Shalom Chaverim,
Goodness. Happiness. Peace…
Several times each day we all both receive and give pro forma greetings and wishes: “Good morning!” or after a sneeze “God bless you!” and the like. As kind and warm as these polite interactions are, I think it is rare that we take their meaning seriously.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful, though, if our positive wishes for people did come true?! And other people’s good wishes for us were in fact efficacious!
Were it so, this weekend we would all be spreading and collecting Goodness, Happiness, and Peace! What a wonderful weekend this would be!
This Shabbat during Chanuka is always and (almost) uniquely a triple-header of holidays: Rosh Chodesh – the New Month of Tevet on the Jewish lunar calendar, Chanuka (still!), and of course Shabbat. We offer the corresponding greetings and blessings for all three of these holidays today: “Chodesh Tov”, “Happy Chanuka”, and “Shabbat Shalom” – May you have a Good month, a Happy festival of lights, and a Peaceful Shabbat…
As much as we might truly mean for these blessings and wishes to come true for whomever we greet, it is difficult say these pro forma ‘blessings’ with the full whole-heartedness and focus of our entire beings giving the strongest intention of our whole souls with all the love, care, kindness, and generosity we contain or can ‘download’ from the universe. It seems to me that, minimally, in addition to some empirical reality that these days are in fact particularly auspicious days in the calendar for these precise blessings and wishes, we would also need to offer our blessings with this kind of intensely clear mindfulness and focused intention in order for the specific and measurable outcomes we are offering to come true.
We rely instead, I think, on our words to sufficiently express a general and positive hope for the person to whom we offer them, and for the world in general.
It is similar with dreams: Do our dreams really offer insight into our most cherished feelings, hopes, or outlooks? Or are they random by-products of subconscious processes? Can dreams portend the future or reflect a more accurate understanding of the past? Do dream themes or symbols have universal psychological meaning? Are dreams sent as signs or insights meant to guide us toward making them manifest? Can they serve as warnings for dangers or destinies to avoid or alter?
Dreams are a major theme in the story of Joseph, and particularly in this week’s Torah portion, Miketz. We can’t help but to wonder about the connection between dream and reality: Does the dream tell the whole story, or is truth to be found only through its interpretation? Does Pharaoh’s dream show a certain future or does Joseph who controls Egypt’s agricultural policies ‘engineer’ the reality that accords to his explanation of the dreams?
Although we are not Pharaoh or Joseph, our own dreams sometimes stay with us into our waking consciousness. We wonder what these messages from our slumber mean, indicate, or portend. No less significant are our ‘dreams’ in the colloquial sense of saying we ‘dream’ about seeing long-term and ultimate goals achieved, fantastic hopes and the most profound aspirations realized. Theodore Herzl helped launch the revitalization of the entire Jewish People to establish the State of Israel with the words: “Im tirzu, ein zo agadah – If you will it, it is no dream.”
The Talmud [starting around Berachot 55b] has some fascinating (and rather funny) discussions about dreams. It gives the specific meaning of dream-appearances for a long list of characters, animals, etc. that might appear or the events that might happen in a dream. The Talmud also accepts that a ‘dream interpreter’ was a recognized profession, based on the idea that a dream only really meant something in the conscious world of reality if – and according to – its interpretation stated aloud. It was thus crucially important to offer a premium price to the dream interpreter so that you were more likely to receive a positive interpretation!
Although it adds ‘pressure’ to our greetings which would otherwise be simple and nearly mindless social constructs, try to think of your [likely very many] greetings this season as ‘dream’ interpretations: Just assume that the greetings and blessings and good wishes you say have real efficacy for the people you address. It really means something to say “Chodesh Tov”, “Happy Chanuka”, and “Shabbat Shalom” – May you indeed, truly, have a Good month, a Happy festival of lights, and a Peaceful Shabbat…These ‘dream’ blessings are opportunities for real connection, for caring, for sharing…
Chodesh Tov, Happy Chanuka, and Shabbat Shalom!
SHABBAT SHALOM,
Rabbi Michael Schwartz