FOR SHOFTIM
DREAMING OF THE FUTURE
Several years ago, a friend came to see me. He had been battling serious diseases, and it was obvious that, under natural circumstances, this man did not have long to live. He was, indeed, gone within six months of this meeting. May his soul repose with G-d.
This friend had frequently attended a Talmud class I had taught. In one class, we covered the substantial Talmudic discussion regarding dreams and their interpretations. And this was the reason for his visit.
He related to me that the Angel of Death appeared in a dream. There was no doubt that this figure was the dreaded Angel, who was slowly walking around. “Is this a sign?”, asked the poor man, sitting in my office for what would turn out to be the last time in his life. “Can you please give me some good news”?
Cancer was eating this man’s life. He was very unwell, and he looked it. I knew I could not tell an untruth. At the same time, he was looking for some hope, for some optimism. I could not let him down.
I reminded him of the Talmud’s statement we had studied together: dreams follow their interpretation. Interpreting them positively can bring a positive outcome. In his dream, the Angel did not catch him. So, it did not need to be interpreted in the negative. Moreover, all dreams possess strange, and even impossible, scenarios. Dreams are reflective of one’s daytime thoughts, and are usually not messages from Heaven.
Having said the above, I showed my friend an axiom from the Talmud (Avos 2:10): “Repent one day before your death.” This is thought to mean that a person should repent each day, since no one quite knows which day is the one “before your death.” I suggested that as a gallant and brave fighter for his life, he should continue to hold these words of the Talmud in mind, and indeed prepare for the final journey.
The world of dreams is a tricky one. As mentioned, the Talmud suggests that a person’s dreams are formed by daytime thoughts. Paying too much attention to dreams is hence fruitless. On the other hand, a dream can, in rare times, act as a message. Dreams intrigue, or even spook people, due to their closeness to the dreamer. Since the dream appears directly in a person’s own mind, it is unnecessary to hear anything from anyone else.
The human being was placed into this world with severe limitations. One cannot know what another person is thinking. One rarely perceives the bigger picture. One cannot seem to remember everything perfectly. One seldom sees into the future. And even one’s soul, which, according to the Kabbalists, has functioned previously in this world, does not provide much information, if any, into this fascinating world of previous lives.
And so, people tend to look around for signs. People read horoscopes, running their days accordingly. Others tend to delve deeper into astrology, especially in regards to relationships. Others go even further: They will consult fortune-tellers, or others who claim to forecast the future and know what is happening in spiritual spheres.
While some people have been granted the ability to see things beyond this world, there is a reason even such peopleare limited in their scope. The Almighty created humans with a here-and-now predisposition. Knowing the past, the future, or any different area normally closed to people, is not necessary for living a good and decent life in this world.
People, however, are created with curiosity. Everyone wants to know the unknown. People crave to hear what the future holds. They yearn to know what happened to a loved one after passing from the world. They long for the information identifying where they came from.
To all this curiosity, the Torah declares, in this week’s portion, “Shoftim”: “Be simple-hearted with the Lord your G-d.” (D’varim (Deuteronomy) 18:13.) This means, first and foremost, for a person not to probe into the future. In the previous verses, the Torah admonishes the Jewish people, “When you come to the Land the Lord your G-d is giving to you, you must not learn to do the abominable practices of those nations. There must not be found anyone among you who… practices stick divination, acts on the basis of fortuitous times, divines (acts on the basis of strange occurrences), practices sorcery, divines with animals… and raising the spirit of the dead.” (9-11.)
Instead, the Torah promises: “The Lord your G-d will establish a prophet like me (Moses)… and you must listen to him.” (15.)
The purpose of the prophets, which have always been present among the Jewish people, is to be teachers, leaders, and an inspiration for people to follow in the ways of the Torah. If needed, these prophets also publicized future events, not, though, for the sake of curiosity.
The criteria of looking into the future, or, for that matter, delving into areas not usually accessible to humans, is whether this information will enhance people’s following and observance of the Torah and its commandments.
People have gone through their entire lives without once consulting with so-called experts in hand or facial signs, necromancers, and fortune tellers. Those people have chosen not to waste their time on questionable and unreliable methods of living life.
Moreover, what these people suggest will happen is not always accurate. The Talmud (Shabbos 156,b) relates that an astrologer told Rabbi Akiva that his daughter would die on her wedding night. On the morning after her wedding, she pulled her hair pin from the wall, and in doing so dragged a impaled small but very poisonous snake with it. She realized that she had killed the snake that was lurking in the wall's crevice when she stuck the pin into the wall the night before. Later, she disclosed to her father that she had helped a poor man by giving him a good meal at her wedding. The Rabbi, recounting the prediction of the stargazers, explained that the charity did away with that foretold decree, and she was saved from death.
One should pay attention to one’s surroundings and to the events that actually do occur. One should also realize that when the Almighty wants people to know the future, He has His ways of distributing that information. In the meantime, everyone should be blessed with sweet dreams.
SUMMARY: While some have the ability to see future events, the optimal way to function is to wait for the message from the Almighty via His prophets.