Vayetzei
Dreams
Inspired by Rabbi Yossi Marchus
"Ya'akov dreamed: a ladder was
standing on the ground, and its top reached up toward heaven. God's angels were
going up and down on it." (Bereisheet/Genesis 28:12)
Dreams, says Torah, are key to communication
with God. In a dream, Avram learns that his great, great grandchildren will
pass through slavery to freedom. Yitzchak is comforted after his father's death
by a dream that God is with him. Ya'akov's dreams show him that heaven and
earth are connected. And God tells Miriam directly, "When someone among
you experiences divine prophecy, I speak with them in a dream!"
(Bamidbar/Numbers 12:6)
Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Lyadi teaches
that dreams are a glimpse into God's process of creating the world. In the
earliest stages of creation, reality consists of undefined seeds with unlimited
potential. Each seed might become one thing or another. No logical or
scientific rules determine how things change and grow. Torah calls this stage
of reality "tohu va'vohu" or chaos. Similarly, in dreams opposites
can coexist. Illogical circumstances are logical. Each image is an undefined
seed that might become one thing or another.
Dreams remind us that creation was not a
one-time event. Just under the surface of our everyday consciousness is the
knowledge that the world is filled with potential. Our choices each and every
day influence the growth of the seeds of the world. May we wake up from our
dreams each morning aware of creation's newness, ready to use our own creative
potential for good!
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