11 Aug DREAMS, SOCIAL MEDIA AND JEWISH LAW

Dreams are a common
part of daily life to which
the Talmudic Sages
attribute great importance.
However, on a more
careful look, we find
conflicting thoughts about
dreams in the Talmud and a
steadily decreasing concern for them over the
ages. As the centuries passed, life changed
dramatically and dreams seemed to lose
some of their importance. Does that affect
halachhah?
I. Responding to Dreams
The Gemara (Shabbos 11a) says that fasting
is effective to neutralize a bad dream like a
fire burns kindling. If you have a bad dream,
you may fast even on Shabbos, a day on
which fasting is normally forbidden. Another
option is mentioned in a different Gemara
(Berachos 55b). If you have a bad dream that
bothers you, you should gather three friends
and have them interpret it positively, i.e. tell
you that it is really a good dream. This will
eliminate the negative impact of the dream.
A further practice is to recite a standard
formula (Ribbono Shel Olam) during the
priestly blessings (Birkas Kohanim) asking
for positive outcomes from your dreams.
This all implies a serious concern for dreams.

Similarly, the Gemara (Nedarim 8a) says
that if you are excommunicated in a dream,
you should gather ten men to undo the
excommunication. The commentators (Ran
and Rosh, ad loc.) say that even though this
occurred only in a dream, we are concerned
that you were excommunicated in Heaven.
And yet, another passage indicates a different
attitude. The Gemara (Sanhedrin 30a) says
that if your father comes to you in a dream
and says that certain money he left for you is
forbidden for specific reasons, you can ignore
the dream because “Matters in a dream have
neither positive nor negative impact (divrei
chalomos lo ma’alin ve-lo yordin).” We do
not rely on dreams for practical matters;
therefore you can safely ignore them. (See
also Gittin 52a.)
II. Are Dreams Important?
Rav Shimon Ben Tzemach Duran (Rashbatz,
15th cen., Algeria; Responsa Tashbetz 2:128)
quotes Rava (Berachos 55b) who contrasts
two verses. On the one hand, G-d says “I speak
with him in a dream” (Num. 12:6), implying
that there is divine truth in a dream. On the
other hand, “the dreams speak falsely” (Zech.
10:12). Rava answers that dreams transmitted
by angels are true but those transmitted by
demons are not. According to Rashbatz, the
angel here means divine providence and the

demon means an unhealthy imagination for
any of a number of reasons.
In other words, some dreams are true —
messages from Heaven — and some are false,
caused by psychological forces, physiological
phenomena or otherwise. Therefore, we are
left in doubt whether any specific dream is
true. We do not divest someone of money for
a doubtful claim; therefore dreams have no
impact on monetary matters. However, when
something is forbidden and easily remedied,
we put in the effort to make it permissible
when there is even a doubt. Therefore, you
should undo an excommunication that occurs
in a dream or fast to neutralize dream.
In Medieval times, we start to find authorities
questioning whether people still have bad
dreams that emerge from a divine source.
The Tur (15th cen., Germany/Spain; Orach
Chaim 668) quotes R. Amram, R. Kalonymus
and R. Eliezer Ben Yoel (Ra’aviah) who say
that today (in their day), we do not know
which dreams are truly bad and therefore you
should not fast on Shabbos over a dream. Rav
Yosef Karo (16th cen., Israel; Beis Yosef, ad
loc.) quotes other Medieval authorities with
similar hesitations but Rav Karo (Shulchan
Aruch, ad loc., 5; 288:4-5) does not follow
those authorities completely, and allows
fasting on Shabbos for dreams listed in the
Talmud. We find additional concerns in later
generations.
III. Should We Worry About Dreams?
Rav Avraham Gombiner (17th cen., Poland;
Magen Avraham 288:7) quotes approvingly
Rav Yeshayahu Horowitz (17th cen.,
Germany; Shenei Luchos Ha-Beris,
Shabbos, s.v. ve-sa’anis chalom) who says
that you should not fast on Shabbos for
any dream. Rav Ovadiah Yosef (21st cen.,
Israel; Yechaveh Da’as 4:24) quotes Rav
Horowitz as going even further (I could
not find this passage). Adapting a Gemara
(Pesachim 110b), Rav Horowitz says that if
bad dreams worry you, then you need to be
concerned and possibly fast over them. If
you aren’t worried about a bad dream, then
you have no reason for concern.
But can you control whether you are scared
by a bad dream? We can assume that bad
dreams are not from a divine source.
Therefore, Rav Ovadiah Yosef (ibid.)
concludes by quoting Rav Chaim Palaggi
(19th cen., Turkey; Ruach Chaim 288:1) that
if you have a bad dream on Shabbos, rather
than fasting you should say extra Tehillim
and study Torah diligently. Elsewhere (Beis
Ha-Yayin, Yamim Nora’im, pp. 195-196),
Rav Yosef says that if you are worried
about a dream, you should just say the
verse “the dreams speak falsely” or, if you
are very worried, take the standard formula
(Ribbono Shel Olam) from Birkas Kohanim
and say it on your own on any day. And,
if you are very worried and you are greatly
pained, then you may follow the Gemara
and fast on Shabbos (fulfilling all the
halachic details).

Going even further, Rav Avraham Yeshayahu
Karelitz (Chazon Ish, 20th cen., Israel;
Kovetz Iggeros Chazon Ish, vol. 2, no. 149)
writes briefly that personally he just ignores
his bad dreams. He continues that if you have
a bad dream, say the Ribbono Shel Olam
and move on with your day. We cannot just
tell someone not to worry about their dream
but we can redirect them to a brief verse or
prayer.
Rav Simcha Rabinowitz (cont., Israel;
Piskei Teshuvos 220:1) explains Chazon
Ish’s approach. In modern times, people
are busier and their lives are more filled
with global concerns than in ancient times.
Nowadays, dreams are about what we hear
during our busy days and the concerns we
face in our lives. Therefore, we should not
pay much attention to our dreams because
they are not divine predictions about the
future. Rather, they are manifestations of our
thoughts, which might give insight into our
psychological well-being but will not tell us
what will happen in the future.
The Chazon Ish died in 1953. At that time, there
were daily newspapers and radio programs
so that modern media was spreading news
quickly. I am old enough to remember when,
if you wanted to get the latest news, you had
to watch the news at certain times or listen
to the radio every twenty two minutes. And
if you wanted to check stock prices, you had
to read the morning newspaper. Then came
24-hour news channels and financial news.
Then came the internet, with breaking news
and real-time financial information. Now
we have social media, with constant updates
and opinions. The pace of life today is much
faster than it was forty years ago, and even
more so than it was four hundred years ago.
Modern communication brings us so much
news and information that overwhelm our
dreams. If you are worried that your dreams
might come true, you can recite the specific
verses or formulas about dreams. However,
according to Chazon Ish and others, there is
no need to do so.