Community Magazine January 2014

THE SECRET OF DREAMS A survey of the science’s approach to dreams reveals an incremental change that has unfolded over the years. Only 100 years ago, the intellectual community scoffed at the idea that dreams were worthy of serious study, deeming them mental illusions that carried no deep significance. All this changed with the arrival of Sigmund Freud (1856- 1939), the central figure in a movement teaching that dreams are key elements for revealing the deep motivations and obstacles buried in the human soul. Freud claimed that when a person is awake, his or her consciousness serves as a kind of gatekeeper, filtering out some of the richest voices of the soul. During sleep, the “censorship” of the waking consciousness no longer controls the swirling pool of the subconscious, and the mind is flooded with all variety of messages, ideas, and desires normally buried in the furthest recesses of the soul. But what about the supernatural element of dreams? Freud addressed this question, too, rejecting the notion entirely. In the conclusion to his book, The Interpretation of Dreams , Freud wrote that the idea that a dream could reveal anything about the future was worthless. However, in the decades since the publication of Freud’s work on dreams, scientific researchers have collected testimonials, evidence, and data demonstrating that dreams can actually provide knowledge of the future. This evidence, verified by careful and precise tests, has forced scientists to reject Freud’s stance on the value of dreams as a source of insight into future events – even while many researchers still remain baffled about the essence of dreams and their interpretations. Professor Yaakov Bazak, a noted Israeli judge and legal scholar, wrote the following lines in his book Beyond the Senses , after his own experiences confirming the oracular power of dreams: Taking into account the minute details that came true, it is extremely difficult to explain the actualization of dreams as mere coincidence. Anyone willing to approach this topic without preconceptions must admit – at the very least – that the relationship between dreams and the future deserves serious scientific study. It is simply not logical to claim that there is no basis whatsoever for the power of dreams to relay information about future events. It is true that some dreams can be explained as the result of subconscious reflections on events that happened in reality. In other cases the element of telepathy must be considered. Some RABBI ZAMIR COHEN The nature and meaning of dreams have fueled the imaginations of modern scientists no less than they challenged the thinkers of the ancient world. WHAT IS A DREAM AND WHERE DOES IT COME FROM? DO DREAMS CONTAIN HIDDEN MESSAGES? IS THERE A USE FOR THE GOOD OR BAD INFORMATION THAT APPEARS IN A DREAM, OR IS A DREAM MERELY A KIND OF ILLUSION UNWORTHY OF SERIOUS REFLECTION? 38 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE