NDLI: Madness and Prophecy: Dreams, Texts, and the Power of Rabbinic Interpretation

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	Schoenfeld, Devorah
Copyright Year	2007
Abstract	To the rabbis, dreams were a serious theological challenge. While in the Hebrew Bible dreams could be prophetic and therefore a source of authority, rabbinic authority was based on textual interpretation rather than direct revelation. This article examines one rabbinic strategy for responding to this challenge: the Talmudic dream ritual of Berakhot 55b. Through this ritual the rabbis place the dreamer in the position of a supplicant. Dreaming becomes like an illness or curse rather than a revelation. Instead of telling the dream, the dreamer prays for its healing. This article argues that this ritual itself is a form of interpretation, both of the dreamer’s dream and of the biblical texts about dreaming, in which the biblical idea of revelation through dreams is retained but the dream itself is stripped of any specific prophetic meaning. Through the performative speech of this ritual the dreamer places the dangerous dream under the power of rabbinic authority.
Starting Page	223
Ending Page	235
Page Count	13
File Format	PDF
ISSN	00312789
Journal	Pastoral Psychology
Volume Number	56
Issue Number	2
e-ISSN	15736679
Language	English
Publisher	Springer US
Publisher Date	2007-10-11
Publisher Place	Boston
Access Restriction	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)
Subject Keyword	Dreams Dreaming Jewish Talmud Rabbinic Midrash Interpretation Sociology Cross Cultural Psychology Religious Studies Clinical Psychology
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Sociology and Political Science Religious Studies Social Psychology Applied Psychology

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in

The Religious Content of Dreams: A New Scientific Foundation

Madness and Method: a Pastoral Theological Reflection

Concerning Madness and Human Suffering

Dialogues with Presence: A Narrative Inquiry into Calling and Dreams

Langue, Parole, et Chanson: On Language as Song in Psychoanalysis and Jewish Philosophy

Varieties of Political-religious Experiences

Psychoanalytic Interpretation as Pharmakon: Applying Derrida’s “Plato’s Pharmacy” to Psychoanalysis

Primordial texts: An object relations approach to biblical hermeneutics

Carl Jung's Memories, Dreams, Reflections: A Critique Informed by Postmodernism

Madness and Prophecy: Dreams, Texts, and the Power of Rabbinic Interpretation

Similar Documents

The Religious Content of Dreams: A New Scientific Foundation

Madness and Method: a Pastoral Theological Reflection

Concerning Madness and Human Suffering

Dialogues with Presence: A Narrative Inquiry into Calling and Dreams

Langue, Parole, et Chanson: On Language as Song in Psychoanalysis and Jewish Philosophy

Varieties of Political-religious Experiences

Psychoanalytic Interpretation as Pharmakon: Applying Derrida’s “Plato’s Pharmacy” to Psychoanalysis

Primordial texts: An object relations approach to biblical hermeneutics

Carl Jung's Memories, Dreams, Reflections: A Critique Informed by Postmodernism

Madness and Prophecy: Dreams, Texts, and the Power of Rabbinic Interpretation