The  Old Shall Dream Dreams: 

Childhood was for fantasies, for nursery rhymes and toys.
The world was much too busy to understand small girls and boys.
As I grew up, I came to learn that life was not a game,
That heroes were just people that we called another name.
And the old shall dream dreams, and the youth shall see visions,
And our hopes shall rise up to the sky.
We must live for today; we must build for tomorrow.
Give us time, give us strength, give us life. 

Now I’m grown, the years have passed, I’ve come to understand:
There are choices to be made and my life’s at my command.
I cannot have a future ’til I embrace my past.
I promise to pursue the challenge, time is going fast.
And the old shall dream dreams, and the youth shall see visions,
And our hopes shall rise up to the sky.
We must live for today; we must build for tomorrow.
Give us time, give us strength, give us life. 

Today’s the day I take my stand, the future’s mine to hold.
Commitments that I make today are dreams from days of old.
I have to make the way for generations come and go.
I have to teach them what I’ve learned so they will come to know.
That the old shall dream dreams, and the youth shall see visions,
And our hopes shall rise up to the sky.
We must live for today; we must build for tomorrow.
Give us time, give us strength, give us life.
Give us time, give us strength, give us life. 

Debbie Friedman, z’l 

And the Youth Shall See Visions 

Our story opens today learning that Joseph is a dreamer. He is the favored son of Jacob, who repeating a pattern of his father Isaac, singles Joseph out for special treatment. Giving him a special coat, Isaac tells Joseph to go find his brothers in Shechem. Joseph simply answers Isaac, Hineini, which our translation says is “I am ready” and can also be “Here am I.”  

Joseph is ready…to do his father’s bidding and to find his brothers. On his way he encounters a nameless person—an ish—a man—is all the text tells us. Remember, we saw an ish in the story of Jacob’s wrestling. This ish is someone who points him in the right direction and changes, quite literally, the direction of his life.  

Yet Joseph was a dreamer. First, he dreams about himself and his brothers.  “There we were binding sheaves in the field, when suddenly my sheaf stood up and remained upright; then your sheaves gathered around and bowed low to my sheaf.” Later, in another dream, the sun and the moon and 11 stars bow down to him.  It seems pretty clear, and Joseph telling his brothers about these dreams only make them even more angry. With him Even if, as we know, these dreams foreshadow the action later in Genesis.  

Still later, Jacob is able to interpret dreams while he is in jail.  That’s where our story picks up today in the triennial cycle.  There will be two more dreams next week that Joseph (correctly) interprets for Pharaoh earning his way out of jail.  Are these dreams somehow communication from the Divine, pointing the way or are they foreshadowing. Is Joseph going to live into his dreams? All this well happens well before Frued or Jung.  

How do we interpret dreams today? Here are some tips: 

• Keep a Dream Journal: Keep some paper, or an electronic device by your bedside so when you are awakened by a dream, you can jot it down so you don’t forget. You can also use a voice recorder if that is easier—and doesn’t wake anyone else up! You can then look for patterns in recurring dreams.  
• Reflect on Your Feelings: After you recall a dream, identify what feelings the dream brought up for you and consider how those feelings may be linked to your current situation in life. I am told to remember in modern dream interpretation that we are each every element of a dream. So if you dream about a menorah, for example, identifying how you are the menorah can help with the interpretation. How does that menorah make you feel? 
• Talk With an Expert: Sometimes it is necessary and helpful to talk with an expert, a professional therapist. You can talk about your dreams and how they make you feel with a professional therapist. They may have suggestions for interpreting dreams specific to your situation. 

Back to our story. Perhaps, even more important to this story of Joseph the dreamer, is his Hineni, his being ready. He grows from a selfish, privileged boy where he uses his dreams to lord over his brothers, into a compassionate, caring leader that uses his interpretation of Pharoah’s dreams to prepare not only Pharaoh but an entire nation for the difficulties that are to come.  

The question I have for you today is how do we take our dreams and answer the question they pose with that sense of “Hineni, Here am I, I am ready.” 

Walt Disney said, “If you can dream it you can do it.” 

And John Lennon said, “A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.” 

Herzel said, “If you will it, it is no dream.” Debbie Friedman set that to music too: 

Im Tirtzu Ayn Zo Agadah. L’hiyot am chofshi b’artzeinu B’eretz (Eretz!_ Tzion (Tzion!) VirushalayimIf you will it, it is  no dream. 

Turning a dream into reality takes working towards it, often with others.  What sets Joseph apart then, is he takes these dreams and turns them into reality.  

Each of us has a dream.  Each of us have people along the way that point us in the right direction and help us crystalize that dream.  

As this is still Thanksgiving and there is still a need to be grateful, as I did at ordination, I want to thank the little people, the ones who made it possible for me to stand here. Some have names, like Rabbi Al Lewis, who convinced me to learn to run. Like Rev. David Ferner, a great interpreter of dreams who told me after listening deeply that it was time to fish or cut bait. Like the barista at the Chelmsford Starbucks who for a long time was nameless but kept me caffeinated and made me smile.  

Who are the anashim, plural of ish for each of you? How do you answer Hineini to your dreams? 

In the Polar Express, a book written by an East Grand Rapids High School alum, Chris Van Allsburg, Josh Groban, sings: 

Children sleeping
Snow is softly falling
Dreams are calling
Likes bells in the distance 

We were dreamers
Not so long ago
But one by one
We all had to grow up 

When it seems the magic slipped away
We find it all again on Christmas Day 

Believe in what your heart is saying
Hear the melody that’s playing
There’s no time to waste
There’s so much to celebrate 

Believe in what you feel inside
And give your dreams the wings to fly
You have everything you need
If you just believe 

Joanne Fink: 

This week’s Torah portion, Veyeshev, begins with the story of Joseph and the multi-color coat given to him by his father, Jacob. Joseph is a dreamer—who freely shares his dreams and interprets dreams for other people. Reading how Joseph grows from a selfish young man to a caring, dedicated one, inspires me to strive to grow into the best person I am capable of being. 

May the dreams you cherish  

fuel your personal purpose 

and help you grow in  

strength, compassion and resilience.  

May each candle you kindle 

light the way to a future based on 

love, trust, connection, friendship; 

equality, justice, hope and peace. 

May the generations who came before you  

inspire you to be a light in the world 

and may you, in turn,  

be a source of inspiration to others. 

Amen!

Before Aleinu:
The  Merger Poem 

And then all that has divided us will merge
And then compassion will be wedded to power
And then softness will come to a world that is harsh and unkind
And then both men and women will be gentle
And then both women and men will be strong
And then no person will be subject to another’s will
And then all will be rich and free and varied
And then the greed of some will give way to the needs of many
And then all will share equally in the Earth’s abundance
And then all will care for the sick and the weak and the old
And then all will nourish the young
And then all will cherish life’s creatures
And then all will live in harmony with each other and the Earth
And then everywhere will be called Eden once again. 

  Judy Chicago 

 

In Memory of Sondheim: 

Barbra Streisand – Somewhere (Official Video) 

  

There’s a place for us
Somewhere a place for us
Peace and quiet and open air
Wait for us
Somewhere

[MARIA]
There’s a time for us
Someday a time for us
Time together with time to spare
Time to look, time to care
Someday!

[TONY]
Somewhere
We’ll find a new way of living

[MARIA]
We’ll find a way of forgiving
Somewhere

[BOTH]
There’s a place for us
A time and place for us
Hold my hand and we’re halfway there
Hold my hand and I’ll take you there
Somehow
Someday
Somewhere!