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Share(1901 – 1967)
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
How do people generally, and how does the shrewd and skeptical Jacob in particular, regard dreams? It will not do to assert, as many have done, that in olden times human beings simplemindedly believed that all dreams come from the gods and accurately prophesy the future. In the Bible itself, dreams are understood to have diverse origins and varying important. Jacob himself will later rebuke Joseph for his imperial dream (About heavenly bodies bowing to him), as if the dream were just a projection of Joseph's tyrannical wishes.
(ה) וַיַּחֲלֹ֤ם יוֹסֵף֙ חֲל֔וֹם וַיַּגֵּ֖ד לְאֶחָ֑יו וַיּוֹסִ֥פוּ ע֖וֹד שְׂנֹ֥א אֹתֽוֹ׃ (ו) וַיֹּ֖אמֶר אֲלֵיהֶ֑ם שִׁמְעוּ־נָ֕א הַחֲל֥וֹם הַזֶּ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר חָלָֽמְתִּי׃ (ז) וְ֠הִנֵּ֠ה אֲנַ֜חְנוּ מְאַלְּמִ֤ים אֲלֻמִּים֙ בְּת֣וֹךְ הַשָּׂדֶ֔ה וְהִנֵּ֛ה קָ֥מָה אֲלֻמָּתִ֖י וְגַם־נִצָּ֑בָה וְהִנֵּ֤ה תְסֻבֶּ֙ינָה֙ אֲלֻמֹּ֣תֵיכֶ֔ם וַתִּֽשְׁתַּחֲוֶ֖יןָ לַאֲלֻמָּתִֽי׃
(5) And he dreamed Joseph a dream which he told to his brothers; and they hated him even more. (6) He said to them, “Hear this dream which I have dreamed: (7) There we were binding sheaves in the field, when suddenly my sheaf stood up and remained upright; then your sheaves gathered around and bowed low to my sheaf.”
- What is the meaning of Joseph's dream?
- Why is it presented in this way? (i.e. Its not that he had the dream but that he is sharing the dream with his brothers)
(12) He had a dream; a stairway was set on the ground and its top reached to the sky, and messengers of God were going up and down on it. (13) And standing beside him was יהוה, who said, “I am יהוה, the God of your father Abraham’s [house] and the God of Isaac’s [house]: the ground on which you are lying I will assign to you and to your offspring. (14) Your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you and your descendants. (15) Remember, I am with you: I will protect you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
The Rabbis, who transformed the religion of ancient Israel into Judaism, retain a modicum of belief that dreams or any state of unfocused consciousness may serve as a mediator of the divine will. For example, if you rise early and a specific verse of the Torah comes to mind, there is a touch of prophecy at work here (B.T. Berakhot 57b). The content of the verse carries some kind of divine message. Similarly, if at a critical juncture, you turn to a youngster studying Scripture and ask her what specific verse she is reading at the moment, that verse bears some relationship to your life (B.T. Hagiga 15a). In my own experience, while davening, I am often struck by an unexpected insight that I treasure as a form of divine responsiveness to my drawing near to God.
There is a profound intimation here about the dynamics of sleep, about loss of consciousness and the possible gifts of unconsciousness, about knowing and dreaming...
Though Jacob's sleep, therefore, is the basic condition for God's revelation, it also produces a kind of awe, of estrangement...In the midrash in Bereshet Rabbah 68:18 the angels are going up and down on Jacob, not on the ladder:
- What can this mean? They are accusing and defending him. They are pushing him, leaping over him, abusing him - As it is said, "You are My servant, Israel in whom I glory" [Isaiah 49:3] - "You are the one whose face is carved out in the worlds above [in the Throne of Glory (Perkei d'Rabbi Eliezer)]." The angels go up and see Jacob's face; they come down and find him sleeping...
(ט) וַיַּחֲלֹ֥ם עוֹד֙ חֲל֣וֹם אַחֵ֔ר וַיְסַפֵּ֥ר אֹת֖וֹ לְאֶחָ֑יו וַיֹּ֗אמֶר הִנֵּ֨ה חָלַ֤מְתִּֽי חֲלוֹם֙ ע֔וֹד וְהִנֵּ֧ה הַשֶּׁ֣מֶשׁ וְהַיָּרֵ֗חַ וְאַחַ֤ד עָשָׂר֙ כּֽוֹכָבִ֔ים מִֽשְׁתַּחֲוִ֖ים לִֽי׃ (י) וַיְסַפֵּ֣ר אֶל־אָבִיו֮ וְאֶל־אֶחָיו֒ וַיִּגְעַר־בּ֣וֹ אָבִ֔יו וַיֹּ֣אמֶר ל֔וֹ מָ֛ה הַחֲל֥וֹם הַזֶּ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר חָלָ֑מְתָּ הֲב֣וֹא נָב֗וֹא אֲנִי֙ וְאִמְּךָ֣ וְאַחֶ֔יךָ לְהִשְׁתַּחֲוֺ֥ת לְךָ֖ אָֽרְצָה׃ (יא) וַיְקַנְאוּ־ב֖וֹ אֶחָ֑יו וְאָבִ֖יו שָׁמַ֥ר אֶת־הַדָּבָֽר׃
What is this dream that you've had? No one seems to know that the dreams are prophetic: Not the brothers, not jacob, not even Joseph himself. Joseph will be able to interpret other people's dreams - but not his own. Like many of us, he will learn what every psychoanalyst knows: that seeing the meaning of one's own dream is the hardest.
- Do we think that Joseph shared his brothers and father's negative interpretation of his own dreams?
- Do we think he was sharing his dreams to anger his brothers?
- What could be another interpretation of his dreams?
(א) וַיִּסַּ֨ע מִשָּׁ֤ם אַבְרָהָם֙ אַ֣רְצָה הַנֶּ֔גֶב וַיֵּ֥שֶׁב בֵּין־קָדֵ֖שׁ וּבֵ֣ין שׁ֑וּר וַיָּ֖גׇר בִּגְרָֽר׃ (ב) וַיֹּ֧אמֶר אַבְרָהָ֛ם אֶל־שָׂרָ֥ה אִשְׁתּ֖וֹ אֲחֹ֣תִי הִ֑וא וַיִּשְׁלַ֗ח אֲבִימֶ֙לֶךְ֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ גְּרָ֔ר וַיִּקַּ֖ח אֶת־שָׂרָֽה׃ (ג) וַיָּבֹ֧א אֱלֹהִ֛ים אֶל־אֲבִימֶ֖לֶךְ בַּחֲל֣וֹם הַלָּ֑יְלָה וַיֹּ֣אמֶר ל֗וֹ הִנְּךָ֥ מֵת֙ עַל־הָאִשָּׁ֣ה אֲשֶׁר־לָקַ֔חְתָּ וְהִ֖וא בְּעֻ֥לַת בָּֽעַל׃ (ד) וַאֲבִימֶ֕לֶךְ לֹ֥א קָרַ֖ב אֵלֶ֑יהָ וַיֹּאמַ֕ר אֲדֹנָ֕י הֲג֥וֹי גַּם־צַדִּ֖יק תַּהֲרֹֽג׃ (ה) הֲלֹ֨א ה֤וּא אָֽמַר־לִי֙ אֲחֹ֣תִי הִ֔וא וְהִֽיא־גַם־הִ֥וא אָֽמְרָ֖ה אָחִ֣י ה֑וּא בְּתׇם־לְבָבִ֛י וּבְנִקְיֹ֥ן כַּפַּ֖י עָשִׂ֥יתִי זֹֽאת׃ (ו) וַיֹּ֩אמֶר֩ אֵלָ֨יו הָֽאֱלֹהִ֜ים בַּחֲלֹ֗ם גַּ֣ם אָנֹכִ֤י יָדַ֙עְתִּי֙ כִּ֤י בְתׇם־לְבָבְךָ֙ עָשִׂ֣יתָ זֹּ֔את וָאֶחְשֹׂ֧ךְ גַּם־אָנֹכִ֛י אֽוֹתְךָ֖ מֵחֲטוֹ־לִ֑י עַל־כֵּ֥ן לֹא־נְתַתִּ֖יךָ לִנְגֹּ֥עַ אֵלֶֽיהָ׃ (ז) וְעַתָּ֗ה הָשֵׁ֤ב אֵֽשֶׁת־הָאִישׁ֙ כִּֽי־נָבִ֣יא ה֔וּא וְיִתְפַּלֵּ֥ל בַּֽעַדְךָ֖ וֶֽחְיֵ֑ה וְאִם־אֵֽינְךָ֣ מֵשִׁ֔יב דַּ֚ע כִּי־מ֣וֹת תָּמ֔וּת אַתָּ֖ה וְכׇל־אֲשֶׁר־לָֽךְ׃
(1) Abraham journeyed from there to the region of the Negeb and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he was sojourning in Gerar, (2) Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” So King Abimelech of Gerar had Sarah brought to him. (3) But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “You are to die because of the woman that you have taken, for she is a married woman.” (4) Now Abimelech had not approached her. He said, “O lord will You slay people even though innocent? (5) He himself said to me, ‘She is my sister’! And she also said, ‘He is my brother.’ When I did this, my heart was blameless and my hands were clean.” (6) And God said to him in the dream, “I knew that you did this with a blameless heart, and so I kept you from sinning against Me. That was why I did not let you touch her. (7) Therefore, restore the man’s wife—since he is a prophet, he will intercede for you—to save your life. If you fail to restore her, know that you shall die, you and all that are yours.”
Abimelech is a man much superior in virtue to Pharaoh so God treats him not with plagues but directly, speaking to him in a prophetic dream. In fact, God will use Abimelach, a noble man but one whose virtue lacks the fear of God, to instruct Abraham in the meaning of marriage. In the dream, He informs Abimelech that the woman he has taken is another man's wife, and He threatens to kill him on her account. Abimelech, who had not come near Sarah, protests his innocence and (in contrast to Pharaoh) his concern for his people:...
God acknowledges that Abimelech acted in the simplicity of his heart, but He does not agree that his hands were completely innocent: Abimelech, a harem keeper, took Sarah, after all, and he still has her; and God adds, it was He alone who kept abimelech's hand from touching her. Most important, He informs Abimelech, who though an honorable man seems as yet to have no fear (or awe or reverence) for the Lord, that it was to keep "thee from sinning against Me" that He prevented the adulterous contact
[Dreams] attempt to lead the individual towards wholeness through what Jung calls a dialogue between ego and the self... What dreams accomplish is they make our ego step into this realm of the shadow, extract as much knowledge of our ‘self’ from it as possible, and integrate this knowledge into the ego to achieve individual wholeness or Individuation, as Jung called it.
The primary function of dreaming, according to Jung, is psychological compensation. Dreams help maintain a healthy, dynamic balance between consciousness and the unconscious. When the waking ego becomes too one-sided, or if it tries to repress a part of the unconscious, dreams will emerge to highlight the imbalance and guide the individual back on a path towards becoming a more integrated self.
(6) and [God] said, “Hear these My words: When prophets of יהוה arise among you, I make Myself known to them in a vision, I speak with them in a dream.
