[Avodah] Torah Geography & Dream Brachos

[Gilad Field]

>On Sun, Jan 11, 2009 at 10:56 PM, Moshe Y. Gluck <mgluck at gmail.com> wrote:
> The Teshuvah is in Pri HaSadeh Cheilek 2:107. He doesn't explain the Hava Amina, but see YD 210:2 and YD 334:35 where things >that happen in dreams do have Halachic significance.

I thought about that as well.  But being put in cherem in a dream is
different  - because it is viewed as  siman from shamayim that Hashem
is not happy with you. (and the Gra explains the opinion that taking a
neder in a dream is not binding (even though the SA paskens like the
other opinion) based on the fact that there is no such heavenly sign
in that case.

also interesting is the radbaz mentioned in the pischei teshuva - that
if you dream you took a neder to pay back a loan on a certain day - it
is viewed  as a sign from heaven that you should take care of this
mitzvah and pay back the loan quickly.  again we see that when it is
seen as a heavenly sign it is binding.

I don't think that could be applied to brachos as well.

>You often see Rashi explaining that this or that city or mountain or plain is north of this or east of that, based on pesukim.

that is true.  but the amoraim did travel back and forth between bavel
and ey, so they certainly had first hand knowledge of the travel
direction. Rashi, on the other hand never saw EY - so he may not have
had first hand knowledge of the geography or topography.

Gilad