was delivering. They were learning about the fate of the Baker and the Wine Butler.

The Rebbe asked a marvelous question. Firstly, he explained what the Baker and the Butler were in jail for. The Baker presented Pharaoh bread with a stone inside and the Wine Bulter delivered a cup of wine to Pharaoh with a fly in it. So, why was the Baker more culpable? Because a stone is stationary while a fly is very mobile. It’s obviously more negligent and sloppier to allow a stone to slip into dough than a flying fly into an open cup of wine. Then, he asked, “Why is the Wine Bulter guilty at all? He is totally not at fault! He is an ONUS!” He explained that when a stone gets into the dough, it is immediately covered up and hidden and hard to find until one bites into it and finds a surprise. However, when a fly lands in the king’s cup, it is floating on the top. He obviously was not paying close enough attention when he was serving wine to Pharaoh.

The answer he gave opened up another subject in my mind. There is an old debate about which is more important in “serving HASHM”, the preparations (HACHANA) or the actual performance of the Mitzvah (B’Shas Maaseh)?! The Wine Butler was lacking, not paying attention at the time when he was giving the cup to the king, and the Baker was deficient during the time of his preparation. We see from here that preparation supersedes the performance at the time of “serving the king”. If a Cantor gets nervous and hits a sour note or says the wrong word it is more forgivable than if he comes to Daven woefully unprepared. The same is true of teaching and almost everything else as well.

Now we can understand Yosef’s seeming brutal honesty. The Baker was lacking in seriousness around preparation. If Yosef had been vague then the Baker would likely have wasted his time. He has only three days to ready himself to meet his Creator and go on a forever journey. The Mishne in Pirke Avos says “This world is like an entranceway to a grand banquet hall. Prepare yourself in the entranceway!” So, Yosef was doing the Baker a huge favor by telling him. “You have only three days to get ready to meet Your Maker. Do not delay! Take this time to prepare, prepare, prepare!