There is a story by the Chasidic sage, Nachman of Bratslav, about a poor Jew who lived in a small town in Austria. Night after night, he dreamed that there was a treasure buried under a particular bridge in Vienna. Finally, he hitched up his wagon and headed into the capital city. There he quickly realized that it would be difficult to dig in such a public place during the day and at night there was a guard who patrolled the bridge. At wit’s end, he approached the guard one evening and told him the whole story, offering to share the treasure, if they found it. The guard laughed at the man and said that if he believed in dreams he would travel to this little town outside of Vienna and dig in the basement of a Jew called Yaakov the Tailor. Yaakov the Tailor, for this was our poor Jew, was stunned. He took his wagon back home, dug in his own basement, and found the treasure.
As a Rabbi, one of things that is most useful about Jewish stories is that they can have many meanings. Just like the Wizard of Oz, the meaning of this story could mean there is no place like home, and we seldom recognize the treasure of where we live. Nachman of Bratslav meant it to mean that we cannot appreciate what we have until we seek knowledge from outside ourselves - he meant that each person must travel and find a Rebbe to find his true self. We could also interpret this story to be about faith and perseverance. Yaakov has both - heading to Vienna to fulfill his dream, while the guard at the bridge does not. Yaakov therefore ends up with the treasure, and the guard ends up marching back and forth on the bridge.
Or, perhaps, we could take it as a metaphor for our own Judaism. So many Jews find meaning in ritual or worship practices outside of Judaism (meditation or yoga to start with two), not realizing that there are deep spiritual practices and traditions within Judaism as well. I hear on good authority that our Rosh Chodesh women’s group (which meets near the beginning each Jewish month at the New Moon) has been exploring various Jewish spiritual practices. The Cantor leads a meditative service on a Saturday morning each month, and we even have a bit of guided meditation at Friday night services - not to mention the dancing and singing at the early service at the end of the month. Interestingly enough, we even have congregants who travel to other synagogues and tell us about the great things that happen there - when we may be doing the same thing at our own Temple home.
On the other hand, perhaps the message is that we need to see the world around us and bring back that knowledge to find the treasure in our synagogue. Reform Judaism, at its foundation, is based on the belief that Judaism has changed over time based on the cultures with which it has found itself. We find what might be meaningful, adapt it to our Jewish practice, and strengthen ourselves in doing so. Our month names (and pants) came from the Persians. More recently, we have taken musical styles, and (last month) even mashed together the spiritual “Wade in the Water” with Mi Chamocha.
What is in the Judaism of which you dream? Travel as you will, but do not forget to come back - perhaps the real treasure is lying there waiting to be discovered in your (Temple) home.
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