Chanukah dreams

Genesis 41:1 – 44:17

In my youth a therapist told me to write down my dreams. He said to keep pen and paper on the nightstand and record each dream the instant I awoke. If you wait till you brush your teeth, you’ll forget the details.

Sigmund Freud called dreams “the royal road to the unconscious.” He was basically recycling an insight from the Talmud (B’rachot 55a): “An uninterpreted dream is like an unopened letter.” The language of dreams is symbolic, mythic, metaphorical, but the message is urgent. Dreams could fix many of our problems, if only we knew their meaning.

Dreams can change the world. Our Biblical ancestors dreamed of the return to Zion (Psalms 126:1). Chemist August Kekulé dreamed the intricate molecular structure of benzene. Martin Luther King had a dream of a post-racial society. Peacenik James Simon Kunen quipped, “People should wake up and dream again.”

In this week’s Torah portion, Pharaoh’s dreams baffle his court magicians (Genesis 41:1-8). Then Pharaoh’s cupbearer remembers a Hebrew prisoner who can interpret dreams (Genesis 41:9-13): Joseph. Joseph is freed from jail and rushed to the throne room, where he decodes Pharaoh’s dreams (Genesis 41:14-32) and is hired as Pharaoh’s prime minister (Genesis 41:38-44). Rags to riches.

The book of Daniel offers a similar story with an extra twist. Nebuchadnezzar has a peculiar dream and receives a Hebrew interpreter, Daniel; but Nebuchadnezzar does not divulge the substance of his own dream (Daniel 2:25-26). Daniel recounts the dream and interprets it (Daniel 2:31-45). He out-Josephs Joseph!

Daniel is probably the last-written book of the Hebrew Bible. The book concludes with an allegorical account of Greek oppression. Alexander the Great conquers Judea (Daniel 8:21); a series of Hellenistic kings rule it (Daniel 11:5-20); eventually one despotic king, Antiochus Epiphanes, tries to stamp out Judaism (Daniel 11:21, 31-32). From later texts we know the denouement: The Maccabees fight back and prevail. That’s what we celebrate at Chanukah.

The mythology of the indigenous Australians is called Dreamtime. Actually, “Dreamtime” would be a good name for any religion. All religions, including Judaism, use surrealistic, dreamlike narrative to convey the mystery of divine engagement with humanity. Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar dream of crises that only God can resolve. The prophets dream of new directions for our people. The kabbalists dream that every mitzvah we perform helps to realign the cosmic energies and bring God back into the world. It’s kooky, but it’s powerful.

In this week’s haftarah, Zechariah wakes from (or into) a dream of a golden m’norah between two olive trees (Zechariah 4:1-3). The olive trees represent the civil and religious leaders of the community rebuilding the Temple. This story is set immediately after the Babylonian exile (sixth century BCE), long before the exploits of the Maccabees (second century BCE), but the thematic connection is obvious. “Chanukah” means dedication. The dream is the rededication of the national shrine.

A couple of years ago I happened to write down a vivid dream one morning. I dreamed I was appointed composer-in-residence at a university famous for its music program. In real life I have no talent in this area, yet the dream hints that I have some kind of unrealized potential. I’m still trying to figure out what that is.

But I trust the Jewish people has plenty of unrealized potential. This Chanukah we dream of reconciliation between Israel and its neighbors. We dream of an end to antisemitism in America and everywhere. We dream that Jewish wisdom will find an ever-
expanding audience, that the Jewish people may be a light unto the nations (Isaiah 49:6).

We dream that the crowds who turn out for our Chanukah parties will come back for Shabbat, will enroll their children in our
religious schools, will join our synagogues. If you will it, it is no dream. PJC

Rabbi Joe Hample is the spiritual leader of the Tree of Life Congregation in Morgantown, West Virginia. This column is a service of the Greater Pittsburgh Jewish Clergy Association.