Rabbi's Sermons

Shabbat Shalom,

According to historians (Jewish, I assume), there are four prominent Jews who have changed the course of human history:

1. Moses – Through Moses, the world received the Torah - the basic set of laws for mankind.
2. Jesus – Though he was born, lived and died as a Jew, Jesus became the basis for Christianity - one of the largest religions in the world (although Islam and Buddhism have just as many followers world-wide).
3. Sigmund Freud – Freud was the father of psychology – the basis for many of the prevailing theories about human behavior.
4. Albert Einstein – Einstein developed the theory of relativity – one of two pillars of modern physics.

When I read this week's Torah reading Parashat Vayeshev - I wondered how one of them – Freud – would have analyzed Joseph's dreams (we first read about his dreams in last week's portion). Lets picture a boy with a "coat of many colors" who dared to dream of his brothers' sheaves bowing down to his, and later of the sun, the moon and eleven stars bowing down to him. Pretty confident guy! Of Joseph, it is written (mockingly): “And they said one to another: 'Behold, this dreamer comes” ^{Genesis 37:19}. Joseph the dreamer grew up in the Egyptian Potiphar's home, and continued to enjoy God's blessing, as written: “And his master saw that God was with him, and that God made all that he did to prosper in his hand” ^{Genesis 39:3}. Joseph is not only successful, but also handsome as written: “And Joseph was of beautiful form, and fair to look upon” ^{Genesis 39:6}. Joseph's looks got him into trouble with a mysterious woman whose name is not even mentioned in the story as written: “And it came to pass after these things that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said: 'Lie with me'”. ^{Genesis 39:7}.

But Joseph the dreamer had principles that by the end of chapter 39 land him in jail. While in jail, Joseph was promoted to be in charge of the other prisoners and in chapter 40, his dreams returned. He developed the exceptional ability to interpret not only his own dreams, but also those of the butler and the baker as explained: “And they dreamed a dream both of them, each man his dream, in one night, each man according to the interpretation of his dream, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were bound in the prison” ^{Genesis 40:5}. Joseph was able to uncover the hidden meaning of each dream. The butler will be reinstated as Pharoah's butler; the baker will be hanged. Two years later, Joseph successfully interpreted Pharoah's famous dream of the seven healthy cows and seven sickly cows as a prediction of seven good years and seven lean years. It would seem that Joseph's interpreting Pharoah's dreams is a new method of communication between God and man.

The direct conversations that God had with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob seem to have stopped and will only be renewed later with Moses. Dreams seem to have taken their place. God did not speak directly to Jacob's sons – communicating instead via an indirect and less-straightforward method. Joseph was aware of this as evidenced when he explained Pharaoh: “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace”. ^{Genesis 41:16}. I am surely not capable to discuss the meaning of dreams in the modern scientific theories. Instead I've chosen to focus on dreams in Jewish sources. The Torah places great weight on dreams and views them as a true prophecy of things to come. Here are some examples:

1. When Abraham told Abimelech that his wife Sarah was his sister: “God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him: 'Behold, you will die, because of the woman whom you have taken; for she is a man's wife'” ^{Genesis 20:3}
2. Jacob's ladder is a dream of angels going up and down at Beit El. Later in chapter 31^st, Jacob also dreamt when he was living with Laban's
3. Jacob was saved thanks to a dream that Laban the Aramean dreamt: “And God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream of the night, and said to him: Be careful not to say anything to Jacob either good or bad' ^{Genesis 31:24}
4. In the Book of Numbers, we learn that the dream is indeed a type of Divine communication – with the prophets in particular and with mankind in general. God said: “Hear now My words: when there is a prophet among you, I will reveal myself to them in a vision, I will speak with him in a dream”. ^{Numbers 12:6}
5. After the death of the prophet Samuel, King Saul finds it difficult to make contact with God and in the following passage we understand that one of the most acceptable ways to do so was through dreams: “And when Saul inquired of God, God did not answer him, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets”. ^{Samuel 1: 28:6}
6. There are many more examples of dreams and dreamers throughout the Bible: King Solomon, the prophet Isaiah, the prophet Jeremiah, in the book of Daniel, in the book of Job, in Ecclesiastes, the prophet Joel and many more……

And despite the optimistic method of dreams, the Torah clearly warns us: “…and if the sign or wonder spoken of takes place, and the prophet says, "Let us follow other gods" (gods you have not known) "and let us worship them," you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. It is your God you must follow, and him you must revere…” ^{Deuteronomy 13: 2:4}

The Halacha (Jewish law) also relates to dreams – especially to nightmares. So what have we learned so far? We've seen the importance of dreams as a way to communicate with God. More importantly, we've seen that dreams are a way of making our hopes and wishes come true – what is in our thoughts can indeed become a reality. In the amazing and famous words of Dr. Martin Luther King before the historic 1963 rally in Washington DC we remember: “I still have a dream, a dream deeply rooted in the American dream – one day this nation will rise up and live up to its creed, 'We hold these truths to be self evident: that all men are created equal.' I have a dream”

We may never cease to dream! I invite you all to dream about our congregation – having twice or three more times as many congregants, having many Bnei mitzvah ceremonies... DO NOT STOP DREAMING! in the words of the Psalm 121 that we sing before our grace after meals we chant: “שיר המעלות: בשוב ה', את שיבת ציון היינו כחולמים - When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed”. Let us keep the dream alive!

Sweet dreams and Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi David Laor

December 20^th, 2024