Talmud

The great rabbinic work of law, interpretation and discussion, after the Hebrew Bible the most important Jewish text.

After the Hebrew Bible the Talmud is the most important text of Judaism. It is an enormous work, divided into tractates, consisting of two layers: the Mishnah, written down around 200, with the oral law, and the Gemara, in which rabbis discuss that law over centuries. There are two versions, the Jerusalem Talmud and the far more influential Babylonian Talmud.

The Talmud is not a law book with unambiguous answers, but a record of conversations. Different opinions stand side by side, stories alternate with legal discussions, and minority views are preserved too. Studying the Talmud, often in pairs, the chavruta, is a central part of Jewish life to this day.

For dream interpretation the tractate Berakhot is especially important, in which several pages deal with dreams. Famous sayings are found there. A dream that has not been interpreted is like a letter that has not been read. A person is shown in a dream only what comes from the thoughts of their own heart. And: dreams follow the mouth, meaning that interpretation partly determines the direction of a dream. The Talmud even tells a story of twenty-four dream interpreters in Jerusalem, who each gave a different interpretation, and all the interpretations came true.

Berakhot also contains a prayer for someone who has had a troubling dream, and describes the practice of hatavat chalom, turning a dream for the good in the presence of three friends. The tractate Taanit contains the three keys God keeps in his own hands: rain, birth and resurrection.

On Dreamkin the Jewish readings often draw on these Talmudic sayings, which speak about dreams in a strikingly sober and at the same time respectful way.