“It has to be that, I’m telling you!”
“And I’m telling you that it can be anything but that!”
“You’re wrong!”
This was the back and forth between Shimmy and Duvy. I stood on the side and listened to them while trying to come up with other possibilities that would solve the mystery.
One after the other I eliminated all the ideas I had come up with and tried to listen to what Shimmy and Duvy were saying. Maybe they would come up with a better idea. I was having a hard time following the rapid pace of their argument and quickly grew tired. I sat on a chair nearby and felt my eyes closing.
You are no doubt curious. What mystery was this and why were Shimmy and Duvy arguing? It all began less than a week ago when a mysterious announcement was hung on the classroom bulletin board. The heading, which was written in big letters, said: “Treasure.” Underneath that, in somewhat smaller letters it said, “Challenging assignment.”
Underneath that, in even smaller letters, it said, “Our great desire, that which we anticipate with all our heart, day after day, hour after hour, is the Geula. In a hidden place, somewhere, lies a treasure which can certainly bring the Geula. You need to find it and use it to actually bring the Geula.”
On the side was a cute drawing of a hidden treasure and the note was signed by our teacher. That was it. No further explanation. This was the reason for the lively argument between Duvy and Shimmy. They were arguing about what the treasure is.
After all my attempts at coming up with a solution failed, I decided to consult with Shmuli, my best friend. Shmuli has ingenious ideas and he is capable of quickly coming up with the right solution to any problem. After telling him all of my ideas which I had rejected, Shmuli said, quite logically, “I think there’s no better place than the schoolyard to hide a treasure.”
“Right! How come I didn’t think of that!” I exclaimed.
We went down to the yard and began a thorough search. We scoured the grassy area and after seeing no sign of a treasure we went to search the playground. The work was harder there and yet, we had to hurry so we could get back by the time recess was over.
At the last minute, when we had almost turned to go back to class, Shmuli noticed something sticking up near the foot of one of the pieces of equipment.
“Yay! Here’s the treasure!” he exulted. We were ecstatic and rushed to dig it up, while being very careful not to damage the treasure. After a few minutes of digging, we had a small box which was securely closed.
Despite our persistent efforts, the box refused to open, so we walked to class while dragging it. We were impatient, wanting to know what treasure it contained. We had a hard time restraining ourselves.
“During the next recess we will ask the janitor to open it for us,” said Shmuli.
At the next recess, we hurried to the janitor’s room. Rafi, the janitor, took a hammer and was about to break open the lock when we heard shouts, “Why are you touching that? Leave that alone right now!”
The loud voice of my friend who seemed to be reacting to someone touching his game, woke me from the sweet dream I was in. I realized I had dozed off on the chair near Duvy and Shimmy and the treasure box had only been found in my dream.
I found it hard to accept that the events in my dream hadn’t actually happened, but class began and I had to listen to what the teacher was saying. He said, “Boys, in this lesson we will focus on finding the treasure.” The classroom was perfectly silent. Everyone wanted to find the treasure and listened intently.
“The first rule is to be confident about succeeding. We achieve this only by having uplifted spirits, enthusiasm and joy. Someone who is downhearted and thinks he won’t succeed will certainly fail because his sadness won’t allow him to concentrate on the search. A happy person is much more likely to succeed because he is not preoccupied with his fear of failure.
“Now, before we attempt to search for the treasure, I’d like to tell you a short story. A little boy noticed his father holding a fresh fruit. It looked delicious and he wanted to eat it and he asked his father for it. His father said no. The boy, not wanting to give up, came up with an idea. What did he do? He began loudly saying the bracha on the fruit and then his father had no choice but to give him the fruit so the boy’s bracha would not have been said in vain.
“We are like the child in the story. We have been looking forward to the Geula for a long time and want to rejoice in it already. Seeing that it’s delayed, we have no choice but to rejoice as though it is already here. This “forces,” as it were, Hashem to give it to us so our joy won’t be for naught.
“As the Rebbe once said, through true joy, surely we will bring the Geula. The Rebbe even said to try it out. Now, let’s find the treasure. But remember, only someone who is happy can find it.”
I thought over what our teacher said and remembered what the sign said, “a treasure which can certainly bring the Geula,” and then I got it.
I raised my hand and when my teacher called on me I said, “The reason that only someone who is happy can find the treasure is because the treasure is simcha! It is found deep within our hearts and when we rejoice, the treasure is revealed.”
“Very good,” said my teacher. “So now let us dance to bring the Geula!”