{"id":3855,"date":"2012-11-24T09:11:48","date_gmt":"2012-11-24T15:11:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=3855"},"modified":"2012-11-24T09:11:48","modified_gmt":"2012-11-24T15:11:48","slug":"in-his-dreams-vaeitzei","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/in-his-dreams-vaeitzei\/","title":{"rendered":"In His Dreams: VAEITZEI"},"content":{"rendered":"

By RABBI DAVID POLSKY, Congregation Anshe Sfard<\/p>\n

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Later on in the portion, Jacob is in his father in law Laban\u2019s house, and is tending his flock. He and Laban are deciding what sheep Jacob will keep. Laban eventually changes Jacob\u2019s salary many times and tries to trick him in other ways as well. One night, Jacob has a dream seeing ringed, spotted, and flecked sheep. These are the sheep Jacob is supposed to receive. But he also sees an angel, who tells him to return to his homeland.<\/p>\n

The Hasidic master R. Tsadok Hakohein of Lublin writes (shortly before Freud\u2019s Interpretation of Dreams) that dreams are a reflection of the unconscious. That being the case, they reveal the true state of our hearts better than our outward consciousness. For example, R. Tsadok writes, a person may be very religious, but if he dreams about things that are improper, it shows that his unconscious must still be developed.<\/p>\n

R. Tsadok explains that Jacob\u2019s dreams show us how righteous he is. Even Jacob\u2019s dreams reflect his devotion and attachment to God.<\/p>\n

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