Since we learned on the previous page that dreams are one of
the three things one should supplicate for (see previous posting), this page
gives an extensive list of the meaning of certain dream symbols. Here is a
typical example which I like because of the play on Hebrew words:
Our Rabbis taught: If one sees a
reed [kaneh] in a dream, he may hope for wisdom, for it says: Get [keneh]
wisdom. (Prov. 4:5) If he sees several reeds, he may hope for
understanding, since it says: With all thy getting [kinyaneka] get
understanding. (Prov. 4:7)
There seems to be a tension between what to the modern eye
looks like the psychology of dreams and the assumption that dreams are Divine messages
as they often appear in the Torah. For example, the interpretation of a dream
may well depend on the interpreter:
Bar Hedya was an interpreter of
dreams. To one who paid him he used to give a favorable interpretation and to
one who did not pay him he gave an unfavorable interpretation.
By the way, Bar Hedya comes to a rather gruesome end when he
refuses to interpret the dream of the king’s wardrobe keeper, just before all
the king’s silk clothes are eaten by worms!
But there is another dream image I love:
It has been taught: Pumpkins are
shown in a dream only to one who fears heaven with all his might.
This is because not matter how large a pumpkin may grow, it
never gets too tall – a reminder of humility.
Nice image for me, as I get ready to build my sukkah.
Happy Dreams!
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