Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya lived in Rome, and was recognized everywhere for his wisdom. At that time, the Romans were in the midst of a long drawn-out war against the Parthians.
One day the Roman emperor saw Rabbi Yehoshua and began to speak to him rudely. "Rabbi, it is said that you are a very wise man. And your Jewish Sages teach that a wise man is even superior to a prophet. Is it true? Are you wiser than a prophet? Can you tell me what I will dream tonight?"
Rabbi Yehoshua replied sharply, "Your Majesty, tonight you will dream that you will fall into the hands of your despised enemies, the Parthians. They will torture you and force you to do hard labor!"
The emperor was shocked. Rabbi Yehoshua went on, "After you are captured, your enemies will throw stinking garbage at you with a golden rod."
Now the emperor was really angry. "You lie, old man! I ought to have you killed. But I will let you live to see how foolish your words are. In my life, I have never had a dream in which I was so put to shame."
Without another word, Rabbi Yehoshua left the emperor.
Alone, the emperor wondered about what the Jewish Sage had said. "What did Rabbi Yehoshua mean?" he thought. "My army is ten times larger and more powerful than the Parthians. How could they defeat me and take me captive? It makes no sense. And what is that golden rod?"
The emperor continued to ponder Rabbi Yehoshua's words. As he did so, he became more and more agitated. "Could there really be any truth to his words?" the emperor wondered. "Could his wisdom be prophetic? Am I fated to fall into the hands of my enemies?"
As the emperor envisioned Rabbi Yehoshua's words coming true, he began to tremble with fear. "Oh woe!" he cried. "I would rather die than be defeated in battle and captured!"
His mind was awhirl. Rabbi Yehoshua's sharp words kept ringing in his ears, haunting him, following him wherever he went. Fear dulled his appetite and made him unable to concentrate on affairs of state.
When he finally lay down to sleep, fatigued and nervous, the emperor tossed and turned until he fell into a fitful sleep. Even in his dream he could not get the words of the Sage out of his mind. He saw himself in chains, tormented by his enemies who threw garbage on him with a golden rod. It was just as Rabbi Yehoshua had predicted.
The following morning, he called for the Jewish sage and admitted that indeed he was correct. Rabbi Yehoshua explained his students that a person dreams at night what he thinks about during the day.
The lesson we can glean from this is to surround ourselves with positive images and thoughts during the day, so that we can have a good nights rest, refreshing our bodies so we can serve Hashem the next day with inner peace and happiness.
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