Dreaming of Better Days – Today!

I dreamed (again) that I missed a final exam. Panicked, I sat up in bed trying to remember if I had any other tests to take. Am I afraid that I am failing the essential tests of my life? I wonder about the lessons I can learn from this dream.

This week inTorah we read the story of Jacob’s dream during his travels. He tucks a rock under his head. No memory foam for Jacob. There he dreamed of a ladder with angels climbing to heaven and descending back to earth. As I reread these verses, I wondered what did Jacob learn that we should learn too?

Jacob had a “wow” experience. His declaration upon waking from the dream was “God was in this place and I, I did not know it!” Jacob discovered that extra “I”, the ego, that gets between us and God. He realized that if we set aside ego, we can expand possibilities. Jacob’s vision is a directive to set aside the limitations of ego-centric choices.

The angels also set an example for us all. They begin their journeys on the ground, ascending the ladder. Their initial choice is to move heavenward. Their goal is godliness.

And then there is the descent. We can’t remain in a state of ecstatic wow-ness. We will descend back down into our base selves. Yet, by our own volition, we can reach upward and ascend again. Most of what gets in our way is our self-limiting personality traits; lack of faith and a focus on the “I”.

This is the test of our times. To forestall the pandemic, we are limiting our movement in public. But the real challenge is checking our egos. Every venture outside our homes is a test of our resolve. Every interaction is an examination of our self-control.

Are you getting a passing grade? The report card is shown on the news each night, because this is not just about you and me. We are all responsible one for the other. Especially in challenging times, each one of us must be like an angel ascending that ladder, always striving toward a safer, better abode.

Jacob learned the lesson of choosing to ascend from a nighttime vision. Within the limitations of his own mind’s eye, he happened upon a transformative principle of human development. We can control our egos to our benefit and the benefit of others. All we need do is reframe our resolve and self-restraint as an ascent toward godliness. If we let ego rule our choices, we can become stuck in a dream that turns into a nightmare.

Rabbi Evan Krame