In this week’s Parsha, in the midst of Yaakov Avinu’s travels, the sun prematurely set, and Yaakov went to sleep. He suddenly had a dream. The pasuk says that when Yaakov woke up from his dream he was immediately spurred to action. He recognized the holiness of the place and the importance of the moment. What is the significance of this? What can we learn from Yaakov’s reaction? Later on, in Parshas Miketz (Bereishis 41:4), the Torah records that Pharaoh, the King of Egypt, also awoke from a dream. It was a very sobering and intriguing dream. What was his reaction? Vayeishan – he just went back to sleep.
I heard from my father, Rav Yitzchok Fingerer shlit”a that Rav Aharon of Karlin zt”l observes the difference in conduct between Yaakov Avinu and Pharaoh. When Pharaoh dreamt, he wasn’t affected. He wasn’t moved. He wasn’t inspired. He fell back into a stupor. He went back to sleep. However, when Yaakov dreamt, he became alive. He became motivated. He became ignited. He became inspired.
There is an incredible lesson that we can learn from here: A Jew doesn’t just dream. A Jew doesn’t fall back asleep. A Jew accomplishes. A Jew acts. The reason why the pasuk told us about Yaakov’s reaction to his dream is to teach us the importance of being a dreamer. To have aspirations for greatness and to think big. To work and oneself and become greater and better. We can all be great and strong. All we need to do is dream big and act up. We need to step up to the plate. The first step we make makes all the difference.
Rav Yosef Kahaneman zt”l, the Rosh Yeshiva of the Ponevezh Yeshiva tragically lost his entire family in the Holocaust. Eventually, he lifted himself up and made it to Eretz Yisroel. One day there were two teenage boys – two bachurim, who saw Rav Kahaneman standing on a bare, empty mountain holding a lantern. He was walking and pointing back and forth. The boys nearby thought that maybe Rav Kahaneman discovered something, so they said, “Rebbi, what are you looking at?” Rav Kahaneman answered back, “Boys what do mean what am I pointing at? Right over there is a Beis Medrash. Over there is a Beis Medrash with seven hundred boys learning. Don’t you see it? Look over there! Over there is a dormitory with hundreds of beds! He then pointed somewhere else and said, “there is the dining room.”
The boys looked at each other and realized Rav Kahaneman was seeing things. Due to all his experiences and hardships in the Holocaust, they thought that he must have lost his faculties. There was nothing there! It was an empty hill. The boys felt bad for him – he was seeing things that didn’t exist.
Many years passed. One day, one of the boys ended up on the same hill where he stood with Rav Kahaneman years before and he was shocked. He started crying. Straight ahead there was a Beis Medrash. Next to it there was a Dining Room. Right behind it was the dormitory. He couldn’t believe it. Whatever Rav Kahaneman dreamed of was built! That’s the power of dreaming and not giving up. We must dream big! With the right perseverance, energy, faith, and inspiration, we can do anything and achieve the impossible! Let’s keep on climbing! Let’s keep on striving to become better and stronger people!
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