Parashas Vayeishev discusses some important dreams. Yaakov Avinu “kept the matter” of Yosef’s dreams, anticipating their future fulfillment. Ultimately the dreams were indeed realized when Yaakov and his sons were brought before Yosef, who had become the Egyptian viceroy.
The potential significance of dreams is underscored in the next parashah, Parashas Miketz, where the dreams of Pharaoh and of his imprisoned ministers are also prophetic. Given the right interpretation, they were fulfilled in their entirety.
The dreams of Yosef and Pharaoh are not the first dreams we encounter in Bereishis. Yaakov Avinu’s vision of the ladder connecting heaven and earth is described as a dream, and according to some commentaries (prominently, the Rambam), Avraham Avinu’s prophetic vision, the Bris Bein Ha-Besarim, also took place in a type of dream.
Indeed prophecy, with the exception of Moshe Rabbeinu, is often expressed as a dream vision: “In a dream I shall speak to him” (Bamidbar 12:6). King Shlomo’s famous request for wisdom was made in a dream (Melachim I, 3), and the Torah even mentions a number of non-Jews who received Divine revelations by means of dreams, such as Avimelech (Bereishis 20:3) and Lavan (Bereishis 31:24), and, later Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel).
We have previously discussed the significance of dreams for several halachic questions (see our articles on Parashas Vayeishev and Miketz from 2011). In this week’s article we will discuss bad dreams and their significance.
Should a bad dream be treated as a warning sign of bad tidings to come? What is the significance of the Hatavas Chalom formula, and is it practiced today? Should a person fast over certain bad dreams?
Ambivalence of Dreams
The general approach to dreams found in Chazal seems ambivalent. When Shmuel (Berachos 55b) dreamed a bad dream, he would awaken and state, “Dreams speak falsehood” (Zechariah 10:2). (Note that the simple interpretation of the words is that diviners speak dreams that are false. However, Shmuel used it in a different way.) But when he dreamed a good dream, he would awaken and declare: “Do dreams speak falsehood? Does it not say: In a dream I will speak to him?” (Bamidbar 12:6).
As we will learn below, Shmuel’s approach invokes another principle, namely, that human interpretation can make a significant impact on the effect of dreams. But it is clear from many statements of Chazal that dreams should, on the one hand, be reckoned as partial prophecies – “one sixtieth of prophecy” (Berachos 57b), yet on the other treated with suspicion. As the Sages state (Berachos 55a), “Just as there is no produce without chaff, so there is no dream without nonsense.”
Indeed, Rava (Berachos 55b) distinguished two different types of dream: one that comes through an angel, and one that comes through a demon. Presumably, prophetic night vision is given by a positive celestial force, whereas negative, misleading vision is supplied by a negative force.
Moreover, the Sages were clearly aware of the fact that dreams are often influenced by actions and events of the previous day, by moods and dispositions, by how we feel, by what we eat, and by our preoccupations. Dreams are therefore not necessarily Divine messages. Yet, the fact that they can be a prophecy of sorts, and sometimes a prophecy of doom, brings Chazal, and subsequently the halachic tradition, to take negative dreams quite seriously.
Below we will discuss three ways in which a person can remedy the effect of a bad dream, all of them derived from Chazal: hatavas chalom, prayer, and fasting.
Hatavas Chalom
The Gemara teaches, “A person who sees a dream, and his spirit is dejected, should better it (hatavah) before three, and they should tell him: You have seen a good dream.”
The rationale of performing hatavas chalom emerges from the commentary of the Ritva to the above-mentioned practice of Shmuel of commenting differently about positive and negative dreams: “Therefore, anybody who sees a disturbing dream should fast and repent. Even Shmuel, would say when he saw a negative dream, ‘Dreams speak falsehood.’ This was not done to excuse him from fasting, but to interpret the dream in a positive sense, for all dreams follow the mouth.”
The principle that “all dreams follow the mouth” (Berachos 56a), meaning that the effect of dreams depends on their interpretation, is the basic rationale for hatavas chalom. When a person sees a bad dream, the statement of a panel: “You have seen a good dream,” is a positive interpretation. They make the dream good by the power of their mouth.
The idea of hatavas chalom is noted by the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 220:1). The Shulchan Aruch notes that a person should perform it in front of close friends. Indeed, Shut Teshuvos Vehanhagos notes that the Brisker Rav was very careful about this, and used to perform the hatavas chalom ceremony in front of his sons.
Although one’s sons are not qualified to serve as a beis din, they are qualified to serve for hatavas chalom, which does not require a halachic beis din.
The Mishnah Berurah (220:20) writes that on account of the principle of zerizus (diligence) for mitzvos, “It is good to perform the ceremony in the morning.” He also adds (220:3) that a person should strive to serve on the panel of three, “…because this recuperates his spirit.”
Birkas Kohanim
Another way to nullify the effects of a negative dream is to say a special prayer during the blessing of the Kohanim.
The Gemara (Berachos 55b) writes that if somebody had a dream but does not remember it, he can transform the dream during the Priestly Blessing, by saying a specific prayer, a version of which is in the Siddur that begins Ribbono Shel Olam I am yours and my dreams are yours… If not he may say a shorter one: “O Strong One on high, who dwells in might: You are Peace, and Your Name is peace. May it be Your will that You should place peace upon us” (Berachos 55b).
Tosafos (Sotah 40a) questions why this is permitted: Surely it is forbidden to be occupied in something else during a blessing (“Is there a servant who receives a blessing, and does not listen?!”). The reply of Tosafos shows the importance of dreams and improving their effects in the eyes of tradition: “Due to danger [inherent in bad dreams the Sages] permitted it, lest the bad dream require a remedy.”
In Israel, where the kohanim recite the blessing daily, the prayer can be recited immediately following a bad dream which he cannot recall.
Ideally, the prayer is recited in between the words said by the Kohanim – which is why Kohanim sing (on Yom Tov) before the completion of the blessing, giving the congregation an opportunity to say the prayer. On a weekday in Israel this is not practical, and the prayer is recited during the blessing. One should finish the prayer together with the Kohanim’s blessing, so that the final amen of the congregation is also in response to the prayer.
If one lives where the Kohanim only recite the blessing on holidays, the prayer can be recited when the chazzan says the words of the Kohanim’s blessing during the repetition of the Amidah.
An extended prayer is recited while the Kohanim sing during their blessing on Yom Tov. It is customary for everybody to recite this prayer, for we presume that from one Yom Tov to the next everyone probably had a bad dream which they then forgot (Mishnah Berurah 130:1).
The halachos of this recitation are laid out in the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 130:1) and Mishnah Berurah (1-9), who points out that one should not say the prayer daily, but only after a night when a person had an unknown dream.
Fasting for a Dream
Hatavas chalom is a method to mend the negative effect of a dream. However, it does not relate specifically to themes that underlie a negative dream. This is the idea behind fasting, which is an additional method to nullify a bad dream. As the Gemara writes, “Fasting is to a dream as fire to sawdust” (Shabbos 11a; Taanis 12b).
The Ritvah (Taanis) explains: “When a person is awakened by a dream about his own matters, and he sees that he is concerned and afraid about the vision, he should take heed of this – for surely, this is a Divine awakening, instructing him to search his deeds and repent his ways. Therefore, somebody who sees a disturbing dream should fast and repent. Fasting is good to annul the decree entirely, so that nothing will be left of it, as fire destroys sawdust until it is completely gone.”
The Ritva adds that one should therefore fast over a dream on the day following the dream, and not later, since one’s repentance will be more complete while still shaken from the dream. Based on a similar understanding, the Mishnah Berurah (288:7) states that fasting should be accompanied by repentance and charity, as well as Torah study and prayer.
It should be noted that a fast is not obligatory (see Shut Ha-Rashba no. 132). If the person is not concerned about his dream, he does not have to fast (Shulchan Aruch Harav 288:7). This is especially true today, when dreams have less import than in earlier generations (see below).
As noted, the fast is observed the day following the dream. If a person is very distressed, he may fast on that day even if it is Shabbos or Yom Tov. According to one opinion cited by the Shulchan Aruch (288:5), it is not generally permitted to fast on Shabbos for dreams, and one should do so only in certain circumstances: If one sees a bad dream repetitively (three times), and/or a list of specific dreams.
Somebody who fasts on Shabbos must fast again, on another day, to atone for having fasted on that holy day when we are commanded to eat.
If one had a bad dream in the course of a daytime nap and wishes to fast, he should do so from the moment he arises for the following twelve hours (Shulchan Aruch 288:4), or on Shabbos through havdalah (288:5). One must then fast Sunday (or a different day) as above.
In general, the inclination of the Mishnah Berurah seems to be to refrain from fasting on Shabbos. He even cites (288:15) the Shelah that one can refrain from fasting on Shabbos, and make it up by fasting two days during the week: one corresponding to Shabbos and the other to the weekday fast required to atone for fasting on Shabbos.
Dreams in Recent Times
Even in modern times we are witness to remarkable tales of true dreams. A famous example is the dream of Rav Daniel Movshovitz on the Shabbos before the Nazis entered Kelm. In his dream, Rav Daniel foresaw that a tremendous destruction would befall the Jewish People, and Kelm would not be spared. He was told that the Jews of Kelm should accept the Heavenly judgment upon themselves. His dream, which he reported to the community, allowed the Jews of Kelm to prepare for the terror.
At the same time, recent authorities are markedly less enthusiastic about taking note of dreams than those of former generations. The Chazon Ish, for instance, notes of dreams worthy of mending, “Many times I had such dreams, and I paid them no heed. It is proper to recite the Ribono Shel Olam prayer about dreams during the Priestly Blessing” (Iggros Chazon Ish 2:149).
The Mishnah Berurah underscores the likelihood of dreams deriving from a person’s daytime activities. He states, for instance, that a bad dream after a fast day should not arouse worry, since it is the result of the strain of the fast day. The same applies to any dream that follows pain (220, Shaar Ha-Tziyun 1).
Though it is one of the dreams singled out by the Shulchan Aruch for fasting even on Shabbos, the Mishnah Berurah (288:18) notes that if a person suffers from toothaches, he should not be concerned. The same applies to something that a person worried about during the day, and then dreamed about at night (288:7).
The Aruch Ha-Shulchan notes that dreams often derive from eating before bedtime, and from people’s being absorbed with the vanities of this world. He writes generally that people should not be concerned about dreams, and recommends that a person not fast over them, since this negatively affects our ability to serve Hashem, and sometimes causes anger and nervousness (Orach Chaim 220:13).
In a general sense, we might say that life today has changed dramatically from former times. In bygone times most people lived a tranquil and quiet existence in villages and small towns, today we live in urban centers, and (wherever we are) are constantly bombarded with information and news from near and far.
This might have far reaching consequences for the modern dream pattern, and, in turn, halachic consequences for how we treat modern-day dreams.
Summary
Chazal take various approaches to dreams. Some statements consider dreams insignificant, but others treat them as a partial prophecy.
One way to remedy negative dreams is hatavas chalom: appearing before a panel of three, who pronounce the dream as being positive. This is based on the concept of dreams following their (positive) interpretation.
Another way to improve a dream is by saying a prayer, whose full version appears in the Gemara, during the blessing of the Kohanim.
A person who is vexed and anxious about a dream can fast, preferably on the day after the dream. The fast is primarily for purposes of repentance and prayer, which can annul the decree that the dream night forebode.
Although today, authorities are generally less particular than in previous generations about negative dreams, the basic halachos still apply.
