Living the Dream
The exile of Bnei Yisrael in Egypt came about through a series of dreams. Yosef's dreams caused his brothers to hate him and sell him as a slave. After changing hands a few times, Yosef ended up in Egypt, where he was eventually jailed. In jail, he earned fame as an interpreter of dreams, and ultimately, his interpretation of Pharaoh's dreams landed him the powerful position of viceroy of Egypt. His father Yaakov and his family came to live near him in Egypt temporarily, which resulted in some two hundred years of Egyptian subjugation and oppression of Bnei Yisrael.
The significant role that dreams played in bringing about the Egyptian exile is explained in Chassidic teaching as an allusion to the spiritual reality of galus, exile; it is akin to a dream (Torah Ohr, Vayeishev 28c). And in light of the Arizal's teaching that every exile and subjugation of the Jewish people to foreign rule is rooted in the original exile in Egypt (Likutei Torah, Ki Seitzei), it follows that the dreamlike reality that characterized the Egyptian exile essentially also defines our current exile as well (see Tehilim 126:1—"we have been like dreamers.")
In a dream, even obvious contradictions seem plausible. The subject of a dream might reflect our conscious reality, but the context in a dream can be entirely unrealistic. Similarly, our lives in galus aboundwith spiritual contradictions. We might experience a selfless love of G-d while praying, yet simultaneously harbor selfish and materialistic lusts, even for that which is prohibited by the Torah. A life filled with such inconsistencies is but a dream.
Nevertheless, the contradictions that plague our spiritual lives while in galus must not discourage us.For the dreamlike nature of galus that allows us to add in our devotion to G-d notwithstanding our internal flaws, also brings about another similarity between galus and dreams. Namely, just as we wake from our dreams when it becomes light around us, the same is true of galus. By abundantly adding in the light of Torah and mitzvos in our surroundings despite the spiritual contradictions that plague our galus lives, we will ultimately force ourselves awake from the dream of galus to the bright world of Moshiach.
—Likutei Sichos vol. 1, pp. 85-88
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פליען עם ענני שמיא "Flying with the Clouds of Heaven" (Parshas Chukas, 5751)
12.06.2015
Living the Dream
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