Berakhot 56a (נו.) — the Talmud in English

The Roman emperor

—who was preoccupied with his war against the Persians—

said to Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya:

You Jews

say

about yourselves

that you are exceedingly wise. Tell me, what will I see

—what will I see—

in my dream?

Rabbi Yehoshua said to him:

Rabbi Yehoshua

said: You saw

in your dream

that the Persian

servants serving before you in the royal service

shaved you, and they took you captive,

and captured you,

and they made you pasture

vermin with a golden staff

—they placed you in charge of pasturing vermin with this golden staff.

The emperor pondered it

the entire day,

and that evening he saw

it in his dream, just so. As we found above, a person is shown only what he has contemplated in his heart.

King Shapur

the Persian king

said to Shmuel: You say that you are exceedingly wise. Tell me, what will I see in my dream?

He said to him: You saw

in your dream

that Romans came and took you captive

in captivity,

and they forced you to grind hard date pits with a golden millstone

—they would force you to grind hard date kernels in a golden millstone.

He pondered it the entire day, and that evening he saw

it in his dream, just so.

Bar Hedya was an interpreter

of dreams;

whoever gave him a fee,

he

would interpret his dream

his dream

favorably

for the good.

But whoever did not give him a fee,

he

would interpret his dream

his dream

unfavorably.

Abaye and Rava saw

both

the same dream,

and they came to Bar Hedya so that he would interpret their dreams.

Abaye gave him

Bar Hedya

a zuz, whereas Rava gave him nothing.

not anything.

Abaye and Rava said to him,

Abaye and Rava said to Bar Hedya:

Have us recited

recite before us

in our dreams

the verse [Deuteronomy 28:31],

“Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes

but you shall not eat of it”!

To Rava he said:

The interpretation of your dream is that the “ox” alludes to livelihood, and just as you saw it slaughtered and dead, so

your business will suffer loss,

and your merchandise will be completely ruined;

and it will not benefit

please

you to eat

any food

because of

your

great anguish of heart!

But to Abaye he said: The “ox” alludes to livelihood, and just as a slaughtered ox is satisfying food, so

he said:

the meaning is that your business will prosper, and

your business will yield profit, and it will not benefit you to eat because of

your

great joy

happiness

of heart!

Furthermore,

they said to him,

Abaye and Rava said to Bar Hedya:

Have us recited

in our dreams the verse [ibid., 41],

“You shall beget sons and daughters,

but they shall not be yours, for they shall go into captivity.”

To Rava he said: It is resolved for you!

The verse will be fulfilled in you according to its plain meaning, as it speaks of an evil future.

To Abaye he said: Your sons and daughters

will

be numerous, and your daughters will marry

men from

the world. And it will appear in your eyes as though

they were

going into captivity!

They said to him further:

They had us recite

in our dreams the verse [ibid., 32],

“Your sons and your daughters shall be delivered to another people!”

To Abaye

he said: Your sons and daughters

will

be numerous; you said

that you would marry them off

to your relatives, but

she

said

your wife

said

to marry them off

to her relatives.

to her relatives.

And she will force

and compel

you,

your wife,

and you will give them

your sons and daughters

to her relatives, who will be

in your eyes

like

“another people.”

To Rava he said: Your wife will die

[your wife will die].

And her sons and daughters will come into the hands of another woman

who will marry you after her. And this is

as Rava said that Rabbi Yirmeya bar Abba said that Rav: What is the meaning of that which is written, “Your sons and your daughters shall be delivered to another people”? This is the father's wife,

whom he marries after the death of his first wife, with the result that the children of the first wife grow up with a stepmother, whose compassion for them is not like that of their biological mother.

Abaye and Rava said further to Bar Hedya:

They had us recite in our dreams

the verse [Ecclesiastes 9:7],

“Go, eat your bread with joy!”

To Abaye he said: Your business will prosper, and you will eat and drink and recite a verse out of the joy of your heart!

To Rava he said: Your business will suffer loss; you slaughtered but did not eat or drink

because of your great distress,

and you recited it to dispel

your

fear.

Abaye and Rava said further to Bar Hedya:

They had us recite

in our dreams the verse [Deuteronomy 28:38],

“You shall carry much seed out to the field”

—and the end of the verse is: “but little shall you gather in, for the locust shall consume it.”

To Abaye he said:

The interpretation of your dream is

from the beginning

of the verse, namely, that your field will produce much seed.

To Rava he said:

The interpretation of your dream is

from the end

of the verse, namely, that most of the produce that grows in your field will not remain in your possession.

Abaye and Rava said further to Bar Hedya:

They had us recite

in our dreams the verse [ibid., 40],

“You shall have olive trees throughout all your borders”

—and its end is: “but you shall not anoint yourself with oil, for your olives shall drop off.”

To Abaye he said:

The interpretation of your dream is

from the beginning

of the verse, as it states plainly: “You shall have olive trees.”

But

to Rava he said:

The interpretation of your dream is

from the end

of the verse, namely, that you will not benefit from their oil.

Abaye and Rava said further to Bar Hedya:

They had us recite

in our dreams the verse [ibid., 10],

“All the peoples of the earth shall see

that the name of the Lord is proclaimed over you, and they shall fear you.”

To Abaye he said: Your reputation will go forth; you will be head of the academy,

and as a result

your awe will fall upon the world!

To Rava he said: In the king's treasury

—the king's treasury, into which only he entered “alone”—

there will be a breach

by thieves, and you will be suspected of it;

and you will be seized for the

sin of

the thieves. And all the people of the world

“all the peoples of the earth”

will reason by a fortiori inference from you!

For if Rava is suspected of this, all the more so may we be suspected. This is the meaning of “and they shall fear you,” as fear will fall upon people because you have been seized.

And indeed, just as he said, so it happened:

the next day there was a breach in the king's treasury. And

the king's officers

came and seized Rava.

Further,

Abaye and Rava said

Abaye and Rava said to Bar Hedya:

We saw lettuce on the mouth of a barrel

in our dreams—they saw lettuce on the mouth of a barrel—and both of them dealt in wine.

To Abaye he said: It is doubled;

[it is doubled] your profit

in your business, like lettuce,

which is broad and doubled.

But

to Rava he said: It is bitter;

your

business will be like lettuce! It will be bitter and hated by everyone, and no one will buy it.

Further,

Abaye and Rava

said

said Abaye and Rava to Bar Hedya:

We saw

in our dreams

meat on the mouth of a barrel!

To Abaye he said: Your wine is fragrant;

your wine will be of excellent quality,

and everyone will come to buy meat and wine from you!

To Rava he said: Your wine will become strong

—it will turn sour—

and everyone will come to buy meat and eat it

the meat

in it

in your wine, which will have become vinegar, for that was their practice: to dip meat in vinegar.

Further,

Abaye and Rava said

Abaye and Rava said to Bar Hedya:

We saw

in our dreams

a barrel hanging from a palm tree!

To Abaye he said: Your business will rise

—it will be elevated—

like a palm tree!

To Rava he said: Your business will become sweet

—it will become sweet—

like the dates

of a palm tree! This means that your merchandise will be sweet to the buyers, because you will sell it cheaply.

Further,

Abaye and Rava said

Abaye and Rava said to Bar Hedya:

We saw a pomegranate tree

a pomegranate tree

growing

that grew

on the mouth of a barrel.

To Abaye he said: Your business will become expensive

—its price will rise—

like a pomegranate tree!

You will sell it at a high price, like pomegranates.

To Rava he said: Your business will be sour

—an expression related to “sourness”—

like a pomegranate tree!

Your merchandise will be sour like pomegranates, and everyone will hate it.

Further,

Abaye and Rava said

Abaye and Rava said to Bar Hedya:

We saw a barrel that fell into a pit.

To Abaye he said: Your business will be sought

—it will be requested—

your business

and people will pursue it!

As people say,

people say

“Bread fell into a pit and was not found!”

That is, it will be greatly sought, and there will not be enough of it for all who request it.

To Rava he said: Your business will suffer loss

—your merchandise will be ruined—

and you will throw it

and cast it

into a pit!

Further,

Abaye and Rava said

Abaye and Rava said to Bar Hedya:

We saw

in our dreams a young donkey,

the son of a donkey, standing at our head

at our head

and braying!

To Abaye he said: You will be a king

—the head of an academy—

and

you will lecture publicly.

And an amora

an interpreter

will stand over you,

to make your lecture heard publicly in a loud voice, like the braying of a donkey!

To Rava he said: The words

the words

“the firstborn of a donkey” will be erased

—they will be erased—

from

the passages in

your phylacteries!

Rava said

Rava said to Bar Hedya:

I myself saw

the passages of my phylacteries,

and these words are present

and have not been erased!

Bar Hedya said

Bar Hedya

said: The vav of “the firstborn of a donkey” was certainly erased from your phylacteries!

That is, “firstborn of a donkey” is written defectively, without a vav. In Rava's phylacteries it had initially been written plene, with a vav, and afterward the scribe erased the vav.

Eventually Rava went alone to him,

Bar Hedya;

Rava said

Rava

said: I saw

in my dream

that the outer door

the outer door of my house

fell!

He said to him: Your wife will die

[she will die]! The falling door alludes to this, because a woman guards the home like a door.

Further,

Rava said

Rava

said: I saw my molars

the grinding teeth

and my teeth

my teeth

falling out

—that they were falling out.

He said to him: Your sons and daughters will die!

Further,

Rava said

Rava

said: I saw

in my dream

two doves flying!

He said to him: You will divorce two wives!

For a man's wife is called a “dove,” as it is stated [Song of Songs 5:2]: “My dove, my undefiled one.”

Further,

he said: I saw two turnip heads

heads of turnips!

He said to him: You will absorb two blows

—blows from a thick stick as large as a turnip head—

you will absorb

them!

Rava went that day and sat in the house of study the entire day. He found those two blind men

blind men

who were quarreling with one another.

who had begun to quarrel with each other.

Rava went to separate them,

to separate them,

and they struck

beat

Rava twice,

two blows,

and they raised

the stick, in order

to strike him

another blow.

Rava said

Rava

“It is enough for me

—what you have already struck me with. For I saw only

two

sticks

in my dream,

and no more.”

Eventually Rava came

to Bar Hedya

and gave him a fee

for interpreting his dreams, so that he would interpret them favorably.

And he said to him: I saw a wall

the foundation of the wall of my house

that fell!

Bar Hedya said

Bar Hedya said to Rava:

You have acquired property without boundaries!

The falling of the wall of your house alludes to your having broad and abundant real estate without boundaries.

Further,

Rava said

Rava said to Bar Hedya:

I saw Abaye's mansion

his house

fall, and dust covered it

the dust that flew from the collapse of his house!

Bar Hedya said

Bar Hedya said to Rava:

Abaye will die,

he will die,

and his academy

Abaye's academy

will come to you!

You will be the head of the academy there.

Further,

Rava said

Rava said to Bar Hedya:

I saw my mansion fall, and everyone came

and

took

from the rubble

one brick after another!

Bar Hedya said

Bar Hedya said: It is an indication that

your teachings

will be scattered

dispersed and publicized

throughout the world!

Further,

Rava said

Rava said to Bar Hedya:

I saw that my head split open

my head was split open,

and my brain was removed

and the marrow fell out of it!

Bar Hedya said

Bar Hedya

said: Flax fibers are emerging from your pillow

fluff has emerged from the pillow at your head.

Further,

Rava said

Rava said to Bar Hedya:

They recited to me

they recited to me

the Egyptian Hallel

the Hallel that we recite on the night of Passover for the miracle of the Exodus from Egypt

in a dream!

Bar Hedya said

Bar Hedya said: It is an indication that

a miracle will happen to you!

For this Hallel is recited in Nisan, and Nisan is named for the miracles that occurred in it.

Bar Hedya was going

Bar Hedya

with him

with Rava

on a boat

on a ship,

and

Bar Hedya said in his heart:

With a man

like Rava

to whom a miracle will occur, why should I

set sail? Surely I must fear that the miracle of which he was informed in his dream will now occur, the ship will sink, and only he will be saved while I drown!

As he was ascending

when he was getting off the ship,

a book fell from him, and Rava found it

that book

and saw that it was written in it: “All dreams follow the mouth!”

Rava said

Rava:

Wicked man, it was with you

and in your mouth that the interpretations of all my dreams depended.

And you caused me all this anguish!

For you interpreted them for me adversely, when you could have interpreted them favorably.

For all the

interpretations,

I forgive you, bar

except

for

what you interpreted for me—that my wife would die, since she was

the daughter of Rav Ḥisda!

And Rava cursed him and said:

May it be the will of Heaven that that man

bar Hedia

be delivered into the hands of the authorities, who will not have mercy on him!

The Hazon Ish explains that it was permissible to Hazon Ish [Sanhedrin 20a] explains that it was permissible to curse him, because bar Hedia had become liable for excommunication for causing distress to a Torah scholar; and they said [Moed Katan 16a] that one liable for excommunication may be cursed. He proves from here that if he repents, the curse is removed together with the excommunication and does not harm him. For bar Hedia went into exile to atone for his curse, whereas if repentance were effective only for the excommunication, how did he think to free himself from the curse? It is necessarily the case that both are removed together. And Kehillot Yaakov wrote that he did not curse Kehillot Yaakov [Bava Kamma 45] wrote that he did not curse him, but prayed that he be punished, because that was what he deserved.

Bar Hedia said

:

What shall I do

to escape Rava’s curse? For

it is a received tradition: “The curse of a Torah scholar, even

if it is uttered

gratuitously,

nevertheless

takes effect

and is fulfilled.”

And all the more so

with regard to the curse of

Rava, who curses me justly,

for I caused him much distress!

He said: I will arise and go into exile;

I will go into exile.

For

it was

said by the Master: “Exile atones for sin!”

In Be’er Sheva he wondered Does the Holy One Be’er Sheva [Sanhedrin 90b], he wondered: Does the Holy One, blessed be He, administer justice without justice? And Kovetz Shiurim explains that the words of a Kovetz Shiurim [Ketubot 62b] explains that the words of a holy mouth operate through the forces of nature even when the speaker did not intend this. And Michtav MeEliyahu explains that had the Sage not Michtav MeEliyahu [vol. 4, p. 222] explains that had the Sage not harbored resentment toward this person, he would not have cursed him. Therefore, although in this act he cursed him, there would have been no reason to curse him; the curse took effect because of the original reason that had caused him to harbor resentment.

Bar Hedia arose

and

went into exile in Rome. He went and sat at the entrance to the chamberlain

[the treasury guards]

of the king.

And that

chamberlain had a dream.

The chamberlain said

to bar Hedia:

I saw a dream in which a needle entered my finger!

He said

to him, bar Hedia:

Give me a zuz,

and I will interpret it for you!

The chamberlain did not give him

anything, and therefore

he did not tell him

bar Hedia

anything.

Again,

the chamberlain said

to bar Hedia:

I saw

in my dream

a worm fall

[a caterpillar]

on two of my fingers.

Bar Hedia said to him:

Give me a zuz,

and I will interpret the dream for you

! But he did not give it to him, and

therefore

he did not tell him

the interpretation of the dream.

Again,

the chamberlain said

to bar Hedia:

I saw

in my dream

a worm fall

[a caterpillar]

on my entire hand.

Bar Hedia said to him:

It is a sign that

a worm had fallen on all the silk garments

[expensive silk clothing]

of the king!

The king’s household heard

that the worm had damaged the silk garments,

and they brought the chamberlain,

and almost

killed him,

because he had not properly guarded the king’s treasury.

The chamberlain said to them:

The chamberlain

said: Why

should I be put to death?

Bring this

dream interpreter,

who knew

when the worm’s damage began, when I told him my dream that a worm had fallen on two of my fingers.

But he did not tell

me its interpretation; and had he interpreted it for me then, when the damage began, it would have been possible to save them.

They brought bar Hedia, and said to him: It is because of your zuz

[because of the zuz you demanded],

which the chamberlain did not wish to give you, and therefore you refused to interpret the dream; and it was consequently because of this that

the

[were damaged]

silk garments of the king!