In this week’s Parsha, we are told that our patriarch Yaakov was traveling. He laid down to go to sleep and he had a dream. When Yaakov awoke from his dream he was immediately spurred to action. He recognized the holiness of the place and the importance of the moment.
He was startled, astonished, shaken, and changed. He exclaims and exults with great fervor and excitement, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than Hashem’s house and the gate of Shamayim (heaven).” However, later on (Bereishis 41:4), the Torah records that Pharaoh, the King of Egypt, also awoke from a dream. What was his reaction to his sobering and intriguing dream? He went right back to sleep. What can we learn from this contrast?
I heard from Rav Yitzchok Fingerer shlit”a that Rav Aharon of Karlin zt”l observes the difference in conduct between our ancestor Yaakov and Pharaoh. When Pharaoh dreamt, he wasn’t affected. He wasn’t moved. He wasn’t inspired. He fell back into a stupor.
When Yaakov dreamt, he became alive. He became motivated. He became ignited. He was ready to serve. 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 Yaakov’s legacy and destiny was imparted in dream form was to teach us the importance of being a dreamer. To have aspirations for greatness and to think big.
This may be why the Hebrew word for dream is Chalom (חלם), which has the same exact letters as Lochem (לחם) which means to fight. In order to achieve success, one must dream and fight for one’s dreams. Let’s dream of unity amongst Jews. Let’s dream of a time in which we stop categorizing and labeling people based on background and culture and instead think about commonality and joint mission. Let’s not only dream of Moshiach – let’s bring Moshiach! Let’s not just dream of a world in which every Jew is sacred. Let’s make sure every Jew is treated as sacred and introduced to our holy heritage with compassion and with love!
Rav Yosef Kahaneman zt”l, the head of the Ponevezh Yeshiva had lost his entire family in the Holocaust. Eventually, he made it to Eretz Yisroel. One day boys saw him – standing on a mountain, an empty, bare hill holding a lantern. He was walking and pointing back and forth.
The boys nearby thought that maybe Rav Kahaneman had discovered something, so they said, “rabbi what are you looking at?” He answered back, “Boys what do mean what am I pointing at? Right over there is a Beis Medrash. There are seven hundred boys learning there! Don’t you see? The boys looked at each other and told each other that the Rabbi must be senile – due to all his experiences, he must have lost his faculties. Rav Kahaneman continued and said, “Don’t you see? Over there is the dining room and there is the dormitory”. The boys say nebech – what a pity. They felt bad for him – he was seeing things that didn’t exist.
Years passed. These boys became men, and they ended up on that same hill. It was that same hill where they stood with Rav Kahaneman years before when he had his ‘demented vision.’ One of those men started looking around and all of a sudden tears formed in his eyes. He started crying like a baby. His friend was all shaken and asked what happened?
He said, “Don’t you get it? Look over there – it’s a Beis Medrash! Over there is a Dining Room! There is the dormitory!” They couldn’t believe it. Whatever Rav Kahaneman dreamed was built! Dream big! With the right perseverance, energy, faith, and inspiration, you can do anything and achieve the impossible! Keep on climbing! Keep on striving!
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