The
Dream Master
Joseph is referred to derisively and hatefully by his brothers (Genesis
37:18) as "the master dreamer," and indeed, his life is full of dream stories.
While living with his father, Joseph has two dreams which depict him as
superior to his family, dreams which reinforce his brothers' hatred for
him. During his imprisonment in Egypt, Joseph correctly deciphers the dreams
of the chief of the guard and the chief cup bearer. The chief of the guard,
who remembers Joseph's precise interpretation, brings about Joseph's release
from prison and his ultimate fateful test: solving Pharaoh's dreams. In
the verses before us [in Parashat Miketz], Joseph wisely deciphers Pharaoh's
dreams. Thus, the dreams he dreamt in his father's house led to his being
sold into slavery, and the dreams he solved for the chief of the guard and
later for Pharaoh promoted him to the title of deputy to the king.
Using Joseph's stories, let us examine some ways of understanding the meaning
of dreams.
- How does Joseph
understand the symbols in a dream? What do the fat cows represent? What
is the meaning of the lean cows? What is the meaning of the full ears-of-corn?
The thin and scorched ears? Why do the thin ears swallow the full? Why
does Pharaoh dream two dreams?
- Joseph interprets
Pharaoh's dream as a system of symbols which determine the future. Study
Joseph's dreams carefully (Genesis 36:5-10). How do his father and brothers
interpret his dreams? Do Jacob and his sons employ the same technique
Joseph uses in this parasha? What might this teach us about the role
of dreams in the Joseph stories?
- The assorted dreams
in the Joseph stories are distinct from other biblical dreams. Let's
compare:
Genesis 20:3
But
God came to Avimelekh in a dream of the night and said to him:
Here, you must die because of the woman you have taken,
for she is a wedded wife!
Genesis 31:24
But
God came to Lavan the Aramean in a dream of the night
and said to him:
Be on your watch
lest you speak to Yaakov, be it good or ill!
What do the dreams
from the Joseph stories have in common with the dreams of Avimelekh and
Lavan? How are they different?
What Do You Think?
- Try to recall one
of your own dreams. Did you think about the dream later? Did you find
it meaningful? What technique did you use to interpret the dream? Was
it similar to the technique described regarding Joseph's dream? Are
you familiar with other ways of interpreting dreams?
- Joseph understands
dream material as symbols which refer to the future. Why, according
to this system, does the future appear symbolically, instead of being
stated explicitly and unequivocally? What are the advantages and disadvantages
of discovering the future through symbols?
- How do you feel
about dreaming dreams that reveal your future to you? Would you prefer
symbolic or explicit dreams?
The Talmudic literature
also deals extensively with the topic of dreams and dream interpretation.
Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot 57a
Rabbi
Hiyya Bar Aba said: One who sees wheat in a dream, is seeing peace and
well-being, as it is said: "He endows your realm with well-being, and
satisfies you with choice wheat" (Psalms 147:14).
- What does wheat
symbolize according to Rabbi Hiyya Bar Aba? How did he arrive at this
interpretation?
- In the Joseph stories
and in the above Talmudic source, it is assumed that dreams contain
symbols which, correctly interpreted, will solve the dream's riddle.
Yet the technique for dream interpretation used by the rabbis in the
Talmud is somewhat different than that in the Joseph stories. How so?
Despite the different
methods for interpreting dreams in the Joseph stories and in this passage
from the Talmud (Berakhot), both share the belief that a dream has a meaning
related to the future.
Yet there are other Jewish sources which take a different point of view,
which doubt the credibility of dream interpretation, and which even question
the basic presumption that dreams have any meaning at all.
For example: Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot 55b
Samuel, upon
having a bad dream, would say: (Zechariah 10:2)
"For the teraphim spoke delusion,
The augurs predicted falsely;
And dreamers speak lies
And console with illusions.
That is why (My People) have strayed like a flock,
They suffer for lack of a shepherd."
And when he dreamt a good dream, he would say
"For the teraphim spoke delusion... [the same verse]"
Rabbi Birayim, who
heard from an old man... Rabbi Bena'ah, said: There were twenty-four dream-readers
in Jerusalem, and once I had a dream and went to all of them. Each one
offered a different interpretation, and they all came true for me, upholding
what is said: "All dreams follow the mouth..." Rabbi Elazar said: From
whence do we know that all dreams follow the mouth? As it is said (Genesis
41:13):
And thus it was: As he interpreted to us, so it was-
I was restored to my position, and he was hanged.
Rabbi
Samuel Bar Nahman said: One should show a person only the thoughts of
that person's own heart.
What
Do You Think?
- How does Samuel
use the verse from Zechariah? What, in your opinion, does Samuel want
to say by using the same verse twice [for both good and bad dreams]?
- How do you understand
Rabbi Bena'ah's story? What is meant by the statement "and they all
came true?" What does this teach us about the significance of dreams
and the role of the solution? How would you interpret the statement:
"All dreams follow the mouth"?
- All dreams follow
the mouth." How does the Talmud prove this
claim? Do you think that Joseph and his family, the chief of the guard
and Pharaoh would agree with the assertion that "all dreams follow the
mouth"?
- What, in your opinion,
does Rabbi Samuel Bar Nahmani mean by his statement? How might one interpret
the expression "thoughts of that person's own heart?" What is the source
of dreams, according to this statement?
- In the sources
we have seen, a number of ways for understanding the role of dreams
and for dream interpretation are proposed. Return to the sources and
make a list of the approaches. Which approach do you accept? Do the
sources offer approaches that you reject? Why?
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