What does the fact that the lean cows stood beside the fat cows teach us?
Ramban: This was a sign that the bad years would begin immediately after the termination of the good ones. 1
Seforno: To teach us that, for a short time, the famine and the plenty ran concurrently. 2
Ha'amek Davar: The famine will be only in Egypt, unlike the Ramban says.
When Pharaoh related the dream to Yosef (41:17-21), why did he omit the fact that the lean cows stood beside the fat cows?
Ramban: It seems that the Torah is not particular about omitting details from one place to the other. 1
Ramban: Just as it omitted here the fact that it was not known that the fat cows entered the stomachs of the lean ones.
What do we learn from "Olos Achareihem"?
Ohr ha'Chayim: This teaches that the lean cows were created in the river like the first ones, even though this is written before "from the river."
Malbim: This teaches that the famine will come immediately after the years of plenty.
QUESTIONS ON RASHI
Rashi writes: "'Dakos Basar' -tenves (thin of flesh)...." Why does Rashi need to translate this term into French; we know that 'Dak means 'thin'!
Gur Aryeh: The term 'Dak' usually applies to something flat or compact, like [a thin layer of] earth or sand. Rashi gives an example in his vernacular, showing that it can also mean "lean;" this is what "Dak" means here.
