Pt2 ‘All Dreams Follow the Mouth’: Bar-Haddaya’s Fee-Driven Interpretations of the Dreams of Rava and Abaye (Berakhot 56a-b)

This is the second and final part of a two-part series. Part 1 is here; the outline for the series can be found at Part 1.

Rava’s Interpretation (Unpaid) - list of 4 items - Door of house fell, Front & back teeth fell, Two doves flying, Two turnip heads = Wife and children will die, Will divorce two women, Two blows from clubs

לסוף אזל רבא לחודיה לגביה.

1. אמר ליה: חזאי דשא ברייתא דנפל.

   1. אמר ליה: אשתך שכבא.

2. אמר ליה: חזאי ככי ושני דנתור.

   1. אמר ליה: בנך ובנתך שכבן.

3. אמר ליה: חזאי תרתי יוני דפרחן.

   1. אמר ליה: תרי נשי מגרשת.

4. אמר ליה: חזאי תרי גרגלידי דלפתא.

   1. אמר ליה: תרין קולפי בלעת.

Ultimately, Rava went to Bar-Haddaya alone.

1. Rava said to him: I saw the outer door of my house fall.

   1. Bar-Haddaya said to him: Your wife will die, as she is the one who protects the house.

2. Rava said to him: I saw my front and back teeth fall out.

   1. He said to him: Your sons and daughters will die.

3. Rava said to him: I saw two doves that were flying.

   1. He said to him: You will divorce two women.¹

4. Rava said to him: I saw two turnip heads [gargelidei].

   1. He said to him: You will receive two blows (קולפי) with a club shaped like a turnip.²

Story of Two blows from clubs

אזל רבא ההוא יומא ויתיב בי מדרשא כוליה יומא.

אשכח הנהו תרי סגי נהורי דהוו קמנצו בהדי הדדי.

אזל רבא לפרוקינהו, ומחוהו לרבא תרי.

דלו למחוייה אחריתי, אמר: מסתיי, תרין חזאי.

That same day Rava went and sat in the study hall the entire day.

He discovered these two blind people who were fighting with each other.

Rava went to separate them and they struck Rava two blows.

When they raised their staffs to strike him an additional blow, he said: That is enough for me, I only saw two.

Rava’s Interpretation (Paid) - A List of 5 items - Wall fell, Abaye’s and Rava’s palaces fell, Head split and brain fell, Hallel read = Acquire limitless property, Abaye dies and academy comes to Rava, Teachings spread worldwide, Feather falls from pillow, Miracles will occur

לסוף אתא רבא ויהיב ליה אגרא.

1. אמר ליה: חזאי אשיתא דנפל.

   1. אמר ליה: נכסים בלא מצרים קנית.

2. אמר ליה: חזאי אפדנא דאביי דנפל וכסיין אבקיה.

   1. אמר ליה: אביי שכיב, ומתיבתיה אתיא לגבך.

3. אמר ליה: חזאי אפדנא דידי דנפל, ואתו כולי עלמא שקול לבינתא לבינתא.

   1. אמר ליה: שמעתתך מבדרן בעלמא.

4. אמר ליה: חזאי דאבקע רישי ונתר מוקרי.

   1. אמר ליה: אודרא מבי סדיא נפיק.

5. אמר ליה: אקריון הללא מצראה בחלמא.

   1. אמר ליה: ניסי מתרחשי לך.

Ultimately, Rava came and gave him, Bar-Haddaya, a fee.

1. And then Rava said to him: I saw my wall fall.

   1. Bar-Haddaya said to him: You will acquire property without limits (מצרים).

2. Rava said to him: I saw Abaye’s house [appadna] fall and its dust covered me.

   1. Bar-Haddaya said to him: Abaye will die and his yeshiva will come to you.

3. Rava said to him: I saw my house fall, and everyone came and took the bricks.

   1. He said to him: Your teachings (שמעתתך) will be disseminated throughout the world.

4. Rava said to him: I saw that my head split and my brain (מוקרי) fell out.³

   1. He said to him: A feather (אודרא) will fall out of the pillow near your head.

5. Rava said to him: The Egyptian hallel,⁴ the hallel that celebrates the Exodus, was read to me in a dream.

   1. He said to him: Miracles will be performed for you.

Bar-Haddaya later punished by Romans

Rava discovers a book that fell from Bar-Haddaya, containing the maxim: “All dreams follow the mouth”

הוה קא אזיל בהדיה בארבא.

אמר: בהדי גברא דמתרחיש ליה ניסא למה לי.

בהדי דקא סליק נפל סיפרא מיניה.

אשכחיה רבא וחזא דהוה כתיב ביה ״כל החלומות הולכין אחר הפה״.

Bar-Haddaya was going with Rava on a ship;

Bar-Haddaya said: Why am I going with a person for whom miracles will be performed, lest the miracle will be that the ship will sink and he alone will be saved.

As Bar-Haddaya was climbing onto the ship a book fell from him.

Rava found it and saw written therein: “All dreams follow the mouth”⁵

Realizing that Bar-Haddaya’s words themselves shape reality, Rava denounces him; Rava forgives all but the death of his wife, and pronounces a curse that Bar-Haddaya fall into merciless hands

אמר:

רשע!

בדידך קיימא, וצערתן כולי האי.

כולהו מחילנא לך, בר מברתיה דרב חסדא.

יהא רעוא דלמסר ההוא גברא לידי דמלכותא דלא מרחמו עליה.

He [=Rava] said to Bar-Haddaya:

Wicked one! (רשע)

It was dependent on you, and you caused me so much suffering.

I forgive you for everything except for the daughter of Rav Ḥisda, Rava’s wife, whom Bar-Haddaya predicted would die.

May it be Your will that this man be delivered into the hands of a kingdom that has no compassion on him.

In fear of the curse, Bar-Haddaya flees into exile among the Romans

אמר:

מאי אעביד?

גמירי ד

קללת חכם --

אפילו בחנם היא באה,

וכל שכן רבא דבדינא קא לייט.

אמר:

איקום ואגלי,

דאמר מר: גלות מכפרת עון.

קם גלי לבי רומאי.

Bar-Haddaya said to himself:

What will I do?

We learned through tradition that

the curse of a Sage --

even if baseless, comes true.

And all the more so in the case of Rava, as he cursed me justifiably.

He said to himself:

I will get up and go into exile,

as the Master said: Exile atones for transgression.

He arose and exiled himself to the seat of the Roman government.

Bar-Haddaya and the King’s Wardrobe Keeper: The Dream and Its Price

Bar-Haddaya sat at the entrance of the king’s wardrobe. The wardrobe guard recounted a series of three dreams involving harm to his hand: first a needle piercing his finger, then worms eating two fingers, then his entire hand.

Each time, Bar-Haddaya demanded a zuz for interpretation; when the guard refused, Bar-Haddaya remained silent—until the final dream, when he interpreted the worm as consuming all the king’s silk garments.⁶

אזל יתיב אפתחא דריש טורזינא דמלכא.

ריש טורזינא חזא חלמא.

1. אמר ליה: חזאי חלמא דעייל מחטא באצבעתי.

   1. אמר ליה: הב לי זוזא,

   2. ולא יהב ליה, לא אמר ליה ולא מידי.

2. אמר ליה: חזאי דנפל תכלא בתרתין אצבעתי.

   1. אמר ליה: הב לי זוזא,

   2. ולא יהב ליה, ולא אמר ליה.

3. אמר ליה: חזאי דנפל תכלא בכולה ידא.

   1. אמר ליה: נפל תכלא בכולהו שיראי.

He went and sat by the entrance, where the keeper of the king’s wardrobe (טורזינא) stood.

The wardrobe guard dreamed a dream.

1. He said to Bar-Haddaya: I saw in the dream that a needle (מחטא) pierced my finger.

   1. Bar-Haddaya said to him: Give me a zuz.

   2. He did not give him the coin, so Bar-Haddaya said nothing to him.

2. Again, the guard said to him: I saw a worm (תכלא) that fell between my two fingers, eating them.

   1. Bar-Haddaya said to him: Give me a zuz.

   2. He did not give him the coin, so Bar-Haddaya said nothing to him.

3. Again, the guard said to him: I saw that a worm fell upon my entire hand, eating it.

   1. Bar-Haddaya said to him: A worm fell upon and ate all the silk garments.

Retribution and Revelation at the Palace

News of the damaged garments reached the palace. The guard was seized and nearly executed, but he protested that Bar-Haddaya had known the meaning and withheld it (for payment).

Bar-Haddaya was brought in and told: because of your zuz,⁷ the king’s silks were destroyed.

שמעי בי מלכא,

ואתיוה לריש טורזינא קא קטלי ליה.

אמר להו:

אנא אמאי?!

אייתו להאי דהוה ידע ולא אמר.

אייתוהו בר הדיא,

אמרי ליה:

אמטו זוזא דידך --

חרבו שיראי דמלכא

They heard of this in the king’s palace

and they brought the wardrobe keeper and were in the process of executing him.

He said to them:

Why me?!

Bring the one who knew and did not say the information that he knew.

They brought Bar-Haddaya

and said to him:

Because of your zuz --

ruin came upon the king’s silk garments.

Romans execute Bar-Haddaya by tying him between two cedar trees that tear his body apart

כפיתו תרין ארזי בחבלא,

אסור חד כרעיה לחד ארזא וחד כרעיה לחד ארזא,

ושרו לחבלא עד דאצטליק רישיה.

אזל כל חד וחד וקם אדוכתיה

ואצטליק ונפל בתרין.

They tied two cedar trees together with a rope,

and tied one of his legs to one cedar and one of his legs to the other cedar,

and they released the rope until his head split (אצטליק) open.

Each tree went back and stood in its place

and Bar-Haddaya split and fell completely split in two.

Appendix - Table summarizing the 22 Dream Verse / Symbols, with corresponding Abaye’s Interpretation (Paid) and/or Rava’s Interpretation (Unpaid, until the end)

Highlighted green = positive Interpretation (paid), yellow = negative interpretation (unpaid)

Rava’s Interpretation, first 4 unpaid, then final 5 paid:

1. Compare the related dream interpretation from elsewhere in the sugya, cited in my “Pt1 Selected Dream Interpretations, Especially Those Relating to Illicit Sex (Berakhot 56a-57b)“, section “Holding two flying doves = married two women, then dismissed them without a divorce”

And see also the immediately previous sections, where women are similarly seen as birds, and relate to sex: “Ravens circling bed = wife cheated with many men”; “Doves circling bed = had sex with many women”.

2. Compare elsewhere in the sugya, Vegetables, except for turnip heads = good (#8b):

כל מיני ירקות יפין לחלום,

חוץ מראשי לפתות.

[...]

All kinds of vegetables are auspicious signs for a dream

except for turnip (לפתות) heads.

[...]

3. Re falling body parts in a dream, compare elsewhere in the sugya (immediately after the extended story of Bar-Haddaya), Berakhot.56b.2-3, where seemingly very negative symbols are counter-intuitively interpreted positively:

שאל בן דמא בן אחותו של רבי ישמעאל את רבי ישמעאל: ראיתי שני לחיי שנשרו.

אמר: שני גדודי רומי יעצו עליך רעה, ומתו.

The Talmud relates a story with regard to a Sage who interpreted dreams, R’ Yishmael.

Ben Dama, son of R’ Yishmael’s sister, asked his uncle, R’ Yishmael: I saw in a dream that my two cheeks fell off. What does my dream mean?

R’ Yishmael said to him: Two Roman battalions spoke ill of you, and they died. Cheeks symbolize a mouth that speaks evil.

1. אמר ליה בר קפרא לרבי: ראיתי חוטמי שנשר.

   1. אמר ליה: חרון אף נסתלק ממך.

2. אמר ליה: ראיתי שני ידי שנחתכו.

   1. אמר ליה: לא תצטרך למעשה ידיך.

3. אמר ליה: ראיתי שתי רגלי שנקטעו.

   1. אמר ליה: על סוס אתה רוכב.

4. חזאי דאמרי לי באדר מיתת וניסן לא חזית.

   1. אמר ליה: באדרותא מיתת ולא אתית לידי נסיון.

Similarly, the Talmud relates:

1. Bar Kappara said to R’ Yehuda HaNasi: I saw in a dream that my nose (חוטמי) fell off (נשר). What does my dream mean?

   1. He said to him: This is an allusion that anger [ḥaron af] that had been directed against you has been removed from you.

2. Bar Kappara said to him: I saw in a dream that my two hands were cut off (נחתכו).

   1. R’ said to him: This dream means that you will not require the labor of your hands, as you will be rich and you will have considerable means without effort.

3. Bar Kappara said to him: I saw my two legs were cut off (נקטעו).

   1. R’ Yehuda HaNasi said: You are riding a horse.

4. He said to him: I saw that they were saying to me that in the month of Adar I will die and I will not see Nisan.

   1. He said to him: You will die in glory [adruta] and you will not be brought to temptation [nissayon]..

4. I.e., the “full Hallel” (הלל שלם), as opposed to “partial Hallel (חצי הלל - “half Hallel”), see Wikipedia, “Hallel“, section “Types“.

In general, see my pieces on Hallel in the Talmud:

• “Expressions of praise in the Book of Psalms and the Origin of the Hallel Prayer (Pesachim 117a)“, two-part series, final part here.

• “Hallel: Scope, Significance, and Related Aggadic Teachings (Pesachim 118a-b)“, two-part series, final part here.

5. כל החלומות הולכין אחר הפה.

This same adage is found earlier in the extended sugya as well, in Berakhot.55b.16-17:

1. אמר רבי ביזנא בר זבדא

2. אמר רבי עקיבא

3. אמר רבי פנדא

4. אמר רב נחום

5. אמר רבי בירים

6. משום זקן אחד, ומנו — רבי בנאה:

In a long chain of those transmitting this statement, it is said that

1. R’ Bizna bar Zavda said that

2. R’ Akiva said that

3. R’ Panda said that

4. Rav Naḥum said that

5. R’ Birayim said

6. in the name of one elder, and who is he, R’ Bena’a:

עשרים וארבעה פותרי חלומות היו בירושלים,

פעם אחת חלמתי חלום

והלכתי אצל כולם,

ומה שפתר לי זה לא פתר לי זה,

וכולם נתקיימו בי.

לקיים מה שנאמר:

״כל החלומות הולכים אחר הפה״.

There were 24 interpreters of dreams in Jerusalem.

One time, I dreamed a dream

and went to each of them to interpret it.

What one interpreted (פתר) for me the other did not interpret for me,

and, nevertheless, all of the interpretations were realized in me,

to fulfill that which is stated:

“All dreams follow the mouth of the interpreter.”

The Talmud then continues, ibid.:

אטו ״כל החלומות הולכים אחר הפה״ קרא הוא?

אין — וכדרבי אלעזר.

דאמר רבי אלעזר:

מנין שכל החלומות הולכין אחר הפה?

שנאמר: ״ויהי כאשר פתר לנו כן היה״

The Talmud asks: Is that to say that “all dreams follow the mouth” is a verse cited as corroboration?

The Talmud responds: Yes, and in accordance with the opinion of R’ Elazar,

as R’ Elazar said:

From where is it derived that all dreams follow the mouth of the interpreter?

As it is stated in the story of the dreams of Pharaoh’s two ministers.

The butler said to Pharaoh: “And it came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was” (Genesis 41:13).

6. Bar-Haddaya followed his usual practice of giving unfavorable interpretations of dreams when he was not compensated.

7. I.e., his insistence on being paid a zuz (a relatively trivial amount of money).