Vayetze: Dreams and Peter's Vision

Parashat Veyetze begins with a dream, also known as ‘Jacob’s ladder,’ and makes up one of the central themes this week. In the early stories of Genesis, we come across the word ‘dream’ numerous times, pointing out its common role in life. Later on in Parashat Vayetze, Laban pursues Jacob in order to hurt him, after which God warns Laban—through a dream at night—to prevent Laban from harming Jacob. In the coming chapters, we come across the dreams of Joseph and the Pharaoh, as well as those of the cupbearer and the baker.

Throughout history, dreams have played a central role in humanity. Many books have been written on the matter, and countless experiments and studies have been conducted on the fascinating subject of ‘dreams.’ The Jewish culture is also familiar with different interpretations about dreams. One saying in the Babylonian Talmud claims that "all dreams follow the mouth," and tells:

“There were twenty-four interpreters of dreams in Jerusalem. Once I dreamt a dream, and I went round to all of them, and they all gave different interpretations, and all were fulfilled, thus confirming that which is said: All dreams follow the mouth.” (Tractate Berakhot, 55a)

This idea states that the outcome of a dream is determined by its interpretation.

Another name for this phenomenon is ‘self-fulfilling prophecy.’ In the case of a dream or a prophecy, where we understand the essence of that prophecy or dream, it’s quite likely for us to ‘make this dream come true,’ because our subconscious tends to strive towards its realization. For example, if we tell someone who genuinely seeks a relationship, "I had a dream that you’ll marry someone with dark curly hair and have a life full of joy," assuming this person believes the authenticity of our prophecy or dream, we can only imagine how they’ll be more open (subconsciously) to a potential partner with dark wavy or curly hair. This is an example of a self-fulfilling prophecy. It also warns us to be careful with prophecies and dreams because our words carry weight and have the power to influence others.

Another interpretation states: “A man is only shown his heart’s reflections,” meaning our dreams reflect what we think about and experience during the day. To show this in a simple example from daily life, this year Lydia and I played a lot of backgammon between my reserve duty and regular life, up to the point where we’d dream about different game moves later that night. The same happens when I solve Sudoku puzzles and then dream about rows of numbers. Now, if we read and study the Bible at bedtime, we might dream about the journeys of Paul. Such a dream usually doesn't indicate that we should get up and travel to Turkey. And yet, we must also learn to dream dreams and not restrict our imagination. Dreams reveal what we wish to do, and at times, what’s the right thing to do. We might think that dreams are ‘impractical’ or ‘unrealistic,’ but we should remember that seemingly simple dreams have, in fact, changed reality! Martin Luther King Jr. said: "I have a dream." And by saying so, he changed history, as his dream allowed others to spread their wings and soar.

Elie Wiesel (1928-2016), a Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, described dreaming as ‘imagination roaming freely.’ Elie recounted the most famous phrase associated with Theodor Herzl, visionary of Modern Israel: "If you will it, it is no dream." Elie continued and said that for several years, Herzl and Sigmund Freud lived in the same neighborhood in Vienna: "Luckily they never met." Just imagine Herzl knocking on the door of Dr. Freud, saying: “I had a dream of a Jewish State.” Freud would’ve replied: “Tell me, Herzl, when did you start dreaming this? Come, sit on my couch." Herzl would have been healed from his dreams, and the Jewish State would probably not have been established. Elie Wiesel concluded: "Fortunately, the Jewish People have never been healed from their dreams."

When we think about the first dream in the Bible, we usually think of Jacob's ladder, but that’s not the first dream, as the first dream in the Bible is that of King Abimelech of Gerar. Abraham went to Gerar and presented Sarah as his sister rather than as his wife, which is why Sarah was taken to the King's palace. By means of a nightly dream, God warned King Abimelech not to touch Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

Throughout the Scriptures, God uses dreams to convey messages. Sometimes He speaks directly in dreams, like He did with Laban (Genesis 31:24); while God also uses dreams to present an image, like we see with ‘Jacob's Ladder,’ where heavenly angels ascend and descend. We can sense these angels were present in order to protect Jacob on his difficult and even dangerous journey. Another example of dreams that present an image are those of Joseph and the Pharaoh.

In the New Testament, Peter’s vision on the roof in Jaffa (Acts 10) is one of the most famous dreams. Simon Peter was hungry, and while food was being prepared for him, he fell asleep and dreamt about food. In this dream, a sheet descended with all kinds of unclean animals that are prohibited by the Torah, and a voice from heaven commanded:

“Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” (verse 13)

Peter's initial response was,

"No way! I’ve never eaten anything unclean!"

The dream appeared three times.

Naturally, this dream could be interpreted as the permission to eat unclean foods, but is that the correct interpretation? When we examine these verses, we quickly realize that the foods are only an image—a metaphor—that represents different kinds of people: Jews and Gentiles, in this case. Somewhat similarly, the houses in the parable of the house on the sand and the house on the rock in Yeshua’s Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7) represent different types of believers, and Yeshua didn’t intend to give homebuilding advice (just like the dream of Jacob's ladder isn’t about angels and their physical need for a ladder to descend from heaven. Truly, would the lack of a ladder prevent angels from descending to earth?)

The foods in Peter's dream are only a metaphor. Then what’s the lesson we can derive from the image in this parable? In these verses, God teaches us to accept every person equally. The community is open to non-Jewish believers from the nations, too.

Peter woke up a little confused from this dream and tried to make sense of what he had seen and what God was trying to tell him. It wasn't immediately clear to him. Then God sent messengers to him through Cornelius. At that point, Peter understood the message and the meaning of the picture God presented to him in his dream, and therefore Peter declared:

“You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean.” (Acts 10:28)

We are meant to understand the parable in Peter’s vision as a command to accept every person as they are. We must not think of someone else as ‘unclean.’ God created all human beings in His own image, and therefore, every person carries and reflects the image of God.

We tend to separate ourselves from others and build walls and partitions, thinking in terms of ‘them’ and ‘we.’ However, in Ephesians 2:14, Yeshua destroyed the walls that separate us. Our Creator is the God of every being, and Yeshua the Messiah is the King of the entire world. In this week's Torah Portion, Jacob dreams of a ladder with angels ascending and descending. A similar image appears at the beginning of the Gospel of John:

“Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” (John 1:51-52)

Yeshua is the ladder that connects us to the heavens. Through Yeshua, we have a connection to the living God of all mankind.

Please join us in prayer for:

Roeh Israel, our kehilla

-Please keep lifting up Joseph and Marcia's health in your prayers, as well as Yehudit’s hand, thyroid, and the right caregiver for her in this phase of her life.

-Also lift up Samuel’s health struggles and Tess’ pregnancy.

-Continue to pray for health for Batsheva and Zvi, as well as for Itsik.

-Please intercede for a breakthrough in Aharon’s life: his choices and openness towards our Heavenly Father.

-Several of us travel in and out of the country this week.

-The Choi family was just blessed with a healthy baby boy this week. We’re so excited their little one arrived! May this little bundle of joy become a strong believer and a light, following in the footsteps of Yeshua the Messiah. We bless this precious family with much joy, love, and many more such blessings from Above.

-We just celebrated the beginning of the new month, ‘Kislev,’ which brings along Channukah in a few weeks, symbolizing the victory of good over evil, and light over darkness. Chanukah—the 8-day holiday where kids sing the song ‘Banu Choshech Legaresh’: “We came to drive away the darkness (…) everyone's a small light, and all of us are a firm light.” This winter festival of light is significantly close to the shortest day of the year, as a reminder of how light shined through even during the darkest chapters in history. We pray that this month will cause us to come closer to the Light of the World: Yeshua. (Please also remember to pray for the captives, who remain in inhumane conditions in tunnels and civilian homes in Gaza. May we see His salvation and witness the return of Messiah Yeshua soon and in our days.)

-The teenagers continue to study the Torah Portions of Genesis in light of family dynamics, whereas the younger kids learn about Paul and memorize Bible verses about wisdom. May they truly internalize His light and love!

Netiyvah Staff

Our office staff started yet another week with worship and prayer, which was very uplifting. What a life-giving focus point to start our week together in unity. We’re truly blessed.

Hanukkah Webinar

On the 28th of December at 17:00 (Israeli Time) we will have a 'Hanukkah Webinar'.
Join us for this special online gathering as we'll enjoy a teaching by pastor Yehuda on this subject, light the fifth candle of Hanukkah and mark the conclusion of Shabbat with Havdalah.

Shabbat shalom,

Yehuda and Lydia Bachana
Netivyah and the Roeh Israel congregation