In a rare escape from our home, my husband and I were driving through West Los Angeles, admiring the sunset and looming palm trees. Something compelled me to ask him, “What’s one of your dreams?” And I qualified the question, “Something you haven’t shared with me before. What’s something you want to do in your lifetime?” With a moment’s hesitation, he looked at me and said, “One day, I want us to live in Jerusalem. For a month, for a summer, but live in an apartment and share Jerusalem with our children.” We have always pined to go on an Israel trip as a family, but we never discussed making Jerusalem a part-time home. In my husband sharing his dream, he created a new dream of my own.
During this month before the High Holy Days, we spend time taking a cheshbon hanefesh—an inventory of our souls. And yet, I wonder, do we share that inventory with others? When is the last time you sat down with a loved one and shared your latest dream? Your goals and aspirations? So often, we keep those wishes to ourselves and forget that our own hopes may serve as the spark to ignite another’s passion.
Freud was known for saying, “Dreams are the royal road to the unconscious.” He was probably speaking about the dreams that occur deep within the middle of the night. I dare say that when we share the unspoken desires of our lives, our own visions may become the royal road to someone else’s dreaming. Someone else’s awakening. Someone’s latent wants coming to fruition.
Right now, many of us are looking for a little hope. Share your dream so that someone else can find their own.
Shabbat Shalom
