Pharaoh saw seven copious ears of grain growing on a single stalk. Then, suddenly, another seven ears of grain grew behind them, thin and scorched by the hot east wind. The seven thin ears swallowed up the seven full ears. Pharaoh woke up and realized that it had been a dream. The interpretation of dreams in Jewish tradition appears as early as the beginning chapters of the Bible, and scholars have pointed out that even Freud was influenced by the speculation of Jewish dream interpretation in biblical and talmudic literature. These classical texts have served to stimulate and organize Jewish thinking about dreams, one of the perennial existential concerns in human life. The author, Monford Harris, explores different conceptions of dream interpretation in Jewish thought and includes material dealing with two traditional dream-therapy services. One service is conducted on several occasions during the liturgical year when priests bless the assembled congregants. The other service is conducted when a congregant is troubled by a dream. Harris's exploration into the realm of dream interpretation is important for individuals who are especially interested in Jewish intellectual history and popular culture, as well as for therapists, who will find the two synagogue therapy services provocative and intellectually stimulating.

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

Frieden explores methods of dream interpretation in the Bible, the Talmud, and in the writings of Sigmund Freud, and brings to light Freud’s troubled relationship to his Judaic forerunners. This book reveals unfamiliar associations in intellectual history and challenges received ideas in biblical, Talmudic, and Freudian scholarship. Freud distanced himself from dream interpreters such as Joseph and Daniel by rejecting their intuitive methods and their claims to predict the future. While biblical and Talmudic dream interpretation generally involve prophecy, Freud sought to limit himself to the determination of prior causes in the dreamer’s life. Nevertheless, Frieden demonstrates that Freud’s strategies of interpretation, and especially his use of “free association,” inevitably guide the dreamer toward a future. This resonance between ancient prophecy and modern psychology is merely one example of the concealed relationship between Judaic and psychoanalytic dream interpretation. Frieden shows the role both of actual influences and influences denied by Freud.

This monograph compares the most important Byzantine work on dream interpretation with the 2nd-century A.D. Greek work of Artemidoros and five medieval Arabic dreambooks and demonstrates that it was based on Islamic Arabic sources adapted for Christian readers of Greek

Why did dreams matter to Jews, Byzantine Christians, and Muslims in the first millennium? Bronwen Neil shows how the three faiths took the pagan practice of divining the future from dreams and melded it with their own scriptural traditions to produce a novel and rich culture of dream interpretation.

To find more information on Rowman & Littlefield titles, please visit us at www.rowmanlittlefield.com.

Since Freud, the study of dreams has typically involved inquiry into past and present emotional states. The ancients, unfamiliar with the intricate byways of the human soul revealed by modern psychology, typically saw dreams as channels of communication between human beings and external sources. Shaul Bar explores the etymology of key terms for dreams in the Hebrew Bible, presents dozens of examples of biblical dreams and visions, and categorizes them as prophetic, symbolic, or incubation. He studies biblical dreams and visions in the context of similar phenomena in the literature of neighboring cultures and analyzes the functions of dream reports in the biblical corpus. The literature of dream interpretation in Egypt and Mesopotamia informs Bar's treatment of the structure of dream accounts as conforming to the three-part model (setting, message, response) proposed for ancient Near Eastern dream accounts in A. Leo Oppenheim's classic work on dream interpretation. Symbolic dreams, whether or not God is their source, contain no divine appearance and require interpretation to be understood. While oneiro-criticism was a significant profession in ancient Near Eastern cultures, the Hebrew Bible presents only two such experts, Joseph and Daniel. Both were active in royal courts, and the success of both in interpreting the rulers' dreams served to confirm the superiority of the God of Israel. Ambivalence characterizes the attitude toward dreams and visions in prophetic literature. Joel and Job allow that they have some value. But Jeremiah, Zechariah, Isaiah, and Ecclesiates find no religious significance in them and even treat them as tools of deceit. The Talmud presents no consensus about whether dreams are a legitimate form of communication from God. Although a guild of professional interpreters existed in Jerusalem and the Talmud includes a short dream book, many Sages expressed skepticism about such alleged divine messages. Dreams also serve important functions within the literary world of the Hebrew Bible. Bar shows how Jacob's dream at Bethel serves to explain the sanctity of the place and detach it from its Canaanite context, how the dreams in the Joseph cycle show the hand of divine providence in the descent to Egypt followed by the ascent to the Promised Land, how Solomon's dream at Gibeon serves to legitimate Solomon's rule, and how Nebuchadnezzar's dreams served to emphasize once again that it is the Lord who guides universal history.