THE STORY OF THE MASTER OF PRAYER

A story by Rabbi Nachman of Breslov

   Once there was a Master of Prayer, who used to spend all his time praying and singing and praising HaShem. He lived far away from the city, but he used to visit there from time to time, and he would stop and speak to people, usually the working class, and the poorer people. He used to speak directly to their heart about what is the point of life on this earth, that the only reason for being here is to dedicate oneself to serving HaShem one’s whole life, praying to Him, and singing His praises. He would spend much time speaking to them, encouraging them to raise themselves up in their serving HaShem, until they would start to accept what he was saying, and even want to be more connected to him. And as soon as they reached this point, he would take them and bring them to where he lived, outside the city. There was a river flowing there, and different types of fruit trees, from which they would eat and drink, and they just wore whatever clothes they happened to be wearing.
   This he would do regularly, encouraging people to serve HaShem in the way he taught them, through prayer, and so on. And everyone that agreed to go with him, he would lead them to where he lived, as above. And they would stay there with him, solely occupied with prayer, and singing the praises of HaShem, confession and fasting, self-deprivation and repentance, and so on. He used to give them his own prayers to say, that he had written, his own songs and praises of HaShem, and confessions, and this would occupy them totally. Until some amongst them raised themselves up to such a level, that they themselves were also able to go out and speak to people, and bring them closer to HaShem. And then he would send them out to the cities, to do as he did.
   He would dedicate all his time to this, bringing people closer to him, and thereby closer to HaShem, until it started to be noticed in the world that people were just disappearing, and nobody knew where they had gone. Someone from the family would simply disappear, and would not be heard of for a while, until they found out where he was. Until slowly it started to become public knowledge that there was someone known as the Master of Prayer going around, persuading people to go with him and serve HaShem etc. However, no one knew who he was or what he looked like, so it was impossible to catch him. He used to behave with great cunning, dressing up differently with each person that he spoke to, to one he would appear as a poor person, to the next, as a merchant, and so on. Also, any time that he saw that his words were having no effect, that this person was not going to pay any attention to him, he would change the subject and start speaking about other things, and completely confuse the listener, so that he would have no idea what his original intention had been, to bring him closer to serving HaShem. He would make it seem as if he had no particular intention at all, and was simply talking for the sake of talking. Despite the fact that his one and only purpose in talking to people was to draw them closer to HaShem, if he saw this person was not going to accept his words, he would speak in riddles and confound them until they did not know what he was talking about. This he used to do all the time, speaking to people wherever he went, until he became more and more famous, but the authorities were unable to catch him, to question him, as explained above.
   The Master of Prayer lived with his followers out in the country, occupied with their prayers and singing the praises of HaShem, confessing and fasting, self-affliction and repentance. He also used to give to each of his followers according to his understanding of their needs. If one of them, according to his level, in order to serve HaShem better, needed to wear gold clothes, he would give them to him. Similarly the opposite, it would happen that a very rich person would come to him, and he would see that such a person would be better off wearing torn and frayed clothes, so he would give them to him, to each one whatever was the most suitable. And for all these people, whom he was bringing closer to HaShem, fasting and self-affliction was more satisfying to them than all the pleasures of the world.
   Once there was a certain land that was tremendously wealthy, where all the people were very rich. However, they had some very strange customs, for the whole country was run according to wealth, the more wealthy one was, the more important he was, the social level of each person being decided according to the amount of money that he had, the one with the most money being the king.
   They also had banners, each banner signifying a certain level of wealth, and whoever reached that level was allowed to display the banner appropriate to that level. Each and every person was estimated as to the amount of money that he had, and according to the estimation was his level fixed. A normal, regular amount of money established the person as a human, but anyone with even slightly less than this would be considered on the level of an animal, he would be called a human lion, and so on. And one with even less than this would be a lesser animal or even a bird, etc. The one and only criteria by them was the amount of money that each one had, status being decided solely according to wealth.
   As this country became better known, the Master of Prayer got to hear about it, and used to sigh about the state that they were in, and say…“Who can tell how far they will go on this mistaken path that they are on.” It happened that some of his followers, without consulting him or asking his advice, decided to visit that country, to try and return them to the true path, because they felt so sorry for the people there, that they had sunk so much into the lust for money. Especially since the Master of Prayer had said that they could descend even further into their distorted beliefs. Perhaps they would be able to open their eyes to their true state.
   They arrived there, and choosing one of the poorer people, they started talking to him in their usual fashion. That the chasing after money is not the true purpose of life, rather the serving of HaShem, etc. But he paid no attention to them, the belief that the only thing of any importance was money, had become so deeply ingrained into them. They found a second person to speak to, but the reaction was the same. They spoke to him for a long time, but to no avail, until finally he told them that he could not give them any more of his time. They asked him why, and he answered that everyone in the country was moving to a different country, because the whole purpose of life was to increase one’s wealth, and since they had discovered a country where it was possible to make silver and gold from the actual dust there, they had decided that the whole country should relocate to there.
   They had also decided that there should be amongst them those that had reached the level of stars and constellations, that one with a certain amount of money would be called a star, for since he had accumulated the necessary sum, he must have the power of that particular star. It is the relevant star that causes the gold to grow, because the property in the earth from which comes the gold is only there because of the star that produces the gold ore in that place. So it turns out that the gold is created because of the star, and if there is a person that has so much gold, he must have the same power as that star, so he himself must be a star. They also had those who were called ‘constellations’ amongst them. That one who had acquired an agreed upon sum would be considered a ‘constellation.’ They also appointed ‘kings,’ all according to the person’s wealth. They even appointed ‘gods,’ that anyone who had so many hundreds and hundreds of thousands would be a ‘god.’ For since HaShem had bestowed upon him such an abundance, he himself must also be a ‘god.’
   They also decided that it was not suitable for them to have to live amongst, and mix with the all the peoples of the world, so that they should not become impurified by them. For all the rest of the nations were impure in relation to them, so they decided to look for the highest mountains that they could find, and go and live there, in order to be separated from the rest of the world. They sent messengers out to look for suitable mountains, and they found the highest ones that they could, and the whole country relocated to there. They settled on the tops of a number of mountains, a group from the country on the top of each mountain. They built huge fortifications around each of the mountains, fences and ditches and so on, so that it would be absolutely impossible for anyone whatsoever to approach them. There was only one, hidden, path to ascend the mountain, which an outsider could never have found. Guards were stationed at a distance from the mountains to stop anyone coming close. There they lived, continuing all their former customs, with all their so-called ‘gods’ etc. all according to the money.
   And since the most important thing, by them, was the money, to the extent that someone with huge amounts of wealth was even considered a ‘god,’ they especially had to guard against murder and theft, because there was no one who was not prepared to murder and rob in order to be appointed a ‘god,’ through stealing sufficient money. And after all, surely if someone was really a ‘god,’ he would be able to protect himself against theft and murder. They also established all kinds of worship and sacrifices, that they would pray and sacrifice to their ‘gods.’ They actually used to sacrifice humans, people used to offer themselves as sacrifices to their ‘gods,’ that they should come to be spiritually included in the ‘god’ himself, in order that they should come to be reincarnated as one of the rich people, for their religion was completely based on money. But despite the fact that they used to serve their ‘gods’ through prayer, sacrificing and the burning of incense, etc, nevertheless, the country was filled with theft and murder, because anyone that did not believe that worshipping the ‘gods’ would make him rich, would steal and kill in order to get the money that way. For surely, a person with enough money could buy anything that he wanted, food, clothes, everything one could possibly want depends only on having sufficient money, (all according to their mistaken and confused understanding,) their whole way of life was founded completely on money.
   They would also be scrupulously careful to avoid the slightest financial loss, for since money was their doctrine, they were forced to dedicate themselves to only increasing the amount of money in their land, through bringing more in from outside. They sent out merchants to conduct business abroad, in order to bring back the profits into the country. And obviously, according to their religion, it was absolutely forbidden to give money to charity, for one who did give would be decreasing the amount of money that he had been granted by his ‘god,’ and surely, the whole purpose of life was to increase, not decrease one’s money.
   They also appointed investigators, to check that each person really did have the amount that he said that he had. Everyone would be required, regularly, to produce proof of their wealth, in order to retain the status that they had achieved through having that certain amount of wealth. Occasionally an animal would be elevated to a human, and vice versa, for if someone were to lose their money, they could be relegated to become an animal, and the opposite, if someone were to make a profit, etc. and similarly on all the levels, all according to the money. They all used to carry images and portraits of their ‘gods,’ which they used to hug and kiss, for this was their whole religion.
   The followers of the Master of Prayer returned home, and related to him all about the Land of Wealth, how the people there were so confused and mistaken by their lust for money, how they were planning on moving to another land, and their appointing stars and constellations for themselves. The Master of Prayer answered that he only hoped that they would not continue and go further on their mistaken path. Later they heard about them appointing for themselves ‘gods’ etc, and he then said that this was what he had feared from the beginning.
   The Master of Prayer was filled with mercy for these mistaken people, and decided to visit there himself, perhaps he would be able to bring them back from their incorrect beliefs. He traveled there, and reached to the place where the guards were stationed, around the mountain. The guards were made up of the lowest level of people, for their time was spent in the same world inhabited by the rest of the nations. For anyone on a higher level due to their wealth, they would certainly not agree to descend into the world inhabited by the regular people, and risk being impurified by them, by talking to them and thereby maybe breathing in the air that they had exhaled. (So for sure, the guards who were stationed outside the city must have been on the very lowest levels.) Even so, the guards also had their idols with them, which they continuously hugged and kissed, for they were equally caught up in the lust for money.
   The Master of Prayer came to one of the guards and proceeded to speak with him about the true purpose of life, serving HaShem, Torah and prayer and doing good deeds, and so on. About how chasing after money is just a silliness and a complete waste of time, etc. The guard refused to pay any attention to him whatsoever; he was so bound up, after so many years, in the lust for money. The story was exactly the same with the second guard that he spoke to. Similarly with all the guards, none of them wanted to listen to him. So he ascended the mountain to one of the cities, which caused a stir amongst the inhabitants. How could a stranger do what was supposed to be impossible, and get inside the city? He answered them that since he had already entered why is it such a big deal, that they should ask about it. And he started to speak to one of them about the true purpose of life, etc. The person he spoke to paid no attention to him, also the second, and similarly all of them, they were so caught up in their desire for money. But still, they could not understand how a stranger could have penetrated their defenses, and furthermore, dare to preach to them a system that was so completely the opposite of their beliefs. They began to wonder if this was not the Master of Prayer about whom they had heard, for he was already becoming famous in the world. But it was impossible to apprehend him because of his constantly changing his appearance, to one he would appear as a merchant, to another as a poor man, and so on. He quickly left the city.
   While all this was happening, there was a Mighty Warrior, to whom had gathered a number of strong men, and they used to travel around conquering countries. His only desire was that each country would submit itself to him, and when the country that he was dealing with would agree to place itself under his domination, he would require nothing further from them, but if not, he would conquer them. He would travel around, conquering countries, but he would not require any money from them, only that they would agree to place themselves under his dominion. His strategy was always to first of all send some of his men to the country, while he was still at a distance, to request their submission. That was how he conquered them.
   Meanwhile, some of the merchants from the Land of Riches that were doing business in other lands, returned and related the story about the Mighty Warrior, and a great fear fell upon them. For even though they had no objection, in theory, to placing themselves under his domination, once they heard that he had absolutely no regard for money, and did not desire any, this was the opposite of their beliefs, so how could they possibly accept him as a ruler over them. Surely he was a complete heretic in not holding that money was the only true religion. Consequently they were terrified of his coming. They started praying and offering up sacrifices to their ‘gods.’ They would take an ‘animal,’ i.e. a poor person, and offer him as a sacrifice to their ‘gods.’
   The Mighty Warrior came closer and closer to their country, and started sending his men to them to ask whether they would be willing to subjugate themselves to him. They were very scared, and did not know what to answer. The merchants pointed out that during their travels, they had come across a country where all the people there were ‘gods,’ i.e. even the poorest people of the country were so rich that they would be considered ‘gods’ if they were here, and they ride upon ‘angels,’ i.e. their horses were so bedecked with gold and precious gems, that even the horses would be on the level of ‘angels’ if they were here, and they harness three pairs of ‘angels’ together to the carriage and ride behind them. They advised to send to that country for help, for surely they would be able to help them, since every single person in the country was a ‘god.’ This seemed to them to be excellent advice, for such a country, where even the lowest people were ‘gods’ would undoubtedly be able to save them.
   In the meantime, the Master of Prayer decided to return to the Land of Riches in the hope that this time he might have more success in making clear to them the stupidity of their ways. Once again he first encountered the guards, and started to speak to one of them, as was his way. The guard told him about the Mighty Warrior that was heading towards them, and how they were so scared of him. The Master of Prayer asked him what they intended doing about the situation. He answered that they were planning on sending for help to the land where everyone was a ‘god,’ etc. The Master of Prayer burst out laughing, saying that the whole thing was completely ridiculous, the people there are just normal humans, the same as you and me, the same as the people here, and all these so-called ‘gods’ are also normal people. There is only one true G-d, the creator of everything, and only Him is it fitting to pray to and to serve, which is the only true purpose of life. The Master of Prayer continued to speak to the guard regarding these matters, until he answered, saying, “Even if it is so, what can I do? I am only one against the majority.” These words caused the Master of Prayer some consolation, as he saw that all the time he had spent talking to this guard, on the previous occasion and then again now, was at least starting to have some effect, that he should be forced to admit that maybe there was some truth to what he was saying, as could be understood from his answer. The Master of Prayer continued on to speak to the second guard, who at first did not want to listen, but eventually accepted that perhaps there was an element of truth to what he was hearing, and gave him the same answer as the first guard. And so with all the guards, each eventually giving him the same answer.
   The Master of Prayer then went to one of the cities and started to speak to the people there, as was his way, that they were all in error, and following a completely mistaken path, that money quite simply had nothing to do with the true purpose of life, which was rather to serve the Creator through Torah and prayer etc. But no one would listen to him, they had been so bound up in their beliefs for so many years. They all told him about the Mighty Warrior, and how they were intending to send for help… as before. He laughed at them and told them that all their hopes were in vain, that all of them were exactly the same, human beings etc. and they would not be any help whatsoever. They are no more ‘gods’ than you are, for there is only one true G-d, the Creator of the World. Regarding the Mighty Warrior, he answered them, as if in wonder, “Can this be the Mighty Warrior (that I know)?” But they did not understand what he meant. He went from person to person, speaking to them as before, and each time that they mentioned the Mighty Warrior he answered them in the same way, “Can this be the Mighty Warrior,” but no one knew what he intended by that.
   All this started to raise a commotion in the city, as people heard that there was someone going around making a joke of their beliefs, and saying that there was only one true G-d, and speaking in such a strange way about the Mighty Warrior. They understood that this must be the Master of Prayer that they had heard so much about, and they gave instructions that he should be apprehended. For by now they knew all about his way of changing the way that he looked, appearing to each person in a different guise etc. They searched for him and caught him, and brought him to the leaders of the city. They began to speak with him, and he answered them in the same vein, that they were all completely mistaken in their beliefs and that the money is not the purpose of anything, that there is only one true G-d, and so on. Also that the people of the other country whom they were relying on for help would be of no help to them whatsoever, because they themselves were only human, etc. They thought he was crazy, they were so stuck in their belief that money was the purpose of life, that anyone that spoke against their religion had to be crazy.
   They asked him what he meant by what he was saying, “Could this be the Mighty Warrior?” He answered, “I used to be by a certain king, who had a Mighty Warrior that he lost contact with. If this is the same Mighty Warrior, then I know him. Furthermore, all that you are relying for help on this country where everyone are ‘gods,’ it is all just a stupidity, because they are going to be no help to you whatsoever. Not only that, but if you rely on them, that could prove to be your downfall.” They said to him, “From where do you know all this?” He answered, “The king that I mentioned previously had a Hand, that is, he had an image of a Hand, with the five fingers, and all the lines that are engraved on the hand. This Hand was a map of all the worlds, with everything that had happened since the creation until the end of time, and what will be after that, it was all engraved upon the Hand, on the lines. Engraved there was the positioning of all the worlds, in all their details, exactly as on a map. There were letters written by all the lines, just like on a regular map, representing cities and rivers, and so on.
   Also engraved upon the hand were the positioning of all the states and countries, mountains and bridges and so on, each with its own letter next to it, depicting what it was. Similarly all the people in each country and all their doings, and all the roads within each country and between each country and from place to place. That is how I knew where the path was to enter your city, something that no other person could possibly know. I also know the way to reach all the other cities, all through the Hand, as I explained.
   The paths between the worlds are also engraved upon the Hand, for there is a path by which one can go up from earth to heaven, (the only reason we can not ascend to heaven is because we do not know the way, but the path was actually engraved there, upon the Hand,) and all the paths between all the worlds, for Eliahu ascended to heaven by a certain path, and that path is engraved on the Hand, and Moshe Rabbeinu went up using a different route, also engraved on the Hand, similarly Chanoch, it was all written on the Hand. Everything that happened at the creation of the world was also engraved on the Hand, also its present state, and what will be in the future. For instance the town of Sodom was engraved there, as it was at the time of its construction, and while it was inhabited, and then its final destruction, and how it was afterwards, the past, the present and the future was all engraved upon the Hand. I also saw on the Hand that the land that you are looking to for help, where all the people are, according to you, ‘gods,’ both they and all the people that rely on them for help, all will be lost and destroyed. (All this is the answer of the Master of Prayer to their questions.)
   This whole story was to them a great wonder, for it certainly had a ring of truth, since everyone knows that on a map everything can be recorded, and the lines on the Hand could be close enough together, and combine to form letters. They asked him: “Where is the king that you mentioned. Perhaps he will be able to show us where to find more money.” He answered them: “Is money the only thing that you think about? Do not speak to me about money.” They asked him again: “Still, where is this king now?” He answered: “I myself do not know, for what happened is as follows….
   There was a King and Queen, who had an only daughter, and when she came of age, they called their advisers together to ask advice regarding to whom to marry her. I was amongst the advisers, for the King loved me very much, and I advised that they should marry her to the Mighty Warrior, for the Mighty Warrior was of great benefit to the Kingdom, conquering other countries, so he was certainly a suitable husband for the Princess. This advice found favor in everyone’s eyes and the decision was made. There was tremendous happiness there, that a groom had been found for the Princess, and they were married. In the course of time, the Princess had a child, and the baby was unbelievably beautiful. Such a beauty had never been seen in a human being. He had golden hair that was all the colors of the rainbow, his face shone like the sun, and his eyes glowed like the luminaries. It was immediately obvious that he had been born with a tremendous wisdom, for even straight after birth, if he heard someone telling a joke, he would know to laugh in the right place. Other things also, demonstrated that he had great intelligence. Just that he was lacking the abilities of an adult, like speech, etc.
   The King also had an Orator, who was able to speak the most wonderful prose and poetry, singing the praises of the King. And even though in his own right he was an exceptional orator, the King showed him a way, how to go up to a place where he was able to receive an extension of his abilities, far above that which he had been capable of on his own. And through that, he became a truly outstanding orator.
   The King also had a Wise Man, who, on his own, had achieved a prodigious grasp of all the wisdoms, but the King showed him a way to go up to a place where he was able to acquire a far higher wisdom. The King also showed the Mighty Warrior where to go to increase his power, which resulted in him becoming even more powerful. For there is a sword hanging above the world, and this sword has three powers: when one raises it up, it causes all the enemy officers to flee, which obviously would bring about the downfall of the enemy, since there would be no one to decide upon their strategy. Still, the rest of the army would be left, so if one edge of the sword is raised that would cause the rest of them to fall down, and the raising of the other edge would cause them all to break out in a type of leprosy, where all their skin would dissolve, G-d have mercy. So simply by raising the sword wherever he is, one can cause the complete downfall of his enemies. The King showed the Mighty Warrior the way to that sword, and from there he was able to enhance his powers. The King also showed me a way to go up, concerning my particular matter, and I received from there that which I need.
   The King also had a Beloved Friend whom he dearly loved, the love between them was so great that they could not bear to be parted from each other for even as long as an hour. Still, there were times when they were forced to be separated from each other, so they had portraits made of themselves, and they would get pleasure from looking at these portraits whenever they were forced to be apart. These portraits showed the great love between the two of them, how they kissed and hugged one another in the greatest affection. Anyone looking at these portraits, his heart would also be filled with love. The Beloved Friend also received the love that he had from the place that the King showed him.
   Once it happened that all of them had gone to their separate places that the King had showed them, to revitalize their powers, and while they were away, a great storm blew up throughout the world. The storm was so powerful that it overturned the whole world, changing the dry land into sea, and the sea into dry land, the deserts into inhabited places, and vice versa. The storm wind blew through the King’s Palace and even though it did not do any actual damage, it picked up and carried off the Princess’s Child. Amidst all the confusion, as the Princess saw her child being carried away, she immediately gave chase, with the Queen following after her, and the King after the Queen, till they were all separated and none knew where the others had gone. All of us, as I said, had gone to the various places that the King had revealed to us to renew our powers, and by the time that we returned, everyone had disappeared. The Hand was also lost. Since then, we have all been dispersed, and none of us have been able to ascend to our various places to renew our powers, for since the whole world had been overturned and confused, and all the continents mixed up, the sea into dry land, and so on, it is now impossible to go up using the previous paths. For now we would have to go up using new paths according to the rearranging of the world. Still, the power that remains by each of us is very strong, and if this Mighty Warrior is the Mighty Warrior who was by the King, then he is certainly very powerful indeed.” (It would seem that part of the story here is missing.) (This was all the answer of the Master of Prayer to the people in the city.) They listened to his story in great wonder, and they held onto the Master of Prayer and would not let him go. (Just in case the Mighty Warrior coming towards them really was the one that he knew.)
   Meanwhile, the Mighty Warrior was coming closer to them, and sending his messengers, until he reached the outskirts of the city. They were absolutely terrified, and asked the Master of Prayer for his advice. He answered that he needed to investigate this Mighty Warrior in order to ascertain if he was really the Mighty Warrior of the King. So he left the city and went to the camp of the Mighty Warrior, and engaged one of the guards there in conversation. He asked him about their way of life, and how it came to be that all the men had joined the camp of this Mighty Warrior. He answered, “It is written in our books of chronicles that once, a powerful storm wind hit the world which overturned the whole world, turning all the land into sea and the sea into land, the deserts into inhabited places etc. After the wind died down, the people in the world decided to choose for themselves a king. They probed deeply into the matter, trying to decide who would be a suitable person to appoint as king over them. They came to the conclusion that the most important consideration was what was the true purpose of life, and whoever was the closest to this purpose, he would be the most suitable person to rule over them. Regarding this point, however, they were unable to reach a unanimous decision, and they broke up into a number of different groups, each advocating a different purpose.
   One group decided that the most important thing in life was honor, since people are generally so strict about making sure that they are given all the honor that they think is due to them. Should it happen that someone is not given sufficient honor, it is literally as if his actual blood had been spilled! People are even particular about giving honor to the dead, that they should be buried with honor, and so on, despite the fact that surely the dead person cannot possibly care about how much honor he is receiving, since he does not care about anything at all! Therefore, receiving honor was more important than anything else. They also had other, similar, reasons. (All of them equally incorrect and ridiculous. Similarly, all the reasons of all the other groups, to be mentioned below, were also equally irrational. They all had many empty-headed reasons for whatever they held was the true purpose of life. However, Rabbi Nachman refrained from specifying all their reasons, because he was scared that people might come to take them seriously, and fall into mistaken beliefs because of them.) They came to the conclusion that the ultimate point in being alive was to receive honor, so they searched for someone who was being given very much honor, also that the person himself was very strict about his honor, that he should be given all the honor that he felt was due to him. Such a person would obviously be the closest to achieving the main purpose of life, and would certainly be suitable to rule over them. So they went and searched for such a person, and they found a band of gypsies traveling along, about five hundred people, being led by an old man whom they carried. He was blind, crippled and dumb, and all the people following him were members of his family. He was fanatically strict about his honor, and he was continually furious with them and scolding them for not carrying him to his satisfaction, and frequently switching around the people that were carrying him. It was obvious that he was an extremely honored person, both that he received so much honor and that he so unceasingly chased after it. He found much favor in the eyes of this particular group, and they appointed him to be king over them. They then started searching for a country congenial to the attribute of honor, for each country is analogous to a certain temperament, and upon finding one, they settled there.
   A second group disagreed with the first, and decided that murder was the true purpose of life. For surely, everything in the world eventually comes to an end, grass, plants, people, everything that exists finally perishes. So the true purpose of everything that is in the world, is its extinction. Therefore the murderer, who kills and terminates people, is hastening the world towards its true purpose. Consequently, they came to the conclusion that murder is the true purpose of the world, so they searched for a murderer, someone who was filled with anger and hatred, for someone like this would certainly be the closest to the true purpose of life, (according to their mistaken beliefs,) and such a person would be fit to be king over them. While searching for a suitable person they heard a sound of screaming. Upon investigating, they discovered that the great commotion was over someone who had murdered both his parents. They said to themselves—could there be anyone more filled with hatred and anger than this, a person who can wipe out his own parents? This person has certainly achieved the true purpose in life! He found great favor in their eyes, and they accepted him to be king over them. They then searched for a land that was suitable for their purpose, and chose a place of hills and mountains, a place of murderers, and went there, and settled there with their king.
   A different group decided that only a person with an over abundance of food would be a suitable king. Someone that did not eat the same food as other people, only the most delicate of foods, (milk for instance, that does not befuddle the brain,) only such a person would be suitable to be king over them. They were unable to immediately find such a person, who did not eat the same food as normal people, so they chose for themselves, temporarily, a rich man that had a vast amount of food, until they would be able to find someone more suitable, upon which he would hand over the monarchy. They searched for a land suitable for their purpose, and went and settled there.
   One group decided that only the most beautiful woman would be suitable to rule over them, for the whole purpose of the existence of the world was so that it should be populated, and since a beautiful woman is the most powerful cause of arousing passion, leading to an increase in the population, she would be the most able to bring the world to it’s perfection. So they chose a beautiful woman to rule over them, and searched until they found a land that suited them, and went and settled there.
   A different group decided that the main purpose of existence was speech, since this is the main thing that differentiates between humans and animals. And since this was the pre-eminence of man, it must be the purpose of the creation. So they searched for someone who was a master of the art of speaking, who knew many languages and who always had something to say about everything, for such a person would surely be the closest to achieving the true purpose of life. They searched until they came across a crazy Frenchman, who was wandering along talking to himself. They asked him if he knew any other languages and he answered that he did. They decided that such a person had certainly achieved the true purpose in life, (according to their confused beliefs,) seeing that he spoke other languages and also that he never stopped talking, to the extent that he would even talk constantly to himself. So he found great favor in their eyes and they appointed him as king over them. And they searched until they found a land that would be the most stimulating regarding their particular beliefs, and they went and settled there with their king. There can be no doubt that he was an exemplary ruler over them!
   Another group decided that the most important thing was happiness. For surely, when a child is born people are happy, when there is a wedding people are happy, when they conquer another country people are happy. So it turns out that the true purpose of existence must be happiness. So they searched for a person who was constantly happy, for such a person would have reached the pinnacle of existence, and would be a suitable person to rule over them. So they traveled until they found a drunkard staggering along wearing tattered clothes, whisky bottle in hand, followed by a bunch of other drunkards. He was tremendously happy (being that he was blind drunk). And since he was so happy, since he obviously didn’t have a care in the world, he had obviously achieved the perfection of existence, and they decided that he would be the perfect person to rule over them, so they appointed him as king, and there can be no doubt that he was an exemplary ruler over them! They then searched for a land suitable for them to settle in, somewhere with the best climate for growing grapes, from which they could produce wine, and from the seeds they could make whiskey, so that nothing would be wasted. For this was their understanding of the true purpose of life, to be permanently drunk and therefore happy. Despite the fact that their happiness was completely baseless, since they had no reason whatsoever to be happy. Still, they felt that they were achieving the true purpose of life, being happy, even over nothing. And they went and settled in the land that seemed most suitable to them for their purpose.
   One group felt that wisdom was the most important thing in life. And they searched until they found an extremely wise man, and appointed him king over them. And they searched for a suitable land to live in, found one, and moved there.
   Another group decided that the most important thing was eating and drinking, in order to maximize the size of the body. And they searched for the largest person they could find, for since he would have the largest limbs, he would take up the most space in the world, and would thereby be the closest to achieving the ultimate purpose of the creation, and therefore would be the most suitable to be king over them. They traveled until they came across an absolutely huge person, some kind of bodybuilder, who had expanded his body to an incredible size, and obviously was as close as it is possible to be to achieving the true purpose of creation. They were delighted with him, and immediately appointed him as king over them. They then searched for a suitable land to live in, found one, and went and settled there.
   There was one other group that disagreed with all the groups mentioned up till now. This group felt that the true purpose in life was to spend all one’s time praying to HaShem, behaving in a humble and modest manner, etc. etc. They searched until they found someone suitable to lead them in prayer, and appointed him king over them.” (Examining the reasoning behind each group will reveal that they were all completely confused and totally off the track. The only group that figured out the truth, to their credit, was the final one mentioned.) This is all as related by one of the members of the camp of the Mighty Warrior to the Master of Prayer.
   He continued the story, that they (the group that were attached to the Mighty Warrior), they were the original group of bodybuilders, that had chosen a king over them, and so on. One time, a group of them were traveling on the road, followed by their wagons filled with provisions. Obviously, this group of bodybuilders inspired fear in all who saw them, since they were all so huge, and anyone who met them on the road made sure to get out of their way. As they were traveling, there came towards them a mighty man, (the Mighty Warrior with whom they are now traveling), and not only did he not step aside to let them pass, he walked straight through the middle of them scattering them to the left and right, and filling them with fear. He headed straight for the wagons and finished up all the food that they had brought with them. They were completely stunned by this show of strength (that not only did he show no fear of them, quite the contrary, he walked straight through them and then went and finished off all their provisions). They immediately bowed down on one knee before him, declaring, “Long live the King.” There was no question in their minds that such a powerful person was totally fitted to rule over them, since their belief that the main purpose in life was to be as huge as possible, etc. There was no doubt whatsoever that the present king would hand over the rule to such a person, seeing that he was so huge and powerful, he was far more fitted to be king over them. And so it was, that he (this mighty person that they had come across) was accepted by the whole group as their new king. “And this is the Mighty Warrior with whom we are now traveling, conquering the world. However, his intention is not to conquer the whole world so that the whole world should be subjugated to him. He says that he has a different intention completely.” (All the above is as told over to the Master of Prayer by the guard of the camp of the Mighty Warrior in answer to the question how they came to be traveling with this Mighty Warrior etc.)
   The Master of Prayer then asked the guard, “in what way exactly is this Mighty Warrior so powerful?” The guard answered, “There was one country that didn’t agree to be subjugated to him, so the Mighty Warrior took his sword, which has three powers: when it is raised up all the enemy officers flee etc. (the three powers previously related).” When the Master of Prayer heard this, he was certain that this had to be the Mighty Warrior who had been by the King, as related above. The Master of Prayer then asked the guard if it would be possible to meet their king. The guard said that he would ask permission. He went and asked, and the Mighty Warrior gave his permission. When they met, they immediately recognized each other, and the happiness at that meeting is impossible to describe. They were so happy to see each other, and also they wept as they reminisced about the King and his people.
   The Master of Prayer and the Mighty Warrior related to each other all that had happened to them up to the present time. The Mighty Warrior told that following the great storm, that had dispersed all the members of the King’s household, he had returned from the place where he used to go to renew his power and found that everyone had gone. He then wandered aimlessly, and during his wandering, he passed by all the places of the King’s people. That is to say, he understood that he had reached the place where each of them were, i.e. he came to a certain location, and realized that the King was certainly there. However, he was unable to search for him or find him. He passed by a different place, and realized that the Queen was there, but again, he was unable to search for her or find her. And that’s how it was with each of them. “Only the place where you were I didn’t find,” (he said to the Master of Prayer). The Master of Prayer then said, “I also passed by the place where everyone was, including your place. I came to one place and saw the King’s crown there, and I knew for sure that he was there, but I was unable to search for him or find him. Elsewhere I passed by a sea of blood, and I was certain that the Queen had produced this sea with her tears, crying over everything that had happened. I was certain that she was there, but I was unable to search for her or find her. I also passed by a sea of blood, and I was certain that it had all come from the Princess, after she had lost her baby, etc. That all this sea was made up of the unused milk that she had produced. And I knew for sure that she was there, but I was unable to search after her or find her. I passed by another place and saw some of the Baby’s golden hairs, but I didn’t take any of them. And I knew for certain that he was there, but I was unable to search for him or find him. Later I passed a sea of wine, and I was certain that this sea had been produced by the King’s Orator, from his poetry and prose, that he was speaking words of consolation before the King and Queen, and that afterwards he had turned to the Princess and also spoken words of consolation to her. And from these words of consolation was created the sea of wine. (As mentioned in Song of Songs, chapter 7:11.) However, I was unable to find him. I came to one place and saw there a picture of the Hand engraved upon a stone, with all its lines etc. and I was certain that the King’s Wise Man was there, and that he had engraved for himself the picture of the Hand upon the stone, but I was unable to find him. At another place I passed by a mountain and saw upon it some golden tables with the King’s Crown Jewels laid out upon them, and I was sure that the King’s Treasurer was there, but I couldn’t find him.”
   The Mighty Warrior answered him “I also passed by all these places, and I took some of the Baby’s golden hairs, seven of them, containing all the colors, and they are extremely precious to me. I settled in a certain place, living off whatever was available, plants etc. until there was nothing left there to live off, and then wandering on to the next place. But I left behind my bow.”
   The Master of Prayer said “I saw the bow, and I was certain that it was yours, but I was unable to find you.”
   The Mighty Warrior continued “So I just wandered on until I came across this camp (of the bodybuilders) and I just charged straight through them, because I was really starving, and dying to eat something, and they immediately appointed me as their king. And now I am traveling around conquering the world, and my only intention is that perhaps I will be able to find the King and all his people etc.
The Master of Prayer asked the Mighty Warrior, what is to be done about this land, that have fallen so deeply into the desire for money that they have ended up committing such folly, calling the very richest people ‘gods’ etc. and all the rest of their stupidity?
   The Mighty Warrior answered that the King told him one time that it is possible to pull a person out of all the various desires, apart from the lust for money, from which it is absolutely impossible to remove someone, once he has fallen into it. The only possible way to help them is through the path to the sword, which the King had shown him, from where he received all his power, this path alone was able to help extract someone from the overpowering lust for money.
   The two of them spent some time sitting and talking, and the Master of Prayer persuaded the Mighty Warrior to grant them (the Land of Riches) more time in which to figure out what to do. They also established secret identification signs between them for future communication between them, and the Master of Prayer went on his way.
   While he was traveling, the Master of Prayer came across a group of people who were walking along praying, making up the prayers as they went. He was very apprehensive of them, and they of him. He turned to the side to pray, and they did also. Afterwards he asked them who they were. They answered that at the time the great storm wind hit the earth etc., when all the world divided up into different groups, they had decided to form a group that would be solely involved with praying to HaShem, and that they had searched for and found a prayer leader and appointed him as king over them. This group found great favor in the eyes of the Master of Prayer, because this was his whole desire. He started speaking with them and revealing to them some of his prayers and methods of serving HaShem. They immediately realized his true greatness and appointed him to be king over them, the present king abdicating in his favor at once, upon discovering his very high spiritual level. The Master of Prayer spent some time learning with them, and opened their eyes, and turned them into very great tzaddikim. They had already achieved very high levels on their own (since they were spending all their time praying etc.) but the Master of Prayer was able to reveal to them new paths of serving HaShem that they didn’t know about, and through this they were able to reach much higher levels than they even knew existed. The Master of Prayer then sent a letter to the Mighty Warrior telling him about this new group that he had found, and how they had appointed him as king over them.
   In the meantime, the Land of Riches continued on their path of ‘serving’ their ‘gods’ etc. as described above. And the extension period that the Mighty Warrior had granted them at the request of the Master of Prayer was running out, and they were very afraid. They increased their offerings of ‘sacrifices’ and incense and prayers to their ‘gods’. They decided that they had no other choice than to go with their original plan, to appeal for help to the land that they had heard was filled with the most wondrous riches, where everyone there was a ‘god’ etc. They were certain that they would be able to help them, since they were all ‘gods’ etc., and so they sent messengers to there.
   The messengers got lost on the way, and came across a man walking with a cane, and his cane was worth more money than any of their so-called ‘gods.’ That is to say, that it was decorated with so many precious stones, that it was worth more than all the riches of all their ‘gods’ put together. He was wearing a hat that was also covered with gems, and worth a huge amount of money. They immediately fell to the ground before him, since he was so obviously worth so much more than even the wealthiest of all their ‘gods.’ (The man that they had met was the King’s Treasurer.) He said to them, “You think this is worth a lot of money? Come with me and I will show you something really valuable! He took them to the mountain and showed them where the King’s treasury was displayed. They once again fell on their faces before him, for he was surely a greater ‘god’ than all their ‘gods,’ according to their beliefs, (their flawed beliefs, that their whole faith was built on the worship of money, etc.) However, they didn’t ‘sacrifice’ themselves to him, ( for according to their ‘beliefs’ etc. that he was greater than all their ‘gods’ etc. it would certainly have been fitting for them to ‘sacrifice’ themselves to such a great ‘god,’ however…) when these messengers had been dispatched, they had been forbidden to offer up any ‘sacrifices’ on the journey, for if they hadn’t been forbidden, there would be the fear that they would all sacrifice themselves on the way, and there would have been no-one left to complete the mission. For perhaps, they would have come across some kind of treasure on the way, or maybe one of them would have gone to the bathroom and discovered there a treasure, (which would have seemed to him like a ‘god,’) and they all would have ‘sacrificed’ themselves to it, and none would have been left alive. So they were warned before departing that they were not to offer up any sacrifices whatsoever on the journey, and that is the reason that they didn’t ‘sacrifice’ themselves to the King’s Treasurer. But it was certainly beyond doubt to them that he was a ‘god’ above all ‘gods.’
   They took counsel amongst themselves, and reasoned- what is the point of continuing on with their journey to the land of riches, when surely this man before them would be far more able to help them, since he was a greater ‘god’ than all their ‘gods’ put together, since he was so incredibly rich. They therefore asked him if he would accompany them back to their land, and he agreed. They returned home, and the whole country was filled with happiness that they had found such a great ‘god.’ Everyone was certain that he would be able to bring about a complete salvation, since he was such a powerful ‘god,’ (according to their confused beliefs,) since he was so incredibly rich. The King’s Treasurer commanded that in the meantime, until the situation could be properly sorted out, there should be absolutely no offering up of any sacrifices whatsoever. (The King’s Treasurer was certainly a very great Tzaddik, since he was so close to the King himself, for all the people that were close to the King were undoubtedly very great Tzaddikim. And all the stupid and evil customs of this land were certainly extremely repugnant to him. However, since he saw that it would take a while to extract them from all their evil ways, he commanded that, in the meantime, at the very least they should stop all the sacrifices.)
   The people of the land began to ask him for help the situation concerning the Mighty Warrior that was threatening them. He also answered them: Can it be that this is the Mighty Warrior, (that was known to him)? The Treasurer went to visit the Mighty Warrior, and asked the guards around his camp if it would be possible for him to meet with the Mighty Warrior. They answered that they would ask him. So they went and asked him, and he gave his permission, and then Treasurer was brought before the Mighty Warrior. They both recognized each other, and there was tremendous happiness, and also weeping at their meeting, as above. The Mighty Warrior said to the Treasurer, ‘You should know, I have also met with the Master of Prayer, and he has also been appointed a King,’ (and they each related to the other they came to be here). The Treasurer told the Mighty Warrior that he had passed by the place of the King, and all the other people of their group, apart from those two, the Mighty Warrior himself and the Master of Prayer. They also spoke about the Land of Riches, how the people there had become so confused and mistaken that they had come to truly believe all their stupidity. The Mighty Warrior gave the same answer to the Treasurer that he had given to the Master of Prayer, how he had heard from the King that there was no way in the world to remove a person from the lust for money, other than through the path to the sword etc, (from which the Mighty Warrior received all his power). The Treasurer requested that the Mighty Warrior grant a longer respite to the people of the Land of Riches, and he agreed. They established secret identification signs between them for future communication between them.
   The Treasurer then left the Mighty Warrior and returned to the Land of Riches. (It goes without saying that the Treasurer admonished the people there concerning their bad ways, that they had been so completely misled by their lust for money, but to no avail. They had been sunk in this lust for such a long time. However, since both he and the Master of Prayer had confused them so much with all their reprimanding, they started to say to him, “Well if you are right, then please show us how to escape from this lust.” Despite being so firmly entrenched in their mistaken beliefs and not having the slightest intention of abandoning them, even so, they said to the Treasurer in answer to his reproof, “If what you are saying is correct, that we are completely confused and mistaken, then show us how to get on the right path.” So the Treasurer agreed to advise them. Because since he knew so much about the power of the Mighty Warrior, from where he received his incredible strength, he was able to tell them the whole story of the sword etc. and he said them, “Therefore, let us all go together to this place where the sword is, and there you will be able to strengthen yourselves against him.” Although his real intention in taking them there, was that there they would be able to overcome their lust for money. (Because that same path that led to the sword, also would have the power to enable them to abandon their lust for money.) And they agreed to this idea. So they appointed a number of the most important people to represent them (who undoubtedly carried with them much jewelry of gold and silver, which was for them their most important possessions,) and they traveled together with the Treasurer.
   The Treasurer also informed the Mighty Warrior of his plans, that he was taking people from the Land of Riches on the path to the sword, with his intention being that perhaps, on the way there, he would be able to find the King and all his people. The Mighty Warrior answered him, “In that case, I will travel with you.” So the Mighty Warrior disguised himself, so that the people from the Land of Riches wouldn’t recognize him, and he joined them on their journey. Then the two of them decided to inform the Master of Prayer of their plans, and he answered that he would join them. And that’s what he did. But before he left to join them, he instructed all his students to pray to HaShem that the mission should be successful, that they should succeed in finding the King and his people. Because this was something that the Master of Prayer himself would pray for constantly, and he also instructed the students to pray for this as well, writing special prayers for them to say. But now he instructed them to multiply their efforts, since now he would be joining the Treasurer and the Mighty Warrior in their search for the King and his people, they should put all of their strength into praying that the search should succeed. So the Master of Prayer joined the Treasurer and the Mighty Warrior and there was tremendous happiness at their meeting, great happiness and also many tears. And the three of them continued the journey, together with the so-called ‘gods’ from the Land of Riches.
   So they all wandered along until they came to a land surrounded by guards. They asked the guards what was the particular characteristic of this land, and who was it’s king. The guards answered that at the time of the great storm, when all of the people in the world had separated up into different groups, the people of this particular land were the ones that had decided that the true purpose of life was acquiring wisdom, and they had appointed as king an extremely wise man. However, they had recently come across a man with the most incredible wisdom, and the king had abdicated in this man’s favor, and they had appointed him to rule over them. Because, since wisdom was the most important thing in life, and the new king obviously had an abundance of wisdom. They decided to make him king over them. Well the three travelers conferred, and came to the conclusion that this must be the Wise Man of their company, (i.e. the Wise Man of the King), and they requested permission to meet with him. The guards answered that they would ask, which they did, and the king granted them an audience. So the three travelers were brought before the king of the country and they all recognized one another. (For it really was the Wise Man of the King.) And there was great happiness at their meeting, happiness and tears etc. They wept at how they would ever find the King and all his people. They asked the Wise Man if he knew of the whereabouts of the Hand belonging to the King, and he answered that he had it. However, from the time that they had all been dispersed by the great storm, since the King and all his people had been lost to them, he hadn’t wanted to look at it at all, because it really belonged only to the King. So he had made an engraving of the likeness of the Hand upon a stone, for his own occasional use, but he refused to look at the actual Hand itself. They asked the Wise Man how he had come to this place? And he answered that following the great storm, he had wandered along, (and that during his journey he had come across the places of all of their group, apart from these three, the Master of Prayer the Mighty Warrior and the Treasurer – where they were he had not discovered,) until the people of this particular land had found him and appointed him king over them. And that in the meantime, he had been compelled to lead them according to their own understanding, along the path of wisdom, until given enough time, he would be able to return them to the true path.
   They spoke with the Wise Man concerning the people of the Land of Riches, how they had been so completely led astray with their misguided worship of money. They said, “If the only cause of our being so completely uprooted and scattered was to return these people to the true path, that would be reason enough, seeing that they are so completely stuck in their mistaken ways.” In fact, all the different groups were totally on the wrong path, and needed to be set straight and returned from their misguided paths to the true one. For even the group that had chosen wisdom as the true purpose of life had missed the point, and needed to be fixed and rectified, because they had chosen a path of external wisdom and atheism. However, from all the different paths chosen by all the different groups, theirs would be the easiest to return to the true path. The group that had chosen to worship money and that had fallen so deeply into their idol worship, they would certainly be the most difficult of all to return. (The Wise Man told them how he had also heard from the King, that from all the lusts of the world it was possible to bring someone back, apart from the lust for money, and their only hope would be through the path to the sword etc.) The Wise Man decided that he would also travel with them, and the four of them continued on their journey, accompanied by the so-called ‘gods’ from the Land of Riches.
   They continued there journey until they came to another land. They asked the guards what was the particular characteristic of this land, and who was it’s king. The guards answered that at the time of the great storm, the people of this particular land had decided that oratory was the true purpose of life, and that they had chosen an exceptional speaker to be their king. But recently they had come across a man who was an orator beyond anything they had ever dreamed of, and their previous king had abdicated in his favor, since he was such an excellent speaker. The four travelers understood that this must be their missing Orator (the Orator of the King), and requested an audience with him. And the guards requested and received permission, and the travelers were taken to meet with the king. And indeed it was their King’s Orator, and they all recognized each other, and there was great happiness and weeping etc. as before. And the Orator went with them, all of them hoping that they would meet up with the rest of their group, the King etc. For they saw that HaShem was guiding their path and helping them to succeed in finding their comrades. They attributed this success to their holy Master of Prayer who was praying constantly for the success of their mission, that they would succeed in finding all their old comrades etc. They continued on in the hope of finding the rest of their group.
   They came to another land and asked their, as before, what was the characteristic of the land and who was it’s king. They were answered that this was the land that had chosen happiness and feasting as the reason for existence, and that they had appointed some drunk to be king over them. But then later they had discovered a man sitting in the middle of a sea of wine, and he found great favor in their eyes, for certainly he was a total and complete drunkard, and they appointed him as their king. The travelers requested permission to meet him, which was granted, and the king turned out to be the Beloved Friend of their King, (who the people of that land had found sitting in a sea of wine created by the words of consolation of the Orator, and mistaken him for a great drunkard). They all recognized each other and there was great happiness and weeping, as before. And the Beloved Friend decided to join them on their journey.
   They came to another land and asked the guards who was the king. They answered that they had a queen, a beautiful woman, since she was the most fitting to help them realize the true purpose in life, the population of the world. Originally they had chosen a beautiful woman to rule over them, but since then they had found a woman who was beautiful beyond compare, and they had appointed her as their queen. The travelers understood that this must be their Princess, and they requested and received permission to meet with her, and they all recognized one another, and the happiness at that meeting cannot even be described. They asked her how she came to be there, and she answered that at the time of the great storm that had carried away her child from his cradle, she had run after the child but not found him. All the milk that she had inside her had discharged, creating a sea of milk. Later, the people of this land had found her, and appointed her to rule over them. There was great happiness there, also much weeping for the lost Child, and also for the Princess’s still missing mother and father. Furthermore, since the husband of the Princess had arrived, (the Mighty Warrior), the kingdom now also had a king. The Princess requested from the Master of Prayer that he should cleanse her land of it’s lustfulness, for since the land had dedicated itself to lewdness they were completely immersed in this desire, and she requested that he should, at least as much as possible, purify them in order that they shouldn’t fall even further into the grip of their desires, which had become like a religion to them. (For each and every group had chosen for themselves a mistaken path as the true purpose of life, which had become almost like a religion for them). Therefore they were completely immersed in their desires, which is why she requested that he do his best to purify them as much as possible.
   Then they all journeyed on to search for the rest of their comrades. They came to a land and asked there who was it’s king. They were answered that their king was a one year old child. For this was the group that had searched for someone that had an abundance of food, that didn’t eat from the food of normal people at all, to be their king. They had temporarily accepted a wealthy man to be their king, but later they had found someone sitting by a sea of milk and he had found much favor in their eyes, since he had been nourished only by milk his whole life, and had never tasted the food of the world, and they appointed him as their king. And this was also the reason that they referred to him as a ‘year old child’ since he had lived only on milk like a little baby. They understood that this must be the lost Child, and requested permission to meet him. They were given permission and taken to meet the king, and they all recognized one another. For even he (the lost Child who was now king) recognized them, despite having been a tiny child at the time they had been separated, since he had been so wise, even from birth, for he had been born already with great wisdom. Therefore he was also able to recognize them, and certainly they were able to recognize him. And there was tremendous happiness at this meeting, and also weeping that they still didn’t know the whereabouts of the King and Queen. They asked the Child how he came to be there. He related to them how when the great storm had carried him away to wherever it had carried him, he had survived by eating whatever came to hand, until he had come across a sea of milk, and understood that this was most certainly his own mother’s milk, which she had discharged and created such a sea of milk. And so he had stayed there, sustaining himself on the milk, until the people from this land had found him and appointed him to be their king.
   They continued on their journey and came to another land. They asked who was the king there. The people there answered that this was the land that had chosen murder as the true purpose in life, and that they had appointed a murderer to be king over them. Later, they had found a woman sitting in a sea of blood, and they had taken her to rule over them, being that she must be an awesome murderer, seeing that she was sitting in a sea of blood. They asked to meet her, and when they were taken to see her, they realized that she was their Queen. The sea of blood had been created by all her tears. They all recognized each other and there was great happiness there. And yet, they wept also, over the fact that they had not yet found their King.
   They traveled on and came to another land, and asked who was the king there. They were answered that this land had chosen for themselves a person of great dignity, for by them, honor was the main purpose of life. Later they had found an old man sitting alone in a field with a crown on his head, and they had been filled with admiration for him, that even sitting in a field he should be wearing his crown, and they appointed him as king. The travelers understood that this must be their King, and requested permission to meet with him. This was granted and they were taken to see him, and immediately realized that this was their very own King. It goes without saying that the happiness at this meeting cannot even begin to be described. And the so-called ‘gods,’ from the Land of Riches, that had traveled with them all this time, didn’t have even the slightest idea what was going on here, and what was the reason for all this happiness.
   And so finally, the original company had been reunited. They decided to send the Master of Prayer to travel through all the different lands to cleanse and purify them and to return them from all their misguided and erroneous ways. Because each and every one of them had got caught up in a completely fallacious and mistaken way of life. But now, the Master of Prayer would have an excellent opportunity to return them all to the true path, seeing that he had been commissioned to go on this mission by the kings of each country, (since the holy company that had now been reunited consisted of all the kings of all the countries). And they appointed the Master of Prayer as their delegate to cleanse and return each of the lands to the true path.
   The Mighty Warrior now spoke to the King concerning the people of the Land of Riches that had fallen into the idolatry of worshipping money. He said, “I remember hearing from you that the only way to rescue someone from the idolatry of money worship was through the path you showed me to the sword, as above. The King answered him, “That is correct.” And the King explained to him, “Along the path that leads to the sword, there is a small path off to the side which leads to a Mountain of Fire, and there is a lion crouching there on the path. When this lion needs to eat he goes to where the flocks are, and takes sheep or cattle and eats them. The shepherds are aware of this practice and carefully guard the flocks against attack. But the lion pays no heed to them whatsoever, he just takes whatever he wants and eats it. And even though the shepherds scream and shout and attack the lion with sticks, he takes no notice of them. He simply grabs what he wants and eats it. This Mountain of Fire is completely invisible.
   There is also another path off to the side which leads to a Kitchen. There are all kinds of foods in this Kitchen, but no fire. All the food is cooked by the Mountain of Fire. Now the Mountain of Fire is actually very far away from the Kitchen, but they are connected by many conduits and pipes, and that is how all the food gets cooked there. The Kitchen itself is also invisible, but its whereabouts can be known from the birds which hover above it. And these birds, by flapping their wings, they also either invigorate the flames or reduce them if they are burning too fiercely. They raise and lower the heat according to the food being cooked, each food according to the temperature it needs to cook at,” (this is all as explained by the King to the Mighty Warrior). “Therefore, what you have to do is to lead them, (the people from the Land of Riches), into the wind, so that they will smell the smell of the food, and next, give them to eat from the food, and that will undoubtedly force them to abandon their lust for money.”
   So the Mighty Warrior did as he had been instructed, he took all the people of the Land of Riches, (all the ‘gods’ of that land, who had been appointed by all those left behind to act on their behalf, where whatever resolutions they were to determine should be accepted, would be binding upon the whole people), and brought them along the path to the Kitchen. He first took them against the wind, where they could smell the food cooking, and they immediately started to beg him to give them a taste of the great smelling food. He then lead them upwind (where they could no longer smell the food), and they began to cry out that there was a terrible stench there. He then took them downwind again, and they were able to smell the wonderful smell of the food, and they again begged him to let them taste it. Again he led them upwind, and again they cried out about the terrible stench. The Mighty Warrior said to them, “You can see for yourselves that there is nothing here that stinks, so it must be you yourselves that you are smelling.” He then gave them to eat from the food, and immediately they began to take out and throw away all their money and gold. They then began to dig graves for themselves, and bury themselves in them, from embarrassment, as the disgusting smell of the money was revealed to them, (for it smelled exactly like excrement), as a result of eating from the food. They tore at their faces and buried themselves, and they were so embarrassed they couldn’t bring themselves to even raise their heads. They were ashamed even to look at each other, for there, in that place, possession of money was the greatest embarrassment a person could suffer. So much so that if someone wished to insult his friend he would accuse him of having money, and whoever had the more money would be more embarrassed. Which is why they buried themselves from embarrassment, and were too ashamed to even look at each other, and all the more so, they couldn’t bring themselves to look at the Mighty Warrior. Anyone that found even so much as a small coin would immediately throw it as far away as possible in shame.
   The Mighty Warrior then came to them and took them out of their graves, and said to them, “Come with me for you no longer have any reason to fear the Mighty Warrior, for I am he.” They requested from to give them some of the food to take back to their land. For they themselves were now totally disgusted by money, and they wanted to enable all the people of their land to also escape from this desire for money. So he gave them some of the food and they brought it to their land, and immediately the people of the land tasted from the food, they also began to throw away all their money, and bury themselves in the earth from shame. The rich people and especially the so-called ‘gods’ were the most embarrassed of all. And even the poor people, who were referred to as ‘animals’ were also terribly embarrassed, that they had up until now regarded themselves as being on such a low level, since they didn’t have any money. For now it had been revealed to them all, that quite the contrary, possession of money was actually the greatest shame a person could suffer. And the reason for all this was that these foods possessed the peculiar characteristic that anyone that ate from them would feel the greatest shame from owning money. For him it would have the same smell as excrement, and he would immediately throw his money as far away as possible. Later they sent the Master of Prayer to them and he taught them how to atone and make amends, and he purified them completely.
   The King then ruled over the entire world, and the whole world returned to HaShem, and occupied themselves only with Torah, prayer, repentance and acts of loving kindness. Amen, may this be His Will. Blessed is HaShem for evermore, Amen.



After relating the story, Rabbi Nachman said:
The chapter Isaiah 31 speaks about HaShem having an oven in one place and a furnace elsewhere, far away. And see that whole chapter which mentions many points covered in the story. “Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help…” is similar to the Land of Riches sending for help to the land where all the people were ‘gods,’ and even their horses were ‘kings’ etc. as it is related in the story. As it says in Isaiah, “Egypt is a man and not a ‘god,’ and their horses are flesh…”
“When HaShem will stretch out His Hand, the helper will stumble and the one who is helped will fall down, and they will all perish together.” Which is as the Master of Prayer said to the people of the Land of Riches, “I also saw on the Hand that the land that you are looking to for help, where all the people are, according to you, ’gods,’ both they and all the people that rely on them for help, all will be lost and destroyed.”
“As the lion and the young lion roar over their prey, even though they call out many shepherds against them…” “As birds hovering…” “For on that day, all will cast away their idols of silver and gold…” All these points are mentioned in the story.
“Then Ashur shall fall to the sword...and he shall flee from the sword…and his rock shall pass away in terror…” This is the three powers of the sword, “shall fall” and “shall flee” is two of the powers. The third, “his rock shall pass away” corresponds to the skin dissolving where the person’s strength just evaporates. And the verse concludes, “…says HaShem, whose hearth is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem,” this is the oven and the furnace of the story.
Learn and study and understand this whole chapter for it is mentioned throughout the story. Rabbi Nachman added that the whole story, from beginning to end, is all hinted to in this chapter of Isaiah. He also said that there were points in the story taken from other places as well, for instance, “You will also defile the silver plating of your carved idols, and the gold binding of your molten images you shall cast them away as a menstruous thing…” (Isaiah 30). “On that day shall man cast away his idols of silver and of gold…and he will go into the clefts and crevices of the jagged rocks…” (Isaiah 2). “A man shall take hold of his brother, saying, ‘You have clothes, you be our ruler,’…instead of a sweet smell there will be a stench…” (Isaiah 3). And many other verses in these chapters are mentioned in the story.
However, the main story line is taken from the 31st chapter. Even so, we don’t know to what extent, other than what he himself revealed to us. There still remain many aspects of the story which we weren’t able to find hinted at in that chapter, despite Rabbi Nachman having said explicitly that the whole story is to be found there.
There are many aspects of the story which remain obscure and incomprehensible, because he did not reveal to us at all the underlying foundation of the story. He merely mentioned the verses bought above, in order to show us that there were deep and veiled secrets hidden there. Happy is the person who will succeed in understanding anything of this story. In fact, all Rabbi Nachman’s stories were unprecedented in their originality, unparalleled and completely beyond compare.


 

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