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Dream Interpreters In Exile: Joseph, Daniel, And Sigmund (Solomon), Ken Frieden

Ken Frieden

The biblical Joseph and Daniel have much in common with SigmundFreud, for all three experienced the powerlessness of exileand later attained the power they lacked by interpreting dreams. Unableto control historical destiny, exilic Jews have characteristicallyreinterpreted events, texts, and dreams; the interpretive successes ofJoseph, Daniel, and Sigmund at once reflect and defy the Jewish condition.Although Freud made every effort to distance himself from hisancient forerunners, The Interpretation of Dreams indirectly responds tothem.While many adepts at dream interpretation appear in the Bible,in the Talmud, in the Sifer Chassidim, and in other Judaic sources,Joseph, Daniel, and Sigmund have special significance. Joseph is …