Arriving somewhere late
Missing a sock or a shoe – or
both – when I really need them
Being unable to get out of a
building
Jamming with Paul McCartney
Getting along with people I
don’t usually get along with
These are some of the
impressions that I carry around
From my dreams
Some of us remember dreams
frequently and vividly
Some can recall dreams just
every so often
And maybe there are those of
us
who never can describe a
dream in any sort of detail.
We often hear that dreams
speak to us
About who we are
About the order or chaos in
our lives
Even though the dreams seem
to portray
Events in a state of
disarray.
While we sleep, dreams likely
help us
shape the seemingly random
aspects of the world
Into categories that will
make better sense to us
While we are awake.
Of course, we also use the
word “dream” to refer
To aspirations, hopes, and
visions of improving our society
Or of creating something
new.
One of the greatest speeches
of the 20th Century
bore the refrain “I Have a
Dream.”
The common translation of
Theodor Herzl’s fundamental
Declaration, IM TIRTZU, EIN
ZO AGADAH, is not
“If you want it, it is no
legend,”
but, “If you will it, it is
no dream.”
Perhaps the dreams that come
to us while we sleep
Enable us to further develop
our plans and thoughts
For the future so that they
will come to fruition.
The ladder at Beth-El came to
Jacob in a dream
After he had fled his home
due to the fear
That his brother might take
revenge on him immediately
For replacing him as the
blessed first-born son.
The dream of God and a ladder
to heaven
elevated a supplanter and
deceiver
To a higher level of
understanding about his life.
Jacob finally realized that
God was with him,
and that God’s presence
mattered
giving him, perhaps, at least
a small dose of humility.
And then there was his son
Joseph. Jacob’s favorite.
The one to whom he gave an
ornamented tunic,
a KTONET PASIM, which was
worn by special young women,
and, perhaps, special young
men of his time.
But there was more to Joseph
that no one recognized as unique.
Dreams.
Joseph was truly Jacob’s son,
a dreamer,
but Jacob couldn’t even see
it as he tried to keep peace in his family.
Jacob saw only his immediate
problem:
he didn’t need this
precocious,
narcissistic young man
bringing “evil reports,”
gossip, about his brothers,
creating yet another
generation of pointed sibling rivalry.
But the dreams – no one, not
even Joseph could see
that they were pointing to
crucial future events
Which would lead to their
survival.
What caused Joseph to tell
his brothers these dreams
that had such potential to
inflame their jealousy?
Jewish commentators noted
that Joseph was
Too young and naïve to
realize the consequences
Of his dream-sharing.
Perhaps he thought they would
respect him more
If he revealed that he was
the one to whom others would bow.
Or, was it that he realized
that he had been given a message from God
that he had to share?
Or, in Aviva Gottleib
Zornberg’s words, was this just
Joseph the teenager behaving
with
“a dangerous unawareness of
the feelings of others”?
In the stories of Joseph, one
dream points to a possibility,
and two dreams predict that
something will truly come to pass.
Joseph was right, but he
didn’t know
how he was right.
So he may have shared his
dreams
Asking for an answer.
He received an answer in the
form of an envy so deeply held
that his brothers sold him to
go to Egypt
And told their father that
Joseph was dead
So they would be rid of their
annoying, self-centered, bothersome brother.
What the brothers didn’t
realize
is that they were doing
exactly
what needed to be done,
which Joseph only would
comprehend
once he became the overseer
managing the famine in Egypt
who would witness his
brothers bow down before him
just like in the dreams of
his youth.
Had the brothers not acted
out of their anger and hurt,
Joseph wouldn’t have ended up
where he needed to be
to save the life of his
entire family.
How ironic it was that
Joseph’s apparent dreams of grandeur
pointed not so much to him
having
a position of power
but one of
responsibility.
He eventually understood
exactly why he was where he
was by the end.
It is the same with us.
Our actual paths in life
sometimes look more like
disorderly dreams,
even when our aspirations for
something great
are based in real talents
that we have demonstrated
over and over again.
Every act and every decision
has a consequence,
and the results that we see
at first
may not appear to lead to where we hope to go.
It may be only when we near
our final destination
that the meaning of dreams,
visions, and aspirations
that first occurred to us
will come clear.
It is important to express
those hopes
at the beginning with humility, for sure,
but it is even more important
to understand
the higher purpose they may
represent.
So may we keep our eyes,
ears, minds and hearts
open to those dreams that can
drive us to greatness
and fill our lives with
meaning.
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