Shalom and thank you for your question! You refer to some sort of dream which left you with a feeling of foreboding. It is surely unpleasant and disconcerting to experience such a dream.
Sometimes a dream can be a message, but this is more likely to be in the case of a righteous Torah scholar on a very high spiritual level. The vast majority of dreams that the rest of us have are influenced by our daily life, brain processing, subconscious impressions of things we have experienced, fears or tensions…the list is long.
There is however a situation where a forboding dream can be a message. Perhaps the Mezuzot in your home need checking. Are you familiar with the mitzvah of putting up Mezuzot on the doorposts of your home on all the doorways except for bathroom doors? If there are Mezuzot, have they been checked recently? Not only do Mezuzot need to be purchased from a reliable source, they need to be checked at least twice during every seven years, and preferably every year during the month before Rosh HaShanah, the Jewish New Year. Along with the above, it is important to have the Tefillin of all the male members of the household checked regularly as well. The scrolls of parchment, four in the head Tefillin and one in the arm Tefillin, need checking, as do the boxes which contain them. The straps of the Tefillin need to be kept in good condition as well. The upper side of the strap needs to be completely black. In order to verify if everything is ok with Tefillin and Mezuzot, a competent and qualified Sofer, (scribe,) should be consulted. Your nearest Chabad house should be able to help you locate the right professional.
There are countless stories that connect events in people’s lives with the condition of their Tefillin and Mezuzot. We have instances like this in our own family.
In general, taking upon oneself an improvement of some kind in keeping the commandments of the Torah, and/or learning more about it, draws down G-d’s blessings and can positively affect your life. Under all circumstances it is good to be constantly striving to improve our performance of the Mitzvot. To this end we need spiritual mentors, as it says in Pirkei Avot, 1:6, “Make for yourself a Rabbi and acquire for yourself a friend.” Why the term ‘make’ as opposed to ‘take’ or some other term? This is because it is a proactive step to forge a relationship with a Rabbi and a spiritual mentor from whom we are willing to accept advice and guidance. Therefore we are ‘making’ something – spiritual progress…
Sometimes if a dream is especially bothersome, you can request from your local Chabad Rabbi that a group of three people tell you- in Aramaic- חלמא טבא חזית. “You have dreamt a good dream.”
In general, one should say that the dream was positive even if it seems the opposite. Words have power.
Saying the bedtime Shema prayer before going to sleep is also very important and helpful.
To sum up: having a dream which doesn’t seem positive is by no means an indication that something not-positive is G-d forbid meant to happen. It is a good thing under all circumstances to strengthen one’s faith and observance of Torah precepts and learning, and to keep a positive outlook. Learning Torah and Chassidic outlook can greatly help! Wishing you sweet dreams!
