Hatavat chalom

The Jewish custom of turning a bad dream for the good, together with three people.

Hatavat chalom literally means making a dream good. It is a Jewish practice for someone who has had a troubling dream, and goes back to the Talmud, in the tractate Berakhot. The idea behind it is that a dream takes its direction partly from how you respond to it.

According to the Talmud the dreamer goes to three friends and says to them: I have seen a good dream. They answer: it is good, and may it be good, and may God turn it to good. Then together they say a series of biblical verses about turning, redemption and peace, such as: You have turned my mourning into dancing. In many communities this is still done today, sometimes with a fixed text from the prayer book.

Strikingly, the dreamer need not tell the dream. He calls it a good dream, and his friends voice the wish that it will be good. That fits the Talmudic saying that dreams follow the mouth: the interpretation a dream receives partly determines its outcome. The practice is therefore aimed not at anxious interpretation, but at blessing.

The Jewish tradition also knows fasting after a heavy dream, taanit chalom, and a short prayer during the priestly blessing in the synagogue, in which someone asks God to turn all their dreams to good.

The practice also shows how important friends are: you do not carry a bad dream alone.

Hatavat chalom shows how Judaism deals with bad dreams: seriously, but without fear, and together with others. On Dreamkin Jewish readings of troubling dreams mention this practice. For the exact text and application consult a rabbi.