Rav Kook: We Were Like Dreamers

 

Psalm 126 — Shir HaMa’alot — paints a stirring vision of Israel’s redemption, a time of homecoming and hope as the Jewish people return to their land:



שִׁיר הַמַּעֲלוֹת: בְּשׁוּב ה’ אֶת-שִׁיבַת צִיּוֹן, הָיִינוּ כְּחֹלְמִים. אָז יִמָּלֵא שְׂחוֹק פִּינוּ, וּלְשׁוֹנֵנוּ רִנָּה.



“A Song of Ascents. When God brings about the return to Zion, we were like dreamers. Then our mouths will be filled with laughter, and our tongues with joyous song.” (126:1-2)



The verb tense, however, is puzzling. Presumably, the psalmist is describing the future redemption, when “our mouths will be filled with laughter.” But in the very same breath, he shifts to the past. Not “we will be like dreamers,” but הָיִינוּ כְּחֹלְמִים — “we were like dreamers.”

So which is it — past or future?



Dreams of Redemption

To answer this, we need to better understand the role of dreams, and why they are so deeply tied to redemption.

Throughout our history, dreams have played a key part in moments of salvation. Joseph became viceroy of Egypt, saving his family from famine, because he interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams. Daniel rose to prominence through the dreams of Nebuchadnezzar.

What is the function of dreams in the world?

Each soul possesses hidden qualities — segulot. Inner traits and talents that yearn for expression. The greater the quality, the more it longs to be realized. One of the ways these dormant qualities surface is through dreams.

This is true for individuals, and true for our nation as a whole. Israel, too, has segulot — a national soul with profound spiritual potential. As it says: “You shall be My treasured people — segulah — among the nations” (Ex. 19:5).

During times of exile and persecution, when that inner greatness cannot find open expression, it seeks other channels. That is the source of our dreams for return and redemption.



Anticipating Redemption

After death, the Talmud teaches, the soul is asked by the heavenly tribunal: “Did you anticipate the redemption?” (Shabbat 31a). The fact that we are judged on this matter tells us that it is important to anticipate redemption. This is why the Sages embedded prayers for the ingathering of exiles and the rebuilding of Jerusalem into the daily Amidah.

The logic of this approach, however, is not obvious. Why yearn for that which is beyond our control? The redemption either depends on the actions of the entire Jewish people, or will take place at some time that God ordained. What impact do our personal prayers really have?



To understand the significance of our dreams and prayers, it is instructive to recall the Talmudic teaching: “Do not take lightly any blessing, even that of an ordinary person” (Megillah 15a). Why should the simple wishes of a neighbor or friend make a difference?



The Sages, however, imparted an important lesson: do not underestimate the power of a few words of encouragement. They may awaken and help realize our hidden potential.

By anticipating this national destiny — by dreaming of it, speaking of it, praying for it — we nurture that seed. The value of anticipating redemption lies in its power to help bring it to fruition.



This is not mystical thinking; it is historical reality. Without a doubt, the unprecedented return of the Jewish people to their homeland after centuries of exile could not have happened without generations of prayers and dreams. The Zionist movement could not have inspired millions to uproot their lives if not for the people’s deep-rooted longings for the Land of Israel. It is our faith and anticipation of redemption that enables the realization of Israel’s collective segulah.



We Were Like Dreamers

Now we can return to the verse:“When God brings back the return to Zion, we were like dreamers.” Why does the psalmist use the past tense? Because he is not describing the moment of redemption itself, but the dream that sustained us during the long exile, the dream that enabled redemption to unfold.



בְּשׁוּב ה’ אֶת-שִׁיבַת צִיּוֹן — “God will return us to Zion” — because, throughout the ages, הָיִינוּ כְּחֹלְמִים — “we were like dreamers.” Our dreams and faith in God’s promised redemption enabled our return to the Land of Israel.



Just as our personal dreams are an expression of our inner talents, inspiring us to develop them, so, too, our national dreams, even in the darkest hours, facilitate the return to the Land of Israel — and prepare us for the full flowering of redemption still to come.



(Adapted from Midbar Shur, pp. 226-227)