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1. Is there a prayer for a nullification of a dream?

According to the Talmud (Berachot 55b), a person who has a dream and does not remember its content is to stand before the priests at the time when they spread out their hands and say as follows:

Sovereign of the Universe, I am Yours and my dreams are Yours. I have dreamed a dream and I do not know what it is. Whether I have dreamed about myself or my companions have dreamed about me, or I have dreamed about others, if they are good dreams, confirm and reinforce them like the dreams of Joseph. If they require remedy, heal them, as the waters of Marah were healed by Moses our teacher, and as Miriam was healed of her leprosy, and Hezekiah of his sickness, and the waters of Jericho by Elisha. As You did turn the curse of the wicked Balaam into a blessing so turn all my dreams into something good for me.

He is to conclude his prayer along with the priests, so that the congregation can answer "amen." If the person cannot manage to finish together with the priests, he should say: "You, who are at peace and Your name is peace, may it be Your will to bestow peace on us."

2. What is the shortest prayer in the Torah?

In the book of Numbers, Moses offers this short prayer on behalf of his sister Miriam, who has been stricken with the dreaded disease of leprosy: "El na refa na lah" ("God, please heal her"). There are numerous congregations today that continue to pray these words as their healing prayer when they ask people to stand and name the person(s) in need of healing. This is followed by the singing of "El Na."

3. I once heard that students were required to know Hebrew at Harvard University in order to graduate? Is this true?

When Harvard College was founded in colonial times, students were indeed required to know Hebrew in order to graduate. In fact, for many years the commencement speeches at Harvard were actually delivered in the Hebrew language!

4. My counselor at camp told me that it is a mitzvah to know how to swim. Could you tell me the origin of this mitzvah?

According to the Talmud (Kiddushin 30b), it is a religious obligation for a father to teach his son a craft, and it is additionally a mitzvah for a father to teacher his child how to swim, because one day his life may depend on it!

5. What is Judaism's most important food?

In Jewish tradition, no food is more important than bread. Proof of this can be adduced from Deuteronomy 8:8, in which bread (or to be more specific, wheat, from which most bread is made) is mentioned before all other foods. It is for this reason that when the blessing over bread (hamotzi) is recited at the beginning of a meal, it covers all the foods to be eaten during the course of the meal. Individual blessings need not be recited over the other foods unless they are not considered integral to the meal -- such as grapes, dates, and other fruits.

6. Why in Judaism is there such an aversion to eating pig?

The special aversion of Jews to the flesh of the pig goes back to the Hasmonean period in the second century B.C.E., when the Syrian Greeks, who had occupied Palestine, tried to force Jews to sacrifice pigs in the Temple and eat their flesh. The Talmud says: "Cursed is the one who raises pigs."

7. Why is the pomegranate such a favorite Jewish symbol?

You ask a wonderful question. In my own family, we collect pomegranate art and enjoy drinking pomegranate juice and eating pomegranates, too. Recently on my trip to Jerusalem, there was not a single art and jewelry store that did not have a variety of pomegranate art. Along with figs and grapes, pomegranates were favored in biblical times. The pomegranate was one of the foods that the scouts sent out by Moses brought back with them from Canaan as proof that the Promised Land was fertile. The pomegranate was identified with fertility because of its many seeds. Some students of Jewish law claim that the pomegranate has exactly 613 seeds, hence its identification with the 613 commandments Jews are obliged to observe.

Because of its popularity, the pomegranate has been widely used as a symbol in Jewish art. The two pillars of the First Temple were ornamented with pomegranate representations. Pomegranates were also embroidered on the garments of the high priest.

In more recent times, ark curtains have often been decorated with embroidered representations of pomegranates. The pomegranate's shape inspired the design of the crowns placed on the two finials of a Torah scroll. These crowns are called in Hebrew rimmonim (Hebrew for pomegranates).

Rabbi Ron Isaacs is the spiritual leader of Temple Sholom, a Conservative congregation in Bridgewater. He has recently published biographies of Abraham Joshua Heschel and Judah Touro (Torah Aura Productions). Contact him at www.rabbiron.com or "Ask the Rabbi," c/o Rabbi Ron Isaacs, Temple Sholom, P.O. Box 6007, Bridgewater, N.J. 08807.