Vayeshev

Dream on...

Jungian therapist and spiritual director Bonnelle Strickling speaks of three different levels of dream interpretation. The same dream can have something to say about a dreamer's daily life, inner world, or relationship with the Divine.

Yosef relates two dreams to his family. In one dream, "We were binding sheaves in the field, when my sheaf suddenly stood up erect. Your sheaves formed a circle around my sheaf, and bowed down to it." In the other, "The sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me." Yosef's brothers know only the mundane level, and interject their own feelings into Yosef's dream. "Do you want to be our king?" they ask hatefully.

Yosef's dream might also express his desire for a coherent inner life. As a teenager, he cannot sort through the confusing dynamics in his fractured family. He cannot distinguish feelings projected by his brothers from his own feelings. He hopes for a focused inner center. The dream might also express Yosef's desire for a relationship with the divine. Perhaps he hopes that, animated with God's spirit, he will be able to stand straight like the sheaf and shine like the sun, sharing that spirit with his family.

All three meanings eventually come to pass. Yosef learns to express gratitude to God for gifts of insight. Yosef becomes viceroy of Mitzrayim, and his brothers bow down to him. And having worked through his feelings for them, he invites them into a new level of unity, giving God credit for bringing them together.

If a powerful dream stays with you this week, follow Torah's lead and attend to all three levels of meaning!

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