Q&A: Desecrating the Sabbath Based on a Dream
Desecrating the Sabbath Based on a Dream
Question
Hello Rabbi,
It was recently reported about a man who lives in the Gaza border region, whose late rabbi appeared to him in a dream on the night of Simchat Torah and demanded that he flee the area. The man fled with his family, driving on the Sabbath. After what happened happened, he asked Rabbi Zilberstein whether he had acted correctly in desecrating the Sabbath on the basis of a dream, and he told him yes. The article mentioned only some of the considerations, and I did not see a properly organized halakhic responsum.
On the one hand, a dream is not supposed to have real halakhic significance, as it is ruled that one need not be concerned regarding money that was said in a dream to be tithe money. On the other hand, if a person has a genuine mystical intuition, how is a danger sensed through a mystical sense different from a danger sensed through sight or hearing? And even in a case of doubt, a possible danger to life overrides the Sabbath. On a third hand, I find myself wondering what they would have ruled for that same person if no disaster had occurred. That is, is it legitimate to say that he “took a risk” and in this case acted correctly, but if he had been mistaken he would have been considered a Sabbath desecrator? Something like what we learned in the recent lessons in the series on doubts in Jewish law.
What does the Rabbi think?
https://hm-news.co.il/418096/
Answer
In my opinion, there is absolutely no permission to desecrate the Sabbath on the basis of such dreams. For two reasons: 1. As the halakhic authorities wrote (Birkei Yosef and others), one does not desecrate the Sabbath for segulah-type remedies. Desecrating the Sabbath must be based on worldly considerations. 2. Because I do not believe in the authenticity/reliability of these dreams. In my article on Parashat Miketz about dreams, I discussed this distinction regarding the Talmudic passages you mentioned.
If you have an intuition of danger, perhaps you are allowed to desecrate the Sabbath, at least if it has proven itself before. In the sense of: “The heart knows the bitterness of its soul.”