Our Gemara on amud aleph notes that certain heavenly decrees or even quarrels might fade after a good night’s sleep. This folk wisdom holds both psychological and spiritual validity. A restful night allows for perspective, calming anger, and other passions. Personally, I try not to make major decisions without sleeping on them—literally. I believe the unconscious mind needs time to wrestle with the issue and sort through it, allowing intuition to be maximized.

While research suggests that sleep can enhance memory of negative experiences, subsequent studies indicate that this is only in relation to neutral memories, but indeed sleep strengthens positive memories over negative ones. If this is true, it aligns with the Gemara’s teaching. (“Sleeping on It Doesn’t Lead to Better Decisions,” Scott Berinato, Harvard Business Review, 2016.)

My father, z"l, had this remarkable ability to stay calm under pressure. When he couldn't do anything about a situation, he would literally take a nap. I remember one family gathering when someone locked their keys in the car (there was no Chaverim in those days). My father calmly took a nap and said, "Wake me up when AAA arrives."

Most famously, when he was on an airplane that was hijacked to Cuba by a man claiming to have a bomb (which turned out to be a transistor radio), amidst a number of courageous and intuitive actions, he calmly took a nap after reassuring the passengers and crew. (Apropos of intuition from the prior daf, my father’s intuition was truly off-the-charts—ruach hakodesh territory. Before the crew informed the passengers that the plane was being hijacked, my father noticed a stewardess who was unusually tense. He said to her, "Are we being hijacked to Cuba?" She replied, "Rabbi, how did you know?!?" He answered, "You looked very tense, and we just took off from Florida, so it seemed likely." True story.)

Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation cool

 

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Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, LCSW-R, DHL is a psychotherapist who works with high conflict couples and families. He can be reached via email at simchafeuerman@gmail.com