Dec 24/05 - Shabbat Vayeshev

Commentary by Chazzan Aníbal Mass

Dreaming is wonderful. But there are dreams... and then there are dreams.

The Parashah of this week also speaks about dreams. And I say also, because we recently had studied Yaakov’s dream, where he, escaping from his brother Eisav, falls asleep and dreams.

In the dream there is a stairway that reaches from earth to heaven, and God's angels are going up and down on it. When Yaakov wakes up, he says: "The LORD is in this place, and I didn't even know it. This is a fearsome place! It must be the house of God and this is the gate of heaven."

And in  this Parashah, there are two more dreams. This time, however, the main character is not Yaakov, but his son Josef.

First Josef dreams that he and his brothers are out in the field, tying up bundles of wheat. Suddenly, Josef’s bundle stands up, and his brother’s bundles gather around and bow down to it. Then Josef dreams again, and this second time he says: “The sun, the moon, and eleven stars bowed down to me”. We should admit that, as much as we try to be nice to Josef, the meaning of these two dreams is evident: he believes that in some way he is superior to his brothers and parents.

Yaakov and Josef. Two different dreams, two human dreams, and, like many of our dreams, they represent projections of himself, of his fears, of his frustrations, etc.

Let us think a little bit. Yaakov dreams of a stairway going from earth to heaven. When does he dream it? Well, when he is already an adult and his life is surrounded with pain, grief and anguish.

On the other hand, Josef dreams that he is above everybody. Because he is just beginning his life, life hasn't “hit” him yet, and for that reason he feels almighty.

In Yaakov's dream, he is lying down, but he discovers God.

In Josef's dream, he is upright, but God is not present.

Dreaming is wonderful. But there are dreams... and then there are dreams.

There are dreams of greatness, where we want to have everybody revere us. But these are the kind of dreams that we shouldn’t pursue, because it could destroy us. When our goal in life is to be recognized as the best and the most important, we start to compete against “ghosts”, and we can't find peace or tranquility. The fight to be the center of the world doesn't have an end, because we feel that others are always higher than we are.

And then there are other dreams that come to our life when we realize that the goal of our lives is not being the center of the universe, but to identify God as that center. And this "discovery" can be the "gate" to a better life.

Dreaming is wonderful. But there are dreams... and then there are dreams.

A positive dream is one that begins with humility and allows you to go up the stairs without being concerned that your step is higher or lower than the others.

A negative dream is one that begins with the arrogance of the height, but finally makes you descend out of fear of your own shadow.

We know that dreaming is wonderful. But there are dreams... and then there are dreams.

Shabbat Shalom.