Pharaoh’s two dreams spark a national emergency.
And it was in the morning that his spirit was troubled (Bereishit 41:8).
The dreams undoubtedly portend monumental tidings for Egypt, and so they must be explained immediately.

And he sent, and he called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all its wise men; and Pharaoh told them his dream, but there was none that could interpret them to Pharaoh (Ibid.).

The chief steward then recalls the Hebrew slave boy, who two years before accurately interpreted his and the chief baker’s dream.

Then Pharaoh sent and called Yosef, and they hurried him out of the pit (41:14).

Yosef was cast into a pit by his brothers 13 years ago, and now he emerges from an Egyptian pit to begin his rise to viceroy. But before he responds to the summons,
And he shaved / took a haircut (VA’YEGALACH), and he changed his garments, and he came to Pharaoh (Ibid.).

The rapid succession of verbs conveys a sense of urgency. Sforno (R. Ovadia ben Yaakov Sforno, c. 1470-c.1550) comments on our verse:
“The Divine salvation always comes hastily (unexpectedly), as it is written, For my salvation is near to come (Yeshayahu 56:1), and also, O that My people would hearken to Me…I would soon subdue their enemies (Tehillim 81:14-15). And so it came to pass in the Egyptian bondage, as it says, because they were expelled out of Egypt (Shemot 12:39), as our Sages have told us, ‘Their dough had no time to rise, for the King of kings, the Almighty, revealed Himself to them and redeemed them” (Haggadah). And so it shall be in the future, as it is written, And the Lord Whom you seek will come suddenly to His Temple (Malachi 3:1).

This is true both of Yosef’s meteoric salvation and of the salvation from Egypt, which is now being prepared.

The change of clothes after two years’ imprisonment is needed
because one may not come to the king’s gate dressed in sackcloth (Esther 4:2).
But, what is the significance of Yosef’s hair grooming?

The root G-L-CH can mean to shave (cf. Shmuel II 10:4) or to cut the hair (cf. ibid. 14:26). Onkelos translates VA’YEGALACH here as “took a haircut.” Also, VA’YEGALACH appears here in the transitive form, but without a subject. So, who cut Yosef’s hair?

Ibn Ezra’s solution is to translate with an unstated subject:
and (someone) gave him a haircut.

In comparison, Rashi’s cryptic comment on VA’YEGALACH:
“because of (MIPNEI) respect for the kingship”
raises a number of questions among his super-commentaries:
• Why does Rashi feel the need to give a reason for the haircutting (in other words, what was Rashi’s question)?
• What does Rashi contribute to our understanding of VA’YEGALACH?
• Why does Rashi change the wording of his source (Bereishit Rabbah 89:9) from “to apportion (LA’CHALOK) respect for the kingship”?

R. Eliyahu Mizrachi (c. 1450-1526) explains: Yosef’s reason for improving his appearance is not the same as that of any prisoner who is released [after two years!], because Yosef did not yet know whether he was going free or being released temporarily. [Clearly Mizrachi assumes, unlike Ibn Ezra, that Yosef wanted the haircut.] The only reason for Yosef to get a haircut therefore is purely out of respect for the crown. [One senses that Yosef wants to make a good impression on the king because he sees before him an opportunity to realize his own dreams of leadership.]

Afar Yaakov (R. Yaakov Nunes Vais, d. 1814) says that the wording of the original midrash suggests that Yosef cut his own hair. Rashi, however, prefers the simple meaning of the text, and changed LA’CHALOK to MIPNEI to imply, as in Ibn Ezra’s rendering, that someone else cut Yosef’s hair. Afar Yaakov and Nachalat Yaakov (R. Yaakov ben Binyamin Aharon Selnik, 17th century) further observe that while clothes can be changed quickly, a haircut (after two years!) can take some time. Interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams should not be subject to delay, but someone cut his hair because of the honor of the king.

Another approach is implicit in the Mechilta (Bo 13). It cites a number of verses (Bereishit 48:2; 41:16) to teach that one is required “to apportion respect” for any king, meaning a demonstration of additional respect, not merely an avoidance of disrespect. Applying the same terminology to our verse seems inappropriate to Rashi, for Pharaoh would enjoy no special honor from the appearance of a lowly slave just removed from prison. The reason for making Yosef more presentable is not added honor, but to prevent disrespect to Pharaoh, so Rashi changed the words of his source (Ariel).

Some commentaries feel that Rashi was concerned about Yosef’s violation of Torah law, which the Patriarchs observed before the Revelation (see Bereishit Rabbah 95:2). R. Ovadia of Bertinoro (c. 1450-c. 1515) says VA’YEGALACH might have implied that Yosef shaved his beard with a razor, which is forbidden (Vayikra 19:27). However, “out of respect for the crown” this can be permitted (see Sotah 49b). Tosafot HaShalem raises another problem, based on Rosh Hashanah 11a, which says that Yosef was set free on Rosh Hashanah: How could Yosef shave, or take haircut, on a festival? Tosafot answers: If Yosef would appear before Pharaoh in a slovenly manner, he would be in danger of being executed due to insufficient honor for the throne, so he did what was necessary. A simpler answer however is to apply the principle of Ramban (Bereishit 26:5 and elsewhere), that the Patriarchs obeyed the Torah only while they were in the Land of Israel.

From this moment Yosef, motivated by respect for the position of the king, is himself propelled to a royal position. Acknowledging the honor due the throne is a recognition of the Hand of Hashem in history. And during this holiday of Chanukah we are thankful to Hashem for the return of Jewish sovereignty to our own Land of Israel, “in those days” as well as “in our times.”