Dreams figure very prominently in the book of בראשית/Bereshit/Genesis. While many dreams are recounted, there are six dreams that specifically anchor the life and journey of יוסף/Yosef/Joseph. At the beginning of this week’s פרשה/parsha/portion: וישב/VaYeshev, we have his two dreams of superiority over his brothers, and perhaps his entire family including his father and mother. When looking closely at this text, we must recognize that יוסף offered a retelling of his dreams, but he did not apply any sort of meaning to them. He didn’t interpret them, but others did. When he told his brothers of his dream of the harvest, he said his sheaves were mightier and the brothers’ sheaves all bowed down to his. He doesn’t assert meaning to it, but the brothers very angrily recognize a meaning that can be pulled out of this nighttime vision. Right after this dream, he reports another dream, this time astronomical in nature, to his brothers and father. On this occasion, his father derives the meaning of the dream and reprimands his son for his negative view of the rest of his family.
Years later when in jail, יוסף was on the other side of the dream experience when two fellow inmates, the butler and baker, report dreams to him and he interprets the meaning of the visions for them. Both interpretations come true, and as a result, at the beginning of next weeks פרשה: מקץ/Miketz, he is brought out of jail to help פרעה/Paro/Pharaoh who is struggling with his dreams as well. Again, his interpretation will prove to be accurate and will prove to be necessary for the well-being of the world. In each of these six dreams and their interpretations, the תורה/Torah is telling us something quite important. This demonstrates that we’re actors in our lives and not merely puppets. The dreams were indeed prophetic in nature, but without the interpretations, they were useless.
Dreams have great value to the Jewish people. In the תלמוד/Talmud we learn: God “will communicate with man through dreams” (Bavli Chagigah 5b) and that “Dreams are one sixtieth part of prophecy” (Bavli Berachot 57b). That’s the extent to which we appreciate the powers of dreams, but there’s something greater and more important in the dreams from the פרשה that were discussed above: “A dream uninterpreted is like a letter left unopened” (Bavli Berachot 57b). This statement has always taken hold of me and filled me with awe and amazement. Our ancestors appreciated the importance of our role and our ability to understand. Dreams should never be seen as self-evident, but needing humans to ascribe meaning to them. We saw that with יוסף’s brothers, with יעקב/Yakkov and with יוסף when he interpreted for the butler and the baker and for פרעה as well. The power of interpretation is a human strength, and it engages us and empowers us to have a role in our lives and in the lives of others. God may communicate with us through the dream, but we still need to do our part to better understand what the message is trying to convey and what we can do with it.
As חנכה/Chanukah begins this Sunday night, let’s recognize that the נס/Nes/Miracle of the חנכה was not just about oil lasting longer than it could or should have. The נס was and is about the Jewish people remaining vibrant and strong. The נס is about our commitment to our past, our present and our future. The נס is about an age of freedom of movement and choice regarding our religious identity. All of these miracles demonstrate that we, as Jews, take ownership of our Jewish world and Jewish lives. We recognize each of us has a role to play and that we need to be active. That’s what we will celebrate for the eight beautiful days of חנכה.
