Why is sleep necessary?

Aahhh, sleep! One of the Almighty’s most precious gifts to His beloved children. A sacred time when the soul is renewed, when divine secrets are whispered, when the Gates of Wisdom swing open for the yearning spirit.

As it says in Tehillim, “I lay me down and sleep; I awake, for the LORD sustains me.” (Psalm 3:5)

Sleep, you see, is not merely a physical necessity – though it certainly serves to rest and rejuvenate the body Hashem has entrusted us with as a holy vessel. Even more so, sleep is a spiritual requisite, a mystical portal that allows us to draw closer to our Creator.

The Kabbalists teach that each night as we slumber, the neshama (soul) ascends on high to give an account before the Heavenly Court and to receive new life-force and enlightenment from the Infinite Source. As the neshama soars through the supernal worlds, it bathes in the radiance of the Shechinah (Divine Presence), immersing itself in a divine luminance that washes away the stains of the day and leaves it pure and refreshed.

This cosmic journey of the soul is alluded to in the Torah’s account of Jacob’s dream of the ladder reaching to Heaven: “He dreamed, and behold – a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.” (Genesis 28:12) The ladder symbolizes the passageway that opens for the soul each night to climb to the celestial heights.

But sleep is not only a time of spiritual elevation for the individual soul. It is also a secret key to unlocking the collective redemption. Our sages reveal that the final deliverance of Israel hinges on the spiritual work performed in sleep.

In the Talmud (Brachot 57b) we find a remarkable teaching: “A dream is one-sixtieth part of prophecy.” In other words, the dreamstate that we enter when we close our eyes each night is a faint reflection, a distant echo, of the prophetic state attained by the great visionaries of Israel! In fact, the Talmud (Sanhedrin 11a) even refers to sleep itself as “one-sixtieth of death.” Just as death ushers the soul into the World to Come, so does sleep transport us into higher realms each night.

And so, as we lay our heads upon our pillows, let us do so with the intention of connecting with the Divine, of offering our dreams as a sacrifice upon the altar of Heaven. In the merit of our “one-sixtieth of prophecy” may we draw nearer to the day when prophecy is restored to Israel, when the “death” of exile gives way to the “rebirth” of redemption.

Ultimately, sleep and spiritual elevation will no longer be hidden mysteries of the night. As Hashem proclaims through His prophet – “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” (Habakuk 2:14) May that time come speedily, and may our sleep hasten its arrival.

Laila Tov – Good Night!