It all started with a dream or two

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Bs"d

It all started with a dream or two

First was Yosef. He had two dreams and shared them with his brothers, which got them very angry, so they sold him as a slave. Later he was thrown into prison, only to wake up one fine morning finding two of King Pharaoh's servants, the butler and baker, agonizing over their dreams of the prior night, so he interprets the dreams to their satisfaction.

Two years later, Pharaoh has his own duo of odd dreams. Thanks to his earlier precise interpretation of the butler's dream, Yosef is brought before Pharaoh to interpret. He does well and is appointed vice president of Egypt and minister of Agriculture.

So with their big connections, his entire family i.e. the Jewish nation, eventually moves to Egypt.  A few years later, these royal guests were transformed into mere slaves, exiled for 210 years! Until the Passover miracles occurred.

In short: Our ancestors' slavery and exiles, including our very own exile these days, have their roots in "dreams".

Dreams, exile. What's the connection?

Dreams are non practical, there is no order to the events occurring, and things don't have to make sense. As the Talmud states, it is possible to dream of an elephant fitting through a needle hole… Dreams don't have to makes sense to be true dreams!

The same is with exile.

One second we find ourselves being tempted by evil and sometimes even falling for the nonsense which is the mundane world and its imaginary pleasures.  

And then we have those lucid moments such as Yom Kippur or everyday during prayer, when we are in a normal state and can think objectively and 'normally', and knock our head in the wall and shout, "Hey! Yoo-hoo! Is everything alright with me? Have I totally lost my mind? What was I thinking when I acted so improper? Am I an animal that can't control its instincts?"

Just like in a dream where opposites seem to match, so too in our day-to-day we can have one second where we can feel high and inspired, and a millisecond later so dull and uninspired. No, this is not schizophrenia… this is a dream. A 2000 year long dream… dreams, exile – same thing.    

Sounds like dreams are all cons, not pros. Eh?

No! Just like in a dream nothing is impossible, so too in our lives, if we put ourselves to a goal, no matter how farfetched or impossible it seems to achieve, we can do it. No need for order, 'oh, I'll learn Torah when I'm religious'… just jump up, even if it doesn't make sense.

So keep on dreaming big! Very soon we will enter the sweetest dream of all: the reality of redemption.

***

One night my brother woke up with a loud "Hello!" to someone in his dream. As the next day came and went, my bro thought the outburst was his alone to remember. But that night, as we were getting ready for bed, I told him dryly, "If you see anyone you know tonight, just wave."

 

Moshiach Now!

Shabbat Shalom & Happy Chanukah!

(Rabbi) Levi Avtzon

 

Hakhel:

 We all share one soul