About Memory and Dreams
Parashat Hashavua - Shabbat Parashat Vayigash – 10th of Tevet 5785
Rabbi Eliezer Haim Shenvald
In prayer for the success of the IDF soldiers and for their protection so that no harm will befall them, for the healing of all the wounded and for the return of the abductees.
Chanukah is over, and the fast of 10th of Tevet falls at the end of next week. The IDF investigations about the day the war started are beginning to come out. The main goal of the investigations is on one hand to present the facts that worked well, also those beyond expectation, and on the other hand present the gap between what should have been and did not and examine the reason for this gap; what caused it to happen, and who is responsible. The cognitive layer that led to the greatest failure since the establishment of the State must also be exposed. What has happened cannot be undone, but we hope that the right lessons will be learned, which will prevent the recurrence of similar incidents in the future.
One must assume that a significant part of the past lessons have already been learned, but unfortunately, they were not implemented, mainly because no one bothered to learn or preserve them. Santayana once said: "Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.” Everyone is trying to ‘reinvent the wheel’ and think that in doing so they leave their own mark. Many mistakes and failures in the present could have been prevented if only they had learned some lessons from the past.
One of the reasons people do not learn lessons from the past is the thought that times have changed, and that the lessons of the past are not relevant to the present or future. That the past memory does not connect with the present, or with the dreams and vision for the future. This is also the reason why not enough effort is invested in preserving the past, in studying history. It is a common mistake to see the past as something archaic, and not a relevant source of inspiration for the present and the future.
"עַם שֶׁאֵינוֹ זוֹכֵר אֶת עֲבָרוֹ הַהוֹוֶה שֶׁלּוֹ דַּל וַעֲתִידוֹ לוּט בַּעֲרָפֶל". “When a people does not honor its past, it lives in a present of little substance and faces a future clouded in doubt”. (Yigal Allon Z’’L)
A nation that cherishes life, educates its sons to remember the founding events, fundamental values, and the exemplary figures who consecrated their lives and influenced them. Above all, it remembers the works of G-d and His grace in the founding and fateful events of the past.
לְכוּ חֲזוּ מִפְעֲלוֹת ה' אֲשֶׁר שָׂם שַׁמּוֹת בָּאָרֶץ
"Come; behold the works of Hashem, who has made desolations in the earth".(Psalms 46:9)
Even if the details of past events change, the principles and human nature, which are at the center of past actions, do not. Moreover, the roots of many things in the present and future are found in past events. Dreams and the future are connected to the memory. If we are not aware of this, there are many things that will not be understood. Ignoring the lessons of the past also involves a kind of arrogance and conceit, a statement that we are more informed and advanced, and that our challenges are different and more sophisticated. On the contrary, the memory of the past does not minimize us or diminish our value.
אֵיזֶהוּ חָכָם, הַלּוֹמֵד מִכָּל אָדָם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (תהלים קיט) מִכָּל מְלַמְּדַי הִשְׂכַּלְתִּי
It is stated in Pirkei Avot 4:1 - “Who is wise? He who learns from every man, as it is said: “From all who taught me have I gained understanding” (Psalms 119).
How much more so, those who learn the lessons of past generations. There is something pathetic in the fact that the present generation is trying to reinvent the wheel (even if with a change of name). Remembering exemplary people from the past and their work for generations is an expression of gratitude and appreciation for their work.
Rabbi Kook Zt"l emphasized that the Torah commands us to study history, to preserve the memory of the past and pass it on from generation to generation:
זְכֹר יְמוֹת עוֹלָם בִּינוּ שְׁנוֹת דֹּר וָדֹר שְׁאַל אָבִיךָ וְיַגֵּדְךָ זְקֵנֶיךָ וְיֹאמְרוּ לָךְ
"Remember the days of old. Consider the years of many generations. Ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you". (Devarim 32:7)
To learn and remember the founding events of the nation and its forefathers. They are a source of strategic power, and the foundation of national existence, and they must be nurtured. In this context, he emphasized the importance of reciting the שֵׁשׁ זְכִירוֹת (Shesh Zechirot, six remembrances) at the end of Tefillat Shaharit. (Sichot HaRav Tzvi Yehuda-Beha'alotcha 1976). At the basis of memory, he saw the fundamental religious difference between Israel and the rest of the nations (Sichot Vayeshev 1973).
The fast of the 10th of Tevet and the “Day of general kaddish” (Yom Hakaddish Ha'klalli), which will be observed at the end of the week, were intended to preserve the memory of the destruction and humiliation during the First Temple period, and to allow the relatives of those whose yahrtzeit (anniversary of their death) or burial place is unknown, including Holocaust victims, to mourn their loss.
A memory that was supposed to sting into us the lesson of "never again!".
In recent weeks, we have been reading in the Torah, the episodes about Yosef. The history of his life moves in parallel to the memory line of the past, and the dreams line of the future. Yosef dreams two prophetic dreams: the dream of the sheaves - bowing to his sheaf, which means leadership and kingship over his brothers. And the dream of the sun, moon, and stars - bowing to him, which means the dream of the universal kingship. Ya’acov understands that this is a prophetic dream and therefore it should be remembered:
וְאָבִיו שָׁמַר אֶת הַדָּבָר
“…but his father kept the matter in mind”. (Bereshit 37:11),
ואביו שמר את דבריו בזכרונו
“…but his father remembered his words”. (Rav Saadia Gaon).
ואביו שמר וגו׳ – וגם יעקב הבין שחלומות אלה מה׳ יצאו והם מבשרים את העתיד להיות. על כן שמר־זכר את הדבר וקווה שאמנם יעלה בנו זה לגדולה, שהחלומות רומזים עליה
“And Ya’acov also understood that these dreams came from G-d and foreshadowed what was to come. Therefore, he kept/remembered the matter and hoped that this son of his would indeed rise to the greatness that the dreams hinted at”. (Rav David Zvi Hoffmann, Bereshit 37:9)
These are the dreams for which he was sent down to Egypt. The continuation of the dream line was when he was imprisoned, met with Pharaoh's ministers and interpreted their dreams. When the chief cupbearer was released, Yosef begged him to remember him, but he did not. He remembered because of Pharaoh's dream, and then Yosef stood before Pharaoh and interpreted his dream as well. He was appointed viceroy and effectively ruled over the entire Egyptian empire that dominated the entire region. Yosef ruled during a difficult and challenging time, during a period of climatic, economic, and social crisis. Thus, the dream cycle came to an end.
The dream of the sheaves - when the brothers bow to him in order to receive bread, and also in the cycle of memory – וַיִּזְכֹּר יוֹסֵף אֵת הַחֲלֹמוֹת אֲשֶׁר חָלַם לָהֶם …
“Yosef remembered the dreams that he dreamed about them…” (Bereshit 42:9)
In this way, the dream is connected with memory; Ya’acov who remembers Yosef's dream about the kingdom. Through this dream, Yosef realizes Ya’acov is alive, and he recognizes the carts he sent as carts from the royal house (Sforno). Also, with the dream of the sun, moon, and stars - a circle is closed, when Yosef is appointed king in Egypt, and his father and Bilhah come down to him.