How glorious, I would think, must be the life of a true adventurer, searching throughout the unknown for that which he seeks to find, seeking out a lost city in a lost land or a forgotten relic in a forgotten terrain. Why is it that man is so driven to pursue the dangers of the unknown, just to bring back a piece of the past, while he is not prepared to venture into himself to explore whom he really is?
What a grand adventure it must be to delve within the unknown of our inner selves to discover what our personal individual abilities can bring us to.
In Krakow, Poland until the Second World War there was a famous synagogue, named after the one who built it, called Reb Izik Reb Yankele Shul.
The story behind how he was able to fund such a building has a message that everyone can use for his or her own growth.
Reb Izik Reb Yankele dreamed a number of times that there was a hidden treasure buried under the bridge near the courtyard of the king in the city of Prague. Because this dream kept recurring, he decided that he would go see if he could find this great treasure awaiting him.
When he arrived at the supposed place he found that it appeared as in his dream, but there was catch. Since it was so close to the courtyard of the king, guards were constantly pacing back and forth on the bridge. If he were to start digging under the bridge, that would attract their attention, and he would be suspected as being a spy or a terrorist.
Since he had spent a lot of money and effort to reach this place he couldn't just pick up and leave. So every day he hung around slightly depressed and mumbling to himself, and trying to think of a way to try at least to search for his awaiting fortune.
After a number of days the guard in charge took notice of this
respectable looking fellow walking around daily depressed and mumbling to himself. The guard approached him and questioned him about his presence on the bridge day after day for the past few days.
Realizing he had nothing to lose, he told this guard the truth - that he had dreamt of great wealth under the bridge and he came to search for it. Upon hearing this the guard broke out in an almost uncontrolled laughter. "It is said about you Jews that you are intelligent people. Who is so foolish to spend money and effort to chase after a dream. Listen here.I also had a recurring dream about a Jew named Reb Izik Reb Yankel in the city of Krakow, and under his stove is buried a great fortune. Nu, I ask you. Should I, because of this dream be so foolish to go to seek out this person in Krakow? I would become the center of ridicule if I were to pursue such a foolish idea, while you, Jew, came all this way spending so much money because of a dream. Ha! "Reb Izik Reb Yankel upon hearing this understood that the purpose of his having traveled such a long way was to hear this dream of the guard.
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