Blessed are you, Adonai our G*d, Who illuminates the whole world with His glory.
With these words we close our eyes and go into the dark. This is the end of the blessing Ha–Mapil, said after reciting the bedtime Shema.
How strange – that as our conscious life goes dark, we thank G*d for illumination! Ah, but this is the blessing before dreams, which show us our lives lit up from within.
Dreams are one–sixtieth of prophecy, says the Talmud. Yes! Dreams pull information from the future, messages from the soul, to help us fulfill the promises we made to G*d long ago.
Every night our souls go into the space of All–Potential, magnetizing the divine energies that yearn to embody in us. They appear as images which we weave into dreams. Dreams bring us healing, comfort, challenge, mystery, and angels to help us on our way.
As we come to the end of the potent month of Elul, we also go into the dark. The time before the New Moon gives us at least two days of darkness, until that sliver of light appears just after sunset on Rosh Hashanah. What may dreams bring on those days?
Let us open to our dreams, and humbly pray for light and inspiration for the year to come. May we fulfill our dreams and our prayers, for the good, that the whole world be illuminated with G*d’s glory.
Tamar Frankiel is Dean of Academic Affairs and Professor of Comparative Religion at the Academy for Jewish Religion California. www.ajrca.org
