THE GREAT TREASURE

Presented for 12-13 Tammuz, the birthday and Chag Ha’Geula of the Rebbe Rayatz

Nighttime. It is quite dark outside. Only twinkling stars and a muted light of the moon slightly illuminate the darkness. Nobody is out and about on the streets at this late hour. All are sleeping.

The son of the Chassid R’ Peretz Mochkin was also sleeping. But then, suddenly, he sprang out of bed. A dream! A strange and astonishing dream. He had dreamed that the Rebbe Rayatz appeared to him and said: Go downstairs. Your father is waiting for you near the truck. Go with him.

The confused Chassid reviewed the dream again and again. Yes, he had remembered every word. The Rebbe’s instruction had been clear.

His father worked for the Russian government as a truck driver, but he did not really know how to drive. So his son would drive instead of him and went with him wherever he had to go.

He quickly changed his clothing and went down the stairs of his building quietly and carefully. The darkness and silence scared him a bit but he fortified himself with the dream he had had; he felt that he was the Rebbe’s shliach. He was tense and curious to see whether his father was actually waiting for him near the truck, as the Rebbe had told him in the dream.

It was most surprising to discover that, yes, his father was waiting for him. “Father! What are you doing here at this hour?” he exclaimed.

“And what are you doing here at this hour?” asked R’ Peretz.

They looked at one another. Their gaze told them that both of them had had a dream. Yes, R’ Peretz had the same dream! The Rebbe had also appeared to him and said: Go down to the truck. Your son is waiting for you. Go together.

They excitedly got onto the truck and had almost started moving when a shout broke the silence. “Hey, wait for me …” It was R’ Avrohom Maiyor running toward them. He managed to get on the truck before they set out for an unknown destination.

“R’ Avrohom? What are you doing here?” asked the father and son in unison.

“I am here, apparently, for the same reason you are here,” he replied. He had had the same dream. The Rebbe Rayatz had appeared to him and said: R’ Peretz and his son are traveling by truck. Join them. He hadn’t thought twice but quickly ran in their direction.

Now, the three Chassidim were sitting in the big truck, not knowing how to proceed. They were telling one another about the experience of this unusual dream when they recalled an important detail that the Rebbe said to each of them: On the way, you will find a big treasure!

Treasure? What treasure? They could not imagine what this could be. It was a mystery.

“So where are we going?” asked the son.

“We’re just going. It makes no difference where. Hold on to the steering wheel and go wherever Hashem leads you.”

“What an unusual trip,” thought the son. “I have never traveled without knowing where to and why.”

The truck traveled on and on, crossing highways and dirt roads, passing between woods and going on bridges that crossed rivers. They traveled on and on … In the meantime, some rays of light appeared in the sky and the sun slowly emerged and illuminated the countryside. It was morning and diligent people were already up and about in the streets, going to work. They were still traveling. When would this journey end and where would they end up? Nobody knew.

Then there was a sudden boom! The truck got stuck and could not move. A quick assessment of the situation turned up a serious puncture in a tire which made it impossible for them to travel onward.

“What now?” asked the son, the driver.

“Now we go to the nearby village and get someone to fix the tire,” said his father. One of the three volunteered to go to the village.

After a long time, a burly Russian gentile showed up. His heavy work boots made a clicking sound with every step he took. As he fixed the flat, the Chassidim wondered: Where now? Should we go on or stop?

R’ Avrohom Maiyor finally asked the gentile, “Please tell me, are there any Jews in the village?”

The Russian was apparently familiar with the lifestyle of the Jews. In a heavy Russian accent he said, “Yes, and they are all celebrating now in the synagogue.”

They had nothing to lose so they parked the truck at the entrance to the village and walked toward the shul. Indeed, a small group of Jews was in the shul. They were celebrating a pidyon ha’ben.

“Where is the baby?” inquired R’ Avrohom, having already prepared the words of blessing he wanted to say. But to his surprise, he was told, “The parents did not come to the celebration.”

“Why? Did something happen?”

“The baby is marking his pidyon ha’ben but he still has not had a bris mila because there is no mohel to be found in the entire area. The parents are so upset so they did not come to this celebration,” said one of the men.

“The treasure!” exclaimed R’ Avrohom. “This must be the treasure. I am a mohel and I now have the great privilege of bringing a Jew into the covenant of Avrohom Avinu.”

The three men left the shul and headed toward the house, but there was one problem. They did not have the tools necessary to perform a bris mila. 

There was a solution for this too. R’ Avrohom went to the barber of the village to get what he needed.

From there they went to the house where the parents of the baby lived. It is hard to describe in words the great joy they felt when they saw the mohel standing at their door.

The bris took place in high spirits. The three men said goodbye with heartfelt brachos that the parents merit much Jewish nachas from this child. The parents could not stop praising and thanking them for the tremendous chesed they did for them and their baby.

A treasure! A real Jewish treasure, more precious than all the money in the world.

Years passed and the baby grew up and became a Gerrer Chassid. The amazing story of his bris was told to him often by his parents and they repeated the name of the mohel.

Years later the bachur went to 770. He greatly desired meeting R’ Avrohom. After some time, he found the Chassid and introduced himself. R’ Avrohom immediately remembered the incident and burst into tears.