Isaac and the Lost Treasure

The following is a variation on a story once told by the Hasidic scholar Martin Buber.

Isaac grew up in small provincial town of Krakow. He lived with his godfather, an old man in his seventies who had a wooden leg. The two lived in poverty, so it was very striking one night when Isaac had a dream of treasure. The next morning he couldn’t remember all the details, other than he was finding a great treasure in this dream. Not so modern as we, Isaac did not dismiss a dream as the result of indigestion. Still, he didn’t know what to make of this dream, so he went to his godfather, Yekel, and inquired. Yekel told him, “It is the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.”

Isaac thought about this as he did his chores and fed the animals, cleaned the hearth, and cooked the soup over the fire.

The next night he had the dream again, and this time it was more urgent and specific. “Go to capital city and there you will find a great treasure. Go now.” When he awoke Isaac was very excited, as he could distinctly remember the very words in his dream.

On the third night, Isaac had the dream again. A voice came to him in the dream and said he must go immediately to the capital city of Prague and dig under the bridge that leads to the king’s palace, and there he would find a treasure beyond price.

Isaac may have been slow, but he was not foolish. He set his affairs in order, obtained the blessing of his godfather, and set off for Prague.

When he arrived in the capital city, Isaac asked direction to the king’s palace. But when he got there, he found it guarded by soldiers. He paced back and forth, not knowing what to do. The captain of the guards looked especially angry and mean.

Isaac was overcome by exhaustion, and he fell asleep.

The next morning when he awoke there was a new captain of the guards, and this one looked like a friendly fellow. He saw Isaac pacing nervously, and so the captain inquired: “Can I help you? Are you waiting for someone or looking for something?”

Isaac’s story came pouring out. He told the captain that he lived in Krakow, and of his three dreams, and how they informed him that he must go to the capital city, and that there he would find a great treasure.

When Isaac had finished, the guard began laughing at this country bumpkin. “So, to please a dream, poor fellow, you wore out your shoes coming all this way? Why if I believed in such nonsense I myself would have had to travel all the way to Krakow in search of a treasure. I remember a dream I had some time ago, as though it occurred last night. I too had a dream of treasure, but it was to be found under the hearth of some person named Isaac, who lives in the house of Yekel. What foolishness! Can you imagine my traveling to Krakow where dozens of men are named Isaac and dozens more named Yekel -- knocking on doors in search of some magic hearth?”

He had a good laugh and walked off to share the story with the other guards.

Isaac bowed politely, and set off for home. And when he arrived there he dug under the hearth of his own home, the very place and circumstances of his life. And it is told that indeed he found a great treasure there.

To celebrate and honor this great dream, Isaac built a house of prayer.