When Dreams Come True

PBY RABBI YOSEF PASTALNIK

haraoh has a dream. Disturbed and anxious, he summons all his sorcerers and advisors to interpret it. Yet none of their explanations satisfy him—only the interpretation of Yosef HaTzadik, the young man pulled from a pit and prison, is one that he can accept. Why? What made Yosef’s interpretation stand out?

Based on the Meshech Chochmah (Beraishis 41:1), I think we can suggest as follows. Pharaoh’s advisors saw dreams as immutable prophecies, fixed glimpses of the future requiring no human action. Yosef, however, introduced an innovative idea—dreams are not promises but messages, calls to action. They demand effort to bring them to life.

How did Yosef know this? Of course, practically, Hashem provided him the insight. Through Ruach HaKodesh, he was able to interpret the meaning and proper course of action. But on a deeper level, Yosef himself knew what it meant to have a dream.

Fast forward seven-plus years after Yosef first interprets Pharaoh’s dreams. His own brothers now bow before him, fulfilling the very vision he dreamt as a boy. In that moment, as the Torah tells us, Yosef recalls his dreams (Bereishis 42:9). The Ramban explains: Yosef recognized that his dream had yet to be fully realized because Binyamin wasn’t present. Therefore, Yosef carefully calculated how to orchestrate events to ensure that his younger brother would also come to Egypt, realizing instinctively knew his dreams were messages from Hashem, but they required his effort, his persistence, and his input to become reality. Perhaps Pharaoh saw this unique outlook in Yosef, and is part of what calmed him and inspired his trust in Yosef’s interpretation. burned and his own family was murdered, he stood in the fledgling town of Bnei Brak and looked up at an empty hill. “Here,” he declared, “I will rebuild the yeshiva destroyed by the Nazis.” When he shared his plans with Rav Yitzchak Herzog, the Chief Rabbi of Israel, he was told, “You’re dreaming!” To this, Rav Kahaneman famously replied: “I may be dreaming, but that doesn’t mean I am sleeping.”

This concept—that dreams and visions require effort to materialize –is echoed in Chanukah as well. After their miraculous military victory, the Chashmonaim returned to the defiled Beis HaMikdash, determined to rekindle the Menorah. The Gemar (Shabbos 21a) states, “They searched and were only able to find one flask of oil.” Rav Avraham Schorr, in his work HaLekach V’HaLibuv, asks: Why emphasize their search instead of simply saying they found one flask? He answers so beautifully: They didn’t find oil immediately. They could have easily despaired, justified by the halachic principle “Ones Rachmana Patrei” extenuating circumstances exempt us from mitzvos. They could have even used impure oil and moved on. But they didn’t settle. Their vision of lighting the Menorah in purity, in the most ideal way, drove them.

This persistence and faith in their dream is what led to the miracle. Hashem responded to their unwavering resolve by allowing them to miraculously find an untouched flask of oil and making that small amount of oil burn for eight days. The miracles were born not from complacency, but from their determination to fulfill their vision.

Rabbi Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman, the Ponevezher Rav, also had a dream.

Dreams call for action. “Ani Yesheina V’Libi Er - I am asleep, but my heart is awake.” Like Yosef, like the Chashmonaim, and like Rav Kahaneman, our challenge is to awaken ourselves - our hearts and minds - to pursue our visions with passion and resolve. May Hashem help us discover our dreams, reawaken our aspirations, and guide us to bring them to life— for ourselves, for our families, and for Klal Yisrael.

Rabbi Yosef Postelnek is the Assistant Rabbi at YISE. A graduate of Sy Syms School of Business, Rabbi Postelnek received Semicha from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. He currently learns in Kollel Zichron Amram of Yeshiva of Greater Washington. His wife, Aliza, holds an M.A. in Jewish Education from Yeshiva University’s Azrieli Graduate School, specializing in secondary Jewish education, and a B.A. in Psychology from Queens College. She currently teaches Tanach, Chumash, and AP Psychology at Berman Hebrew Academy. With a shared passion for Torah and desire to serve the Jewish community, Rabbi and Rebbetzin Postelnek – along with their three children – feel privileged (Editors note: and so are his congregants) and excited to connect, learn and grow with the entire YISE community.