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ShareBeruchah at shekhinah Eloteinu Ruach Ha’olam potachat shaarei chalomot.
Blessed is the Presence our Shekhinah of the universe who opens the gates of dreaming.
— Rav Kohenet Yeilah aka Rabbi Jill Hammer
† II. חָלַםvb. dream (NH id.; Aramaic ܚܠܰܡ; חֲלַם; Ethiopic ሐለመ: Arabic حَلَمَ, dream, experience an emission of the seminal fluid, attain to puberty)—
Qal Pf. ח׳Gn 42:9Dn 2:1, חָלַמְתִּיGn 37:9 + 3 times, חָלָ֑מְתִּיGn 37:6 + 2 times, etc., + 3 times Pf.; Impf. יַחֲלֹםIs 29:8 + 5 times, יַחְלְמוּJb 39:4, וַיַּחַלְמוּGn 40:5, יַחֲלֹמ֑וּןJo 3:1, נַחַלְמָהGn 41:11, Pt. חוֹלֵםDt 13:4, חֹלֵםGn 41:1Dt 13:2, 6, חֹלְמִיםψ 126:1—dream:a. of ordinary dreams of sleep Is 29:8(×2)ψ 126:1. b. of dreams with prophetic meaning: of Jacob Gn 28:12, Joseph Gn 37:5, 6, 9(×2), 10; 42:9, of Pharaoh and his servants Gn 40:5, 8; 41:1, 5, 11(×2), 15 (all E, not elsewhere in Hex.); of Midianite Ju 7:13, Nebuchad. Dn 2:1, 3, old men in latter days Jo 3:1. c. of dreams of false prophets Dt 13:2, 4, 6Je 23:25(×2).
Hiph. Pt. מַחְלְמִיםdream (of false prophets, c. acc. cogn.) Je 29:8 (but read חֹלְמִים [מ by dittogr. from אַתֶּם], Hi Gf Gie Gr).
...
However, in Deuteronomy 13 and in the Prophets (Jeremiah 23 and Zachariah 10) there is a warning against people who interpret dreams or say they have had prophetic dreams. The idea behind this, I was made to understand, is that God once spoke to us in dreams (as God explicitly announces in Numbers 12:6) but no longer does. People who think they are experiencing a divine message in their dreams are either mentally unstable or have evil intentions.
(ו) וַיֹּ֖אמֶר שִׁמְעוּ־נָ֣א דְבָרָ֑י אִם־יִֽהְיֶה֙ נְבִ֣יאֲכֶ֔ם יהוה בַּמַּרְאָה֙ אֵלָ֣יו אֶתְוַדָּ֔ע בַּחֲל֖וֹם אֲדַבֶּר־בּֽוֹ׃
(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.
וְאָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה אָמַר רַב, שְׁלֹשָׁה צְרִיכִים רַחֲמִים: מֶלֶךְ טוֹב, שָׁנָה טוֹבָה וַחֲלוֹם טוֹב.
מֶלֶךְ טוֹב — דִּכְתִיב: ״פַּלְגֵי מַיִם לֶב מֶלֶךְ בְּיַד ה׳״.
שָׁנָה טוֹבָה — דִּכְתִיב: ״תָּמִיד עֵינֵי יהוה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בָּהּ מֵרֵאשִׁית הַשָּׁנָה וְעַד אַחֲרִית שָׁנָה״.
חֲלוֹם טוֹב — דִּכְתִיב: ״וְתַחֲלִימֵנִי וְתַחֲיֵינִי״.
Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav: Three matters require a plea for mercy to bring them about: A good king, a good year, and a good dream. These three, kings, years, and dreams, are all bestowed by God and one must pray that they should be positive and constructive.
The Gemara enumerates the sources for these cases: A good king, as it is written: “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord as the watercourses: He turns it whithersoever He will” (Proverbs 21:1).
A good year, as it is written: “The eyes of the Lord, thy God, are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year” (Deuteronomy 11:12).
And a good dream, as it is written: “O Lord, by these things men live, and altogether therein is the life of my spirit; wherefore You will recover me [vataḥlimeni], and make me to live” (Isaiah 38:16). Due to their apparent etymological similarity, the word taḥlimeni is interpreted as deriving from the word ḥalom, dream.
אָמַר רַב חִסְדָּא: כׇּל חֲלוֹם, וְלָא טְווֹת.
וְאָמַר רַב חִסְדָּא: חֶלְמָא דְּלָא מְפַשַּׁר כְּאִגַּרְתָּא דְּלָא מִקַּרְיָא.
וְאָמַר רַב חִסְדָּא: לָא חֶלְמָא טָבָא מִקַּיַּים כּוּלֵּיהּ וְלָא חֶלְמָא בִּישָׁא מִקַּיַּים כּוּלֵּיהּ.
וְאָמַר רַב חִסְדָּא: חֶלְמָא בִּישָׁא עֲדִיף מֵחֶלְמָא טָבָא.
וְאָמַר רַב חִסְדָּא: חֶלְמָא בִּישָׁא — עֲצִיבוּתֵיהּ מִסְתְּיֵיהּ, חֶלְמָא טָבָא — חֶדְוֵיהּ מִסְתְּיֵיהּ.
אָמַר רַב יוֹסֵף: חֶלְמָא טָבָא, אֲפִילּוּ לְדִידִי, בְּדִיחוּתֵיהּ מְפַכְּחָא לֵיהּ.
וְאָמַר רַב חִסְדָּא: חֶלְמָא בִּישָׁא קָשֶׁה מִנְּגָדָא, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וְהָאֱלֹהִים עָשָׂה שֶׁיִּרְאוּ מִלְּפָנָיו״,
וְאָמַר רַבָּה בַּר בַּר חָנָה אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: זֶה חֲלוֹם רַע.
Related to what was stated above, that one should pray for a good dream, the Gemara cites additional maxims concerning dreams and their interpretation.
Rav Ḥisda said: One should see any dream, and not a fast. In other words, any dream is preferable to a dream during a fast.
And Rav Ḥisda said: A dream not interpreted is like a letter not read. As long as it is not interpreted it cannot be fulfilled; the interpretation of a dream creates its meaning.
And Rav Ḥisda said: A good dream is not entirely fulfilled and a bad dream is not entirely fulfilled.
And Rav Ḥisda said: A bad dream is preferable to a good dream, as a bad dream causes one to feel remorse and to repent.
And Rav Ḥisda said: A bad dream, his sadness is enough for him; a good dream, his joy is enough for him. This means that the sadness or joy engendered by the dream renders the actual fulfillment of the dream superfluous.
Similarly, Rav Yosef said: Even for me, the joy of a good dream negates it. Even Rav Yosef, who was blind and ill, derived such pleasure from a good dream that it was never actually realized.
And Rav Ḥisda said: A bad dream is worse than lashes, as it is stated: “God has so made it, that men should fear before Him” (Ecclesiastes 3:14),
and Rabba bar bar Ḥana said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: That is a bad dream that causes man to fear.
״הַנָּבִיא אֲשֶׁר אִתּוֹ חֲלוֹם יְסַפֵּר חֲלוֹם וַאֲשֶׁר דְּבָרִי אִתּוֹ יְדַבֵּר דְּבָרִי אֱמֶת
מַה לַתֶּבֶן אֶת הַבָּר נְאֻם ה׳״.
וְכִי מָה עִנְיַן בַּר וְתֶבֶן אֵצֶל חֲלוֹם?
אֶלָּא אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן מִשּׁוּם רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן יוֹחַי: כְּשֵׁם שֶׁאִי אֶפְשָׁר לְבַר בְּלֹא תֶּבֶן, כָּךְ אִי אֶפְשָׁר לַחֲלוֹם בְּלֹא דְּבָרִים בְּטֵלִים.
With regard to the verse: “The prophet that has a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that has My word, let him speak My word faithfully.
What has the straw to do with the grain? says the Lord” (Jeremiah 23:28),
the Gemara asks: What do straw and grain have to do with a dream?
Rather, Rabbi Yoḥanan said in the name of Rabbi Shimon bar Yoḥai: Just as it is impossible for the grain to grow without straw, so too it is impossible to dream without idle matters. Even a dream that will be fulfilled in the future contains some element of nonsense.
אָמַר רַבִּי בֶּרֶכְיָה: חֲלוֹם, אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁמִּקְצָתוֹ מִתְקַיֵּים — כּוּלּוֹ אֵינוֹ מִתְקַיֵּים. מְנָא לַן? — מִיּוֹסֵף,
דִּכְתִיב: ״וְהִנֵּה הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ וְהַיָּרֵחַ וְגוֹ׳״.
On a similar note, Rabbi Berekhya said: Even though part of a dream is fulfilled, all of it is not fulfilled.
From where do we derive this? From the story of Joseph’s dream, as it is written: “And he said: Behold, I have dreamed yet a dream: and, behold, the sun and the moon (etc).
וְהַהִיא שַׁעְתָּא אִמֵּיהּ לָא הֲוָת.
and eleven stars bowed down to me” (Genesis 37:9), and at that time his mother was no longer alive. According to the interpretation of the dream, the moon symbolizes Joseph’s mother. Even this dream that was ultimately fulfilled contained an element that was not fulfilled.
אָמַר רַבִּי לֵוִי: לְעוֹלָם יְצַפֶּה אָדָם לַחֲלוֹם טוֹב עַד עֶשְׂרִים וּשְׁתַּיִם שָׁנָה. מְנָלַן? — מִיּוֹסֵף, דִּכְתִיב: ״אֵלֶּה תֹּלְדוֹת יַעֲקֹב יוֹסֵף בֶּן שְׁבַע עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה וְגוֹ׳״, וּכְתִיב: ״וְיוֹסֵף בֶּן שְׁלֹשִׁים שָׁנָה בְּעׇמְדוֹ לִפְנֵי פַּרְעֹה וְגוֹ׳״. מִן שַׁבְסְרֵי עַד תְּלָתִין כַּמָּה הָוֵי? — תְּלָת סְרֵי, וְשַׁב דְּשִׂבְעָא וְתַרְתֵּי דְּכַפְנָא — הָא עֶשְׂרִים וּשְׁתַּיִם.
From the same source, Rabbi Levi said: One should always anticipate fulfillment of a good dream up to twenty-two years after the dream. From where do we derive this? From Joseph, as it is written in the story of Joseph’s dream: “These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren” (Genesis 37:2); and it is written: “And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh King of Egypt” (Genesis 41:46). From seventeen to thirty how many years are they? Thirteen; and add seven years of plenty and two of famine; the total is twenty-two and only then was the dream fulfilled when his brothers came and bowed down to him.
- Peshat (פְּשָׁט) – "surface" ("straight") or the literal (direct) meaning.
- Remez (רֶמֶז) – "hints" or the deep (allegoric: hidden or symbolic) meaning beyond just the literal sense. In the version of the New Zohar, Re'iah.
- Derash (דְּרַשׁ) – from Hebrew darash: "inquire" ("seek") – the comparative (midrashic) meaning, as given through similar occurrences.
- Sod (סוֹד) (pronounced with a long O as in 'lore') – "secret" ("mystery") or the esoteric/mystical meaning, as given through inspiration or revelation.
—Rabbi Jill Hammer, Undertorah: An Earth-Based Kabbalah of Dreams
(ג)בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יהוה אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, הַמַּפִּיל חֶבְלֵי שֵׁנָה עַל עֵינָי וּתְנוּמָה עַל עַפְעַפָּי, וּמֵאִיר לְאִישׁוֹן בַּת עַיִן יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְפָנֶיךָ יהוה אֱלֹהַי וְאֱלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתַי שֶׁתַּשְׁכִּיבֵנִי לְשָׁלוֹם וְתַעֲמִידֵנִי לְחַיִּים טוֹבִים וּלְשָׁלוֹם, וְתֵן חֶלְקִי בְּתוֹרָתֶךָ, וְתַרְגִּילֵנִי לִדְבַר מִצְוָה, וְאַל תַּרְגִּילֵנִי לִדְבַר עֲבֵרָה, וְאַל תְּבִיאֵנִי לִידֵי חֵטְא וְלֹא לִידֵי נִסָּיוֹן וְלֹא לִידֵי בִּזָיוֹן, וְיִשְׁלֹט בִּי יֵצֶר טוֹב וְאַל יִשְׁלֹט בִּי יֵצֶר הָרָע, וְתַצִילֵנִי מִשָּׂטָן וּמִפֶּגַע רָע וּמֵחֳלָיִם רָעִים. וְאַל יְבַהֲלוּנִי רַעֲיוֹנַי וַחֲלוֹמוֹת רָעִים וְהַרְהוֹרִים רָעִים, וּתְהִי מִטָּתִי שְׁלֵמָה לְפָנֶיךָ, וְהָאֵר עֵינַי פֶּן אִישַׁן הַמָּוֶת. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יהוה הַמֵּאִיר לָעוֹלָם כֻּלוֹ בִּכְבוֹדוֹ:
Blessed are You HaShem our G-d, Sovereign of the world. Who makes the bonds of sleep fall upon my eyes and slumber upon my eyelids and enlightens the pupil of the eye. May it be Your Will HaShem my G-d and G-d of my ancestors, that You lay me down to/for peace and that You stand me up for/to good life and for peace, and that You grant me my portion in Your Torah, and make my habits mitzva connected and not aveirah connected; and do not bring me into the hands of sin, and not into the hands of test and not into the hands of scorn, and that my good inclination rules me and that my evil inclination does not rule me, and rescue me from divine accusation and from evil misfortune, and serious illness. And let not my ideas, bad dreams and bad space- outs overwhelm me; may my bed be wholesome before You. Enlighten my eyes lest I sleep the [sleep of] death. Blessed are You HaShem, who Enlightens the entire world with His Honor.
In the name of God, the Lord of Israel and the Lord of the world, El of the Spirits, who rules in the sky and the earth. In seeking a request and finding a solution, I (your name), son of (mother’s name), come with a supplication and with a humble heart, with a low spirit, to ask mercy before your glorious throne, that this time shall be a time of acceptance, a time of mercy, and a time of listening before you...
Open for me the gates and entrances up above, doors of truth and doors of prophecy, during this night... Answer with a precise response or a well-known verse, or in some obvious manner, so that I will know and understand everything that you tell me and never forget it, because you have revealed secrets and told me of hidden things through your great powers and your angels, your lofty servants.
