I've been having lots of dreams concerning my upcoming class, concerning the MLA. And almost all of them involve something about Passover, or the exodus of the Hebrew slaves from Egypt.
I wondered at the unusual images, and why I was dreaming those particular dreams.
So, being a good delve-deeper, I did some digging around mystical Jewish sources and my favorite Jewish blog, and found illuminating metaphors that helped me understand some of what this soon-to-start experience means for me right now. (You'll find excerpts from two sources below.)
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"...[a Midrash states] the most distressing aspect of enslavement in Egypt was the consequence of the oppressive work; [the Hebrews] didn't have enough physical or emotional strength to do Kindess (chesed) for one another. ..."
From a variety of mystical rabbinical commentators
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"... [The Passover journey] isn't just an external journey; in order to have true meaning, it needs to change us on the inside, where freedom really matters. The difference between slavery and freedom, between constriction and expansion, is our state of mind. ..."
From Rachel's blog, Velveteen Rabbi
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So, learning as an antidote to over-work for business; learning as a journey where the travel is all interior...sounds right to me.
May all your dreams this week be illuminating ones!
4 comments:
Your photograph is very pleasing as an abstract image, let alone a representation of being cornered.
What fascinates me about the Passover story is how hard it is to convince the Jews to liberate themselves from slavery. All the plagues were (I think) as much for the Jews as for the Egyptians.
The passage across a desert is an interesting symbol, too. So cleansing.
Cool dreams!
Thanks to Mr. Pod for getting our trails to cross right under the bridge of synchronousness. As soon as I finish a review I'm late turning in, I'd planned a blog about a frequent dream, not nearly so culturally embedded as yours, although maybe that will emerge too.
In any case, we are well met and you will see my footprints with some frequency.
P.S. pod may be a llamed vavnik
at least no tooth dreams have shown up.
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