best of the land." And the Egyptians were bitter at the end, as reports, "And they (the Egyptians) made their (the Israelites') lives bitter." A Midrash read the words of and , "And Jacob blessed Pharaoh," to mean that Jacob blessed Pharaoh that the famine should come to an end. Similarly, Rabbi Berekiah the priest taught that when Jacob came to Pharaoh, he did not leave him before blessing him, as says, "And Jacob blessed Pharaoh." And the blessing that he gave was the wish that the Nile might rise to his feet (to irrigate the land). A Midrash taught that Mordecai had pity on the unbeliever King of Persia, Ahasuerus. In explanation, Rabbi Judah quoted to say, "From my elders I receive understanding." Rabbi Judah taught that Mordecai reasoned that Jacob blessed Pharaoh, as says, "And Jacob blessed Pharaoh." And Joseph revealed his dreams to him, and Daniel revealed Nebuchadnezzar's dreams to him. So similarly Mordecai could help Ahasuerus, and hence (as reports), "he told it to Esther the queen." Rav Judah in the name of Samuel deduced from that Joseph gathered in and brought to Egypt all the gold and silver in the world. The Gemara noted that says: "And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan," and thus spoke about the wealth of only Egypt and Canaan. The Gemara found support for the proposition that Joseph collected the wealth of other countries from , which states: "And all the countries came to Egypt to Joseph to buy corn." The Gemara deduced from the words "and they despoiled the Egyptians" in that when the Israelites left Egypt, they carried that wealth away with them. The Gemara then taught that the wealth lay in Israel until the time of King Rehoboam, when King Shishak of Egypt seized it from Rehoboam, as reports: "And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem; and he took away the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king's house." The Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael, the Mekhilta of Rabbi Simeon, and the Tanna Devei Eliyahu praised Joseph, as reports that he "brought the money into Pharaoh's house" and did not steal any of it. Resh Lakish deduced from the words "and as for the