A colleague from work reached out regarding a bad dream that they had recently. They were looking for a Jewish response. I shared with them something that we learn in the Gemara:

Rav Huna bar Ammi said in the name of Rav Pedath who had it from Rebbi Yoḥanan: If one has a dream which disturbs them he should go and have it interpreted in the presence of three [friends]. He should have it interpreted! Has not Rav Ḥisda said: “A dream which is not interpreted is like a letter which is not read? — Say rather then, he should have a good turn given to it in the presence of three.” Let him bring three and say to them: “I have seen a good dream.” and they should say to him, “Good it is and good may it be. May the Compassionate One turn it to good; seven times may it be decreed from heaven that it should be good and may it be good.” They should say three verses with the word hapakh [turn], and three with the word padah [redeem], and three with the word shalom [peace].

Berakhot 55b.

The rabbis believed that if someone had a bad dream they could make it good. This reminds me what my mother used to say to me when I was young and had a nightmare. She would tell me to go back to sleep and make it a good dream.

This Gemara about dreams taught in the name of Rabbi Yohanan, got me thinking of another Gemara about dreams taught by Rabbi Yohanan. The second one is the Talmud’s  version of the  Rip Van Winkle tale. There we read about Honi:

Rabbi Yohanan said: This righteous man [Honi] was throughout the whole of his life troubled about the meaning of the verse, A Song of Ascents, When the Lord brought back those that returned to Zion, we were like unto them that dream. ( Psalms 126:1)   Is it possible for a man to dream continuously for seventy years? One day he was journeying on the road and he saw a man planting a carob tree; he asked him, How long does it take [for this tree] to bear fruit? The man replied: Seventy years. He then further asked him: Are you certain that you will live another seventy years? The man replied: I found [ready grown] carob trees in the world; as my forefathers planted these for me so I too plant these for my children. Honi sat down to have a meal and sleep overcame him. As he slept a rocky formation enclosed upon him which hid him from sight and he continued to sleep for seventy years. When he awoke he saw a man gathering the fruit of the carob tree and he asked him, Are you the man who planted the tree? The man replied: I am his grandson. Thereupon he exclaimed: It is clear that I slept for seventy years.

Taanit 23a

It is easy getting lost in the miracle of Honi’s sleeping for 70 years and lose the introduction. This all happened because Honi was contemplating the 70 diaspora of the Jewish people as if it could pass as a dream.

This is incredibly poignant when we consider that the entire story of Purim itself starts after their 70 years in that exile. It is noteworthy that the story in the Megillah itself turns because the King cannot sleep at night. What is most prescient, it how it connects to us today. Just like the Jewish community in Shushan, we have been sleeping and complacent. Both then and now we are seeing a resurgence of antisemitism. Many of the people with whom we shared common cause have abandoned us. We find ourselves alone and need to fend for ourselves. It seems that just as throughout the rest of our history, this diaspora is no different. It is not a dream, but rather a nightmare.

But what do we need to do when we have a nightmare? It does not help to follow my mother’s direction and just go back to sleep. That will not help us now. So, let’s go back to Rabbi Yochanan’s teaching on what to do with a nightmare. We need to find friends who will reinforce us. In this dark time we need allies who will share a vision that things will hapakh [turn] for the better. We need support to padah [redeem] our captives from Gaza. There is no negotiation as long as our people are being held hostage. And finally we need a lasting shalom [peace] with the Palestinian people. There will be no peace for any of us until there peace for all of us. It is only at that point that this nightmare will be “turn it to good”. We all have a lot of work to do. Seven times may it be decreed from heaven that it should be good and may it be good.

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