The Jewish Dream Book: The Key to Opening the Inner Meaning of Your Dreams

by Vanessa L. Ochs, Elizabeth Ochs (With), Kristina Swarner (Illustrator)

Overview

Find Inspiration and Spiritual Understanding in Judaism's Ancient
Traditions of Dream Interpretation

This engaging, entertaining, and informative bedside companion will help you open up your dreams and discover the meanings they may hold for you.

The Jewish Dream Book invites you to integrate the spiritual wisdom of Judaism’s past into your life today by honoring your dreams and striving to uncover their hidden messages. Exploring the Bible, Talmud, and other ancient sources, it will introduce you to inspiring, easy-to-use rituals and practices.

Included are diverse topics covering everything you’ve ever wondered about dreams and dreaming:

• Uniquely Jewish ways to bless and honor your dreams
• Transforming a bad dream into a good one
• How—and why—to keep a dream journal
• How to encourage enlightening, productive, and healing dreams
• Guidelines for being a dream interpreter
• Historical dream interpretations
• Dream symbols and their meanings
• How to link your dreams to Torah

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781580236430
Publisher:	Jewish Lights
Publication date:	06/14/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	128
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Vanessa L. Ochs is the Ida and Nathan Kolodiz Director of Jewish Studies and associate professor of religious studies at the University of Virginia. A recipient of a fellowship in creative writing from the National Endowment of the Arts, she is author of several books, coauthor of The Jewish Dream Book: The Key to Opening the Inner Meaning of Your Dreams, and co-editor, with Rabbi Irwin Kula, of The Book of Jewish Sacred Practices: CLAL's Guide to Everyday&Holiday Rituals&Blessings (both Jewish Lights).

Vanessa L. Ochs is available to speak on the following topics:

• Jewish Ritual Innovation
• Haggadah
• Jewish Feminism
• What Makes a Jewish Home Jewish
• Raising Kids with Jewish Values

Elizabeth Ochs is a student at Brown University. Her writing appears in God Within: Our Spiritual Future—As Told by Today's New Adults (SkyLight Paths).

Kristina Swarner is the award-winning illustrator of Yiddish Wisdom and Yiddish Wisdom for Parents (Chronicle). She lives in Chicago.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 6

Introduction 7

Part 1: What Judaism Teaches Us about Dreaming
1 The Origin of Dreams 16
2 Classical Jewish Approaches to Dream Interpretation 25

Part 2: Jewish Dream Practices
3 Bedtime Rituals to Help Prepare for Dreaming 35
4 Dream Practices for Waking Up 47
5 Practices for Interpreting Dreams 50
6 Practices for Dream Incubation 55
7 Practices for Responding to Nightmares: Hatavat Chalom 65
8 Holding a Rosh Chodesh Gathering Devoted to Dreaming 76
9 Seeking Healing through Dreams 83
10 Practices for Mourning 86
11 Blessings for Dreaming 90
12 Practices for Linking Your Dreams to Torah 94
13 A Torah Practice That Honors Dreamers 98

Notes 101

Glossary 103

Suggestions for Further Reading 105

Editorial Reviews

Have you dreamt recently that an ox kicked you? According to the Talmud, a long journey awaits you. Have you dreamt of wheat? Ancient wisdom says that peace will follow you throughout your life. Scholar and author Ochs does not pretend to be a Joseph who can interpret dreams with divine help. She does, however, set the stage for individuals to tackle their own dreams from a Jewish perspective. Ochs admits that she once thought of dreams as part of her private life, not subject to Jewish laws and teachings, and that her own Jewish dream knowledge was limited to biblical stories and dream sequences from Fiddler on the Roof. Then she discovered the Talmudic tractate Berakhot (Blessings), which opened a rich new resource. "I learned that long after biblical dreamers such as Abraham and Joseph, who saw their dreams as encounters with God, and long before modern dream interpreters such as Freud and Jung, who saw dreams as insights into the unconscious mind, the best Jewish minds of antiquity were putting their heads together to make sense of dreaming." Written with her daughter Elizabeth, Ochs divides her book into two sections: an overview of Jewish teachings on dreams and their interpretation; and a variety of "dream practices," such as keeping a book of dreams and preparing for dream "incubation" (a kind of intentional dreaming to solve a problem or answer a question). This slender book, illustrated with vivid paintings in deep dream-like blues, can clear a new pathway to self-knowledge. (Oct.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

"A wonderful book, rich in ideas and information. The night I finished reading it, I had vivid dreams filled with meaning."
—Rabbi Karyn D. Kedar, author of God Whispers: Stories of the Soul, Lessons
of the Heart and Our Dance with God: Finding Prayer, Perspectives and Meaning in the Stories of Our Lives

"This book is now on the top of the stack on my nightstand. It's my new source to help me realize my dreams."
—Rabbi Kerry M. Olitzky, coauthor of Restful Reflections: Nighttime Inspiration to Calm the Soul, Based on Jewish Wisdom

"Part history, part dream manual, part spiritual guide, The Jewish Dream Book is delightful...Should intrigue anyone interested in dreams as a route to self-knowledge."
—Timothy D. Wilson, author of Strangers to Ourselves: Discovering the Adaptive Unconscious

"With practice, following the exercises in this book can help you open your intuitive channels to the important yet subtle messages from your inner spirit."
—Stephen A. Rapp, author of Aleph-Bet Yoga: Embodying the Hebrew Letters for Physical and Spiritual Well-Being

From the Publisher