Dreaming about Redemption / Rav Ezra Friedman

David Hamelech, in his book of Tehillim (Psalms), uses a very profound description of the Jewish people during the beginning of Redemption (Psalms 126, 1):

:”שִׁ֗יר הַֽמַּ֫עֲל֥וֹת בְּשׁ֣וּב יְ֭קֹוָק אֶת־שִׁיבַ֣ת צִיּ֑וֹן הָ֝יִ֗ינוּ כְּחֹלְמִֽים”

“A song of ascents. When the Lord returns the returnees to Zion, we shall be like dreamers”

We recite these verses during Brikat Hamazon on joyful days. Many of us know these verses verbatim from Shabbat and holiday meals. However, one might ask, what message is David Hamelech trying to send us by his use of the term “dreamers”?

In traditional commentary, we find a variety of explanations:

Rabbi Avraham Ibn- Ezra (normally coined Ibn-Ezra for his Magnum Opus) comments:

When Hashem returns us to our land, the Jewish people will pronounce, “Man cannot grasp such wonders when awake, it is as if one is dreaming“.

The Jewish people have gone through persecution and oppression to no end. When the moment of redemptions arises, the happiness will be overwhelming. We simply will not be able to grasp reality; it will be as if we are all in a dream. According to the Ibn Ezra, the essential message of this verse is one of anticipation towards the future. A promise of utopia, something one can only dream about.

The Radak (Rabbi David Kimchi) offers a different interpretation:

Like a fleeting dream was for us the exile, with joy that we have when we return to our country.

According to the Radak, the verse comes to teach a message of happiness. However, in contrast to the Ibn-Ezra, the emphasis is not on the anticipation towards redemption. Rather, it refers to the sorrow of exile, which will seem like a dream that never really happened.

In summary, both commentators translate David Hamelech’s song as a soothing and calming message for the people of Israel while still in exile. However, their approaches to understanding the verse are two sides of the same coin. According to Ibn- Ezra, the hope and dream of a magnificent redemption will bring great relief to the Jewish people in their long exile. On the other hand, Radak focuses on the forgetting of the painful exile, as a form of relief for the Jewish people.

Rabbi Menachem Meiri interprets the verse in a completely different manner:

Don’t despair of our salvation, our minds and hearts are always upon it, even in the depths of sorrow we will always dream of our redemption.

The verse is again one of a soothing message. However, there is no direct connection between the “dream” aspect and the actual redemption. According to the Meiri, David Hamelech sees that the Jewish people are worried that the salvation will never arrive, as a result of Israel forgetting the redemption ever existed. When one is sunken in pain and sorrow, redemption is not on one’s mind and there is a chance that he might forget it completely.

The Meiri’s emphasis is on the fact that when an individual is experiencing an extreme emotion or situation the opposite feeling seems unrealistic. The sages teach us that one should not comfort an individual during a moment of anger. For example, one should not appease his friend who just lost a million dollars by telling him that he still has plenty remaining.

The Meiri’s message goes much deeper. When a person is used to a certain type of reality for a long period of time, it’s hard to release oneself of it. He knows only of his reality, in our case, that of oppression.

It would seem that the soothing message, according to the Meiri, stems from the fact that the pain of sorrow of exile might cause the Jewish people to forget redemption. This can cause a phenomenon of not believing when it is right in front of them!

By such logic, a revolutionary interpretation of the verse may be considered. When the Jewish people is given the redemption, the oppression of exile can be blinding in such a manner, that they will not even realize it is happening. There are those who will go as far as to deny it.

          My Rebbe and mentor Rav Chaim Drukman uses a beautiful analogy to explain such an interpretation.

Imagine for a moment, a student named Moshe is sitting in his fourth grade classroom looking straight at his teacher. The teacher is explaining a rule in grammar. However, Moshe can’t get his mind off the television show he watched yesterday evening. It was such an interesting episode. Even as his mind drifts away, he is still staring directly at the teacher. The teacher is staring right at Moshe. Even though Moshe’s face might show some sign of attentiveness, he is in another world.  In short, he is day dreaming.

The analogy of the boy Moshe represents the Jewish people during their redemption. The meaning of the verse that we say every Shabbat and holiday is not a message of comfort or relief. Rather, it is one of awakening. When our salvation arrives, we can see it, hear it, but we might be far from recognizing it. An unfortunate effect of exile is not just a physical distance but a spiritual one as well. David Hamelech is telling us not to remain in our slumber. Rather, we must wake up and grasp the opportunity before us. We must cherish it and build from it.

This occasion happened in twentieth century and continues into the twenty-first. The Jews witnessed the Balfour declaration[1] and the birth of the Zionist Movement[2]. Yet, most of Jewry throughout Europe did not react. The miracles continued, the land of Israel was being resettled, a dry land started to see fruit for the first time in centuries[3]. This redemption blossomed with the British mandate, the resettlement of Israel by Jews, and a unanimous United Nations resolution granting the Jewish people a chance to reestablish their homeland[4]. This was followed by a miraculous victory over four Arab nations with military capabilities way beyond ours. However, many Jews refused to see this as the beginning of redemption. They were blinded by the oppression that they had been put through for so long. Even though many rejoiced, others voiced denial by insisting that redemption could never come in such a fashion. Others claimed that the miracles were not big enough to be classified as the redemption. From an objective perspective, one could see that the miracles leading up to the creation of the State of Israel were no less a natural miracle than the story of Purim.

This attitude is not just one of the past, it continues into the present. Unfortunately, even today we are witness to Jews of many sectors who deny Israel’s right to exist and question the legitimacy of its establishment. The message of David Hamelech must continue to ring strong. We must wake from our dream and take a true look at reality.

A well known message of our Sages is that an event that happened to our forefathers is a sign to us for the future. This lesson of awakening roots back to the times of another tragic episode in Jewish history, the slavery in Egypt. After the birth of Moshe Rabeinu, When Moshe was born, the Torah describes what Yocheved saw and the actions that took place as a result. The verse says (Exodus 2, 2):

“וַתֵּ֤רֶא אֹתוֹ֙ כִּי־ט֣וֹב ה֔וּא וַֽתִּצְפְּנֵ֖הוּ שְׁלֹשָׁ֥ה יְרָחִֽים”:

“She saw that he was good and she hid him for three months”

After Yocheved conceived Moshe, the Torah describes that she saw something unique about him, “he was good”. The sages relate two definitions to explain what was unique about Moshe Rabeinu. According to one opinion, he was born circumcised. Alternatively, when he was born, his home filled with a divine light. The commentators discuss in length the second part of the verse, in which Yocheved hides Moshe from the Egyptians who were murdering every male born to the Jews.

The Ramban gives a very interesting explanation of Yocheved’s actions:

It is known that all the women love their children, who are beautiful, and they would do anything to protect their children.  However, the meaning of “good” (that she saw a special goodness) is that she saw that miracles were happening to him, so she thought in her heart that something miraculous might happen. As a result, when she could not hide him anymore, she built a small basket and thought he would be saved through miracles.

It is clear in the Ramban’s commentary that Yocheved had the courage to defy the norm. She was brave in that she tried to save Moshe by sending him down the Nile in a basket. All this was because of the miracles she saw with regard to Moshe as we mentioned earlier. One could ask on the Ramban’s explanation, what was so unique about Yocheved’s actions to save her son? Wouldn’t any mother go to all means to save her child from harm?

Yocheved’s bravery did not just stem from her role as a mother. She had the hindsight to be able to appreciate the miracles she witnessed. She believed that in a time when pain, death and slavery surrounded her, that any type of effort could go a long way. During the slavery in Egypt, even a mother would have never thought to do something as daring as to try to hide her child and send him down the Nile to be found and saved. Yocheved appreciated the miracles she saw and was not blinded by the atmosphere surrounding her.

The lesson that Yocheved and David Hamelech are teaching the Jewish people is that no matter how much sorrow and agony we go through, we must never be blinded, we must never day-dream. Rather, we must realize the miracles that surround us, acknowledge the progress that we have made, and praise the great steps that we have taken to get to this point. Hashem will give us the strength to continue as long as we appreciate what he has done for us. Hashem gave us a beautiful gift, the land of Israel. Let us remain alert and in tune to our blessings. The return to our homeland is our living miracle. Live it, breathe it, embrace it!

[1] Rabbi Meir Simcha of Dvinsk also known as the “Ohr Sameach” interpreted this declaration as a divine sign that jews may return to Israel in contrast to what seems to be prohibited by the Talmud (Ketubot 111b). Other contemporary rabbis agreed with the Ohr Sameach such as Rabbi Tzvi hirsh Kalisher and Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook.

[2] Rabbi Yehuda Halevi in his famous work “The Kuzari” elaborates that redemption begins when jews themselves yearn to return to the land of Israel. Rabbi Chaim Ben Atar also mentions a similar idea as does Rabbi Yissachar Teichtal author of “Eim Habanim Smecha”. Rabbi Baruch Epstein (son of the famed Aruch Hashulchan) brings an interesting passage from the sages that almost proves that a return to Israel is the beginning of redemption , see (Torah Temima, Lamentations chapter 1 verse 13).

[3] In the Talmud (Sanhedrin, 98) Rabbi Abba is quoted “A undoubtable sign of our redemption as it says (Ezekiel 36, 5): “‘But you, mountains of Israel, will produce branches and fruit for my people Israel, for they will soon come home”. The rebirth of fruitful land in the land of Israel is proof of the redemption.

[4] Many rabbinic authorities also bring down a stamp of approval by foreign nations as a sign of redemption. The first to mention such an idea was the Ramban over the generations other great sages agreed with such a philosophy. For example Rabbi Tzvi Hirsh Kalisher, Rabbi Shmuel Borenstein and Rabbi Meir Wisser (also known as the Malbim).