Please guard the sanctity of this book!

____________________________

In memory of the true key bearer of the Breslov tradition

Rabbi Israel Dov Odeser ztk'l
Student of Rabbi Israel Karduner ztk'l
Student of Rabbi Moshe Breslover ztk'l
Student of Rabbi Nussun of Breslov ztk'l
Student of the holy master
Rabbi Nachman of Breslov
Na Nach Nachma Nachman Me'uman
And in memory of
Amram Yosef b'r Moshe Nahum Halevi Horvitz zt'l
Meir Akavya ben Ya'akov Yemini zt'l
Aharon Ben Ya'akov patz zt'l
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‫התשע"ו‬
 Table of Contents
Foreword (from the titlepage) . . . . . . . 4

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Second Preface . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Story 1. of a Lost Princess . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Story 2. of a King and an Emperor . . . . . . . . 63

Story 3. of a One Who Could Not Walk . . . . . . . . 85

Story 4. of a King Who Decreed Apostasy . . . . . 109

Story 5. of a King's Son Who Was Made of Precious Stones . 120

Story 6. of a Humble King . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Story 7. of a Fly and Spider . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Story 8. of a Rabbi and His Only Son . . . . . . . . 144

Story 9. of a Clever Man and Simple Man . . . . . . 151

Story 10. of a Burgher and a Pauper . . . . . . . . 193

Story 11. of a King's Son and A maid's Son Who

Were Exchanged . . . . . . . . 243

Story 12. of a Prayer Leader . . . . . . . . . 286

Story 13. of the Seven Beggars . . . . . . . . . 377

Afterword of the Legendary Tales . . . . . . 447

Wondrous Stories and Parables . . . . . . 470

 Foreword

Go out and see the might of your Master, who has

illuminated heavenly Torah for us, to enliven us as
[sure as] it is this day, for the everlasting world; and
our G-d has not forsaken us in our servitude, but has
extended kindness to us in each and every
generation, and has sent us deliverers, and rabbis,
and tzadikim foundations of the world, to teach us
the way. His first [mercies] have come to pass, and
yet His mercies have not ceased at any period or any
time. And He has performed kindness for us,
drawing water from the wellsprings of salvation,
ancient things, words which are the secret of the
world, under wonderful and awesome clothings. See,
and understand, and look at His wonderful and
awesome way, which is an inheritance to us from
our holy forefathers who were during ancient times
in Israel.

For such is the way of the supernal holy ones,

harvesters of the field, who raised their hands and
hearts to G-d, to clothe and conceal the King's
 Preface

treasure houses in story tales, according to the

generation and according to the times, 'realizing the
knowledge of the understanding of times, to know
what Israel should do' (Chronicles 1:12:33), until
Messiah arises and delivers Zion and returns to build
the ruins of Ariel, 'at such time it will be said [by the
ministering angels] to Jacob and to Israel, "What has
G-d wrought?" (Numbers 23:23).

'All the greatness that already was achieved in his

life, achieving his name, and it is known that he is
Man (adam)' (Ecclesiastes 6:10). This is the Torah of
the Man (adam) of holiness, who merited to
complete the image of Man, for that is the entire
[purpose] of man; namely, his honor, our lord,
teacher and rabbi, crown of our glory, pride of our
strength, the holy and the awesome rav, the major
luminary, the upper light, the precious and holy light
of holy renown, our teacher Rav Nachman, may the
memory of the righteous and holy bring blessing,
great-grandson of the holy and awesome rav, the G-
 Preface

dly Baal Shem Tov, may the memory of the

righteous and holy bring blessing, whose light Israel
has already enjoyed through his holy and wonderful
compositions which have already come to light.
Many will see and be gladdened, the upright will
rejoice, and the truth will show its way.

And behold, see what else is in our sack: wonderful

and awesome story tales, which we have been
privileged to hear directly from his holy mouth,
which weighed, probed, and established many
allegories, clothing and concealing lofty and
powerful perceptions in story tales, in very
wonderful and awesome ways. For 'this is the way it
used to be in Israel, regarding redemption and
regarding exchanges' (Ruth 4:7), that when they
wanted to speak of the hidden things of G-d, they
would talk in the manner of riddles and allegories,
and they clothed the secrets of the Torah, the
treasures of the King, in many, many different types
of garments, as explained after the tale of the
“King's Son and Maid's Son” [#11 in this book],
where our Rebbe of blessed memory said that, in the
 Preface

early days, when fellows would speak and discuss

Kabbalah, they would speak in such language. For
until Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, they would not
discuss Kabbalah openly. For the most part, after
several stories, he would reveal a little bit, less than
a drop from the ocean, of some hints as to where the
matters reach. The matters and hints which he told
after each and every story are explained below in
their respective places.

And behold, until now, these things were concealed

among us, but since many have said to us, “Who
will show us good? (Psalms 4:7)" — for there are
many among us, among our friends, whose souls
have yearned and longed to constantly hear the
words of the Living G-d which emanated from the
mouth of our holy Rebbe, of blessed memory, and
especially these stories he told, which they had not
yet merited to have reach them except in
handwritten copies via various scribes, through
whom the errors multiplied greatly and the meaning
was spoiled — therefore, their great desire
compelled us, and their strong yearning pressured
 Preface

us, until we were forced to fulfill their wishes and

bring them to the printing house.

And also, because we had an express intention from

the mouth of our great Rebbe, of blessed memory,
who one time revealed his intention that he wanted
to print story tales, and he declared it in the
following words, before several people: “I have in
mind to print a book of stories, and it should be
written above in the holy tongue [Hebrew] and
below in the common tongue [Yiddish].” He said,
“Really, what can the world say against this? Aren’t
they, in any event, nice stories to tell?” Such words
were heard explicitly from his holy mouth, and this
is what motivated us to bring them to the printing
house. And even though we knew, and it was not
hidden from our eyes that many rose up against him,
nevertheless, the truth is its own witness, and we are
obligated to do his will, and Hashem will do what is
good (Chronicles 1:19:13). 'The one who hears will
hear, and the one who refuses to do so will refuse'
(Yichezkel 3:27).
 Preface

And also because, praise G-d, until now, His

mercies have helped us, for his holy compositions
have spread out among the Holy People, in the
community and congregation and Israel, and his
words have been a source of joy and happiness to
them, and have been as sweet as honey in their
mouths. All will be satiated and delight from his
goodness (prayer of Sabbath); their souls shall be
satisfied as with fat and marrow, and with joyful lips
their mouths shall praise (Psalms 63:6). And the
majority are with us rather than with them, those
who argue against the truth, speaking arrogantly
against the Tzadik in pride and disdain (Psalms
31:19), who have fabricated from their hearts things
that never (even) occurred to him; but we need not
prolong and talk about this, for it is of G-d's concern.
And many worlds have been overturned on their
account, because of the great controversy which has
increased in our days between the wise and the
righteous. 'But who can come after the King
regarding that which He has already done?
(Ecclesiastes 2:12)'
 Preface

But let this be known, that our whole intention in

printing these story tales is only for the sake of our
friends, who take refuge in his holy shade, who
crave, and hope, and yearn, to hear holy words. And
if indeed the words that are printed in a book, are as
if they were said before a great assembly, on the
other hand, we have already seen that the words
have already begun to spread in writing via many
copies, and there is no difference between written
words and printed words.

And also, from the outset, they were not spoken

secretly. Because whoever has eyes will see, and
whoever has a heart will understand, because it is
not an empty matter for you (Deuteronomy 32:47),
and if it [seems] empty, that is from you (Jerusalem
Talmud, Tractate Payuh 1:5). For these words stand
at the peak of the utmost heights. And we heard
from his holy mouth explicitly that he said, that each
and every word in these stories is powerfully
intended, and one who changes a single word from
these stories from the way he himself told them
causes much to be lacking from the story. And he
 Preface

said that these stories are very, very wonderful and

awesome novelties, containing very extraordinarily
deep ways and secrets, and they are fit to be spoken
before an audience, to stand in a synagogue and tell
a story from these tales, because they are very, very
high and awesome novelties.

Also, one whose heart is whole and who is

thoroughly expert in the books of holiness, and
particularly in the books of the holy Zohar and
writings of the Arizal, will be able to understand and
know, a little bit of the hints, in some stories, if he
puts his heart and mind to them well.

They also have wonderful and tremendous arousal

of mussar (ethical lessons) in most places. An
intelligent man will understand them on his own,
because virtually all of them arouse and draw the
heart greatly to the Blessed G-d, to return to the
Blessed G-d in the utmost truth, to be involved only
in Torah and devotions constantly, and to turn his
face away from vanities of the world completely, as
will be seen by one who looks with the eyes of his
intellect, if he gazes into them in truth. However, the
 Preface

ultimate aim of the intentions in these stories is very

far from the knowledge of mortals, and deep, deep,
who can find it (Ecclesiastes 7:24)? And the praise
of the splendor of the greatness of these stories
ought not be prolonged, because they are exalted
above our knowledge, and whoever speaks
additionally in praise of their greatness and depth,
detracts. We have only spoken in order to arouse the
hearts of our friends a bit, in order that they not
forget the wonders which they have been shown
from afar, like one who shows with a pointer, how
far these things reach, via a few hints which he
revealed to our eyes after telling each and every
story. For although some of the hints which we
heard from his holy mouth were printed,
nevertheless, it is clear to any intelligent person that
there is no comparison between one who hears from
the mouth of the sage himself, to one who sees the
words in a book. And all the more so, regarding the
ways of hints like these, which are not
understandable except via motion of the limbs, by
nodding the head, squinting the eye, tilting the hand
and so forth, specifically through which the
 Preface

understanding person can understand a little bit and

be astounded by the sight, and his eyes see from afar
(Job 39:29), the greatness of G-d, and the greatness
of our holy Torah, which has been clothed in several
different garments, as explained in all the holy
books.

Until here, there have reached a few words which

encourage much. Our hearts shall ponder in awe:
Where is the scribe, where is the one who weighs?
Who will give us support? A devouring fire! Who
will stand up for us? Let us lift our hearts with our
hands to the Almighty in heaven. Into His hands let
us deposit our spirits. To You, G-d, let us raise our
souls. Your mercies have helped us until now. You
are our Helper, for we lean on You. Let the
pleasantness of G-d our Lord be upon us. Until the
teacher of righteousness comes to our congregation,
and builds the house of our holiness and splendor.
Look upon Zion, the city of our festivals (Isa.
33:20); our eyes shall see the King in his beauty (Isa.
33:17), speedily in our days, amen.
 Preface

These are the words of the writer, arranger and

copyist, to be eaten to satiety and to clothe with
excellence (Isa. 23:18). Signed, Nussun the small,
son of my lord, my father, our teacher, the Rav,
Rabbi Naftali Hertz from Greator Nemirov; son-in-
law of the rav, the genius, the pious, famous in all
corners of the land, his honorable holiness, the Rav,
Rabbi David Tzvi, may the righteous be
remembered for the sake of life in the World to
Come, who was Chief Justice of the holy community
of Kreminitz and its environs, and of the holy
community of Sharigrad, and of the holy community
of Mahliv and its environs.

Before he told the first story in this book, he spoke

up and said, “In the story tales that the world tells,
there are many hidden things and very lofty matters.
However, the stories have been spoiled because
much is missing from them and they are also mixed
up, and they do not tell them in the correct order; for
what belongs at the beginning, they tell at the end
and vice-versa, and so on. But, in truth, there are
very lofty, concealed matters in the stories the world
 Preface

tells. And the Baal Shem Tov, may the memory of

the righteous bring blessing, was able via a story tale
to perform spiritual unifications. When he would see
that the upper channels were spoiled and it was not
possible to repair them via prayer, he would repair
them and unify them via a story tale (see Likutay
Moharan, Torah 5).” Our Rebbe, of blessed memory,
spoke more about this subject and, afterwards, he
began to tell the story tale that is on the next page,
saying, “On the way, I told a story …”

And know, that the stories that our Rebbe told --

virtually all of them are completely new stories that
were never heard before; only he himself told them,
from his heart and his holy knowledge, according to
the lofty perception that he attained in his holy spirit,
clothing that perception in the story, the story itself
being an awesome vision and very lofty perception
that he attained and saw in the place that he saw.
And also, sometimes he told a story from the stories
that the world tells, but he added a lot to them,
switching and fixing the order until the story was
completely changed from what the world tells, as
 Preface

mentioned. But in this book, those stories are not

written, except for one or two, and all the rest of the
stories are completely new, having never been heard
before.

At the time that our Rebbe, of blessed memory,

began delving into story tales, he said explicitly in
these words: "Now I'm going to start telling story
tales (Ich vil shoin <already> anheiben maisiyos
dertzeilen)," and the intentions of his words were as
if to say, "Since it has not been effective for you to
return to the Blessed G-d via my holy teachings and
conversations and so forth" — which he was
engrossed in with great effort all of his days, to
return us to the Blessed G-d in absolute truth, and
since all of this has not been effective, therefore, he
begins to engage in story tales. And then, at that
time, he said the teaching that begins: “Rabbi
Shimon opened and said, ‘It is time to do for
Hashem's sake; they have made void Your law …’
‘This is the teaching of the Ancient of Days …,’”
printed in [Likutei Moharan] Volume One, on page
157 [Torah #60]. There, he explains at the end of the
 Preface

discourse a little on the topic of story tales, that story

tales of the true Tzadik awaken from slumber those
people who have fallen asleep and who sleep their
days away, see there, and there are tales that are
from recent years, and there are stories from ancient
years which are the aspect of Ancient [of Days]; take
a good look there and understand and be enlightened
a little from the source, how far the words of these
stories reach, and what his holy intention was with
this. And, in truth, there is very, very great arousal to
the Blessed G-d in these stories in the majority of
places, even according to the simple meaning, aside
from the esoterics, because they are all awesome
secrets, and they have great power to awaken
everyone to the Blessed God. Chazak (it is strong).

While we were involved in the first printing of the

stories, we heard a call of commotion saying it is not
proper to print such story tales, and to repeat their
words would be only superfluous. Besides that we
already preempted (this) in the (previous) preface,
 Preface

with the words of Rabbainu of blessed memory, who

said that his will was to print story tales, and, "And
what can the world say about this, aren't they, in any
event, nice stories?" And already many, many story
tales have been printed in the world, too many to
count, and nobody opens his mouth and chitters.
Especially since most of the stories of our Master,
Leader, and Teacher of blessed memory speak
explicitly of very wonderful arousal of mussar, as in
the tale of the Prayer Leader (#12), and the tale of
the Seven Beggars (#13). Similarly, in most stories
there are found in them explicitly, words of wisdom
and mussar, aside from the esoterics in them. And
also, by many of the stories there are already printed
glosses and a smattering of wondrous, awesome
hints which Rabbainu of blessed memory himself,
revealed, as explained above. On top of all this, I
have decided to make a few more notes as to how far
the stories hint, according to my frail knowledge,
and whoever wishes to add, let him add.

It is known in all the books of the Zohar, and the

Tikunim, and in all the writings of the Arizal, that
 Preface

the "king's daughter" is an alias for the Shechina

(Divine Presence) and Kinnesses (the assembly of)
Yisroel, so to speak, and permission to speak in
these terms has already been given to us from the
forerunners before us, from whose mouths we
receive life (i.e. according to their dictates we
conduct our lives). And also King David ri"p and
Solomon his son used these terms very often, as it is
written, "All the honor of a king's daughter [(who)
is] within (Psalms 45:14)," and many other such
cases. And the whole book of Song of Songs which
is holy of holies, that the whole world is not worthy
of it (Mishna, Tractate Yudayim 3:5), is founded on
this secret. And all the writings of the Arizal and the
books of the Zohar are filled with this, as explained
there (Tikunay Zohar, Tikun 13, 29b), "He who
slays the serpent is given the king's daughter, which
is prayer." And in particular, in the discourse of the
Sabba (grandfather, old man) of [the Torah portion]
Mishpatim (pg. 95a), who spoke of "a beautiful
maiden who has no eyes," and many such instances,
too numerous to count. And like we say in the 'May-
it-be-Your-will' (Yehee Rutzoan) before Psalms, "…
 Preface

and to join the wife from youth with her lover" etc..
And likewise in the 'For-the-sake-of-the-unification'
(LiShaim yichud) before laying tefilin
(phylacteries), that is printed in Sha'arei Tziyon, we
say "the groom" etc., see there.

And whoever looks a little in the writings of the

Arizal will see there explicitly that the whole
foundation of the kabbalah is in this way, to unite
the aspect of the groom and bride, male and female.
And all the holy names and sfiros (Divine
Emanations), and all the descending chain of the
worlds according to the likeness and image of the
male countenance etc., and explained there in detail
are all their limbs and all the matters of unification,
mating, impregnation, birth, nursing, and growth of
the (male) minor and female minor, until they
become grown etc. etc.. And this is explained in
great detail throughout the Aitz Chaim and the Pree
Aitz Chaim (Books of Lurianic Kabbalah). And also
the Idra Raba (-a section) to [Zohar, Torah portion
of] Nasso (pg. 127b) and Ha'azzeenoo (pg.287b)
speak by this way of allusion. And also the whole
 Preface

book of Song of Songs is full of this, as it specifies

all the limbs of the groom as the bride praises him,
and likewise specifies the limbs of the bride as the
groom praises her. And also our Rabbis ob"m in the
Medrashim likened the giving of the Torah to a
wedding, as they said (Shir Hashirim Rabba 3:11,
Taanis 26b), "'on the day of his espousal (Song of
Songs 3:11)' – this is the giving of the Torah" etc.,
and they said (Mechilta Yisro 19:17) regarding the
verse, "'to meet G-d (Exodus 19:17)' – like a groom
going out to meet his bride." (since) The holy
Sabbath is called bride and queen, as it is written
(prayers, Tractate Sabbath 119a), "Come my
beloved to greet the bride… Come Bride" etc.. So it
is clear to see that all our rabbis ob"m referred to the
generalization and connection of the worlds to their
root with the terminology of groom and bride,
"because in the image of G-d He made man (Genesis
9:6)," and all the limbs of the male and female are
all the image of G-d, as written (Genesis 1:21), "And
G-d created the man in His image, in the image of
G-d He created him, male and female He created
them." And as we say in the wedding blessing,
 Preface

"Who has created the man in His image, in the

image of likeness of His format, and established
from him an everlasting structure" etc.. Because the
man (adam): the man (eesh) and the woman (eeshah)
are an actual part of G-d on high, and in them are
included the Name HaVaYa"H blessed is He, and if
they merit, the Shechina is suffused between them,
for he has in him the (Hebrew letter) Yud (EYSh),
and she (EeShaH) has in her the (Hebrew letter) Hay
(Sotah 17a. YH, is the name of G-d). And all this is
elementary and evident to everyone. And already the
early ones have used these terms to describe Israel's
drawing near to their Father in Heaven, in terms of
the connection of man and wife, because all of our
service, in its upper root, alludes to the joining of the
supernal groom and bride, which is the aspect of the
unification of the Holy One Blessed is He and His
Shechina (Yichud Kudsha Brich Hu oo'Shichinteh),
as all the books of the holy Zohar and the writings of
the Arizal are full of this. And also on Tisha Bi'Av
(the ninth of the month of Av), in the kinos
(lamintations) that we lament on the exile of the
Shechina and Kinnesses Yisroel, we say, "Then
 Preface

when (Jeremiah) went… he found a beautiful

woman, disgraced." And so in the prayer (tikun) of
the three night-watches which is from the Zohar
Chudush, it speaks there in terms like these, "like a
woman keening over her husband" etc., see there.

From all this, and more than this, it is evident (to the
eyes), that the exile of the Shechina and Kinnesses
Yisroel is an aspect of the loss of the King's
daughter and her estrangement from her lover etc..
And look in the book of the Bahir (62-63, brought)
in the omissions (#44) of the Zohar (Torah portion
of) Beraishis (265b its place, pg. 49a), for what is
written there regarding, "Come my beloved, let us
go out to the field (Song of Songs 7:12)" etc.: a
parable of a king who was sitting in rooms within
rooms etc. and she married the king and was also
given to him as a present, and sometimes out of love
he calls her "my sister," because he was from the
same place, and sometimes he calls her "my
daughter," because she is his daughter, and
sometimes he calls her "my mother." And thus our
Rabbis ob"m said (Shemos Rabba 52:4, Zohar
 Preface

Vayikra 262) regarding the verse, "upon the crown

with which his mother crowned him" – he loved her
to the point that he called her "my daughter" etc..
And similarly throughout the book of Proverbs he
calls the faith and the holy Torah by the name,
"good woman," "woman of valor," and the deceitful
beliefs and apostasy, by the name, "evil woman,"
"promiscuous woman," as explained in Rashi's
commentary and all the words of our Rabbis ob"m.
And there has already been printed the story of the
Baal Shem Tov ob"m, at the end of the book Toldos
Yaakov Yosef, of the trader and his wife who were
at sea etc., which is founded on this preface, that the
"woman who fears Hashem" is Knesses Yisroel (The
Assembly of Israel).

After Hashem has revealed to us all of this (play on

Genesis 41:39), through all the early prophets, and
tzaddikim, and sages, according to these words the
understanding reader who wants to gaze into these
stories with the eye of absolute truth, can easily
understand and be enlightened by them, to find
wonderful awesome things. And even though it is
 Preface

not possible to reach their character, to understand

the story's entire connection from beginning to end,
even still he will understand a little bit of them, and
it will please his soul greatly.

And behold the first story…

And behold the first story, of the king's daughter

who was lost, it is clear that this is the secret of the
Shechina in exile. Because the exile of the Shechina
began before the creation of the world, in the secret
of "the breaking of the vessels," in the secret of "and
these are the kings that reigned etc. (Gen. 36:31)."
And as soon as Adam HuRishon (the first) was
created, he needed to rectify this, to raise up all the
worlds to their place, to reveal His blessed kingship,
immediately at the time of the creation of the world,
just as His kingship will soon be revealed at the time
of the coming of our Messiah, may he come speedily
in our days. However, he was not vigilant against
eating from the Tree of Knowledge and so forth,
which corresponds to what is written in this story,
that the viceroy did not stand up to his test, and ate
the apple, and through this he damaged all the
 Preface

worlds, and the Shechina again fell down and

descended amidst the Realm of Evil [lit. the other
side], as is known. And afterwards Noah came, and
he wanted to rectify, but he did not rectify, because
he drank and got drunk, in the secret of, "And he
drank of the wine, and got drunk etc. (Gen. 9:21),"
as brought in the books (Zohar Beraishis 73), that
this is the aspect of "what is man (Psalms 8:5)" etc.,
(this correlates to) that which the viceroy did not
withstand his test, and drank from the wine, as it is
written there. And from there onwards, all the
tzadikim in all the generations have been involved in
this rectification, until our Messiah comes, soon in
our days, when the rectification will be complete.

And this story is about every man and at all times,

for even in each individual man, almost this whole
entire story passes over him, for each member of
Israel needs to be involved in this rectification, to
raise the Shechina from the exile, to raise the
Shechina from out of the dirt," to take the Kingship
of Holiness out from amongst the idolaters and the
Realm of Evil (lit. Other Side) where it goes about
 Preface

between them. For this is the secret of all our service

and all the mitzvos, good deeds, and Torah
engagement that we do all the days of our lives,
which are all founded on this point, as explained in
the writings (of the Arizal, Shaar HaPsukim, Torah
Portion of Beraishis, of the secret of the sin of
Adam). And even completely simple people and the
masses who do not know their right from their left,
nevertheless, they too, if they are privileged to go on
the straight path according to their level, namely to
shun evil and do good – because even a completely
simple person knows what the Torah forbade, and if
his eyes look to the truth and proper (Proverbs 4:25),
to turn away from bad and choose good, then all the
rectifications in the upper worlds are accomplished
automatically through him, and he merits to erect the
Shechina from her fall, in proportion to how much
he merits to sanctify and purify himself.

Hence each member of Israel is involved in seeking

and asking for the King's Daughter, to return her to
her Father so that she may return to Him as in her
youth in the secret of (Lev. 22:13), "and is returned
 Preface

to her father's house as in her youth, she may eat of

her father's bread." For Israel as a whole are an
aspect of the viceroy, because they rule over the
world; just as He revives the dead and heals the sick,
so do Israel; as they said (Introduction of the Zohar
pg. 5a), "Do not read it (Isa. 51:16) 'ammee' (my
people) but 'eemmee' (with me): 'Just as I created the
heavens and earth with my speech, so do you'" etc.;
and there are many more (passages) of the like. And
each person, to the extent that he merits to engage in
His service, through which he is so to speak engaged
in seeking and requesting the Shechina and
Kinnesses (assembly of) Yisroel, to take Her out
from the exile, to that extent so to speak the
Shechina is revealed to him so to speak from out of
Her utter exile, and hides and conceals herself, and
comes to him in secret, and reveals to him her place
and dwelling, and what to do for her so that he will
merit to find her. [Which] this corresponds to the
king's daughter's revealing to the viceroy by what
means he can take her out. And the means explained
there, are very explicitly clear according to their
simple meaning (for so was the way of Rabbainu
 Preface

ob"m, in most of the stories, that within the

connections of the stories he tells words of mussar in
the simple sense, as will be clear to one who looks
into them).

For, a person must choose for himself a place, and

ordain for himself repentance and fasting, and
constantly yearn and constantly long for Him,
Blessed is He, that he merit to recognize Him; that
His kingship be revealed in the world; "and let every
[man who has been] formed know that it is You who
have formed him, and let all that has breath in its
nose, say '… and His kingship rules over all (Psalms
103:19)'(Prayers of High Holidays)," which is the
main point of erecting the Shechina out of the exile,
when people merit to recognize His kingship in
complete faith in truth, and everyone knows Him,
Blessed is He, from little to great, "and the kingship
will be Hashem's (last words of Ovadia)" etc.. And
when a man begins to engage in this, and chooses
for himself a place for hisbodidus [to be alone in
meditation and conversation with G-d], to engage in
the service of Hashem, and hope, and long for Him,
 Preface

Blessed He, and sometimes merits that it continues

for some time, then however, when he is very close
to arrive at his goal – that a revelation of His
kingship, Blessed He, be revealed to him according
to his station, then on the last day, a test is
summoned for him according to his station, and then
on that day upon which everything depends, then the
Prosecutor (ba'al duvar – litigant) with all his forces
strengthens himself against him in a very great
surge, and enters into discussion with him, and
draws him to his persuasion, and he sees that "it is a
delight to the eyes, and desirable (Gen. 3:6)" etc.,
and he takes from the fruit and eats, G-d forbid, and
he does not withstand his test in which he is required
to be tried and purified then at that time. And then
sleep immediately falls upon him, and sleep is the
absence of the mochin (brains- intellect, especially
higher consciousness), when his mind and wisdom
are removed from him, which enlighten his face, in
the secret of "and his face fell (Gen. 4:5)," and it is
written, "Why is your face fallen? (Gen. 4:6)" Look
regarding this at the lesson which begins "Rabbi
Shimon opened" (Likutay Moharan, Torah 60).
 Preface

There it speaks of this, that through the blemish of

the craving of eating, a person loses his face – which
is his intellect, and then he falls into the aspect of
sleep; take a good look there and you will
understand, for there it speaks at length concerning
story tales, through which people are awakened from
sleep; see there.

And at these times, when a man is in the aspect of

sleep, G-d forbid, what happens to him happens,
which corresponds to all the soldiers who passed
over the viceroy when he was asleep. And later he
woke up and became aware that he slept so long, and
he went again to the place of the king's daughter, and
she informed him how much pity there is upon him
and her, that because of one day he lost what he lost,
and she lightened the prohibition for him, that he
need not fast, but only refrain from drinking wine, so
that he not come to sleep. And he again yearned for
some long time in service of Hashem in order to
extract the king's daughter, but on the last day also
(he) did not stand up to the easier test, for he saw a
spring of wine, and inclined himself, and began to be
 Preface

drawn to it, and said to the attendant, "Have you

seen? This is a spring, and how does wine come
here?!" And meanwhile he went and took a little,
and tasted from the wine, and immediately sleep fell
upon him, and he slept very long. For so is the way
of the Prosecutor and the cravings – when he wants
to incite a kosher man who wants to distance himself
from the cravings, that is when he inclines him, little
by little, so that he wonder and be amazed in his
mind at the interest of the thing that he craves after,
and as soon as he enters into discussion over the
object of desire, the Prosecutor overcomes him until
he makes him stumble in it, as explained in the
Torah regarding the Tree of Knowledge, how the
serpent spoke with the woman, "Did G-d verily
say…? And she saw the tree was good for food, and
that it was a delight to the eyes etc. (Gen. 3:6)."
Look and you will find that this is the matter in all
the cravings and trials.

And whoever is truly intelligent and has mercy on

his soul in truth, to rescue his soul from destruction,
and wants to withstand the trial – he needs to
 Preface

overcome with all (his) valor to distract himself

completely and not enter into arguments and
counterarguments with the cravings at all, and not
speak of, contemplate, wonder at, or be amazed by
them at all, and that the suggestions of his thoughts
not make him alarmed at all, as written in the Aleph
Bet Book (Sefer HaMidos, entry of Promiscuity ,
item #10), "Do not enter into argument and
counterargument with your temptations etc." see
there, but he should just divert his attention from
them completely and make his mind clear with
words of Torah, or commerce, or conversation, and
so forth, until he escapes from what needs to be
escaped from. And later, such thoughts and ideas
return and arouse in him, and he needs to again
overcome them, to distract his mind from them, and
to do so many, many times, and he needs to be very
stubborn until he wins the war.

And behold, since the second time too, he did not

withstand the test, and tasted from the wine, again a
long sleep fell on him, and he slept very long,
namely seventy years. And the concept of sleeping
 Preface

the whole seventy years is clear from the Torah

(instructional lesson) "Rabbi Shimon opened" in the
chapter mentioned above (60), that there are people
who fall away from all the seventy faces of the
Torah, which correspond to seventy years etc. – see
there – that it is impossible to arouse and awaken
them except through story tales from ancient times
[lit. years] etc.; take a good look there.

And the king's daughter, who is the root of this soul,

when she passes by him and sees that he has fallen
into sleep (for) many days and years, such a long
time, she weeps very much, because there is great
pity on him and her, and then she let him know her
place, that now she is not in the first place but in a
different place, namely on a golden mountain etc..
And the hint is clear, that even though he did what
he did, and fell how he fell, such a very long time,
nevertheless the Shechina arouses him each time,
and each time hints to him new aitzos (remedies,
advice) how he should seek and ask for the root of
his holiness, which corresponds to the king's
daughter.
 Preface

And this viceroy, even though he did not withstand

the test two times, and fell into so much sleep, and
all that passed over him passed over, and after such
hard and extraordinary toils, travels, travails, and
afflictions that he went through in order to find the
king's daughter, and then because of one day (he)
lost everything – and so he stumbled two times, as
mentioned – despite this, he did not let himself
despair completely G-d forbid, (he) just went to seek
and request the golden mountain and the castle. And
after he had many more hard toils and travels, and
sought the mountain and castle, he found a big man
with a big tree etc., and this man dissuaded him, that
surely the mountain and castle do not exist, and
wanted to mislead him and dissuade him so that he
go back. But the viceroy did not listen to the
obstacles and discouragements, and said that the
mountain and castle surely exist, until the big man
was forced to call and assemble all the animals etc.,
but they all answered that it does not exist. And then
he (the big man to the viceroy) said, "Look and see
with your eyes that it does not exist; and for what do
you tire so much for nothing? If you will listen to
 Preface

my words, go back." But he did not pay attention to

this, and said that it surely exists, and then the big
man answered him that he should go to his brother,
who is appointed over the birds, and he went and
exerted himself and sought him until he found him.
And then the second one also dissuaded him, and
tried to veer him off to return, that the mountain and
castle surely do not exist. But he did not listen to his
words of dissuasion either, and the second one was
forced to call and assemble all the birds, but they all
answered that the mountain and castle do not exist in
the world. And then this second one told him
similarly, "See with your eyes, that you toil for
nothing. Go back." But he did not give ear to the
words of the second one either, and said that he was
strong in his faith that it surely exists. And then the
second one informed him that he should go to his
brother who was appointed over the winds. And this
one also dissuaded him very much, as before, and
afterwards called and assembled all the winds, and
they all replied that it does not exist. And then this
third one said to him, "Now look and see that you
have toiled for nothing, because you will certainly
 Preface

no longer find it. Go back." And then he saw that all

the ends had been exhausted, and he did not know
whether to veer right or left, in order to find her, but
in himself he was strong in his mind that the
mountain and castle certainly exist, where the king's
daughter dwells. And then out of his great pain and
bitterness of heart he began to cry very much, and at
that moment Hashem Yisburach had compassion on
him, and in the midst of this came another wind, and
informed him that it itself had carried the king's
daughter to the mountain and castle. And then he
gave him a vessel from which he would get money,
that he would not have hindrance due to money, and
then he went there, and endeavored strategically
until he took her out. Fortunate is he!

And whoever reads this with an eye of truth, will

thoroughly understand just how much a person
needs to strengthen himself in service of Hashem,
and how, and to what extent, he needs to be very
stubborn in service of Hashem: without bounds,
limits, and number, each and every man according to
his level and his ascents and declines, and even if
 Preface

what has happened with him has happened. See, and

understand, and inspect this story, how much effort
the viceroy exerted, and how many toils he toiled,
and afterwards fell very low by not enduring the
easy test two times, until he fell into the aspect of
sleep many, many years, until he was in the aspect
of sleep of the whole seventy years, as mentioned.
But despite this he did not despair, and he made
these toils afterwards, and did not listen to any
obstacle or discouragement which they wanted to
dissuade him to not seek and request her any more.
And the more he strengthened himself and did not
listen to the voice of dissuasions of those people,
immediately it turned around, and those people were
of help, for each one assembled for him the animals
or the birds that he was appointed over, and if
afterwards they again dissuaded him, and said to
him, "See, it does not exist," and despite this, he did
not listen to their dissuasions, then they assisted him,
and each one informed him of his brother, until he
came to this one who was appointee over the winds,
through whom he arrived at his objective. And this
one too, dissuaded him extremely much, but since he
 Preface

was strong in his mind, and never gave up in any

way, then in a fleeting moment the thing reversed,
and the obstacles were reversed to assistances and
salvations, and one wind came and informed him
that it had personally carried the king's daughter to
the mountain and castle, and afterwards this very
wind carried him there too, as mentioned.

See, understand, and gaze on each detail of the story,

and understand clues and wonderful arousal, how
much one needs to strengthen himself to seek, look
for, and request the service of Hashem constantly, as
is written, "Seek His face always (Psalms 105:4)"
etc., for if indeed the essence of the story is beyond
our knowledge, and we do not know at all what the
golden mountain with the castle and so forth are, or
the rest of the concepts, whether in general or in
particular – nevertheless all the clues are true and
made clear to an eye of truth, within the story, and
more clues and wonderful arousals beyond these,
each person can derive from them if he desires. "The
wise man will listen, and increase life-lessons
(Proverbs 1:5)." And similarly in the rest of the
 Preface

stories. (The concept of the golden mountain with

the castle of pearls hints to a wonderful affluence on
the side of holiness, which one needs for [a certain
level of] contemplation of Torah etc. as explained in
the lesson "Rabbi Shimon opened," Chapter 60,
volume 1 (Likutay Moharan); take a very good look
there, for this lesson is an explanation of this story,
as we understood from him ob"m).

Let us go from one topic to the next, and give a little

attention to the story of the Chuchum (clever one,
sophisticate) and the Tam (Simple one) [#9]. There
you will see the intention somewhat clarified in that
story, that the main purpose is to go in simplicity
without any sophistication, so take a good look there
at each and every utterance, and find wonderful
clues for strengthening yourself in the way of
simplicity, which is the main good purpose even in
this world, all the more so in the future world.

And similarly in the story of the Exchanged Sons

[#11] and in the story of the Prayer Leader [#12],
and all the more so, and all the more so, in the story
 Preface

of the Seven Beggars [#13], that there by each and

every (one) of the seven is elucidated wonderful and
awesome mussar beyond compare, for each one
gloried in how superbly far he is from this world, in
the utmost. For, this one gloried that he is
completely blind to this world, and does not look at
this world at all, for the whole world does not count
by him as much as an eyeblink, and so forth. And
the deaf one gloried in that he is completely deaf to
hearing any sounds of this world, which are all due
to things that are lacking, for the whole world is not
worth it by him, to hear the call of their deficiencies
etc.. And one gloried that he does not speak any
utterance that does not praise Hashem Yisburach,
and therefore he was completely mute from the
speech of this world; and similarly one gloried that
he does not want to leave any breath whatsoever in
this world, and similarly the rest. Take a good look
there, and if you look with any eye of truth, you will
stand still, quake and be dumbfounded, and see the
wonderful marvel of the mussar, and the awesome
arousal to Hashem Yisburach in this story which is
beyond compare.
 Preface

And see our words in the book Likutay Halachos ('A

Collection of Laws') in several places, what Hashem
enlightened my eyes, and various clues to several of
the stories. See the Laws of Tefillin (phylacteries;
halacha #5) which is explained through the story of
the first beggar that was blind etc., see there. And in
the Laws of the Morning Blessings (halacha #3),
which is explained through the story of the
Exchanged Sons. And in the Laws of Prayer
(halacha #4) which is explained through the story of
the Prayer Leader. And in Yoreh Daya (one of the
four sections of the Code of Jewish Law), in the
Laws of Worms (halacha #4) which is explained by
means of the story of the sixth beggar that did not
have hands, who told over the story of the princess
who fled to the Castle of Water etc.. And in Evven
HuEzzer (another section of the Code of Jewish
Law), in the Laws of Marriage (- the Laws of
Procreation, halacha #3:32) regarding that story just
mentioned, what is written there, that the healing of
the king's daughter is through ten kinds of music;
and in several more places. See there, and find
nachas (delight of satisfaction) with the help of
 Preface

Hashem Yisburach. And look in the Laws of Vows

(halacha 4:25) regarding the story of the fourth day,
of the matter of the two birds. And in the Laws of
Charity (- the Laws of Teachers and Charity 4:13)
regarding the story of the third day, of the matter of
the (beggar who was) speech impaired, and the
spring which is above time, and the heart of the
world. May Hashem Yisburach show us wonders in
His Torah, that we merit to continue (/add) and
perceive true hints in all the stories and words which
we have been privileged to hear from this light.

This we found in a sack of writings and its subject

is an apology for him ob"m having written the
Story Tales in such a forthright (/simple
/common) language, and here it is:
[Rabbi Nussun wrote:] Furthermore, I saw fit to
alert the hearts of the readers of this book of legends,
that they should not grudge him (Rabbi Nachman)
for that which there are found sometimes, that there
exited from under his tongue, rough expressions in
the Story Tales, for instance: "and he got mad at
her," in the first story, and, "he took to drinking," in
 Preface

the story of the Exchanged Children, and more in

other places. Let them judge him favorably, for this
was "as if an error goes out before the ruler (Eccl
10:5)" under great necessity because…
(Up to here is what we have found, and I have
copied his words ob"m, letter for letter:)
And behold, it is plainly clear that his holy desire
was to write a reason for this, but apparently he
stopped in the middle due to some unavoidable
accident, and we were never again privileged that
Hashem Yisburach should bring about that he should
write it himself. Praise the Lord that we have been
privileged in His great mercies, that these words
have been written, because for each and every
utterance that he wanted to write, so that it be
revealed in the world, there were many obstacles
against them, and because of this he was very, very
rushed in his writing, as we saw with our eyes, for
he was accustomed to always telling us that if he did
not hurry himself to break the obstacles and write
immediately, he did not know if he would write (it
any) more, due to several reasons held secret by him.
 Preface

And now since I have heard a revelation of his

intention from him ob"m, that his desire is, that
when they print again, some reason should be
written for this, I decided not to hold back from
writing one reason of many reasons which were
hidden and held secret by him ob"m, and this is it,
what I heard from him ob"m. That our Master,
Leader, and Teacher, the Rav, Rabbi Nachman,
memory of the righteous and holy for blessing, told
the stories in the Yiddish that was the vernacular in
our country, and our leader and teacher the rav,
Rabbi Nussun, memory of the righteous for blessing,
the choice of his precious disciples ob"m, copied
them in the Holy Tongue [Hebrew] and brought
himself down intentionally into simple language in
order that the concepts not deviate by those who
read them in the Holy Tongue from what he ob"m
told over in the Yiddish that was customary among
us. And this is the reason why we hear from his holy
tongue such common terminology in several places.
This reason is according to what I heard from him
ob"m, according to the simple meaning, aside from
the hidden reasons he had which I did not merit to
 Preface

hear from him ob"m. And it is proper to believe that

he had additional secret reasons, for it is known
from his holy books that he was superbly eloquent,
yet here he brought himself down to simple
language; therefore it is proper to believe that he had
profound intention in this; 'and a man of faith,' there
will come to him 'many blessing' (Proverbs 28:20),
amen, may it be His will.

Yiddish Foreword
The stories in this book contain great secrets of the
Torah; they contain very great things. There is not
one trivial word in the them, and even simple folk
can take great mussar from the stories, for the stories
have a great power to awaken all people from sleep,
so that one should not, Heaven forbid, sleep through
his days for nothing. And whoever will look into the
stories with an honest eye, can see and understand a
little of G-d's greatness; even simple folk can also
get some glimpse of hints of mussar - so that they
take a good look around; what the purpose of the
world is; so that they do not allow themselves to be
fooled by this world. And one should pray day and
 Preface

night, to be saved from the fallacy of the world, and

to merit to be as Hashem yisburach desires. And
furthermore, there are esoteric things in the stories
that one cannot write or tell of, fortunate is the one
who knows just a bit of them. And because we once
heard from his mouth saying that he had great desire
that the stories should be printed with Hebrew above
and Yiddish below, therefore we have fulfilled his
holy desire and we have printed it so, because
common folk also need to be acquainted with the
stories; even though they will understand scant-little
of the meaning and where the stories reach, even
still it will be a great benefit towards the ultimate
[life] purpose if they will look into them with an
honest eye, because they have a great power to
awaken [a person] to the Almighty, as mentioned,
for the stories are not empty things, Heaven forbid.
And the Rebbe, rest in peace, would each time, after
most of the stories, mention certain verses and
certain concepts so that people should know that he
did not say any idle words, Heaven forbid. [To that
purpose] he slightly indicated a hint as to where the
 Preface

stories reach, for all these stories are completely

secrets of the Torah.
<Declaration!>
To make known and to inform explicitly that every
word printed in this holy book is holy of holies; pure
secrets of the Torah. One should not think that they
are simple tales, for the stories presented in this
book were told by the great tzadik, of supernal
holiness, the holy Rebbe, Rabbi NACHMAN,
blessed is the memory of the tzadik; may his merit
stand up for us. His intention was to teach us how to
serve the Almighty. And if only we would
understand the great secrets and the moral teachings
that are inherent in these stories, we would be
devout Jews like we should be. And Hashem
yisburach should send us the Righteous Redeemer
very soon in our times, quickly in our days, Amen.
 Story of a Lost Princess

Story 1

(The Loss of a King's Daughter)

(Summer of 5566)

He (Rabbi Nachman) spoke up and said: "While on

the way, I told a story, that whoever heard it had a
thought of repentance. And this is the story...":

Once, there was a king. The king had six sons and
one daughter. Now, this daughter was very precious
in his eyes, and he was exceedingly fond of her, and
would take great delight in being with her. One time,
while he was together with her on a certain day, he
became angry with her, and the words, "May the Not
Good One take you away" slipped out of his mouth.
At night, she went to her room, and in the morning,
 Story of a Lost Princess

no one knew where she was. So her father (the king)

was very distraught and went looking for her
everywhere. The Second to the King arose, because
he saw the king was very troubled, and asked to be
given a servant, a horse, and money for expenses,
and went to search for her. He searched for her very
much, for a very long time, until he found her.

(Now he tells how he searched for her until he

found her.)

He traveled a long time, searching everywhere for

her; in deserts, and in fields, and in forests. And he
sought her for a very long time. He was making his
way in the desert, when he saw a pathway, away to
the side; he thought it over well and decided, "Since
I have been going for such a long time in the desert
and cannot find her, I will follow this path. Maybe I
will come to a settlement." He went for a long time.

After that he saw a castle and many legions of

soldiers standing around it. And the castle was very
beautiful, and the legions of soldiers standing around
it in fine order gave it a handsome and stately
 Story of a Lost Princess

appearance. He was scared of the legions of soldiers,

maybe they would not let him enter. He thought it
over, saying to himself, "I will go ahead and try." So
he left the horse behind, and went to the castle. He
was allowed to enter, and they did nothing at all to
stop him, and he went from one room to another
without being challenged. He came to a palace hall,
and he saw the king sitting there with a crown and
many legions of soldiers standing around him. Many
musicians were playing on instruments before him,
and it was very pleasant and beautiful there. And
neither the king nor any one of them asked him
anything at all, and he saw delicacies and good food
there. So he went (Heb: stood) and ate, and then
went to lie down in a little corner in order to see
what takes place there. He saw that the king had
commanded that the queen be brought, and they
went to bring her! There was great tumult there, and
great rejoicing, and the band played and sang
keenly, because the queen had been brought. A chair
was placed for her, and she was seated next to him.
And she was the (aforementioned) king's daughter,
 Story of a Lost Princess

and he (the second to the king) saw her and

recognized her.

After this the queen glanced and noticed someone

lying in the corner, and she recognized him. So she
rose from her chair and went over to him. She
touched him and asked him, "Do you recognize
me?" He answered her, "Yes, I recognize you. You
are the king's daughter (princess) who was lost."
And he asked her, "How did you come to be here?"
She answered him, "Because my father (the king)
blurted out those words, (that "The Not Good One
should take you away") and here, this is the place
that is not good." So he told her that her father was
very grieved, and that he was searching for her many
years.

And he asked her, "How can I take you out (of

here)?" She answered him, "It is impossible for you
to take me out, unless you choose for yourself a
place and remain there for a full year, and all that
year you must long for me that you should take me
out, and whenever you have free time, you must
only long, desire, and hope to take me out. And you
 Story of a Lost Princess

must fast. And on the last day of the year, you

should fast and not sleep the whole twenty four
hours.

He went and did so, and at the end of the year, on

the last day, he fasted and did not sleep, and he arose
and went there (to the king's daughter, in order to
take her out of the castle). He saw a tree, and on it
were growing very beautiful apples. It was very
desirable to his eyes, and he went and ate from them.
As soon as he ate the apple, he dropped down and
was taken by sleep and slept a very long time. His
servant tried to wake him, but he could not be
awakened.

After that, he awoke from the sleep. He asked the

servant, "Where am I in the world?" He told him the
whole story (i.e. the servant told the second to the
king the story) saying, "You were sleeping for a very
long time. It is now several years that you have
slept, and I sustained myself from the fruit." He was
very upset. And he went there, and found her (i.e.
the king's daughter). She lamented to him greatly,
and was in great anguish. "Because of one day, you
 Story of a Lost Princess

lost everything (in other words, because you could

not restrain yourself for one day, and you ate the
apple, through that you've forfeited) for if you had
only come on that day, you would have taken me
out. It is true that not to eat is a very difficult thing,
especially on the last day - then the evil inclination
is very overpowering (i.e. the king's daughter told
him that now she would make the prohibition more
lenient, and he would not be forbidden to eat,
because it is a difficult thing to comply with etc.). So
you should once again choose a place, and stay there
also for a year (as before), and on the last day you
will now be allowed to eat. Only, you must not
sleep, and you should not drink any wine, so that
you should not fall into sleep; for the most important
thing is (refraining from) sleep." He went and did
this.

On the last day he was going and saw a flowing

spring, and the appearance of the spring was red, and
the smell was that of wine. He asked the servant,
"Did you see? This is a spring that should contain
water, but its colour is red, and its smell is of wine!"
 Story of a Lost Princess

And he went and tasted from the spring.

Immediately, he dropped down and slept many
years; for seventy years. (During this period) many
legions of soldiers passed with the wagons of
equipment (baggage trains) which trail after them.
And the servant hid himself because of these legions
of soldiers. After that there went a covered carriage,
and there, sat the king's daughter. She stopped near
him, and descended, and sat next to him, and she
recognized him. And she shook him ardently to
rouse him, be he could not be awakened.

She began to bewail him, in that - "So much

exertion and toil, for so many years, you have
underwent to take me out, and because of one day,
when you could have taken me out, you have lost
everything!" She cried a great deal about this. She
said, "It's a very great pity upon you and upon me.
For I have been here such a long time and I cannot
leave." After, she took off a scarf from her head, and
wrote on it with her tears, and laid it down next to
him. And she rose and sat in the carriage and rode
away.
 Story of a Lost Princess

Later, he awoke and asked the servant, "Where am I

in the world?" He told him the whole story, and that
so many legions of soldiers had passed by, and that
the carriage had been there, and that she had cried
over him, and she had cried out, "It's a great pity on
you and on me etc." as related before. Meanwhile,
he glanced and noticed that the headscarf was lying
near him, and asked, "Where did this come from?"
He answered him, "She left it behind and wrote on it
with her tears."

He took the headscarf and held it up against the sun.

He began to see the letters. He read what was written
there; her lamentation and her cries (as related
above), and that now she is no longer in that castle
(which was mentioned above), rather he should
search for a mountain of gold with a pearl castle,
"There, you will find me."

So he (the second to the king) left the servant

behind, and went alone to search for her. He went
and searched for her for several years. He thought it
over and realized that in a settled place certainly
would not be found a golden mountain and pearl
 Story of a Lost Princess

castle, because he was proficient in the map of the

world. "So I will go to deserts and search there." He
went searching for her in the deserts for many years.

After that, he saw a huge man, whose enormous size

cannot be considered human, and he was carrying a
massive tree. In a settled area such a large tree
would never be found. And the man asked him,
"Who are you?" He answered, "I am a man." The
giant man was amazed and said, "I've been such a
long time now, in the desert, and I have never before
seen a human being here!" He told him the whole
story (as above) and that he is searching for a golden
mountain and a pearl castle. He answered that, "For
sure no such thing exists," and tried to put him off,
telling him, "You have been talked into this
nonsense because it certainly does not exist!" He
started to cry bitterly (the second to the king cried
very much) and said, "For sure it has to exist; it must
be possible to find it somewhere!" And he dissuaded
him (i.e. the wild man put him off) and said, "You
have been persuaded into nonsense." And he (the
 Story of a Lost Princess

second to the king) said, "It definitely must be

somewhere."

He said to him (the wild man to the second to the

king), "In my opinion this is ridiculous, but since
you are obstinate, behold I am in charge of all the
wild animals, I will do you a favor and summon all
the beasts - for they roam over the entire world -
perhaps one of them will know about this mountain
and castle (which was mentioned above)."

He called all the wild animals, from small to large,

and asked them. They all replied that they had not
seen it. He told him, "You see, you have been told
nonsense. If you listen to me, turn back, for you
surely won't find it, as it does not exist anywhere in
the world." And the second to the king stubbornly
insisted and said, "It surely does exist!"

He said to him (the wild man to the second to the

king), "Look, I have a brother in the desert, and he is
in charge of all the birds; maybe they will know,
since they fly high in the air. Maybe they have seen
 Story of a Lost Princess

the mountain and the castle. Go to him, and tell him

that I sent you to him."

He went searching many years, and again found a

huge person (as above), also carrying a massive tree,
and who questioned him just as the first one had. He
(the second to the king) answered telling him the
whole story, and that the brother had sent him to
him. And he too (the brother) tried to discourage
him since this is obviously something that does not
exist, and the second to the king pleaded with him
also that it certainly does exist! He told him (this
second man told the viceroy), "I am in charge of all
the birds; I will summon them, maybe they know."
And he called up all the birds and asked all of them,
from small to large. They answered him that they
don't know of that mountain and castle. He told him
(the brother told the viceroy), "Don't you see? It
certainly does not exist anywhere in the world! If
you listen to me, turn back, because obviously no
such thing exists!" And he (the second to the king)
insisted very stubbornly saying, "It surely does exist
somewhere in the world!" He told him (the brother
 Story of a Lost Princess

told the second to the king), "Further on in the desert

my brother can be found. He is in charge of all the
winds, and they run throughout the whole world.
Perhaps they know."

He went searching many years, and again he found a

large man as before, who was also carrying a huge
tree, and also questioned him as related above. He
replied telling him the whole story as before. This
man also tried to discourage him, and the second to
the king implored him as well. He told him (this
third man to the second to the king) that he would do
him a favor, and for his sake he would call all the
winds to come, and would ask them. So he called all
the winds to come, and they came. He asked them
all. Not one of them knew of the mountain and the
castle. He said to the second to the king, "Don't you
see that you have been told nonsense!" The second
to the king began to cry bitterly and said, "I know
for sure that it does exist!"

In the interim, he saw that another wind had arrived.

The appointee fumed at it, "Why did you come so
late? Didn't I order that all the winds should come?!
 Story of a Lost Princess

Why didn't you come with them?" It answered him,

"I was delayed because I had to carry a daughter of a
king (a princess) to a golden mountain and a pearl
castle." He was overjoyed (the second to the king
was very happy that he now merited to hear what he
desired).

The appointee over the winds asked the wind,

"What is valuable there? (i.e. what things are
considered precious and important there?)" It told
him, "There, everything is valuable!" The appointee
over the winds addressed the second to the king
saying, "Since you have been searching for her for
such a long time, and you have expended so much
effort - lest you will now have a monetary setback, I
give you a vessel so that whenever you put your
hand into it, you will receive from it money." And
he commanded the wind to carry him (the second to
the king) there. The storm wind came and carried
him there, and brought him to the gate. Legions of
soldiers were standing there, who would not let him
enter the city. So he put his hand into the vessel and
took out money and bribed them, and entered the
 Story of a Lost Princess

city. The city was beautiful, and he went to a

wealthy person and purchased meals (Yid. kest -
room and board), as he would have to stay there
some time, because it would take wisdom and
intelligence in order to take her out (and how he got
her out, he did not tell). In the end he took her out.
Amen Selah.
 King and an Emperor

Story 2

A tale. Once there was an emperor [kaiser] who did

not have children. There was also a king who did not
have children. The emperor set out to wander the
earth searching - perhaps he would find some
solution or treatment to beget children. The king also
set out to travel the world. They both came to one
inn and they did not recognize each other. The
emperor recognized in the king that he had a royal
manner, and asked him, and he acknowledged to
him that he was a king. The king also recognized in
the emperor that he had a royal bearing, and he also
acknowledged it to him. They told each other that
they were traveling for children. They made an
agreement between them that if they would come
home and their wives would bear, one a boy and one
 King and an Emperor

a girl, they would match them. The emperor traveled

home and had a daughter, and the king traveled
home and had a son - and the match was forgotten
by them.

The emperor sent his daughter to study, the king

also sent his son to study, and they both arrived at
the same teacher. They liked each other very much.
They agreed between themselves to marry each
other. The king's son took a ring and placed it on her
hand, and they were espoused.

Afterwards, the emperor sent for his daughter and

brought her home. The king also sent for his son and
brought him home. Matches were suggested for the
emperor's daughter, but she was not interested in any
match on account of the bond she had already made
with the king's son. The king's son yearned for her
greatly, and the emperor's daughter was also
constantly sad. The emperor would walk her through
his courtyards and palace, showing her her
greatness, but she was always sad. The king's son
yearned for her so much that he became ill, and no
matter how much he was asked, "Why are you ill?"
 King and an Emperor

He did not want to say. They asked the one who

served him, "Maybe you can inquire by him?" He
answered them, "I know," because the one who
served him was with him there where he learned. He
told them (i.e. the servant told them why he was
sick). The king then remembered that he had long
ago already made a match with the emperor, so he
went and wrote to the emperor that he should
prepare himself for the wedding, for the match had
indeed been made long ago, as mentioned. However
the emperor no longer wanted the match, but he
could not brazenly refuse. So the emperor wrote
back that the king should send his son to him, in
order for him (the emperor) to see if the king's son
could govern countries; then he (the emperor) would
give the king's son his daughter. The king sent his
son to him. The emperor sat him down in a room
and gave him papers of government matters in order
to see if he could govern a country.

The king's son yearned deeply to see her, but he

could not see her. Once while he was walking along
a wall of mirror, he saw her and fainted. She came to
 King and an Emperor

him and roused him, and she told him that she does
not want any other match because of the bond that
she already had made with him. He said to her,
"What can we do? Your father does not want it." She
said, "Nevertheless;" she would hold herself only for
him. Afterwards they took counsel: they would let
themselves out by sea. So they rented a ship and set
out to sea.

They traveled upon the sea. Afterwards they wanted

to come ashore, and they came ashore. There was a
forest there, and they went there. The emperor's
daughter took the ring and gave it to him, and she
lay down to sleep. Afterwards, the king's son saw
that she would soon get up, so he put the ring next to
her. Afterwards they went to the ship.

Meanwhile, she remembered that they had forgotten

the ring there, so she sent him after the ring. He went
there, but could not find the place. He went further
and still could not find the ring. He went seeking the
ring from one place to another place, until he got lost
and was unable to return. She went to look for him
and she too got lost. He was going along and getting
 King and an Emperor

further and further astray. Then he saw a path and

entered a settled area. He had nothing to do, so he
became a servant. She too went and got lost. She
decided she would sit by the sea. She went to the
shore of the sea, and there were fruit trees there. She
settled there, and during the day she would go along
the sea; perhaps she would find some passerby. And
she sustained herself on the fruit, and at night she
would climb up a tree to be protected from wild
beasts.

The day came to pass, when there was a big

merchant - a very big merchant - who had commerce
throughout the entire world. And he had an only son.
This merchant was already old. Once the son said to
his father, "Being that you are already old, and I am
still very young, and your trustees do not have any
regard for me whatsoever, what will happen? - You
will die, and I will be left alone; I will not know at
all what to do. So give me a ship with wares so that I
can set out to sea in order to be experienced in
commerce." The father gave him a ship with wares,
 King and an Emperor

and he went to countries and sold the wares and

purchased other wares, and was very successful.

While he was at sea he noticed the trees where the

daughter of the emperor was dwelling. They thought
that it was a settlement and they wanted to go there.
When they came near, they saw that it was trees;
they wanted to go back. Meanwhile, the merchant's
son looked into the sea and saw there a tree upon
which was the appearance of a person. He thought
that perhaps he was misleading himself, so he told
the other men who were there. They looked and also
saw the appearance of a person on the tree. They
decided to draw near to there. They sent a man with
a small boat, and they looked into the sea in order to
guide the scout so that he would be on course to the
tree. The messenger went there and saw that sitting
there was a person, and he told them.

He himself [the merchant's son] went there and saw

her sitting there (i.e. the daughter of the emperor)
and he told her to come down. She said to him that
she does not want to enter the ship unless he
promises that he will not touch her until he arrives
 King and an Emperor

home and marries her lawfully. He promised her,

and she entered with him into the ship. He saw that
she could play musical instruments and speak
several languages, and he rejoiced that she had came
his way.

Afterwards as they began drawing near to his house

she said to him that the proper thing would be, that
he go home and inform his father, relatives, and
good friends, that since he is bringing such an
important woman they should all come to greet her,
and after that he would know who she is. (Because
previously she had also made a condition with him
that he should not ask her who she is until after the
wedding, at which time he would know who she is.)
He agreed to this. Further, she said to him, "It is also
proper that you should inebriate all the sailors who
navigate the ship, so that they should know that their
merchant is getting wed with such a woman," and he
accorded with her. So he took very fine wine that he
had on board the ship and gave it to them; they got
very drunk, and he went home to inform his father
 King and an Emperor

and friends. And the sailors got drunk and left the
ship and they fell and lay drunk.

While they were preparing themselves to go greet

her with the entire family, she went and untied the
ship from the shore, spread the sails, and was away
with the ship. And the whole family came to the ship
and did not find anything. The merchant was
enraged at his son. And the son was crying out,
"Believe me! I brought a ship with wares!" etc. - but
they do not see anything. He said to him, "Ask the
sailors!" So he went to ask them, but they were lying
drunk. Afterwards the sailors got up, and he asked
them, but they knew nothing at all about what had
happened to them. They only knew that they had
brought a ship with all the aforementioned, but they
don't know where it is. The merchant was very angry
at his son, and banished the son from his home so
that he should not appear before him. The son went
away wondering about. And she (i.e. the emperor's
daughter) was going on the sea.

The day came to pass when there was a king who

had built himself a palace by the sea, for it pleased
 King and an Emperor

him there because of the sea air and because the

ships go there. And the emperor's daughter was
going on the sea and came near to this palace of the
king. The king took a look and he saw the ship going
without a crew and no one was there. He thought he
was deceiving himself. He ordered his men to look,
and they also saw. And she came closer to the
palace. She decided: "What does she need this
palace for?" - And she started to turn around. The
king sent and brought her back, and brought her into
his home.

Now, this king did not have any wife, because he

could not choose for himself, because whoever he
wanted did not want him and vice versa. When the
emperor's daughter came to him she told him to
swear to her that he would not touch her until he
legally marries her, and he swore to her. She told
him that it would be right to not open her ship and
not to touch it; just to let it stand at it is, in the sea,
until the wedding, in order that everyone would then
see the vast merchandise she had brought, so that
 King and an Emperor

they should not say that he had taken a woman from

the market. He promised her so.

So the king wrote to all the countries for them all to

come to the wedding. And he built a palace for her,
and she commanded that they bring her eleven
daughters of nobility to be with her. The king
commanded, and they sent her eleven daughters of
very high noblemen, and they built each one an
individual palace. And she also had an individual
palace. They would come to her courtyard, and they
would play musical instruments and play with her.

Once, she told them she would go with them on the

sea. They went with her and were playing there. She
told them she would honor them with good wine that
she had. She gave them from the wine that was in
the ship; they became drunk, fell down, and
remained lying. She went and unbound the ship,
spread out the sails and fled with the ship. The king
and his people took a look and saw that the ship was
not there, and they were very panicked. The king
said, "See to it that you do not tell her suddenly, for
she would have great anguish (for, the king did not
 King and an Emperor

know that she herself had fled with the ship; he

thought she was in her room), and she might think
that the king had given the ship to someone. Rather,
they should send her one of the young noblewomen
to tell her tactfully. They went to one room and
found no one. And likewise in another room they
also did not find anybody, and so on in all eleven
rooms they also found nobody. They (the king and
his people) decided to send her an elderly
noblewoman at night to tell her. They came to her
room and also found nobody, and they were very
terrified.

Meanwhile, the fathers of the young noblewomen

saw they were not getting letters from their
daughter; and they were sending letters and got no
letters back. So they all traveled to them and did not
find any of their daughters. They were very enraged
and wanted to send the king to his death, for they
were the royal ministers. However, they thought it
over and came to a reconciliation, "What is the king
guilty of that he should be sent to death? - The king
is a victim of circumstance." They agreed to remove
 King and an Emperor

him for the kingdom and drive him out. They

deposed him, and exiled him, and he went away.

And the emperor's daughter who had fled was faring

with the ship. Later, the young noblewomen awoke
and began to play with her again as before, for they
were not aware that the ship had already departed
from the shore. Afterwards they said to her, "Let's
go back home!" She answered them, "Let us stay
here a bit longer." Afterwards there arose a storm
wind and they said, "Let's go back home!" She
informed them that the ship had already, a long time
ago, left the shore. They asked her, "Why have you
done this?" She told them she was afraid the ship
might be wrecked because of the storm wind;
therefore she had to do so. So they were faring on
the sea, the emperor's daughter with the eleven
noblewomen, and they were playing musical
instruments, and they came across a palace. The
daughter of nobility said to her, "Let's go to the
palace!" But she did not want to; she said that she
regretted that she had gone to the previous palace (of
the king who wanted to marry her).
 King and an Emperor

Later, they saw some kind of island in the sea, and

they went there. There were twelve pirates there; the
pirates wanted to kill them. She asked, "Who is the
greatest among you?" They showed her. She said to
him, "What do you do?" He told her they were
robbers. She said to him, "We too are robbers. Only,
you rob with your might, and we rob with
shrewdness, for we are learned in languages and
play musical instruments. Therefore what will you
win if you kill us? Better to take us for wives and
you will have great wealth too;" and she showed
them what was on the ship (for the ship belonged to
the trader's son, with his great wealth). The pirates
were persuaded by her argumentation. The pirates
also showed them their wealth, and brought them to
all of their places. And it was agreed between them
that they should not marry them all at one time, but
only one after the other; and a selection should be
made to give each one, such a noblewoman as befits
him, according to his greatness.

Afterwards she told them that she would honor

them with very good wine which she has on board
 King and an Emperor

the ship, which she does not use at all; only, the
wine is kept in store by her until G-d brings her her
match. She gave them the wine in twelve goblets
and said that each of them should drink to each
twelve. They drank, got drunk, and collapsed. she
called out to the other noblewomen, "Go, and each
of you kill your man." They went and killed off all
of them. And they found enormous wealth there,
such as cannot be found by any king. They decided
that they should not take any copper or silver, only
gold and precious stones, and they threw out from
the ship things which are not so valuable, and loaded
up the entire ship with precious things, with the gold
and precious stones that they found there. And they
came to a decision not to go dressed as women
anymore, and they sewed men's clothing for
themselves - German style - and went with the ship.

And the day came to pass, and there was a king. The
king had an only son, and he wed him, and
transferred the kingdom to him. Once, he said to his
father, he would go on a leisurely trip with his wife
on the sea so that she become accustomed to the sea
 King and an Emperor

air, lest at some time they would have to flee on the

sea. The king's son went with his wife and with the
royal ministers and set out on a ship, and they were
very merry there and with great mirth. Later they
said they would all take off their clothes; they did so,
leaving on only their shirts. And they made a
challenge, who could climb up the mast. The prince
climbed up on the mast. Meanwhile, the emperor's
daughter approached with her ship and saw this ship
(of the prince with the ministers). Initially, she was
afraid of going there, then she came a bit closer; she
saw that they were very mirthful, so she understood
that they were not pirates. She began to draw closer.

The emperor's daughter announced to her retinue, "I

can throw that bald guy into the sea (i.e. the prince
who was climbing up the mast)!" For the prince was
bald. They said to her, "How is that possible? We
are very far from them!" She replied to them: she
has a burning-lens, and with this she will throw him
down. And she decided she would not knock him
down until he reaches the very top of the mast,
because as long as he was in the middle of the mast,
 King and an Emperor

were he to fall, he would fall into the ship, whereas

when he reaches the top, then when he falls, he will
fall into the sea. She waited until he was up on the
top of the mast. She took the burning lens and held it
aiming at his brain until it burned his brain. He fell
down into the sea. When he fell down, there was a
great commotion there (on the ship) and they did not
know what to do. How could they return home? For,
the king would die of heartbreak. They decided to go
to the ship that they saw (i.e. to the ship of the
emperor's daughter); perhaps there would be some
doctor there on board who could give them a
solution. They drew close to the ship and told them
(namely, to the people who were on the ship of the
emperor's daughter) that they should not have any
fear whatsoever, for they [the men of the king's ship]
would not do any thing at all to them, and they
asked, "Maybe you have a doctor here who can
advise us? And they told the whole story and how
the prince had fallen into the sea.

The emperor's daughter instructed to take him out of

the sea. They went and found him and took him out.
 King and an Emperor

The emperor's daughter took his pulse with her hand

and said his brain had been burnt. They went and
tore open his brain and saw that it was as she had
said, and they were awestruck (i.e. it was a great
novelty to them how the doctor, i.e. the emperor's
daughter, had been so correct). And they requested
that she go together with them to their home; she
would be a doctor by the king and would be very
esteemed by him. She did not want to, and she said
that she was not a doctor at all, only she knows such
things.

Now, the people of the prince's ship did not want to

return home; the two ships went together. It pleased
the royal ministers very much that their queen (i.e.
the wife of the prince) should take the doctor (i.e.
the emperor's daughter who was going dressed as a
male and they thought she was a doctor): for they
saw she was exceedingly wise, therefore they
wanted their queen (who was the wife of the prince
who died) to marry the doctor (i.e. the emperor's
daughter), and he would be their king. And their old
king (i.e. the father of the king) they would kill.
 King and an Emperor

Only, they were ashamed to tell the queen that she

should marry a doctor. But the queen too was
pleased to marry the doctor, only, she feared the
country - perhaps they would not want him to be
king. They came to the decision to make balls (i.e.
banquets) so that while drinking, at a time of
merriment, they would be able to talk about it. They
made a ball for each one of them on a separate day.

When the day came for the ball of the doctor (i.e.
the emperor's daughter) he gave them of his
aforementioned wine that he had, and they got
drunk. When they were merry, the ministers said,
"How wonderful it would be if the queen would
marry the doctor!" The doctor (i.e. the emperor's
daughter) replied, "It would surely be very
wonderful! If only they were saying this not with a
drunken mouth!" The queen also replied, "It would
be very wonderful for me to marry the doctor! If
only the country would agree to it!" The 'doctor'
repeated, "It would surely be very wonderful! If only
they were proposing this not with a drunken mouth!"
 King and an Emperor

Afterwards, when they sobered up from their

drunkenness, the ministers remembered what they
had said, and were embarrassed before the queen for
having said such a thing. But they decided: the
queen herself had also said it! And the queen too
was embarrassed before them, but she decided: they
themselves had also said it! Meanwhile, they began
to talk about it, and so it was agreed; they betrothed
- the queen with the doctor (i.e. with the emperor's
daughter whom they thought was a doctor, as
mentioned) - and they went home to their country.
When the country saw them coming, they rejoiced
greatly, since it had been a long time since the prince
was away with the ship, and they did not know
where he was, and the old king had died in the
interim before they arrived. Meanwhile they noticed
that their prince - who was their king - was not there.
They (i.e. the country) asked, "Where is our king?"
They told them the whole story, that the prince had
long been dead now, and that they had already taken
a new king, who was accompanying them (i.e. the
'doctor' who was the emperor's daughter). The
 King and an Emperor

countrymen were very happy that they had received

a new king.

The king (i.e. the emperor's daughter) ordered to

announce in all the countries that whomsoever was
to be found anywhere - a foreigner, a refugee - i.e. a
runaway, or an exiled - should all come to his
wedding. Not a single one should be absent. They
would receive great gifts. And the king (i.e. the
emperor's daughter) also commanded to make
fountains all around the city, so that anyone who
wanted to drink would not have to go away to get a
drink, but would be able to find a fountain next to
him. In addition, the king ordered for his picture to
be drawn next to every fountain, and to station
guards to watch for anyone coming along and
looking hard at the picture (i.e. at the portrait of the
king, who was the emperor's daughter, as
mentioned), and making a bad face [as someone who
looks at something and is shocked or saddened];
they should grab him and put him in prison. All this
was done. And all these three men men came along -
that is, the first prince, who was the true groom of
 King and an Emperor

the emperor's daughter (who had become king

there), the merchant's son (who had been banished
by his father on account of the emperor's daughter
who had fled from him with the ship and all its
merchandise), and the deposed king (also on account
of her, who had fled from him with the eleven
daughters of nobility, as mentioned). And each of
the three recognized that this was her picture, and
they gazed intensely, and remembered, and became
very anguished. They were caught and placed in
prison.

At the time of the wedding, the king (i.e. the

emperor's daughter) commanded to bring the
captives before him. All three were brought and she
recognized them, but they did not recognize her,
since she went and acted like a man. The emperor's
daughter spoke up and said, "You, king (i.e. the
exiled king, who was one of the prisoners) - you
were deposed on account of the eleven daughters of
nobility who were lost. Take back your daughters of
nobility. Return home to your country and to your
kingdom." (Because the eleven daughters of nobility
 King and an Emperor

were there with her here). "You, merchant (i.e. first

she spoke to the deposed king; now she turned to
speak to the merchant, i.e. the merchant's son) - you
were banished by your father on account of the ship
with its merchandise that was lost from you. Take
back your ship with all the merchandise. And for
your money being out so long, you now have a much
greater wealth on the ship, many, many fold more
than there was before" (for now, in addition the ship
had in it the great wealth of the murderers, as told
previously). "And you, prince (i.e. the first prince
who was truly her groom) - come here and let's go
home." They returned home. Amen and amen.
 One Who Could Not Walk

Story 3

A tale. Once there was a sage. Before his death he

called his children and family and left them a will:
that they should water trees. "You may engage in
other occupations as well, but this you must
constantly do: water trees." Afterwards the sage
passed away and he left children. And he had one
son who could not walk; he could stand, but he
could not walk. His brothers would provide him
sufficiently for his livelihood, and they gave him so
much, that he had leftover. He would save up for
himself, bit by bit, whatever remained beyond his
needs, until he had amassed a large sum. He then
came to the decision, "Why should I get a stipend
from them? Better that I begin some business." And
though he could not walk, he came up with the
solution to hire a carriage, a confidant, and a wagon-
 One Who Could Not Walk

driver, and to travel with them to Leipzig, and he

would be able to do business even though he could
not walk. When the family heard this, it pleased
them very much, and they also said, "Why should
we give him subsistence? Better, let him make a
livelihood." And they lent him more money so that
he could do the business.

He did so. He hired a carriage, a confidant, and a

wagon-driver, and he set out. They came to an inn.
The confidant said that they should spend the night
there, but he did not want to. They pleaded with him,
but he was stubborn with them. They traveled away
from there and got lost in a forest, and thieves
ambushed them. The thieves had come about
through the following story: There was once a
famine. Someone came to the city and proclaimed:
Whoever wants food should come to him. Several
people came to him. He discerned which men who
came to him were not useful to him, and he rejected
them. To one he would say, "You can be a
craftsman," while to another he said, "You can be a
miller." And he chose only intelligent youths, and
 One Who Could Not Walk

went with them into the forest and proposed to them

that they become thieves: "Being that from here
there are roads to Leipzig, to Breslau [a city in
Germany], and to other places, merchants travel
through here. We will rob them. We will have
money." (So the thief - who had had earlier made the
proclamation in the city - told them).

The thieves ambushed them (i.e. the one who could

not walk and his men, namely the confidant and the
wagon driver). The confidant and the wagon driver
were able to flee, and they fled; and he was left on
the wagon. The thieves came to him, and took from
him the chest of money, and asked him, "Why are
you sitting?" He replied: he could not walk. And
they stole the chest and the horses, and he remained
on the carriage.

The assistant and the wagon-driver (who had fled),

came to the decision that inasmuch as they had taken
out loans from feudal landlords [poritzes], why
should they return home, where they could be placed
in chains? Better, to remain there (where they had
fled), and be an assistant and wagon-driver there.
 One Who Could Not Walk

Now, the one who could not walk, who remained on

the wagon, as long as he had the dry bread that he
had brought from home, he ate it. Then when it ran
out and he had nothing to eat, he thought about what
to do. He threw himself out of the carriage to eat
grass. He slept alone in the field and was frightened,
and his strength was taken from him so that he could
not even stand, only crawl, and he would eat the
grass that was around him. And as long as he could
reach grass and eat, he would eat there, and when
the grass around him ran out so that he could no
longer reach, he crawled further away and ate again.
Thus he ate grass for a time.

Once, he came to an herb the likes of which he had

never eaten before. This herb pleased him very
much, because he had been eating grasses for a long
time, so he knew them very well, and such an herb
he had never seen before. He came to the decision to
tear it out with its root. Under the root was a
diamond. The diamond was quadrangular and each
side had in it it a different segula [a charm or special
ability]. On one side of the diamond it was written
 One Who Could Not Walk

that whoever grasps that side, it would take him

where day and night meet together, that is, where the
sun and the moon gather in unison. When he tore out
the herb with its root (which is where the diamond
was) it happened that he grasped that side (i.e. the
side of which the segulah was, it would take him to
the place where day and night come together). It
took him there, where day and night come together.
He looked around and beheld he was already there!

He heard the sun and the moon talking, and the sun
was complaining before the moon, "Inasmuch as
there is a tree that has many branches, fruits, and
leaves, and each of its branches, fruits, and leaves
has a segulah - one is conducive [mesugal] to have
children, another is conducive to livelihood, another
is conducive to healing this sickness, another is
conducive for another sickness; each tiny bit of the
tree is conducive to something else - this tree should
have been watered, and if it would be watered, it
would be extremely potent [mesugal]. But not only
do I not water it, I shine on it too and dry it out."
 One Who Could Not Walk

The moon answered and said, "You worry about the

worries of others. I will tell you my worry. Inasmuch
as I have a thousand mountains, and around the
thousand mountains are another thousand
mountains, and that [there] is a place of demons, and
the demons have chicken-like feet, they have no
strength in their feet, so they take strength from my
feet, and because of this I have no strength in my
feet. And I have a powder (i.e. a dust) that is a cure
for my feet, but a wind comes and carries it away."

The sun responded, "That is what you worry about?!

I will tell you a cure. Inasmuch as there is a path,
and many paths branch off from that path: One is the
path of the tzadikim [righteous]. Even someone who
is a tzadik here, the dust from that path is spread
underneath every one of his steps, so that with every
step, he is stepping on that dust. Another is the path
of heretics. Even someone who is a heretic here, the
dust of this path is spread underneath each of his
steps, as mentioned. And there is the path of the
insane. Even someone who is insane here, the dust
of this path is spread underneath each of his steps, as
 One Who Could Not Walk

mentioned. And so there are several paths. And there

is a different path, being that there are tzadikim who
accept suffering upon themselves; the landlords
march them in chains, and they have no strength in
their feet: dust from this path is spread underneath
their feet so that they have strength in their feet. So
go there, for there is plenty of dust there, and you
will have healing for your feet." (All this the sun
said to the moon). And he heard all this (i.e. the one
who had no strength in his feet heard all this).

Meanwhile, he looked at the diamond on a different

side, and saw that it was written there that whoever
grasps that side, it would bring him to the path from
which many paths go out (namely, the path
mentioned above, of which the sun informed the
moon). He grasped that side, and it carried him
(away) there (i.e. to the path). He placed his feet on
the path whose dust was a healing for feet, and he
was immediately healed. He went and took the dust
from all of the paths and bound each dust separately
in a bundle. (Namely,) he bound the dust from the
path of the righteous separately, and likewise the
 One Who Could Not Walk

dust of the remaining paths he bound separately; so

he made himself bundles from the powders, and took
them with him. And he came to a decision and went
to the forest where he was robbed. When he arrived
there, he chose a tall tree near the path from which
the thieves go out to rob. And he took the dust of the
righteous and the dust of the insane and mixed them
together, and spread them on the path. And he went
up the tree and sat there to see what would happen
with them.

He saw the robbers going out, having been sent out

by the senior robber (mentioned above) to rob.
When the robbers came to that path, as soon as they
took a step on the powder they became tzadikim and
began to cry out for their years and days - for having
robbed until then and having killed many souls. But
since mixed there, was the powder of the insane,
they became insane tzadikim, and began to argue
with each other. One said, "Because of you we
killed," and another said, "Because of you!" So they
argued until they killed each other. The senior
robber sent once again more robbers, and it was also
 One Who Could Not Walk

as before, and they also killed each other. And so it

was each time, until they were all killed off, until he
(namely the one who previously had no strength in
his feet, who was up in a tree) understood that none
of the robbers remained except for him alone
(namely the senior robber who commanded them all)
and one other. He went down from the tree and
swept up the dust from the path, and spread the dust
of the path of the righteous alone, and went to sit on
the tree again.

Now, the senior robber was very puzzled that he had

sent all the thieves and none of them had returned.
He decided to go personally with the one that still
remained with him. And as soon as he came onto the
path (where the son mentioned above, had spread the
dust of the righteous by itself), he became a tzaddik.
He began to cry out to the other bandit over his years
and days, over how he had murdered so many souls
and robbed so much. And he tore graves and was
penitent and very remorseful. When he (the son who
was sitting in the tree) saw he had remorse and was
very penitent, he came down from the tree. As soon
 One Who Could Not Walk

as the robber noticed a person he began to cry out,

"Woe to me! I have done such and such! Yow! Give
me penance!" He answered him, "Return to me the
chest that you robbed from me." For, it was written
by them on all the stolen goods, when it was stolen
and from whom. He (the senior robber) said to him,
"I will immediately return it to you! I will even give
you the treasuries of stolen goods that I have! Just
give me penance! He (the son) said to him, "Your
penance is: just go into the town, call out and
confess, 'I am the one who made the proclamation at
that time [during the famine, that whoever wants
food should come to me] and made many robbers,
and I murdered and robbed many souls.' That is your
penance." The robber gave him all his treasuries, and
went with him into the city and did so. Judgment
was passed in that town, that since he had murdered
so many souls, he should be hanged, so people
would know: meaning, so that others would be
aware.

After this he (i.e. the one who previously had no

strength in his feet) decided to go to the two
 One Who Could Not Walk

thousand mountains (mentioned above) to see what

takes place there. When he arrived there, he stood
far from the two thousand mountains, and he saw,
there were many, many thousands of thousands and
myriads of myriads of families of demons, because
they are fruitful and multiply and have children as
humans, and they are very numerous. And he saw
their kingship sitting on a throne, upon which no one
born of a woman (meaning, no human) ever sits on
such a throne. And he saw how they make scoffery:
one tells over that he had harmed someone's baby,
another tells how he had harmed someone's hand,
another tells how he had harmed someone's foot, and
other such scoffery.

Meanwhile, he noticed a father and mother [demon]

walking and weeping. They were asked, "Why are
you weeping?" They answered: They have a son,
whose routine was that he would go his way and at
this time he would already return, but now it has
been a long time and he still has not come. They
were brought before the king. The king ordered to
send messengers throughout the world to find him.
 One Who Could Not Walk

As the father and mother were returning from the

king, they met up with someone who used to go
together with their son. He asked them, "Why are
you weeping?" They told him. He answered them, "I
will tell you. Being that we had a little island at sea,
which was our territory. The king to whom this
island belonged went and wanted to build palaces
there, and had already laid a foundation. Your son
said to me that we should harm him. We went and
took away the king's strength. He got involved with
doctors but they could not help him, so he started
getting involved with sorcerers. There was one
sorcerer there who knew his family. He did not
know my family, therefore he could not do anything
to me - but he knew his family, so he seized him and
is torturing him severely." They brought him (i.e. the
demon who told over all of this) to the king, and he
told it over before the king as well. The king said:
"Let them return the strength to the king [to whom
the island belonged]!" He replied, "There was
someone by us who had no strength and we gave
away the strength to him." The king said, "The
strength should be taken from him and returned to
 One Who Could Not Walk

the king!" They answered him: He had become a

cloud (i.e. the demon to whom they had given away
the strength, had become a cloud). The king said that
they should, "Summon the cloud and bring it here."
They sent a messenger for him.

He (namely, the one who previously had no strength

in his feet, who had witnessed all this) decided, "I
will go on and see how these people become a
cloud." He followed the messenger and came to the
city where the cloud was. He asked the townspeople,
"Why is there a cloud here in town?" They answered
him, "Here in town, on the contrary, there has never
been any cloud here; only for some time has the
cloud covered the city." And the messenger came
and summoned the cloud, and it went away from
there. He (i.e. the one who previously had no
strength in his feet) came to the decision to follow
them to hear what they were saying. He heard the
messenger ask him, "How did it come to be, that you
became a cloud here?" He answered him, "I will tell
you a story.
 One Who Could Not Walk

"Once, there was a sage. And the emperor [kaiser,

caesar] of the country was a big heretic, and he made
the entire country into heretics. The sage went and
summoned his whole family and said to them,
'Surely you see that the emperor is a big heretic and
has made the entire country into heretics, and some
of our family he has already made into heretics.
Therefore let us set out for the wilderness so that we
will be able to remain in our faith in G-d, blessed be
He.' They agreed on this. The sage uttered a [Divine]
Name; it brought them to a wilderness. This
wilderness did not please him. He again uttered a
Name; it took them to yet another wilderness. This
wilderness too did not please him. He uttered
another Name; again it took him to another
wilderness. This wilderness did please him. And the
wilderness was close to the two thousand mountains
(mentioned above). The sage went and made a circle
around them so that no one would be able to come
near them.

"Now, there is a tree, that if it would be watered,

none of us (i.e. of the demons) would remain.
 One Who Could Not Walk

Therefore, some of us stand digging day and night,

allowing no water to reach the tree." The other one
asked, "Why do they have to stand day and night
digging? Once they have dug one time then the
water will be unable to come, it should suffice." He
answered him, "Since there are gossipers among us,
and these gossipers go and instigate disputes
between one king and the other king, and this causes
wars, and the wars cause earthquakes, and the earth
around the ditches falls in, which allows water to
reach the tree. Therefore, they must stand constantly
and dig. And when there is a new king among us,
they make all the shenanigans before him, and they
rejoice. One scoffs how he harmed a baby and how
the mother mourns over it, another shows other
diablerie, and similarly many various devilry. And
when the king gets into the festivity, he goes and
takes a stroll with his ministers and tries to uproot
the tree. Because if this tree would not exist at all, it
would be very good for us. And the king strengthens
his heart very much in order to uproot the tree
entirely. When he approaches the tree, the tree gives
 One Who Could Not Walk

a great shout, so that a great fear falls on him and he

must turn around.

"Once, a new king was appointed among us (i.e.

among the demons, for all this the cloud told the
messenger, as mentioned). Great mischief was done
before him, as mentioned, and he became very
joyous and made his heart very bold, and wanted to
tear out the tree completely. And he went out to
stroll with his ministers, brazened his heart
exceedingly, and ran to tear out the tree completely.
When he arrived at the tree, it gave a great cry (at
him), and a great fear fell on him; he turned back
and was very angry. And he made his way back. In
the middle of all this, he took a look and noticed
people sitting (this was the aforementioned sage
with his people). The king sent from his men to do
something (i.e. to harm them, as was their custom).
When the sage's family saw them, they were
overcome with fear. The elder (i.e. the sage
mentioned above) called out to them, 'Do not fear.'
When the demons arrived there, they were unable to
come close due to the circle that was around them.
 One Who Could Not Walk

He sent other messengers, but they too were unable

to come close. The king became enraged and went
himself, and he too was unable to come close to
them.

"He asked the elder to let him come in to them. The

elder said to him, 'Since you request it of me, I will
indeed let you in, however it is not customary for a
king to go alone, so I will let you in with one other.'
He opened a little door for them, they entered, and
he closed the circle again. The king said to the elder,
'How do you come and settle on my [Yid.; Heb: our]
place?' He (the elder) said to him, 'Why is it your
place? It is my place!' The king said to the elder,
'You have no fear of me?' He said, 'No.' He said
again, 'You have no fear at all?' And he displayed
himself becoming very big, up to the sky, and
wanted to swallow him. The elder said, 'I still have
no fear of you at all. But if I want, you will be afraid
of me.' And he went and prayed a bit, and big thick
clouds formed, and there was great thunder. And
thunder kills them drastically, so all his ministers
that were with him were killed, and none remained
 One Who Could Not Walk

except for the king and the one who was there with
him in the circle. He begged him (i.e. the king
begged the elder) for the thunder to cease, and it
ceased.

"The king spoke up and said to the elder, 'Since you

are such a person, I will give you a book of all the
demon families. For, there are miracle workers
[ba'alei shemot] who only know of one demon
family, and even that family they do not know
completely. I will give you a book in which all of
the families are written. For, by the king they are all
recorded, and even a newborn is also registered by
the king. The king sent the one who was with him
after the book. (Hence, the sage did very well by
letting him in with another, for otherwise, who
would he send?) He brought him the book. He
opened it and saw that written inside were thousands
of thousands, and ten-thousands of ten-thousands of
their families. The king gave his word to the elder
that they would never harm the elder's entire family,
and he commanded to bring all the portraits of his
whole family, and even if a baby was born to them,
 One Who Could Not Walk

to immediately bring its portrait, so that they would

not harm anyone from the elder's family.

"Afterwards, (Heb: when) the time came for the

elder to leave the world, he called his children and
commanded them (Heb.; Yid: left them a will) and
said to them as follows: 'I leave you this book.
Surely you see that I have the power to use this book
in holiness, and even still I don't use it; I just have
faith in Hashem Yisburach. You too should not use
it. Even if there will be found one of you who will
be able to use it in holiness, he should still not use it,
and only have faith in Hashem Yisburach.' Then the
sage died, and the book was passed on as an
inheritance and came to his grandson (his son's son).
And he had the ability to use it in holiness, but he
just had faith in Hashem Yisburach and did not use
it, as the elder had willed.

"The gossipers that are among the demons tried to

persuade the elder's grandson, 'Since you have
grown daughters and you are unable to support them
and marry them off, therefore use this book.' And he
did not know that they were trying to entice him, and
 One Who Could Not Walk

thought that his heart was advising him do this. So

he traveled to his grandfather, to his grave, and
asked him, 'Being that you left a testament that we
should not use this book, but only have faith in
Hashem Yisburach; now, my heart is telling me to
use it.' His grandfather (who was deceased)
answered him, 'Even though you can use it in
holiness, it is better that you should have faith in
Hashem Yisburach and not use it, and Hashem
Yisburach will help you.' And that is what he did.

"And the day came to pass, when the king of the

country where this grandson of the elder lived,
became ill. He got involved with doctors, but they
could not heal him. Due to the great heat there in
that country, the treatments did not help. The king of
the country decreed that the Jews should pray for
him. Our king (i.e. the king of the demons) said,
'Since this grandson has the power to use this book
in holiness and he still does not use it, therefore we
need to do him a favor.' He commanded me to
become a cloud there, so that the king (of that
country) would be healed by the treatments that he
 One Who Could Not Walk

had already taken and the treatments he would yet

take. And the grandson knew nothing about this.
And that is why I have become a cloud here." (All
this is what the cloud told the messenger).

And the one who previously had no strength in his

feet was following them and heard everything. The
one who was a cloud was brought before the king,
and the king commanded to take the strength from
him and return it to the other king (from whom they
had taken away his strength because he had built on
their territory, as mentioned), and they returned the
strength to him. The son of the demons (whose
father and mother had wept for him, as mentioned)
returned, and he arrived very afflicted and without
strength, because he had been severely tortured
there. He was very enraged at the sorcerer who had
tortured him there so much, so he ordered his
children and his family to always ambush this
sorcerer. But among the demons are talkers (i.e.
gossipers), and they went and told the sorcerer that
they (the family mentioned) were waiting to ambush
him, so that he could protect himself from them. The
 One Who Could Not Walk

sorcerer performed some schemes and called upon

more sorcerers who knew more families, in order to
protect himself from them. The (demon) son and his
family were very enraged at the tattlers for having
revealed his secret to the sorcerer.

Once, it happened that some members of the

(demon) son's family and some of the tattlers went
together on the king's watch. The son's family went
and made false accusations against the tattlers, and
the king killed the tattlers. The remaining tattlers
were enraged, and they went and made a rebellion
(i.e. a huge war) between all the kings. And there
were hunger, infirmity, murder, and plagues among
the demons. Wars were waged between all the kings,
and this caused an earthquake, and all the earth fell
in, and the tree was watered completely. None of
them (i.e. of the demons) survived whatsoever, and
they were as nothing. Amen.
 One Who Could Not Walk

[Notes Following the Story]

[Rabbi Nachman's words:] "Fortunate is the man
who did not go etc. did not stand, and in a sitting of
scoffers etc.. He will be as a tree planted on brooks
of water etc." [Psalms 1] the entire story is alluded
to in this chapter. Whoever has eyes, let him see, and
whoever has a heart, let him understand, what
happens in the world.

[Rabbi Natan's commentary:] The secret of this

story is alluded to in Chapter 1 of the Psalms:
"Fortunate is the man who has not walked..." - the
"path of the wicked" and the "path of the just."
These are the aspect of the paths mentioned in the
story that have the dust that are spread, etc.. "And he
will be like a tree planted by streams of water, which
give its fruit in its season, and its leaves... and all
that he does will prosper" -- this refers to the tree in
the story, that all of its fruit and leaves, everything in
its entirety, are all very beneficial, as mentioned.
 One Who Could Not Walk

Examine and you will find more allusions:

"Fortunate is the man who has not walked" -- for,
initially he could not walk. "Has not stood" -- for,
later on, he could not stand either. "And in the
company of scorners" refers to the settlement of the
mockers who make mockery, etc., as mentioned.
"Like chaff which the wind drives away" refers to
the wind that carries away the dust. And all of this is
only a few superficial allusions that he [Rabbi
Nachman] enlightened our eyes slightly so that we
understand and comprehend a little, the extent to
which these things reach. But the matters are still
sealed in utter concealment, for all of these stories
that he [Rabbi Nachman] told are very, very high
above human comprehension, and hidden from the
eye of all living creatures, etc..
 King Who Decreed Apostasy

Story 4

--- A story of miracles ---

Once, there was a king who decreed apostasy under
pain of banishment: that is, whoever wanted to
remain in the country had to convert, otherwise he
would be expelled from the country. There were
some who abandoned all their possessions and
wealth, and left in poverty in order to remain in the
faith, to be Jews. But some had pity on their
possessions and wealth, and remained there; they
became anuesim [crypto-Jews. lit. forced,
compelled]: discreetly, they practiced the Jewish
religion, but openly, they were not allowed.

The King died and his son became king. And he

began to rule the country very boldly, and conquered
 King Who Decreed Apostasy

many countries; and he was very wise. And because

he held the royal ministers with a tight grip, they
schemed against him and banded together to attack
him and kill him off with all his offspring. And
among the ministers was one of the anuesim. He
decided, "Why did I become an anues? Because I
had pity on my possessions and my wealth. Now if
the king will be killed and the country be left
without a king, everyone will swallow his fellow
alive, for a country cannot exist without a king."
Therefore he decided to go and inform the king,
without them knowing. And he went and told the
king that they had conspired against him, as
mentioned. The king went and investigated whether
it was true, and he saw it was true, and he stationed
guards. On the night they fell upon him they were
caught and judged, each one according to his
sentence.

The king called and said to the minister who was an

anues, "What honor shall I give you for saving me
and my offspring? Shall I make you a minister (i.e.,
a herr)? You are already a minister! Give you
 King Who Decreed Apostasy

money? You have money! Say what honor you

want; I will surely do it for you." The anues
answered, "But will you really do what I say?" The
king said, "Yes, I will certainly do what you wish."
The anues said, "Swear to me by your crown and
your kingdom." The king swore to him. The anues
replied, "My main honor is to be permitted to be a
Jew in public - to put on tallis (prayer shawl) and
tefillin (phylacteries) in public." The king was
extremely disturbed, because in his entire country
there were not allowed to be any Jews. But he had
no choice because of the oath he had sworn, that
whatever he wished he would do for him. In the
morning the anoos went and put on tallis and tefilin
in public.

Later the king died and his son became king. The
son began to rule gently, because he saw they had
wanted to eliminate his father, as mentioned. And he
conquered many countries and was extremely wise.
The new king ordered a convening of all astrologers
to tell him what sort of thing could cause his
offspring to be cut off, so that he could guard against
 King Who Decreed Apostasy

it. The astrologers told him that his offspring would

not be cut off, but only, he should guard himself
from a bull and a ram (i.e. from an ox and a lamb);
this was written down in the record book. The king
ordered his children to also rule the country as he
did, gently. Later he died. His son became king, and
he began to rule the country stringently, like his
grandfather, and conquered many countries. And he
fell upon a wisdom, and ordered to announce that no
ox or sheep should be found in his country, so that
his offspring could not be cut off. So he thought he
now had not to fear of anything, and ruled the
country very stringently. And he became very wise.

The king fell upon a wisdom that he could conquer

the entire world without battle, for there are seven
parts in the world, for the world is divided into seven
parts, and there are seven planets (i.e. seen
luminaries that circle [i.e. make a progression
through] the seven days of the week) and each planet
shines on one of the seven parts of the world. And
there are seven kinds of metals (i.e. seven different
metals, namely gold, silver, copper, tin, etc.) and
 King Who Decreed Apostasy

each of the seven planets shines on a specific metal.

The king went and gathered all of the seven different
metals, and ordered to bring him all the golden
portraits of all kings, which hang in their palaces,
and from this he made a man. Its head was of gold,
its body of silver, and likewise the rest of the limbs,
of other metals; in this man were all seven kinds of
metal. And he stationed the man on a high mountain,
and all of the seven planets shined in the man. And
when a man needed any advice, or (had) any
business and did not know whether to do it or not, he
would stand facing the limb of the type of metal
pertaining to the part of the world where he was
from. And the man would contemplate whether to do
it or not. And if he needed to do it, that limb would
light and shine, and if not, it would darken. (All this
the king did). And thereby he was conquering the
entire world and amassed a lot of money.

However, this effigy that he had made from the

seven various metals was not able to perform unless
the king would cast down the haughty and raise the
lowly. So he went and sent orders to all generals and
 King Who Decreed Apostasy

other ministers who held positions of authority and

status. They all came and he demoted them,
removing their positions. Even those who had
positions which they served since his great-
grandfather -- he took them all away, and raised
lowly people, appointing them as replacements.
Among the ministers whom the king was casting
down was the anues. The king asked him, "What is
your position?" He answered him, "My position is
just to be permitted to be a Jew in public, for the
favor that I did for your grandfather." The king took
this from him, and he was again an anues.

Once, the king lay down to sleep, and he saw in a

dream a clear sky, and he saw all twelve mazalos
[constellations of the zodiac] (i.e. the stars in the sky
are partitioned into twelve parts, corresponding to
the twelve months; a section of the stars is as a lamb,
which is the mazal of (the month of) Nissan, and the
mazal of (the month of) Iyar is called bull, i.e. an ox;
and so each month has its mazal). And he saw the
bull and the ram (i.e. the ox and the lamb) that are
among the mazalos laughing at him. He awoke with
 King Who Decreed Apostasy

great fury and was very frightened. He ordered to

bring the chronicles (i.e. the book wherein
everything is written down), and he saw written
there, that by bull and ram his offspring would be
cut off, and a great terror fell over him. And he told
the queen, and a great terror also fell on her and her
children. And his heart pounded hard, and he called
for all the dream interpreters. And each one
interpreted individually, but nothing would enter
(into) his ears. And an extremely great terror fell on
him. A sage came and told him that inasmuch as he
had a tradition from his father that the sun has three
hundred and sixty five courses (paths), and there is a
place upon which all of the three hundred sixty-five
of the sun's paths shine, and an iron rod grows there,
whoever has a fear, when he comes to the rod, will
be saved from the fear.

This pleased the king very much, and he went with

his wife, children, and all his descendants to that
place, and the sage also went with them. But in the
middle of the way stands an angel who is in charge
over anger. For, by anger one creates a destructive
 King Who Decreed Apostasy

angel (i.e. an angel that destroys and spoils), and this

angel is appointed over all the destroyers. And this
angel is asked the way, for there is a good (Heb:
straight) path for a man, and there is a path full of
mud, and there is a path full of pits, as well as other
paths. And there is a path where there is fire that
incinerates from four miles [Heb: parsa'ot] away.
(They asked the angel the way, and he told them the
path where the fire is.) And the sage kept looking
around to see if the fire was there, for he had a
tradition from his father that the fire was there.
Meanwhile he saw the fire, and he saw kings and
Jews dressed in tallis and tefillin traversing the way
of [Yid: going about in] the fire. (Heb. only: This
was because by those kings there lived Jews in their
countries, therefore they were able to traverse the
way of the fire). The sage said to the king, "Since I
have a tradition that four miles from the fire one is
incinerated, I will go no further. You, if you wish,
go." And the king thought that since he saw other
kings going about there in (Heb: by the way of) the
fire, he would also be able to go there. The sage
replied, "I have a tradition from my father, so I do
 King Who Decreed Apostasy

not want to go. You, if you wish, go there." The king

went with his entire offspring. They caught on fire,
and he and his entire offspring were incinerated and
all of them were terminated.

When the sage came home, it was a wonder to the

ministers that the king and his offspring were cut
off. Had he not guarded himself from a bull and a
ram? How was it that his offspring and he were
terminated? The anues replied, "Through me he was
cut off. For the astrologers saw (that by an ox and
lamb his offspring would be cut off) but they did not
know what they saw. For, an ox - from its hide
tefilin are made; and a lamb - from its wool tzitzis
(strings) for the tallis are made. And through them
the king and his offspring were terminated. For, the
kings of countries where Jews live and go about
wrapped in tallis and tefillin, were able to go in the
fire completely unharmed. But this king, because no
Jews dressed in tallis and tefillin were allowed to
dwell in his country, was therefore cut off with his
offspring. And this was what the bull and the ram of
the mazalos had laughed at him. For, the astrologers
 King Who Decreed Apostasy

saw that by bull and ram his offspring would be cut

off; however they did not know what they saw, and
the king was terminated with his offspring." Amen,
so let all Your enemies be obliterated, Hashem!

[Notes Following the Story]

"Why are the nations in an uproar?... You will break
them with an iron rod" [Psalms 2] - the iron rod. "...
Lest He be angry and you lose your bearing," etc..
And the words are extremely archaic and closed up...
All this I [Rabbi Nussun] heard. In addition, I have
found some more allusions from this story in this
chapter: "... Let us break their restraining bands, and
cast away their thick cords from us" -- bands are
made of hide, an aspect of tefillin. 'Avos' are cords,
an aspect of tzitzis, as our Rabbis ob"m expounded
this verse in Tractate Avoda Zarah [3b] regarding
tzitzis and tefilin. "He Who dwells on High will
laugh" -- for, the bull and the ram laughed at him.
"Then He will speak to them in His wrath; and in
His anger he will make them panic" -- the anger, the
panic, and the fear mentioned above. "But I have
anointed My king on Zion, My holy mountain" --
 King Who Decreed Apostasy

perhaps the allusion here is to the effigy that the

king erected on the high mountain; the evil
counterpart of the holy, and this is counterpart to the
king on the holy Mount Zion, for, all the parts of the
world are included there, and so forth, and this is the
"mountain" there. "Nasach" (-anoint) is a term as in
"nasach vayitzok" (-pouring and pouring-molding)
[the statue] [Genesis 35:15]. "Ask of me" -- all the
advice mentioned above. "Nations as your
inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your
posssession" - to grasp together all ends of the earth,
namely all seven parts of the world, and all the kings
and nations as inheritance under him. "Serve" – is
tzitzis, "with awe" – is tefilin, and "and rejoice with
trembling" -- the trembling mentioned. The entire
story is hinted in this chapter, so fortunate is he who
knows something of these stories, which were
composed with great secrets of the Torah.
 King's Son Who Was Made of Precious Stones

Story 5

There was once a king who had no children. He

went and got involved with doctors, so that his
kingdom should not be turned over to strangers, but
they did not help him. So he decreed on the Jews to
pray for him to have children. The Jews sought a
tzadik to pray and bring about that the King should
have children. They sought and found a hidden
tzadik, and they told him to pray for the king to have
children. He replied: he knows nothing at all; they
informed the king (inasmuch as there was a hidden
tzadik there, but he said he knew nothing). The king
sent a royal order for him, and they brought him
before the king. The king began talking kindly with
him, "You know very well that the Jews are in my
 King's Son Who Was Made of Precious Stones

hands. I can do with them what I will. Therefore I

ask you with goodness, pray that I have children."
The tzadik ensured the king that the same year he
would have a child, and he went home. The queen
bore a daughter, and this princess was extremely
beautiful. When she was four years old, she knew all
the wisdoms and languages, and could play musical
instruments. Kings from all the countries would
travel to see her, and it was a great joy for the king.

Afterwards, the King very much wanted to have a

son so that his kingdom should not pass on to a
stranger, so he decreed again on the Jews that they
should pray for him to have a son. They searched for
the first tzaddik, but they could not find him, for he
had already passed away. They continued searching
and they found another hidden tzaddik. And they
told him that he should give the King a son, and he
said that he does not know anything. So they
informed the king, and the king said to the tzaddik
also as before, "You know very well the Jews are in
my hands, etc." The sage (i.e. this tzadik) said to
him, "But will you be able to do what I order?" The
 King's Son Who Was Made of Precious Stones

king said, "Yes." The sage said to him, "I need you
to bring all the types of gemstones (lit. good stones),
because each gemstone has in it a different segulah
(ability, charm)." And by the kings there is a book
which documents all types of gemstones. The king
said, "I will spend half of my kingdom in order to
have a son." And the king went and brought him all
the types of gemstones. The sage took them, and
ground them, and took a goblet of wine and poured
them in the wine. And he gave half of the cup of
wine to the king to drink, and the other half to the
queen. And he told them that they would have a son
who would be thoroughly composed of gemstones,
and he would have in him all of the segulos of all of
the gemstones, and he went home. The queen gave
birth to a son, and the king rejoiced very greatly, but
the son that was born was not made of gemstones.
When the son was four years old, he was extremely
handsome, very wise in all the wisdoms, and knew
all the languages. Kings traveled to see him. The
princess saw that she was no longer so important,
and she was jealous of him. Her only consolation
was that the tzaddik had said that he would be
 King's Son Who Was Made of Precious Stones

completely of gemstones; it was good that at least he

was not made of gemstones.

Once, the prince was carving wood and he nicked

his finger. The princess ran to bandage his finger
and she saw a gemstone there. She was extremely
jealous of him, and she made herself sick. Many
doctors came but were unable to heal her at all.
Sorcerers were called. There was a sorcerer there, to
whom she disclosed the truth, that she had made
herself sick because of her brother, as mentioned.
And she asked the sorcerer if it was possible to
perform a spell on a man to make him leprous. He
said, "Yes." She said to the sorcerer, "What if he
asks another sorcerer to annul the spell so that he
will be healed?" the sorcerer said, "If the sorcery is
thrown into the water, it can no longer be annulled."
She did so, and threw the sorcery into the water. The
prince became very leprous. He had leprosy on his
nose, on his face, and on the rest of his body. The
King got involved with doctors and with sorcerers,
but they were of no avail. So the king decreed on the
Jews to pray. The Jews sought the tzaddik (who had
 King's Son Who Was Made of Precious Stones

prayed for the king to have a son, as mentioned), and

brought him before the king. Now, this tzaddik
would always pray before Hashem Yisburach,
inasmuch as he had promised the king that his son
would be completely made of gemstones, and it had
not been fulfilled. And he complained to the
Eibishter (the Most High; G-d), "Have I done this
for the sake of honor? I have done this only for Your
honor, and now, it has not been fulfilled the way I
said." And the tzadik came to the king. The tzaddik
prayed (namely, for the leprosy of the prince to be
healed), but to no avail. He was informed that it was
sorcery.

Now, this tzaddik was higher than all sorcery. The

tzaddik came and informed the king that it was
sorcery, and that the sorcery had been thrown into
the water, so the prince could not be healed except
by throwing the sorcerer who performed the spell
into the water. The king said, "I give you all the
sorcerers to throw into the water so that my son will
be healed." The princess was afraid, so she went to
the water to pull the sorcery out of the water, for she
 King's Son Who Was Made of Precious Stones

knew where it was. She fell into the water. A great

tumult erupted over the princess's falling into the
water. The tzadik came and said that the prince
would be healed. And he was healed, the leprosy
withered up and fell off, and his entire skin peeled
off. And he was entirely of gemstones, as the tzaddik
had said.

[See Conversations of Rabbi Nachman item # 147

regarding the events surrounding this story which
suggests that this story houses the secret of the
Divine Name of 42 letters].
 Story of a Humble King

Story 6

A tale. There was once a king who had a wise man.

The king said to the wise man, "inasmuch as there is
a king whose seal states that he is a great man of
might, and a man of truth, and a humble person (in
other words, a truthful person who does not hold of
himself): Mighty - I know that he is a great men of
might, for his country is surrounded by the expanse
of the sea, and on the sea is stationed a navy on
warships with cannons and they do not allow anyone
to approach, and inwards from the sea there is a
great mire (a place where one drowns) surrounding
the country, through which there is only one narrow
path, wide enough for only one person to pass; there
too, cannons are positioned, so that if someone
comes to attack, the cannons are fired, so it is
impossible to set foot there.
 Story of a Humble King

"But his signing himself as being a man of truth and

humble - this I do not know, and I want you to bring
me this king's portrait." For the king had all the
portraits of all the kings, but the portrait of that king
(who signs himself in such a fashion as mentioned)
was not found by any king, for he is concealed from
people, since he sits under a baldachin [veiling
canopy], and he's far from his countrymen.

The wise man went to that country. He came to the

realization that he must come to know the essence of
the country (in other words, the "thing" of the
country; how the country works). And how can he
find out the country's essence? - by way of the
country's jests. Because when one needs to know
[the essence of] something, one must know its
jesting. For there are many types of jesting: there is
one who really wants to smite the other with his
words , and when the other takes notice he says to
him, "I am joshing!" as in the verse, "Like one who
wearies himself shooting firebrands.. and says, 'I
was only joshing.' [Proverbs 26:18-19]," and so
there is someone who really means a jest but still
 Story of a Humble King

harms the other with his words. Thus there are

several kinds of jesting.

Now, among the countries, there is a country that

includes all countries (i.e. this country is the
principal and the rule for all countries), and in that
country there is a city which includes all the cities of
that whole country that includes all the countries.
And in the city is a house that includes all the houses
of the entire city that embodies all cities of the
country that includes all countries. And there in the
house is a person who includes the entire house
which includes etc. And there, there is someone who
makes all the wise cracks and jesting of the entire
country.

So the wise man took a lot of money with him and

went there. He saw them making all types of
wisecracks and joking. He understood from the jests
that the country is full of falsehood, through and
through. For he saw them making fun of how people
are cheated in business, and how he goes to the
municitrat (city court) and there it is utter falsehood
and they take bribery there; and he goes to the sand
 Story of a Humble King

[state court]; and there as well it is utter falsehood.

And they were all making fun and jest, enacting all
these things. The wise man understood from this
jesting that the country is full of lies and deceit,
lacking any truth whatsoever.

So he went and did some commerce in the country

and allowed himself to be cheated in the exchange,
and went and brought suit before the court. They
were all full of falsehood and bribes. Today he gave
them a bribe; the next day they didn't recognize him.

So he went to a higher court, and there too it was full

of falsehood. Until he came before the senate
(supreme court), and there too it is falsehood with
bribery throughout. Until he came to the king
himself.

When he came to the king he spoke up and said,

"Over whom are you king? The entire country is
thoroughly full of falsehood, from beginning to end,
and there's no truth in it whatsoever." and he began
to tell over all the falsehood of the country.
 Story of a Humble King

When the king heard his words, he bent his ears to

the veil to listen to hear his words, for it was a great
wonder to the king that there was someone to be
found who knew all the falsehood of the country.
And the royal ministers who heard the wise man's
words grew very angry at him, but he continued
reporting all the falsehood of the country.

The wise man spoke up, "One could say that the
king is also like them; that he likes falsehood just as
the country does. But on the contrary, one sees what
a man of truth you are, and on account of this you
keep your distance from them; because you cannot
bear the falsehood of the country." And he began to
praise the king very much.

And the king, because he was very humble, and "in

the place of his greatness, there is his humility," for
that is the way of a humble man, that the more he is
praised and extolled, the smaller to himself and the
humbler he becomes. So on account of the wise
man's great praise and exaltation of the king, the
 Story of a Humble King

king entered into great humility and extreme

tininess, until he became absolutely nothing; and he
could no longer withhold himself, and he threw
aside the veil to see the wise man: who is it that
knows and understands all this?

The king's face was revealed, and the wise man saw
him, depicted his portrait, and brought it back to the
king.

[Notes Following the Story]

"The paths of Zion are mournful" [Lam. 1:4]. Zion is the
aspect of the tziyuenim [markers, placemarks] of all the
countries, for they all the assemble there, as it is written,
"and see the bone of man, then shall he set up a tziyuen
(sign) by it." [Eze. 39:15]. This is [the meaning of], look
upon Zion, the city of our assemblies" [Isa. 33:20 –
C'hazzey Tz'ion K'iryat M'oadeynoo], the acronym of
which is MiTzaCheiK (jesting), for that is where all the
tziyuenim [signs] gathered, and whoever needed to know
whether to do something or some business transaction
would know it there (t.n. see tale 4). May it be His will
that it be rebuilt speedily in our days, amen.
 Story of a Humble King

Look, and discern, and gaze, you who study this, how far
these matters reach. Fortunate is one who attends and will
attain (Daniel 12) to know and grasp a little of the secrets
of these stories, the likes of which have not been heard
since ancient times.

And know that all of these verses and allusions that are
brought after some of the stories are only hints and a
scant disclosure of the subject matter, so that they might
know that "it is not a meaningless thing," G-d forbid. As
was heard from his holy mouth explicitly, that he said
that he is revealing a few mere hints from a few verses
which hint to the secret of the stories, so as to make
known that he is not saying, G-d forbid, prattle. But the
essential secret of the stories is distant from our knowing;
"Deep, deep; who can find it?" [Eccl. 7:24]
 Story of a Fly and Spider

Story 7

He [Rabbi Nachman] announced, "I will tell you

my entire trip that I had."
A tale. There was once a king who had a number of
heavy wars upon him, and he conquered them and
took many captives. (In the midst of his words, as he
began to tell the story, he interjected and said, "You
might think [mistakenly] that I will tell you
everything, that you will be able to understand.")
The king made a grand ball (banquet) every year on
the day that he vanquished the war. There at the ball,
would be all the royal ministers and all the nobility,
in the fashion of royalty, and they would put on
comedies and make fun of all the nations: of the
Turks (Heb. Ishmaelites) and of all the nations. And
they would caricature the manner and conduct of
 Story of a Fly and Spider

every nation, and they probably made fun of the

Jews as well.

The king ordered to bring the book in which the

mannerisms and customs of every nation are
recorded. And wherever the King would open up the
book, he would see [Heb. only: that written in it
were the practices and mannerisms of the nation]
exactly as they performed the parody of them,
because probably the one who performed the
comedy also saw the book. While the king was
poring over the book, he saw a spider crawling on
the edge of the book's pages, and on the pages stood
a fly. Presumably, where does a spider go? - toward
a fly. Meanwhile as the spider was crawling and
going towards the fly, a wind came along and lifted
that page from the book; the spider could no longer
go to the fly. It turned back deceptively as if it was
returning straight to where it came from, and no
longer wants to go to the fly. Meanwhile, the page
fell back in its place and again the spider wanted to
go towards the fly. Again the page listed and did not
permit it; again the spider turned back. Thus it
 Story of a Fly and Spider

happened several times. Afterwards again the spider

went towards the fly and was crawling along until it
had already gotten itself up with one foot upon the
page. Again the page lifted up - and the spider was
already somewhat on the page - then the page lay
down completely, until the spider was left between
one page and another; and it was crawling around
there, but remained getting lower and lower until
nothing whatsoever was left of it. (And the fly - I
will not tell you what happened to it).

And the King had been watching all this and was
very astonished; he understood that this is no empty
matter but rather he is being shown something
through it (and all the ministers saw that the king is
gazing and wondering at it). And the king began to
think: what does this signify? And he dozed off over
the book. The king dreamed that he was holding a
diamond in his hand and he was looking at it. An
exaggerated number of people were emerging from
it and he threw the diamond from his hands. And the
order by kings is that their portrait hangs over them,
and on top of the portrait hangs the crown. He saw
 Story of a Fly and Spider

in the dream how the people that emerged from the

diamond took the portrait and cut off its head, then
they took the crown and threw it into the mud, and
they ran towards him to kill him. A page from the
book upon which he was lying lifted itself and
shielded him, and they were unable to do anything to
him, so they went away, then the page return to its
place. Then again they wanted to kill him, and again
the page lifted itself as before. This happened
several times. The King very much wanted to see
which page is shielding him (i.e. protecting him);
what mannerisms are written on it; from which
nation it is. And he was afraid to look, and he began
to scream, "Woe! Woe!" All the ministers who were
sitting there heard and they wanted to wake him up;
however it is against etiquette to wake up a king.
They knocked around him, in order to wake him, but
he did not hear.

Meanwhile, a tall mountain came to him and asked

him, "Why are you screaming so? I have been
sleeping for such a long time already, and nobody at
all has woken me - and you have woken me up!" He
 Story of a Fly and Spider

said to him, "How can I not scream, when they are

rising up against me and want to kill me, except that
this page is shielding me?!" The mountain answered
him, "If this page is shielding you, then you have no
need to fear anything whatsoever, for many enemies
rise against me as well, but this same page shields
me. Come, I will show you." It showed him how
around the mountain stand thousands and myriads of
enemies, and they make feasts and rejoice, playing
musical instruments and dancing. And the joyful
occasion is that some group of them, one of them
thinks and arrives at some wisdom how to ascend
the mountain, hence they make a big celebration and
a feast with music and dancing, and likewise each
group (i.e. faction) from among them - "except that
this page of these mannerisms that shields you,
shields me."

And on the peak of the mountain is a tablet, upon

which is written the mannerisms of the page that
shields him from whatever people it is; however,
since the mountain is high, the writing cannot be
read. Just at the bottom is a tablet upon which is
 Story of a Fly and Spider

written that whoever has all their teeth - he can go

up on the mountain. Hashem Yisburach provided
that a grass grows there - where one needs to go up
on the mountain, that whoever comes there, all his
teeth fall out; whether he goes on foot, riding, or
driving a carriage with animals, all the teeth would
always fall out. And lying there, were piles white
with teeth, like mountains.

Later, the people from the diamond took the portrait

and restored it as before, and they took the crown
and washed it up, and hung them back in their place,
and the king woke up. Immediately he looked at the
page that had shielded him - which mannerism, of
which nation is it? He saw that written on it is the
mannerism of Jews. He began to look at the page
honestly, and he understood the real truth, and he
came to the decision that he himself would certainly
be a Jew; however, what can be done to return the
entire world back to propriety, to bring them all to
the truth? He came to the decision that he would
journey in search of a sage who would solve the
dream according to its essence (i.e. he should
 Story of a Fly and Spider

interpret the dream exactly as it is). And he took two

men with him and traveled around the world, not as
a king but as a simple person, and he traveled from
one city to the next and he asked: "Where does one
find such a sage who can solve his dream according
to its essence?" They informed him that there-and-
there is found such a sage. He went there and came
to the sage and told him the truth: that he is a king,
and he had vanquished wars, and the entire story that
happened, as mentioned, and he asked him to solve
his dream. The sage answered him, "I myself cannot
interpret, however, there is a time, on this day and in
this month - then, I gather together all the spices of
the Incense (i.e. all the herbs from which they would
make the Incense) and I make from them a
compound (in other words, he mixes them all up
together), and the person is smoked with the incense,
and this person meditates upon what he wants to see
and know, and then he knows everything."

The king resolved: since he had already in fact spent

so much time on it, he would wait longer until that
day and that month (which the sage had told him).
 Story of a Fly and Spider

The day came and the sage did for him so, as
described above, and smoked him with the incense.
The king began to see even things that had happened
to him yet before he was born, when the soul was
still in the upper world (in other words, on the other
world); how they led his soul through all the worlds
and they announced, "Whoever has something to say
for the prosecution (i.e. to speak evil) against this
soul, let him come." No one was there to speak
negatively. Meanwhile someone did come and was
running and shouting, "Master of the World! Hear
my plea! If this one will come to the world what
then have I to do any longer, and for what have You
created me?" And this was the Samech-Mem (Satan;
in other words, the one who was shouting was the
S.M. himself; he was yelling: if this soul would
descend into the world he will no longer have
anything to do). He was answered, "This soul must
go down to the world, as for you - come up with a
solution." He went away (i.e.the one who was
yelling).
 Story of a Fly and Spider

They led the soul further through the worlds until it

was brought before the Heavenly Tribunal in order
to swear it in already, for its descent into this world.
And he had not yet arrived (i.e. the S.M., who was
yelling earlier, had not come yet), so they sent a
messenger after him; he came and brought with him
an old stooped man, with whom he was long since
familiar (i.e. the Accuser had been acquainted with
this old one from long ago), and he laughed and
said, "I have already enacted for a solution; this soul
can already go down into the world." They released
the soul and it descended to the world. And he (i.e.
the king) saw everything that happened to him from
beginning to end, and how he became king, and the
wars that he had, etc..

And he took captives, and among the captives was a

beautiful woman who had every kind of charm in the
world. However, this charm was not from herself;
rather, she would hang a diamond on herself and the
diamond had all kinds of charm. And upon that
mountain no one can come except the wise and the
rich etc. (And more than this he did not tell). And
 Story of a Fly and Spider

there is still much more to this. (From "And he took

captives" until the end - was not written properly the
way he told it).

[Notes Following the Story]

A psalm of David when he fled... Hashem, how
many my adversaries have become; many are they
that rise up against me... But you, Hashem, are a
shield about me: my glory and the lifter of my
head... With my voice I call out onto Hashem, and
He answers me from His holy mountain, Selah: the
mountain mentioned above.

I lay down and I sleep: as mentioned above. I

awake... I am not afraid of myriads of people... for
You have smitten all my enemies on the cheek; You
have broken the teeth of the wicked: for their teeth
would fall out when they wanted to go up on the
mountain. Upon Your people is Your blessing,
Selah. [Psalms 3]

Stand and contemplate these wonders! If you are a

soulful [ba'al nefesh], take your flesh up in your
teeth and put your soul in your palm; stand
 Story of a Fly and Spider

trembling and amazed; let the hairs of your head

stand on end, and return again and wonder at these
words which stand in the highest of heights.
 Rabbi and His Only Son

Story 8

(Summer of 5567)
A tale. There was once a rabbi who had no children.
Later, he had an only son, and he raised him, and
made him a wedding. The son would sit in an attic
room and learn [i.e. study], as is the way with the
wealthy. He would study and pray constantly, but he
felt a deficiency in himself, some sort of lacking, but
he did not know what. And he had no taste in his
learning and praying. He told this to two young
people and they advised that he should travel to a
certain tzaddik. Now, this son had done a mitzvah
through which he had come to the aspect of the
Smaller Luminary. The only son went and told his
father, inasmuch as he feels no taste in his service
(in other words, in his serving G-d, that is; praying,
learning, and other mitzvos), and he is deficient but
 Rabbi and His Only Son

he doesn't know of what; therefore he wants to travel

to this tzaddik whom they had told him about, as
above. His father answered him, "How can you
come to travel to him? You are more of a scholar
than he, and more pedigreed than he. It doesn't suit
you to travel to him. Desist from this way!" To the
extent, that the father prevented him from traveling
to the tzaddik.

The son returned to his learning, and again he felt

the deficiency as mentioned above, and again he
took counsel with those young people; again they
gave him the advice that he should travel to the
tzaddik. Again he went to his father, and again his
father diverted him and prevented him. Thus it
happened several times. And the son kept feeling
that he is lacking something, and he greatly wanted
to fill his lack (in other words, he should make some
sort of correction so that he should not be lacking),
but he did not know what the lack is, as mentioned
earlier. He went yet again to his father and implored
him a great deal until his father had to travel with
him, for the father did not want to let him travel
 Rabbi and His Only Son

alone, since he was an only son. So the father said to

him, "Look, I will go with you. I'll show you that he
is nothing at (all in other words, that the tzaddik is
nothing)." They harnessed the carriage and set out.
The father said to his son, "With this I will make a
test: if everything goes orderly, it is from Heaven,
and if not, it is not from Heaven that we should
travel, and we will return." They set out, and they
reached a small bridge, and a horse fell, and the
carriage turned over, and they nearly drowned. His
father said to him, "You see that it's not going
orderly and the journey is not from Heaven." They
returned. Again the son returned to his studies, and
again he saw that something is lacking and he does
not know what. Again he implored his father, as
above, and his father had to once again travel with
him. As they were traveling, his father again set up a
test as before: if it goes orderly (then etc. as
mentioned). As they were traveling, both axles
broke. His father said to him, " See that [things are]
not going so that we should travel, for is it a natural
occurrence that both axles should break? How many
times have we traveled with this carriage and such a
 Rabbi and His Only Son

thing has never happened!" Again they returned.

And the son returned to his learning and so forth as
above, and again he felt the deficiency as mentioned
earlier, and the young people advised him to make
the journey. Again the only son went to his father
and again pressed him; once again he had to travel
with him. The only son said to the father: that we
should no longer set up such a test, for this is a
natural occurrence, that sometimes the horse falls or
axles can break - unless it will be something very
wild.

They traveled and came to an inn to spend the night.

They met a merchant there, and they began to talk
with him as merchants are wont to, not telling him
that they are going there (to a 'Rebbe' - Chassidic
Master - lit. one good Jew), for the rabbi was
embarrassed to say that he is traveling to the tzaddik.
So they were speaking worldly things until in the
conversation they began to talk about tzaddikim
[yid: Rebbe's]; where tzaddikim are found; he (the
merchant) told them that there (in a certain place)
there is a tzaddik, and there and there. They began to
 Rabbi and His Only Son

speak about the tzaddik whom they are traveling to.

The merchant answered them, "That person (in an
expression of amazement)? He is plainly frivolous
[lit. 'light'] (in other words, not at all an earnest
Jew)! Just know I am traveling from him; I was
there when he did a transgression!" The father spoke
up to the only son, "Do you see, my son, what this
merchant is telling [us] innocently (in other words,
he is not intending trash-talk, to speak evil of the
tzaddik; only through the conversation he told it)?
Behold he's coming from there." They returned
home (i.e. the father and the only son).

The son died and appeared in a dream to his father,

and his father saw him standing in great anger. His
father asked him, why are you so angry? He
answered him (i.e. the son, who is dead, answered
his father in the dream) that he should travel to the
tzaddik (whom they had wanted to travel to), and he
will tell you why I am angry." He awoke and
thought to himself: it's a chance occurrence (in other
words, just a dream; not any truth). Afterwards he
dreamed the same thing again and again, he thought
 Rabbi and His Only Son

it is a false dream, and so it happened three times.

He understood that this is no empty matter, and he
traveled there (i.e. the rabbi traveled to the tzaddik
whom he had previously traveled toward with his
son). On the way he again encountered the merchant
whom he had previously encountered when he
traveled with his son, and the rabbi recognized him,
and the rabbi said to the merchant, "Aren't you the
one I saw at the inn?" He answered him, "Certainly
you saw me!" And opened up his mouth and said to
him, "If you want, I'll just devour you now!" He said
to him (i.e. the rabbi to the merchant), "What are
you talking [about]?" He answered him, "Do you
remember when you traveled with your son, and
initially a horse fell down on the bridge, and you you
returned, then the axles broke, then you met me and
I told you that he is frivolous? Now that I have
dismissed your son - now you may travel. For your
son was an aspect of the Smaller Luminary, and the
tzaddik whom he wanted to travel to, is an aspect of
the Greater Luminary, and if they both would have
gotten together, Messiah would have come. And
now that I have dismissed him, you are permitted to
 Rabbi and His Only Son

go." And in the midst of speaking, he disappeared

(in other words, the merchant vanished suddenly
while talking) and he didn't have with whom to talk.
The rabbi travelled to the tzaddik and cried, "Woe!
Woe! What a pity for those who are gone and are no
longer to be found!" (Heb. only: Hashem Yisburach
will return our exiled soon, amen).

[Notes Following the Story]

And the merchant was the same Samech-Mem
(Satan) himself, who disguised himself as a
merchant and deceived them, and then when he met
the Rabbi the second time, he himself challenged
him for having followed him, for such is the way of
the yetzer hara [evil inclination]; initially he incites a
person, and when the person follows him, Heaven
forbid, he himself challenges the person afterwards
and personally take vengeance upon him for having
followed him. Hashem Yisburach save us from him
and return us to the right truth, amen.
 Clever Man and Simple Man

Story 9

(Winter of 5569 before Purim)

A tale. Once there were two home owners in a city
and they had great wealth and large houses. The two
home owners had two sons; that is, each one of them
had a son; and the two children learned together in
the same school house. And one of them was a
chacham [clever, smart, sophisticated, wise] and the
other was a tam [simple, innocent, artless,
wholehearted, sincere, unfeigned] (not that he was a
fool; rather, his intellect was simple, without
sophistication). And the two sons loved each other
very much, even though one was clever and the
other was a tam and his mind simple; they still loved
each other very much. A time came and the two
 Clever Man and Simple Man

homeowners began to decline from their wealth, and

kept declining and declining until they became
entirely possessionless and became destitute, and
nothing more remained for them except their houses.
And the sons began to grow up and the homeowners
told the sons: We haven't [wherewithal] to pay for
you; we cannot sustain you. Do for yourself what
you can.

The tam went and learned shoemaking. The

chacham, being a discerning person (in other words,
a smart and understanding person), didn't want to
take up such a common trade, so he decided he
would travel the world and look and see what he
should do. So he was going around in the
marketplace and he saw a large wagon with four
horses in harness, running. He called out to the
merchants, "Where are you from?" They answered
him, "From Warsaw." "Where are you going?" "To
Warsaw." He asked them, "Maybe you need a
helper?" The merchants saw that he is a smart youth
and motivated, and they liked him, and they took
 Clever Man and Simple Man

him along. He traveled off with them and served

them very finely on the road.

When they arrived in Warsaw, since he was astute

he decided, "Since I am already in Warsaw, why
should I remain with these merchants? Maybe here,
is a better place than them; let me go search." And
he walked around in the marketplace place and
began to inquire and ask regarding the men who had
brought him, and whether here, there is a better
place than them. They answered him that these
people (who had brought him there) are honest
people and it's good to be with them, but on account
of this it is very difficult to be with them, since their
dealing and trading is in very distant places.

Meanwhile he went on and he noticed shop servants

as they were going around the marketplace, and they
were going around as they are accustomed to, with
all their charm, with their caps, and the pointy shoes,
and the rest of the charms which they have in their
gait and attire. And he was an intelligent and astute
youth and this scheme pleased him very much, since
it's an appealing enterprise and it's at home in place.
 Clever Man and Simple Man

He went to the men who had brought him and

thanked them, and told them that it is not good for
him to be with them, and as for them having brought
him here, for that he had served them on the road.
And he went ahead and offered himself to a
landowner. And the arrangement of the servant is
that first one must be in 'under servant' and do hard
labor and receive low wages; afterwards one then
gets to be an 'over servant'. The landowner worked
him hard, and would send him off to nobility to
carry merchandise in the manner of servants, who
must carry cloth upon their elbows; this work was
very hard for him. Sometimes he needed to go up
with the merchandise to upper floors, and this work
was very hard for him. He decided, since he was a
philosopher, a discerning person: "Why do I need
this work? The essential is only for the ultimate
purpose: so that I can get married and be able to
support myself. I don't need to see to that yet; there
will be time for that later. Meanwhile I would rather
be out in the world and see countries." He walked
along in the marketplace and he saw merchants
riding on a large wagon, and he asked them, "Where
 Clever Man and Simple Man

are you going?" They answered, "To Lagorna". He

asked them, "Would you take me there?" They
answered him, "Yes." They took him there. From
there he traveled to Italy, and from Italy he travelled
further on to Spain.

Meanwhile, many years passed and he became even

more knowledgeable on account of having been in
many countries. He decided, "At this time a person
needs to look at the purpose," and he began to think
with his philosophy (i.e. with his knowledge) what
he should do. It seemed to him that he should learn
goldwork, which is a major occupation and a nice
craft, requiring great insight; and it's a profitable
work. And since he was a discerning man and a
philosopher, he didn't need to study the trade many
years; merely in a quarter year he received the skill,
and he became quite a great craftsman. And he knew
the work better than the one who had trained him.

Afterwards he concluded, "Even though I have such

a trade in hand, nonetheless I will not content myself
with it, for today this is important; maybe at another
time some other thing will be considered important"
 Clever Man and Simple Man

- and went ahead and placed himself with a gem

cutter. And on account of his cleverness he acquired
this skill in a short time as well - in a quarter year.

Then he thought to himself with his philosophy,

"Even though I have two trades in hand, who knows
if perhaps both will not be important. Therefore it is
good for me to learn such a profession that will
always be important." He deliberated with his
understanding and with his philosophy, and decided
that he should learn medicine, for this is something
which one always needs and is always important.
And the routine is, when one studies medicine one
must first learn Latin, the language and its writing,
and one must learn philosophy. And he, on account
of his insight (i.e. understanding) mastered this also
in a short time, in a quarter year; and he became a
big doctor, and a philosopher, and an expert in all
fields of wisdom.

Then the world began to be like nil to him (in other

words, the entire world became like nothing to him);
that is, he maintained that nobody has any sense at
all; for on account of his great wisdom, since he was
 Clever Man and Simple Man

such a great craftsman, and such a smart person, and

such a doctor, every person in the world was like nil
to him (equal to nothing). So he decided that he
would now act upon a purpose and would take a
wife. He thought to himself a consideration: "If I
would have a wedding here, who will know what
has become of me? Let me rather go back home, so
that people will see what has become of me. I left as
a young boy and now I have come to such
greatness." And he picked up and traveled home,
and he had great afflictions on the way, for an
account of his sophistication he didn't have anyone
to talk to, and had no lodging to his satisfaction. So
he was constantly full of great affliction.

Meanwhile, let us set aside the story of the clever

man; we will begin to tell the story of the simple
man. The simple man learned shoemaking, and since
he was a simple person he had to study the trade a
great deal until he got it; and he did not know the
craft entirely. And he took a wife, and he sustained
himself from his work. And since he was a simple
person and he did not know the work as one should,
 Clever Man and Simple Man

therefore his livelihood was scrimpy and very

meager. And he didn't have time even to eat, because
he always had to work, since he wasn't thoroughly
proficient in the craft; except that while he was
working, when he had inserted the nail and pulled
through the cobbler's thread, then he would take a
bite on a piece of bread and eat. And his usual way
was that he was always happy and he was constantly
only joyous.

And he had all the food, all the beverages, and all
the clothing. He would say to his wife, "My wife,
give me to eat;" and she gave him a piece of bread,
and he ate. Then he said, "Give me the soup with
kasha (buckwheat)" and she sliced off another piece
of bread for him, and he ate, and he gave much
praise and said, "What a goodness and delicacy this
soup is!" And similarly he ordered to be served
meat, and again she gave him bread, and he ate, and
also praised greatly and said, "How fine this meat
is!" And so too other good foods all of which he
ordered to be given; and for each type of food he
ordered for himself, she always gave him a piece of
 Clever Man and Simple Man

bread, and he had great pleasure from this, and

praised very much how it was exactly right. "What a
goodness it is!" - just as if he actually ate it, for he
would really and truthfully sense in the bread that he
had eaten, the taste of all the foods that he wanted;
on account of his great temimus [the quality of being
a tam] and his joy, he tasted in the bread just as if he
were eating all those foods.

And similarly he would say, "My wife, give me a

drink of beer;" she gave him water, and he would
praise, "What a great beer this is!" Then he would
summon, "Give me mead;" she gave him water, and
he also praised the same way, "What a good mead
this is!" "Give me wine" or other beverages; she
always gave him water, and he had delight, and
praised the drink just as if he was drinking it.

And so too with clothing, it was also this way. He

and his wife together had one peltz [Yid. pelt coat;
unfinished skin-with-fur coat]. When he needed a
peltz, namely, to go to the market, he would say,
"My wife, give me the peltz," and she gave it to him.
When he needed a tulep [fancy overcoat with fine
 Clever Man and Simple Man

fur on the inside and the fur rolled over onto the
collar], to go amongst people, he would say, "My
wife, give me the tulep," and she gave him the peltz.
He would have great delight and would praise,
"What a pleasant tulep this is." When he needed a
kaftan [long suit coat] to go to synagogue, he would
summon and say, "My wife, give me the kaftan,"
and she gave him the peltz. He would give praise,
and he said, "What a fine and what a beautiful kaftan
this is!" And so too when he needed to don a yupa
[A long unlined silk robe worn for formal occasions]
she would also give him the peltz, and he would also
give praise, and had delight: "What a fine and what a
beautiful yupa this is!" And thus with all things; and
he was full of joy, happiness, and wellbeing
constantly.

When he had finished a shoe - and probably the shoe

had three corners, because he wasn't completely
adept at his craft - he would take the shoe in his
hand and praise it highly, and he had enormous
delight from it. And he would say, "My wife, what a
beauty, and what a niceness this little shoe is! What
 Clever Man and Simple Man

a sweetness this little shoe is! What a honey, what a

sugary little shoes this is!" She would ask him, "If
that is so, why do other shoemakers take three
gulden for a pair of shoes, and you take only a half
thaler (i.e. one and a half gulden)?" He replied,
"What's that to me? That's the other person's affair
and this is my affair. And besides, why do we have
to talk about other people? Let's just start calculating
how much I profit here in this little shoe when it
changes hands (instantly/simply). The leather cost
me so much, tar and thread cost so much, the filling
between the skins so much; now I profit ten
groschen when it changes hands. Now, why should
such a profit from changing hands bother me?"

So he was only happy and cheerful at all times, but

to the world he was a laughingstock; and they got
what they wanted, for here they had someone to
mock as they pleased, for he seemed to them like a
lunatic. People would come and intentionally start
speaking with him, in order to have something to
make fun of. And the simple man would say to
them, "Just without mockery." And as soon as they
 Clever Man and Simple Man

answered him, "Without mockery," he listened to

them and started talking with them, for he did not
want to suspect further witticism that perhaps this
itself [their reply] is mockery, for he was a tam. But
when he would eventually see that their intention is
to ridicule, he would say, "So what if you are
cleverer than me? You'll still be a fool, for what do I
amount to? So if you will be cleverer than me you'll
still be a fool!"

That was all the usual way of the simple man. Now
we will again talk about the clever man.

In the meantime, there was a commotion, that the

clever man is traveling and is coming with great
pomp and great sophistication. The simple man also
came running to greet him with great joy, and said to
his wife, "Give me quick the yupa! Let me go and
greet my dear friend; let me see him." she gave him
the peltz and he ran out towards him. The clever
man was riding in a carriage pompously; the simple
man came out to greet him and welcomed him
joyously, with great love (and said to him), "My
dear brother, how do you do? Praised is G-d for
 Clever Man and Simple Man

bringing you and giving me the privilege of seeing

you." And the clever man looked at him; to him the
entire world was also nothing (as it was stated
above, that all the people of the world amounted to
nothing in his regard, for he considered himself
smarter than the whole world) - all the more so, such
a person, who appears like an insane person. But
nonetheless, on account of their childhood love
when they had loved each other very much, he drew
him close and travelled with him into town. The two
homeowners, the fathers of these two sons (i.e. of
the clever man and the simple man), had died during
the time when the clever man was out in countries,
and had left behind their houses. This simple man
was in his place, so he moved into his father's house
and inherited it.

The clever man however, was in foreign countries

and had no one to take possession of the house. The
clever man's house came to an end, and was lost, and
nothing at all remained of it, so the clever man had
no house to move into when he arrived. He traveled
to an inn and suffered anguish there because it
 Clever Man and Simple Man

wasn't the kind of inn that he wanted. And the

simple man had now found himself a new calling,
and would always run to the clever man with love
and joy, and he noticed that the clever man had
affliction from the inn. So the simple man said to the
clever man, "Brother, come over to me into my
house. You'll stay with me and I will gather my
entire belongings into one bunch, and you'll have my
entire house." This was agreeable to the clever man,
so he went into his house and stayed with him. And
the clever man was always full of suffering, for he
had left a reputation that he is a great wise man, a
great craftsman, and a very great doctor. A
nobleman came and ordered for him to make him a
gold ring. He made him quite a wonderful ring, and
etched out engravings with very wonderful paths,
etching in it a tree which was a total marvel; the
nobleman came and the ring did not please him at
all. He had enormous suffering, because he knew in
himself that if this ring with the tree would be in
Spain it would be quite esteemed; it would be a
novelty there, but here it's not appreciated
whatsoever. And similarly, one time a great
 Clever Man and Simple Man

nobleman came and brought an expensive diamond

that was brought from distant lands, and he brought
with him another diamond with an image, and bid
him to engrave - just as this image is - so should he
etch out on the diamond that he brought him (which
was from distant lands). He etched out precisely like
the image, except he was shy one thing which
nobody at all would discern except him alone. The
nobleman came and took the diamond and he liked it
very much. But the clever man had great agony from
the shortcoming that he lacked; he thought to
himself: "As smart as I am, now, should I make a
mistake?"

And similarly in medicine he suffered as well: when

he came to a sick person and he gave him treatments
of which he knew clearly that if the patient should
only survive, he would certainly have to be healed
from the treatments, since they are very excellent
treatments - then however, the patient died. The
public said that he died because of him, and he had
great affliction from this. And likewise, sometimes
he gave a sick person treatments and the sick person
 Clever Man and Simple Man

became healthy, and the public said it's a chance

occurrence (in other words, he became healthy like
that not through him). He also suffered very much
from that. So he was constantly full of afflictions.

And similarly, when he needed a garment, he

summoned the tailor and took pains with him until
he taught him to make the garment in the fashion he
desired, in the way he knew. The tailor met the task
and made the garment just as he wanted, except the
tailor erred on one lapel and didn't effectuate it on
par. He suffered a great anguish from this, because
he knew in himself, that although here no one
discerns it, "If I were only in Spain with this lapel,
they would laugh at me and I would look
ridiculous." And so he was always full of suffering.

And the simple man used to always run, coming to

the clever man with joy, with happiness; but he
always found him in affliction and full of suffering,
and he asked him, "Such a wise person, and such a
wealthy person as you - why do you always have
anguish? Why am I constantly happy?" For the
clever man this was a mockery, and he seemed crazy
 Clever Man and Simple Man

to him. The simple man said to him, "Even plain

people, when they make fun of me, are fools as well,
for if they are already smarter than me, they are first
fools themselves! [as mentioned above]. All the
more so such a clever person as you (are). So what if
you are smarter than me?" The simple man
proclaimed and said to the clever man, "If only the
Supreme One would grant that you should come up
to my level (in other words, that you should also
become a simple person)." The clever man replied,
"It could happen that I should reach your level - if
G-d would take away my intellect, G-d spare us; or
if I, G-d forbid, should become sick, it could happen
that I should also become insane. For, what are you
anyway but a mad man? If only you could come up
to my level; this is by no means possible, that you
should be such a clever person as I." The simple
man answered, "With Hashem Yisburach everything
is possible. It can happen like the wink of an eye
(like an eyeblink) that I should arrive at your
smartness." The clever man ridiculed him a great
deal.
 Clever Man and Simple Man

Now these two sons, the public would call them

"Clever" and "Simple": they called this one
"Clever," and they called that one "Simple." Even
though there are many clever people and simple
people on the earth, still, here it was very apparent,
because they were both from one town and had
studied in one schoolroom, and this one became
quite an extraordinarily clever person, that one
became quite an extremely simple person;
consequently they gave them the nicknames "The
Clever Man" and "The Simple Man." Now in the
registry (the book listing the residents) everyone is
written down with all their family names, so they
wrote down after this one, the nickname "Clever
Man," and after that one, "Simple man."

One time the king came by the registry and he found

the two as they were recorded, this one with the
nickname "Clever Man," and that one with the
nickname "Simple Man." This was a wonder to the
king, that the two have such nicknames,"Clever
Man" and "Simple Man." The King very much
wanted to see them. The king decided, "If I suddenly
 Clever Man and Simple Man

send for them to come before me they will be

frightened, and the clever man won't know at all
what to reply, and the simple man might go crazy
from fear." The King decided to send a clever man
to the clever man and a simple man to the simple
man. But where does one get a simple man in a royal
city? For in a royal city (i.e. the town where the
King lives) the majority are smart people. However,
the one who is a warden over the treasuries - he is
specifically a simple person, because one doesn't
want to make a clever person any sort of warden
over the treasuries, for perhaps through his
cleverness and his intellect he will embezzle the
treasuries; therefore one specifically puts a simple
person in charge of the treasuries.

So the King summoned a clever man and the simple

man (who was a warden over the treasuries), and
sent them to the two (i.e. to the clever man and to
the simple man), and he gave each one a different
letter. And he gave them an additional letter to the
governor of the province whom the two, that is, the
clever man and the simple man, were under. And the
 Clever Man and Simple Man

king commanded in the letter that the governor

should send letters on his behalf to the clever man
and the simple man so that they shouldn't be
frightened, and he should write to them that the
matter is not necessary, and the king is not
specifically decreeing that they should come, but
rather the choice is theirs; if they want, they should
come. But the King does want to see them.

The emissaries traveled off, the clever one and the

simple one, and came to the governor and delivered
the letter to him. The governor inquired after the two
children and they told him that the clever man is an
extraordinarily clever person and quite a wealthy
man, and the simple man is quite a very simple
person and has every kind of garment from the peltz
[sheepskin coat] as mentioned before. The governor
decided that it is certainly not proper to bring him
before the king dressed in a peltz, so he made for
him appropriate clothes and placed them in the
simple man's carriage. And he gave them the letters,
as mentioned.
 Clever Man and Simple Man

The messengers travelled off and came to them, and

delivered the letters to them; the clever one
delivered to the clever man, and the simple one to
the simple man. And the simple man, as soon as the
letter was delivered to him, spoke up to the emissary
(who was also a simple man, as mentioned) who
brought him the letter, "I don't know what is written
in the letter. Read it for me." He answered him, I'll
tell you from memory [Yid: outside - in my own
words] what is written in it. The king wants you to
come to him." Immediately he asked, "Just without
mockery?" He answered him, "It's definitely true;
without mockery." He was immediately filled with
joy, and he ran and said to his wife, "My wife, the
king has sent for me!" She asked him, "What is it?!
Why has he sent for you?" He had absolutely no
time to answer her whatsoever. He immediately
rushed himself joyfully and went ahead and sat
himself in the carriage so that he could travel off
with the messenger. Meanwhile he noticed the
clothes there (which the governor had made on his
behalf and placed in his carriage, as mentioned). He
 Clever Man and Simple Man

became even happier - now he had clothes as well!

So he was extremely happy.

In the meantime, the king was delivered condemning

disclosure regarding the governor, that he commits
fraud, and the king removed (i.e. deposed) him. The
king made up his mind: it's good that a simple
person should be governor, that is, a tam, for simple
man would conduct the country with truth and
justice, since he doesn't know any cleverness or
inventions. So the king felt that he should make the
simple man (i.e. the simple man who is the friend of
the clever man, whom the king had sent for)
governor. The king sent an order that the simple
man, who he had sent for, should become governor.
Now the simple man must travel through the city of
the governor. Thus they should station themselves at
the city gates so that as soon as the simple man
arrives they should detain him and give him the
appointment that he should be governor. They did
so, and they stood at the gates, and as soon as he
drove through they stopped him and told him that he
has become governor.
 Clever Man and Simple Man

He asked, "Just without mockery?" They answered

him, "Definitely! With no joking! We are not
mocking you!" The simple man immediately became
governor, with authority and power. And now that
his mazal had improved - and mazal machkim (i.e.
the mazal makes [a person] smart) now acquired a
bit of discernment (i.e. understanding). Nonetheless,
he did not make use of his wisdom at all, but instead
conducted himself with his temimus as before, and
he led the state with teminus, with truth, and with
integrity. And he dealt absolutely no falseness or
injustice to anyone. And for the management of a
state, one needs no great intellect nor special
knowledge, just uprightness and temimus. When two
people came before him for judgment, he would say,
"You are clear and you are liable," purely according
to his temimus and his truthfulness, without any
deceit or falseness. And thus he conducted
everything with truth.

The country loved him very much and he had loyal

advisers who truly loved him. And out of love, one
of them gave him advice: "Inasmuch as you will
 Clever Man and Simple Man

certainly have to appear before the king, since he has

already sent for you, and moreover the procedure is
that a governor has to come before the king,
therefore, even though you are very sincere and the
king will not find any corruption in you, in your
leadership of the country, still however, it is the
routine of the king when he converses, he speaks
tangentially and starts discussing wisdoms and
languages, so it is fitting and it is the etiquette that
you are able to respond to him. Therefore it is right
that I should teach you wisdoms and languages."
The simple man accepted this, and received
wisdoms and languages. It immediately came to his
mind that his friend the clever man had said to him
that it is impossible in any way that he should reach
his wisdom: "Here I have already arrived at his
wisdom!" (And still, even though he now new
wisdoms, he did not use the wisdoms whatsoever,
but conducted himself with simplicity as before).

Afterwards the king dispatched for the simple man,

the governor, to come to him. He traveled to him.
First the king discussed the leadership of the country
 Clever Man and Simple Man

with the simple man, and the king was very well
pleased, for the king saw that he leads justly and
with great honesty, without any wrongdoing, and
completely without deception. Then the king began
to talk about fields of knowledge and languages; the
simple man replied to him as one should, and the
king was even more pleased. The king said, "I see
that he is such a smart person and yet conducts
himself with such an innocence." He please the King
very, very much, and the King made him a minister
over all the ministers; and the king ordered to give
him a special city where he should live, and
commanded to wall him about with very beautiful
walls as is befitting, and gave him a writ regarding
the fact that he shall be minister. And so it was; they
walled him about with very fine beautiful walls in
the place where the king had ordered, and he took on
the greatness in full effect.

The clever man, when the letter from the king came
to him, replied to the clever person who brought the
letter, "Wait, and spend the night here. We will talk
it over and will come to a decision." At night he
 Clever Man and Simple Man

prepared for him a great feast. During the meal the

clever man (the simple man's friend) started being
clever and analyzing with his cleverness and his
philosophy. He spoke up and said, "What can this
mean, that such a king should send for such a lowly
person as I? Who am I that the king should send for
me? What's the meaning? Such a great king who has
such dominion and such prestige, and I, so little as I
am opposite such a great king - just how is it
conceivable that such a king should send for me? If I
should say: on account of my wisdom he has sent for
me, what do I amount to next to the king? After all,
doesn't the king have any wise men? And the king is
certainly a great sage himself, so what is this, that
the king should send for me?" So he was very, very
astonished about this, and as he was wondering thus,
he called out (to the other clever person, the
messenger who had brought the letter), "Do you
know what I tell you? My opinion is that it is clear
that there is no king whatsoever here in the world.
And the entire world is mistaken in this; they think
that there is a king here. Just the opposite.
Understand - how can it be that the entire world
 Clever Man and Simple Man

should entrust itself into the hands of one man, that

he should be the king? There is certainly no king on
the earth whatsoever." The clever person, the
messenger, replied, "Haven't I brought you a letter
from the king?" The clever man (the simple man's
friend) asked him, "Did you personally receive the
letter by the king, from out of his hand?" He
answered him, "No, but another person gave me the
king's letter." He called out, "On the contrary! Now
see with your eyes that I am correct, that there is
absolutely no king!" Once again he asked him, "Just
tell me. You are from the royal city, and you grew
up there. Tell me, have you once seen the king?" He
answered, "No." (For in fact it is so, that not
everyone is privileged to see the king, for the king is
not seen but on rare occasion.) He declared, "Now
see that I am correct, that there is definitely no king
whatsoever, even you have never seen the king."
Once again the messenger answered the clever man,
"If it is really so, who then rules the country?" He
(i.e. the clever man, the simple man's friend)
answered him, "That - I'll make clear to you, for I
am expert in this, so it is me you should ask, for I
 Clever Man and Simple Man

have been abroad in countries; I've been in Italy and

the custom is thus: there are 70 senators and they
rise up and lead the country for a period of time.
With this system of authority the entire country
participates one after the other (i.e. first these are the
senators, then these go down and others rise up and
lead the country, and similarly other people each
time)." His words started to get into the other clever
person's ears (i.e. the messenger), until they were
both left with the conviction that there definitely
isn't any king on earth. Again the clever man (the
simple man's friend) spoke up, "Wait until the
morning and moreover I'll prove to you clearly that
there is definitely no king."

The clever man got himself up in the morning and

woke up the other clever man, the messenger, and
said to him, "Come with me on the road; I will show
you how the whole world is mistaken and there is no
king whatsoever. They went in the marketplace and
they noticed a soldier. They took hold of him and
asked him, "Who do you serve?" He answered, "The
king." "Have you seen the King in your life?" He
 Clever Man and Simple Man

answered, "No." He announced (i.e. the first clever

man, the simple man's friend, we always call him the
"first" clever man) and said, "See! Is there such a
foolishness?!" (In other words, the soldier serves the
king but doesn't know him - the clever man still
wanted to demonstrate with his foolish wisdom that
there is no king whatsoever, as mentioned.) after
that, they went on to an army officer, and they
entered in conversation with him until they asked
him, "Whom do you serve?" He answered, "The
king." "Have you seen the king?" "No." He
proclaimed, "On the contrary - look and see with
your eyes that they are all mistaken and there isn't
any king here." (For the officer had also not seen the
king.) It was settled among them that there is no
king here. The first clever man declared, "Come,
let's travel the world; I will show you moreover that
the entire world is very mistaken with great
foolishness."

They went and traveled about in the world, and

wherever they arrived they always found the world
in error (in other words, the clever men through their
 Clever Man and Simple Man

"wisdom" fell into such foolishness, to the extent

that they thought that the whole world is always
mistaken). And the matter of the king (i.e. the fact
that for them it was proven that there is no king) had
already become a byword for them, and wherever
they found the world in error they took the king as
an analogy: "Just as it is 'true' that there is a king, so
too is this ['true']." Thus they were out in the world
and traveled until they ran out of what they had.
They began by selling one horse and then the other
until they had sold everything, until they had to go
on foot. And constantly they kept examining the
world and kept finding that the world is in error.
And they became foot-going beggars and they were
already not at all distinguished, for by now people
paid no attention to them at all, to such beggars.

So they were out in the world until it turned out that

they came to the city where the minister lived (i.e.
the simple man, the clever man's friend). And there
in that city was a genuine baal shem [lit. Master of
the Name(s - Divine); a holy man and miracle
worker]. And the baal shem was held in high esteem
 Clever Man and Simple Man

because he had done truly wild things, and even

among the nobility he was a renowned person and
was highly regarded by them. And the clever men
came into the city, walked about, and came before
the house of the baal shem. They saw many wagons
stationed there with sick people, forty or fifty. The
clever man thought that a doctor lived there. He
wanted to go inside to him; since he too was a great
doctor, he wanted to go in to make his acquaintance.
He asked, "Who lives here?" They answered him,
"A baal shem." He made a great laugh and said to
the other (i.e. to the messenger wise person), "This is
another lie and a foolishness! This is even more
nonsense than the mistake about the king! Brother,
let me tell you about this falsehood, how much the
world is mistaken and so deceived."

Meanwhile they became hungry and found that they

still had three or four groschen. They went into the
food kitchen [yid: gorkech, everyman's kitchen] and
there one can get food for even three, four groschen,
and they ordered for themselves to be served with
food, and they were served. While they were eating
 Clever Man and Simple Man

they talked and made fun of the "lie" and the "error"
of the baal shem (how the world is in error). And the
food kitchener [gorkecher] heard their talk and it
upset him very much, because the baal shem was
highly esteemed there. He said to them, "Eat up
what you have and get out of here." Then a son of
the baal shem arrived there, and they kept on
ridiculing the baal shem before his son's eyes. The
food kitchener screamed at them for making fun of
the baal shem before his son's eyes, until the
kitchener beat them severely and push them out of
his home. They were furious, and they wanted to
take him to court over his beating them. They
decided that they will go to their homeowner, where
they had deposited their bundles, so as to take
counsel with him as to how to attain a court hearing
against the food kitchener who had beaten them.
They went and told the homeowner that the food
kitchener had severely beaten them. He answered
them: Why? They told him: because they had
spoken against the baal shem. The homeowner
answered them, "It definitely isn't upright to beat
people. But you however behaved entirely not right
 Clever Man and Simple Man

by talking about the baal shem, for the baal shem is

highly regarded here." They saw that he too was in
"error." They left him and went to the commissioner,
and the commissioner was a gentile. They told him
the story that they had been beaten. He asked: Why?
The said: Because they had spoken against the baal
shem. The commissioner also beat them
murderously and pushed them out.

They went away from him and went to a superior

who had authority, and still could not procure a
court hearing. And thus they kept going from one to
another, each time to a higher one (and still
accomplished nothing, but were beaten well every
time) until they came before the minister (who was
the simple man, as mentioned). And there before the
minister, were stationed sentries. They announced to
the minister that a person needs him, and he ordered
that he should come in. The clever man came before
the minister. As he was coming in, the minister
immediately realized that this is the clever man, his
friend. But the clever man did not recognize him,
since he now was so great. Immediately the minister
 Clever Man and Simple Man

started to talk to him and said to him, "See what my

temimus has brought me to - to such greatness - and
to what your cleverness has brought you." The
clever man spoke up and said, "That you are my
friend the simple man - we can speak about this
later. Right now, give me a court hearing for them
having hit me." He asked him, "Why did they hit
you?" He answered him, "Why, because I spoke
against the baal shem, that he is a liar, and it's all a
swindle." The simple man, prime minister, spoke up
to him, "You still adhere to your contrivances?
Look, you said you can easily reach mine [i.e. my
level], but I cannot reach yours. Now see that I have
already long reached yours (for the simple man had
already become a great wise man as well, as
mentioned) but you have still not reached mine. And
I see that it is more difficult that you should arrive at
my temimus." Even still, since the simple man, the
minister, had known him from long ago, when he
was great, he ordered for him to be given garments
to be clothed with, and he bid him to eat with him at
mealtime. While they were eating, they began to
converse, and the clever man tried to demonstrate
 Clever Man and Simple Man

his (foolish) opinion that there is no king

whatsoever. The simple man, the minister, screamed
at him, "What are you saying?! I myself have seen
the king!" The clever man answered him with
laughter, "You yourself know that it was the king?
You know him? You have known his father, his
grandfather to have been kings? From where do you
know that it was the king? People have told you that
this is the king. They have deceived you." It
annoyed the simple man very much this matter [Heb.
only: of the king], that he denies the king.

Meanwhile someone came and said, "The Devil

[Yid.: Toivl, Heb.: Azazel] has sent for you
[plural]." The simple man trembled severely and ran
and told his wife with great fear that the Devil had
sent for him. She gave him advice, that he should
send for the baal shem. He sent for him; the baal
shem came and gave him kameyas [amulets
containing holy names] and [other] protections, and
told him that now he need no longer fear at all. He
had great faith in this.
 Clever Man and Simple Man

Later the clever man and the simple man sat together
some more. The clever man asked him, "What were
you so terrified about?" He answered him, "Because
of the Devil, who had sent for us." The clever men
ridiculed him, and said to him, "You believe that
there is a Devil?!" The simple man, the minister,
asked him, "Who then sent for us?" The clever man
answered him, "This here is definitely from my
brother; he wanted to meet with me; he set this up
and sent for me with that disguise." The simple man
asked him, "If it is so, how did he get through, past
all the sentries?" He answered him, "He definitely
bribed them, and they are telling a lie in colluding
that they did not see him at all." Meanwhile again
someone came and said again thus: "The Devil has
sent for you." And the simple man now already did
not tremble at all and did not have any fear
whatsoever, on account of the protections he had
taken from the baal shem. He (i.e. the simple man)
called out and said to the clever man, "Well now,
what do you say? He answered him, "I will tell you.
I have a brother who is angry at me. He is the one
who made this disguise in order to frighten me."
 Clever Man and Simple Man

And the clever one got up and asked the one who
had come for them, "What kind of appearance does
the one who has sent for us have? What color is his
hair?" etc. and other such things. He answered him:
such and such. The clever man replied and said,
"See! That there is my brother's looks!" The simple
man said to him, "Will you go with them?" He
answered him, "Yes, I will go with them; only, you
should give me a few soldiers as an escort
("azalaga") so that they shouldn't cause me any
suffering." He gave him an escort, and the two
clever men went with the one who had come for
them (i.e. with the Devil, because they did not want
to believe that this is the Devil, as mentioned). The
soldiers of the escort returned, and the simple man,
the minister, asked them, "Where are the clever
men?" They replied: They know nothing of where
they've gone [Heb.: how they disappeared]. And he
(i.e. the Devil's messenger) had snatched the clever
men and carried them off into a mire with clay.
There the Devil sat on a chair in the mire. The mire
was thick and sticky just like glue, and the clever
men were completely unable to move in the mud.
 Clever Man and Simple Man

And the clever men screamed, "Wicked ones! Why

are you torturing us? Is there indeed a devil on the
earth? You are wicked people for torturing us for no
reason!" (For these clever men still did not want to
believe that there is a Devil; instead they said that
wicked people are torturing them for nothing). The
two clever men lay in the thick mire and probed,
"What is this? These are nothing else but the
hooligans with whom we had once quarreled, and
now they are torturing us so much." The clever men
remained there in the mire several years, and they
were dealt wild sufferings along with wild tortures.

One time the simple man, the minister, passed by in

front of the baal shem's home and he recalled his
friend, the clever man, and went into the baal shem
and bowed to him in the proper way [Heb.: in the
way of ministers] and asked whether it is possible
for him to show him the clever man, and whether he
can extricate him. And the simple man, the minister,
said to the baal shem, "Do you remember the clever
man whom the Devil sent for and carried away? And
from that time I have not seen him." The baal shem
 Clever Man and Simple Man

answered him, "Yes, I remember." The simple man,

the minister, bid him that he should show him the
place where the clever man is, and that he should
extricate him from there. The baal shem said to him,
"I can certainly show you his place and take him out,
however, no one else can go; only I and you." Both
went off and the baal shem did what he knew, and
they arrived there. He saw how they lay there in the
thick mire, in clay. When the clever man noticed the
simple man, the minister, he screamed to him,
"Brother, look! They are beating me! And these
hooligans are smiting me so hard for nothing!" The
minister gave him a yelling, "Still you hold to your
contrivances and don't want to believe in anything at
all?! And you say that this is people. Well, look
now. This here is the baal shem whom you had
denied. You will be shown that specifically only he
can take you out (and he will show you the truth)."
The simple man, the minister, bid the baal shem that
he should take them out and show them that this is
the Devil and not humans.
 Clever Man and Simple Man

The baal shem did what he did, and they were left
standing on the dry land, and there was no mire there
at all. And the demons became plain dust (i.e. they
became earth altogether). Then for the first time the
clever man beheld the truth, and had to admit
everything, that there is indeed a king and there is
indeed a genuine baal shem, etc.

[Notes Following the Story]

Regarding this story was said the torah [Likutay
Moharan II #19] which discusses temimus, that the
essence of Judaism is not any mental scheming, but
only temimus and simplicity etc..

(After he concluded the story he announced:) And

when the prayer is not as it needs to be, it's a "three-
cornered shoe"; understand well what is said, as one
can live out the world with bread, water, and a coat,
and have a better life, and a happier life than the
most clever person and the wealthiest person, as we
see that they are full of suffering constantly. And
ultimately it is certainly altogether good for the tam
who sufficed with what he had, and was constantly
 Clever Man and Simple Man

happy. And whoever will be a wise guy and over-

thinks a great deal, will have difficulty from
beginning to end, and is full of afflictions constantly,
and never has any life, and ultimately becomes lost,
until the tam has to have pity on him and help him.
Aside from this, here in the story are more very great
secrets, for all the tales are thoroughly great secrets
of the Torah.

[In Hebrew:] Regarding this story was said the

Torah [Likutay Moharan II #19] which discusses
temimus; that the essence of wholeness is only
temimus and simplicity; and the concept of Amalaik
who was a wise guy and became apostate at the root
etc.; see there regarding the verse, "ShevA yipoL
tzadiK vekaM" - seven [times] the tzadik falls, but
rises - the end letters spell: AMaLeK, for the root of
the downfalls are through wisdoms etc.; see there.
Also Agag, from the seed of Amalaik, even though
he was seeing his fall when Samuel came to Saul to
kill him, still did not believe, as it is written, "Agag
went to him in chains" [Samuel I 15:32] and
[Targum] Yonason translated: "[Agag went to him]
 Clever Man and Simple Man

mepanka"- with a noble or indulgent manner, for he

still did not believe in his fall, until he saw with his
eyes the end of his fall; then, "Surely the bitterness
of death has turned [hither]," for until now he did
not believe. (Put your eyes on this story and you will
discern wonders of wonders). And if the prayer is
not as it ought to be, it is a shoe with three corners;
and understand.
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

Story 10

(5569 after Purim)

A tale. Once there was a burgher (i.e. a big
merchant) who was an extremely rich man and had a
vast amount of merchandise. His promissory notes
[vekslen] and letters of credit [briv] circulated over
the world and he had everything good. Below him
lived a pauper who was an extremely poor man and
had the complete opposite of the burger (i.e. the
complete reverse: just as the burgher was a very rich
man, so the pauper was diametrically a very poor
man). But both of them had no children: the burgher
had no children, and likewise the pauper also had no
children.

Once, the burgher dreamed that people came to his

house and were making packages and packages. He
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

asked them, "What are you doing?" They replied:

they will carry it all the way to that very same
pauper (i.e. the pauper who lived under him, as
mentioned). It annoyed him very much and he grew
very angry that they wanted to carry away all his
wealth to the pauper. To be wroth at them was
impossible, for they were a good many people. So
they continued making packages and packages of all
his belongings, all his wares and all his goods, and
they carried absolutely everything away to the
aforementioned pauper, leaving him nothing in the
house but bare walls; and it upset him very, very
much. Meanwhile, he woke up and saw: it's a dream.
And even though he saw it's only a dream, and thank
G-d all his belongings were with him - still, all the
same, his heart pounded mightily and the dream
could not be got out of his mind, and the dream
upset him severely. The pauper and his wife used to
be cared for by the burgher and he would give to
them often. But now after the dream he cared for
them more than before. However, whenever the poor
man or his wife would come into his house, his
facial expression would change and he became
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

frightened of them because he would recall the

dream. And they, that is the pauper and his wife,
would often go to his house and were with him
often.

One time the pauper's wife came to his house, and he

gave her what he gave her, and his expression
changed, and he became stricken with fear. She
asked him and said, "I beg pardon of your honor, tell
me why it is that whenever we come to you, your
face becomes drastically changed?" He told her the
whole story: that he had had such a dream (as
above), and since then his heart has been pounding
him mightily (as above). She replied to him: "Did
the dream take place on such and such a night
(which she said)?" He answered her, "Yes. What
about it?" she replied to him, "On that night I also
dreamed: that I'm a very wealthy person, and people
had come to my house and were making packages
upon packages. I asked them, 'Where are you
bringing this?' They replied, 'To the pauper (i.e. to
the burgher, whom they already called a poor man
now).' Therefore why do you pay attention to a
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

dream? What for? - I also had a dream." Now the

burgher became all the more frightened and
confused, since he heard her dream as well, because
it seems that his wealth and property are to be
brought to the pauper and that the pauper's poverty
are to be brought to him. He became extremely
panicked.

And the day came to pass - the burgher's wife took a

trip by coach, taking other wives along with her, and
she took the pauper's wife too. And while traveling
along on their tour, meanwhile a general and his
army passed through. They got off the road and the
army passed through. The general saw that women
were traveling, and he gave orders that one of them
should be taken out, and they went and took out the
pauper's wife, snatched her into the general's coach
and drove away with her. Getting her back was
certainly impossible now, for he had driven off with
her, and especially a general with his army... And
she was a Heaven-fearing person (i.e. she had fear of
G-d), and she was not willing to listen to him at all,
and she wept very profusely. They implored her a
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

great deal and coaxed her, but she was, however, an

exceedingly Heaven-fearing person. And she (the
burgher's wife, and the other wives) returned from
their tour but the pauper's wife was not there. The
pauper wept very, very much, beating his head
against the wall and constantly mourning for his
wife bitterly.

One day the burgher passed by the pauper's house

and heard the poor man crying so bitterly and
beating his head against the wall. He went in and
asked him, "Why are you crying so intensely?" He
answered him, "Why shouldn't I weep? What do I
have left? Some people are left with wealth or with
children. I have nothing at all, and my wife has also
been taken from me. What do I have left?" The
burgher's heart was very caught up, and he had great
pity on the pauper on account of seeing his
bitterness, his acute sorrow, and he went and did a
reckless thing; it was truly an insanity - and he went
and asked in which city the general lives, and he
journeyed there. Then he did something berserk: he
went into the general's house. Now, before the
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

general there are sentries posted, but he [the

burgher], on account of his severe hysteria, suddenly
with frenzied deliria went and paid no attention to
the guards whatsoever; and the guards became
shocked and extremely confused due to suddenly
seeing a man beside them in great mania, so they
became very shocked: "How did this guy get here?"
And due to their panic all the guards let him go, and
he passed through all the guards until he went in the
general house, in the place where she [the pauper's]
wife was lying. And he came and woke her up, and
said to her, "Come!" When she caught sight of him
she took fright. He said to her, "Come with me right
away!" She went with him, and now again they
passed by all the guards until they emerged outside.
Only then did he first come around and realize what
he did there, such a wild thing, and he realized that
for certain there would be right away a big uproar at
the general's, and that's just what happened: there
was a big commotion at the general's.

The burgher went and hid himself with her in a pit

where there was rainwater until the commotion died
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

down, and he tarried there with her for two days.

She saw the great self sacrifice that he had for her
sake and the troubles that he suffered for her, and
she swore by G-d that all the mazal that she has -
possibly she has some kind of mazal, that she will
have fantastic greatness and success - then all her
success will not be withheld from him (i.e. from the
burgher), and that if he should want to take for
himself all her success and greatness, so that she
would remain just as she was before, it would not be
withheld from him whatsoever. However, how does
one get witnesses there? She took the pit as a
witness.

After two days he went out of there with her and

went further. And he went with her further and
further. And he understood that there in that place,
she [Heb. he] is also being sought. He went and hid
himself with her in a mikveh [ritual bath]. There
once again she recalled the great sacrifice and the
suffering which he endured for her sake, and she
once again swore as before: that all her mazal etc. as
mentioned, taking the ritual bath as her witness.
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

They were there as well for approximately two days,

and they went out and went further. Again he
understood that they are searching here too, and
again he hid himself along with her. And so it
happened several times, hiding himself with her
each time in another place, namely in seven different
waters, that is, in a pit with water and in a mikveh as
mentioned, and ponds (mucky waters), a spring,
rivulets (creeks), rivers, and seas. And in every place
where they hid, she kept remembering his self
sacrifice and the troubles which he endured for her
sake, and she kept swearing: that her mazal etc. as
mentioned, each time taking the place as witness, as
mentioned. And they kept going in this manner,
always hiding themselves in those places (mentioned
above), until they came to the sea. When they came
to the sea - and the burgher was a great merchant
and knew the sea lanes- he cut (- negotiated a
course) to get to his country, until he traveled the
way, and came home with the pauper's wife, and
brought her back to the pauper. There was great
rejoicing.
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

The burgher, because he had done such a thing, and

in addition had withstood trial (i.e. he had fear of
God and did not touch her), therefore he was
"remembered" (i.e. "thought about" by Hashem
Yisburach) and that year he had a son.

And she too, that is, the pauper's wife, because she
withstood such a trial, both with the general and
with the burgher, she therefore merited to have a
daughter. And she was a supreme beauty, an
extraordinarily great beauty which was unlike any
human beauty whatsoever, for among mankind one
never sees such beauty. Everyone [- the world]
would say, "She should only grow to maturity!" (for
it is hard for such an extraordinary novelty to reach
maturity) because her beauty was absolutely
extraordinary, the likes of which one doesn't see on
earth. Everyone in the world would travel in and
come to see her, and they would be very astonished
at her beauty, which was very, very extraordinary,
and would give her gifts all the time out of affection,
and they so kept pressing gifts until the pauper
became rich.
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

As for the burgher, it entered his mind that he should

arrange a match with the pauper due to her great
beauty which was such a marvel, and he thought to
himself: maybe this is what the dream indicates; that
what's his is brought to the pauper, and what's the
pauper's to him; maybe the dream signifies this, that
they will have a match; they will blend into one
through the match.

One time, the pauper's wife came to the burgher and

he told her that he desires to make a match with her;
and maybe through this the dreams will be realized,
as above. She replied to him, "I've had this in mind
as well, but I didn't have the boldness to talk of this,
that I should make a match with you. But if you
want, I am certainly ready and will certainly not
withhold from you, for I have already sworn that all
my good and my success will not be withheld from
you. And the son (of the burgher) and the daughter
both learned in one schoolroom languages and other
things as was customary by them. And people would
come to see the daughter on account of the
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

exceptional novelty and kept presenting gifts until

the pauper became rich.

And nobility would come see her and liked her very
much, and her beauty was an extreme marvel, for it
was no kind of human beauty; and because of her
extraordinary beauty the nobility got the idea of
contracting a marriage with the pauper, and a
minister who had a son wanted very much to
contract a marriage with her. However, it would not
befit the nobility to have a match with him (i.e. with
the pauper); they therefore needed to endeavor to
make this man (i.e. the pauper) great, and they saw
to it that he should perform a service for the emperor
[kaiser].

And he was first an ensign [Rus. praporshchik, the

lowest military officer rank] and afterwards
continually higher and higher, for they saw to it, to
quickly promote him each time, until he rapidly
became each time higher and higher, until he
became a general. By now the nobility already
wanted to have a match with him, however, there
were many nobility who wanted this, for many
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

nobility had aimed at this [lit. fallen on it] and

busied themselves with it, to continuously promote
him. (Therefore he could not have a match with any
of them.) And furthermore he could not have to
match with any of them on account of the burgher,
for it was already discussed that there would be a
match with him.

And the pauper, who had already become a general -

he became more and more successful. And the
emperor would send him into battles and he was
successful each time, and the emperor promoted him
still higher each time, and he was continuously very
successful, until the emperor died. The entire
country came to the decision to make him emperor,
and all the nobility assembled together, and all
agreed that he should be emperor. He became
emperor (i.e. the aforementioned pauper has now
become emperor) and he waged wars and was very
successful, conquering countries, and waged more
wars and was continuously successful, continually
taking over countries until the other lands
themselves submitted themselves under him with
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

good will, for they saw that his success is extremely

great, for all the beauty of the world and all the
mazal of the world was with him. So all the kings
met together and agreed that he should be emperor
over the entire world, and they gave him a document
written with golden letters.

And the emperor (i.e. the pauper who had become

emperor over the entire world) no longer wanted to
have a match with the burgher, for it is not fitting
that an emperor should have a match with a burgher.
But his wife, the empress - she did not desert the
burgher. (That is, she stood by the burgher because
he risked his life for her sake, as mentioned.) The
Emperor therefore saw that he cannot make any
match, on account of the burgher, particularly since
his wife supports him very, very much. Therefore he
began to think thoughts about the burgher; and in the
beginning he saw to it, to place him in poverty, and
he made schemes just as if it were not from him at
all, and he continually saw to it to cause him
damages; and an emperor can certainly do this. He
was continually caused losses and continuously
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

beaten out of money, until he became impoverished

and became an absolute pauper. But she, the
empress, kept adhering to the burgher.

Then the emperor realized that as long as the son

(i.e. the burgher's son) is alive, he can make no other
match. The emperor exerted himself to rid the lad
from the earth, and he thought out plans to eliminate
him. And he set up false charges on him and called
the judges into session to try him. The judges
understood that the emperor's will was that he be
eliminated from the world, and they delivered the
sentence that he (i.e. the burgher's son) be put in a
sack and thrown into the sea.

As for the empress, her heart was very pained by

this, however, even the empress too can do nothing
against the emperor. She went to the designees who
were appointed to throw him into the sea, and she
came to them, and fell at their feet, and pleaded with
them direly that they should do for her sake and let
him go, for: why does he deserve execution? So she
begged them very much that they should take
another captive who had to be executed, and they
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

should throw him into the sea, and they should

release the young men. She achieved this with them;
they swore that they would release him, and so they
did. And they took another man and threw him into
the sea, but him they released (saying): "Go! Go!"
and he went away. And the young man was already
of mature mind, so he went his way.

And before this, that is, prior to the lad leaving, the
empress went and summoned her daughter and said
to her thus: "My daughter, you must know that this
burgher's son is your bridegroom;" and she told her
daughter the entire story that happened to her, and
"how the burgher sacrificed his well-being for my
sake, and was with me in the seven places (i.e. in the
seven types of water), and I swore to him every time
by G-d that all my good would not be withheld from
him, and I took those seven places as witnesses (i.e.
the pit, the mikveh, and all the rest of the seven
types of water.)" Therefore now - you are all my
good, and all my mazal, and my success; you are
certainly his, and his son is your bridegroom. And
your father, because of his haughtiness, wants to kill
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

him for no reason, but I have already made efforts to

save him, and have brought about that he be
released. Therefore you should know that he (i.e. the
burgher's son) is your bridegroom, and you must not
agree to any other groom in the world." The
daughter accepted her mother's words, because she
too was a G-d fearing person, and she replied to her
mother that she would certainly uphold her words.

The daughter went and sent a note to the burgher's

son in prison, that she retains herself by him, and he
is her bridegroom. And she sent something like a
piece of a map, and she drew on it is all the places
where her mother had hidden with his father, which
are the seven witnesses, that is, the pit, the mikveh,
and the rest as mentioned; that is, on it she drew
something like a pit, a mikveh, and the rest of the
seven types of waters. And she ordered him very,
very strongly that he should guard this note very,
very much, and she signed herself underneath; then
things took place as mentioned: the deputies took
another man, and him they released, and he went on
his way.
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

And he went and went until he reached the sea, and

he boarded a ship, and set upon the sea. A big storm
wind came along and carried away the ship to a
coast that was a desert (i.e. desolate), and on account
of the great tempest the ship was broken up;
however, the passengers were saved and made out to
dry land. And there it was a desert; the people from
the ship went off in search of food; each one looked
for something to eat, for at that location it was not
the norm for ships to arrive there, for it was desert;
therefore they did not think that some ship would
come there so that they could return home. They
went along in the desert in search of food and
became scattered here and there, each one separate.
And the young men wanted to turn back but he no
longer could, and the more he wanted to turn back,
the farther he got, until he saw he can no longer
return; so he went where he went in the desert. And
he had in his hand a bow with which he protected
himself against the vicious animals of the desert, and
while walking he found for himself there something
to eat; and thus he walked and walked, until he
emerged from the desert. And he arrived at a place
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

(a settled area) which had a clearing, and there was

water there and fruit trees, and he ate of the fruit and
drank of the water, and he resolved in his mind that
he would settle down there for as long as he lives,
for besides this it is already difficult for him to
return to civilization, and who knows whether he
would yet come to such a place if he would leave
this place and go away? Consequently he wanted to
settle there, and to live out this world there, for it
was good for him there, for he had fruit to eat and
water to drink, and sometimes he would go out and
shoot with his bow, a rabbit or a deer and had meat
to eat, and he would catch fish, for there were very
good fish in the water there; so it pleased him that he
should live out his years there.

As for the emperor, after the sentence had been

carried out on the burgher's son and he was now free
of him (for the emperor thought that they had indeed
truly executed the judgment on the young man and
he's no longer on the earth), now he can already
make a match with his daughter.
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

They began proposing matches to her with this king

and with that king, and he made her a court in the
appropriate way, and she remained there. And she
took young ladies, daughters of nobility, to be her
companions, and she lived there, and she would play
on musical instruments in their usual fashion. And
for all the matches proposed to her, she always
replied that she did not want any talk (i.e. talk about
the match) but that he himself should come (i.e. he
who wants to marry her). And she had very expert
knowledge of the wisdom of poetry (i.e. the wisdom
to speak very beautiful lyrics with great wisdom);
and with skillful artisanship she made a place for
him (i.e. he who wants to marry her) to come to, and
stand facing her, and recite a poem, that is, a poem
of passion, just as a desirer speaks to his desired (i.e.
words of love). Kings would come to be matched
with her, and they arrived at that place, and they
would recite, each one his poem.

To some of them she sent a reply through her ladies,

also in poetry and with love. And to some whom she
liked more, she herself responded, and she would
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

raise her voice with a poem and reply to him as well

words of affection. And to some whom she liked
even more, she would personally show herself face
to face; she showed her face and replied to him with
a poem with affection - but to all of them she always
concluded in the end, "The waters however, did not
pass over you." And none of them understood what
she meant. And when she showed her face, people
would fall down from the great beauty, and some
were left weak, and some became insane on account
of love sickness due to her great beauty which was
very, very extraordinary. And nonetheless, even
though they became insane and were left weak,
despite this, kings would still come to be matched
with her; and she gave them all the same answer, as
above.

And the burgher's son remained in that same place,

and he made himself a place to dwell in, and he
lived there. And he too could play and knew the
wisdom of song; he selected wood out of which
musical instruments can be made, and he made
himself instruments, and from the veins of animals
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

he made strings; thus he would accompany himself

musically. And he would take the note that he had
which she had sent him (at the time he was in
captivity) and he would sing, and play, and
remember what had befallen him, and how his father
has been a burgher etc., and now he has been cast off
to here. And he went and took the note and made a
sign on a tree, and made a place there in the tree, and
hid the note there, and he dwelled there for some
time.

One time there was a great storm wind and it broke

all the trees that were standing there. He could not
recognize the tree where he had hidden the note, for
when the trees were standing in their place he had a
sign to recognize, but now that they had fallen, the
tree became mixed among the other trees which
were very numerous there; he could no longer
recognize the particular tree. And it was impossible
to split open all the trees and look for the note, for
there were very many trees. He cried exceedingly
and was extremely sad, and he realized that if he
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

would stay there he would certainly become insane

on account of the great anguish that he had.

He came to the decision that he must go further

away and whatever would happen to him, let happen
- go away he must, for he is anyway in great danger
due to the severe anguish. So he got some meat and
fruit into a sack and went wherever he would go.
And he made signs in the place from which he left,
and he went along until he reached a settled area. He
asked them, "What land is this?" They answered
him. He asked if they had heard about the emperor
here. They answered him, "Yes." He asked if they
had heard about his daughter, the beauty. They
answered him, "Yes, but no one can be matched
with her (as mentioned for she wants none of them,
as mentioned)." He made up his mind, since he can't
get there anyway, and he went to the king of the
country and spoke his heart out entirely; (and) that
he is her bridegroom, and because of him she wants
no other match; and he cannot get there, therefore he
gives over to the king all the signs that he has, that
is, the seven waters mentioned above, and the king
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

should go there himself and he will match himself

with her; and he should give him money for this.
The king recognized that his words are true, for one
cannot think of such things out of one's heart. The
matter pleased the king, however, he decided: if he
brings her here and the young man will be here, this
is not good for him. Should he kill him? He did not
want to do such a thing, for why should he be killed
for the favor he had done for him? Therefore the
King decided he would exile him two hundred miles
away. He was very upset at him exiling him for such
a favor he had done him. There as well, he went to
another king, and told him also likewise as before.
(i.e. the young man, the burgher's son, because it
upset him that the first king exiled him, went to
another King and told him as well the whole story
with all the signs, so that the other should make
haste to marry the beauty.) So he related to him all
the signs, and to this other king he added an
additional sign. And he ordered him and rushed him
to set out immediately; maybe he can overtake the
other king, in order to get there first; and even if he
does not arrive first, he still has one sign more than
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

the first. And the second one decided as well like the
first (that it is not good for him if the young man
should be here); the other king also exiled him two
hundred miles further. He was again very upset, and
he went again to a third one (i.e. the young man, the
burgher's son, again went to a king who was now the
third, and also told him as before, the entire story),
and to the third one he told even more signs, very
good signs.

The first king got up and traveled there, and arrived

there at the location of the emperor's daughter, that
is, the beauty. And the king composed a poem and
embedded in the poem, with wisdom, all the places,
that is, the seven aforementioned witnesses (i.e. the
seven types of water, which were the essential signs
that she had with her groom, as mentioned).
However, in accord with the science of poetry, the
seven places came out for him not in order (i.e. for
example he had to say the pit first and then the
mikveh etc.; but he said in reverse), for so it worked
out for him according to the science of poetry. And
the king came up on the place (i.e. on the place
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

where the one who wanted to be matched with her

had to come upon and recite a poem with wisdom as
mentioned), and he recited his poem. When she
heard the places (i.e. the seven types of water) it was
an extraordinary novelty for her. It felt to her that
this was certainly her groom, but it was difficult for
her why he said them out of order. However,
notwithstanding, she thought perhaps due to the
science of the song he came out with this order. She
accepted in heart that this is he himself. She wrote to
him that she designates herself as matched with him.
There was a grand celebration and a commotion
inasmuch as the beauty has at last found her match,
and they were already preparing for the wedding.

Meanwhile, the other one arrived (i.e. the other king

to whom the young man had also divulged all the
signs and one sign more, as mentioned). And the
other one also ran there, and they told him that she
had already made a match; but he paid no attention
to this [lit. he didn't look at it] and he said:
nonetheless, he still has something to tell her; that he
will certainly have an effect. He (i.e. the other king)
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

came and said his poem - and this other one had now
arranged all the places in order, and moreover he
gave one more sign in addition. She asked him,
"From where does the first one know?" If he were to
tell the truth it would not be good for him (i.e. the
other thought he cannot tell her the truth, that the
young man told the first one, it's not good for him if
she should know that). So he said he doesn't know
(from where the first one knew the signs). It was a
great marvel to her, and she was left standing
bewildered, for the first one also spoke out all the
places; and from where could a man know these
signs? However, notwithstanding, it felt to her that
this other [second] one is her groom, for she saw that
he had spoken in sequence and added one more sign;
and (as for) the first one, maybe it came out to him
through the science of song that he mentioned the
places; however she remained stationary (in other
words she could no longer give a course of action;
she remained still, and now was not willing to be
matched with anyone).
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

And the young man, that is, the burgher's son, when
the second king exiled him, was again very upset,
and he went to a third king and told him the whole
entire story as above, and he told him even more
signs, very good signs. And in front of the third he
spoke out his entire heart: inasmuch as he had a note
on which all these places were drawn (i.e. the seven
types of water); therefore he should draw on a piece
of paper all those places and bring [it] to her. And
the third king also exiled the young man two
hundred miles further yet. And the third king also
ran there, and he got there; he was told that the other
two (i.e. the two kings) are there already. He replied:
nevertheless, for he has such a thing that he will
definitely have an effect. And the world [i.e. people]
did not know whatsoever why she wants these kings
more than others. And the third one came and said
his poem with very excellent signs, better than the
first ones, and he showed the note (where he himself
had redrawn the places) with all the places drawn.
She became very panicked (in other words, scared
and disturbed), however, she did not know at all
what she could possibly do, since regarding the first
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

one she had also thought that this is he himself; and

then regarding the second. Therefore, she said that
she would no longer believe until her very own
writing itself is brought.

Then the young man (i.e. the burgher's son) decided:

until when will he always be sent further away? So
he made up his mind that he himself would let
himself go there (i.e. to the emperor's daughter);
perhaps he will have effect; and he went and went
until he got there. And he came [Heb. only: and said
that he has something to say] and he recited his
poem. And he said even more signs, very good
signs, and he recounted to her that he learned with
her in one schoolroom, and additional other signs.
And he told her everything: that he had sent the
aforementioned kings, and he had hidden the writing
in a tree, and everything which had befallen him.

But she did not regard this at all (and the first three
kings certainly also had to say some reasons for not
having the note). And to recognize him was certainly
impossible, for a long time had already passed. So
she already no longer wanted to regard any signs at
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

all until the writing of her own hand is brought, for

regarding the first one she also thought that this is he
for certain, and likewise regarding the second, etc.;
therefore she no longer wanted any signs etc. as
mentioned. And the younger man (i.e. the burgher's
son) decided that he cannot stay here [Heb.
whatsoever] (in other words, he cannot tarry here,
lest there be an awareness that he is here: the
emperor will kill him, as mentioned).

He made up his mind, he would return again back to

his spot in the desert where he was before, and there
he would live out his life. And he went and went in
order to get to this desert, and he arrived at the
desert. Meanwhile, as all the above was happening,
very many years went by. And it remained in the
young man's mind that he should sit away there in
the desert and live out his years there. According to
how he had evaluated the entire mortal life on earth,
it was clear in his mind that it is good for him to live
out his years here in the desert; and he lived there
and eat from the fruits, etc. as mentioned.
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

Now, on the sea was a murderer, and the murderer

heard that there exists such a beauty on the earth. He
wanted to abduct her even though he did not need
her for he was an eunuch, but he wanted to seize her
in order to sell her to some king; and he'd get a great
deal of money for her. And the murderer began to
busy himself with this. And a murderer is a reckless
person, so he acted with abandon: if he
accomplishes, he accomplishes, and if not, what will
he forfeit? For he is self-abandoned as is the way of
a murderer. And the murderer went and bought a
very large amount of wares - an extraordinary
amount. And he made golden birds, and they were
made with craftsmanship so that one thought they
were alive; they were natural exactly like living
birds. Moreover, he made golden grain stocks, and
the birds stood on the grain stocks, and this alone
was a novelty, that the birds stand on the stocks
without the stocks breaking, for they were large
birds. And furthermore he made devices so that one
thought that the birds make music; and one clicked
its tongue, one chirped, and one sang. And this was
all done with cunning, for men stood there in a room
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

that was on the ship, and the men stood under the
birds, and the men did it all, and it was thought that
the birds themselves make music, for they were
cunningly made with wires; it was thought the birds
themselves do all this.

And the murderer went off with all this to the land
where the aforementioned emperor's daughter was.
And he came to the city where she was, and he
brought himself to a standstill with the ship in the
sea, and anchored the ship, and made himself out to
be a big merchant. People would go to him to buy
expensive merchandise, and he stayed there a while,
a quarter year and longer, and people always carried
off beautiful merchandise that they bought from
him.

The emperor's daughter also desired to buy

merchandise from him; she dispatched to him that he
should bring her merchandise. He dispatched to her:
he has no need to bring merchandise to a buyer's
house, even if she is an emperor's daughter; whoever
needs merchandise should come to him. And no one
can force a merchant into that, so the emperor's
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

daughter decided to go to him. And her custom was:

whenever she would go in the marketplace she
would veil her face in order that no one would look
at her, for people would be liable to fall down and be
left in weakness etc. due to her beauty. The
emperor's daughter went, covering her face, and she
took her ladies with her and a watch [Yid. vach -
guard, lit. wake, vigil; a squad of guards] followed
her. And she came to the merchant (i.e. to the
murderer, who disguised himself as a merchant), and
she bought some merchandise from him, and went
her way. He (i.e. the murderer, the merchant) told
her, "If you come again, I will show you even more
beautiful articles than this, very wonderful things."
And she returned home. After that she came once
again and bought merchandise from him and again
went home. And the murderer stayed there for a
while; meanwhile the Emperor's daughter already
became accustomed to visiting him; she would go to
him often.

One day she came to him; he went and opened for

her the room where the golden birds and so forth
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

were located. She saw that it was a very

extraordinary novelty; and the other people were
with her (i.e. the watch etc.) also wanted to go into
the room. He said, "No, no! I don't show this to
anyone except you, because you are the emperor's
daughter; but for others, I don't want to show this at
all." She alone entered in there, and he too went into
the room, and he locked the door, and he did a crude
thing and took a sack and forcefully put her into the
sack; and he took off (from her) all her clothes, and
dressed a sailor with the clothing, veiled his face,
pushed him out, and said to him, "Go!" And the
sailor, not knowing whatsoever what's happening to
him, as soon as he emerged with his face covered,
the soldiers (i.e. the watch) being unaware,
immediately began walking with him; they thought
that this is the emperor's daughter. And the sailor
went along with the troops wherever they led him;
and not knowing whatsoever where in the world he
is, until he came into the room where the emperor's
daughter lived. His face was uncovered and they saw
that this is (plainly) a sailor. There was a tremendous
uproar there. (And the sailor was slapped up in the
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

face quite thoroughly, and was shoved out, since he

is not responsible, for he didn't know at all).

And the murderer took the emperor's daughter, and

he knew that he would certainly be pursued (after).
He left the ship and hid himself together with her in
a pit containing rainwater until the uproar would
subside. And he ordered the ship's sailors to
immediately cut anchors and flee immediately, for
they would certainly be pursued; and the ship would
certainly not be shot at, on account of the emperor's
daughter, for they will think that she is on the ship.
"However, they will pursue you; therefore you shall
flee immediately. If they catch you, so what?" As
the way of murderers is; they do not look at
themselves at all (in other words, they disregard
themselves). And that is what happened; there was a
big outcry and they were immediately chased;
however, she was not found there. And the murderer
hid himself together with her in a pit of rainwater,
and they lay there. And he scared her so that she
shouldn't scream, in order that people should not
hear. And he said to her thus: "I have risked my life
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

for your sake in order to capture you, and if I should

lose you again, my life is not worth anything at all to
me: for since you are already in my hand, if I should
lose you again and you should be taken away from
me, then my life is already worth nothing to me.
Therefore as soon as you only give a yell I will
strangle you right away, and let whatever will
happen to me happen to me, for I consider myself
worthless in that case." She was terrified of him (in
other words, the emperor's daughter who was lying
in the pit with the murderer, was afraid to scream
since the murderer had scared her).

Then he departed from there with her, and he

brought her to a city, and they traveled on and and
traveled on, and they came to a place, and the
murderer understood that there too they are
searching. He hid himself together with her in a
mikveh.

And then he went out from there too, and came to

another place, and there also he hid himself with her
in another (type of body of) water, and thus he hid
himself with her each time in another water, until he
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

had hidden himself with her in all the seven kinds of

waters that the burgher had hidden himself in with
her mother, as mentioned, which constitute the seven
witnesses, as mentioned, until he came with her to
the sea. The murderer searched there for even a
small fishing boat, in order to cross with her. He
found a ship; he took the emperor's daughter, and he
did not need her, for he was an eunuch as
mentioned, but only he wanted to sell her to some
king. And he had fear lest she be snatched away
from him, so he went ahead and dressed her in
sailor's clothes; she looked like a male. And the
murderer traveled with her on the sea (i.e. with the
emperor's daughter, whom we refer to in male terms,
as the murderer disguised her thus, as mentioned).

A storm wind came and carried away the ship to a

shore, and the boat was broken, and they came to the
shore where the desert was, where the young man
was living. When they came there, and the robber
was expert in routes as is their way, he knew that
this land is desert; which no ships come here.
Therefore, he no longer had any fear of any man,
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

and he let her loose; and they walked (i.e. the

murderer and the emperor's daughter), he this way
and she that way, to find themselves something to
eat. She distanced herself from the robber, and the
robber went his own way, and he noticed that she
isn't here beside him. He began to shout out to her,
and she made up her mind and did not respond to
him at all, for she thought to herself, "My end is that
he will sell me - why should I answer him? If he
reaches me again, I will answer him I did not hear,
especially as he does not want to kill me, for he
wants to sell me." She did not respond to him and
she went further on. And the robber sought her here
and there, and he could not find her. And he went
further and he still could not find her; and probably
wild animals devoured him. And she went further
and further and was able to find some food, and
walked on thus until she came to the place where the
young man was living (i.e. the aforementioned
burgher's son). And by this time, she was now
overgrown with hair, and additionally she was
dressed as a male in sailor's clothes as mentioned;
they did not recognize one another. And
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

immediately when she came, he became very happy

that another person had come here. He asked her,
"From where have you come here?" [S]he answered,
"I was with a merchant on the sea etc." She asked
him, "From where did you come here?" He also
answered her, "Through a merchant." The two of
them remained there.

After the emperor's daughter was snatched away

from the emperor, as mentioned, the empress
lamented a great deal and struck her head against the
wall over the loss of her daughter, and she severely
ate away at the emperor with words and said to him,
"Because of your pride you've quashed the young
man, and now our daughter has become lost!" And
she said to him, "She was our entire fortune and our
entire success. Now we've lost her. What is left for
me?" so she eat away at him severely. And for
himself as well, this was certainly also very bitter
that his daughter was lost; in addition the empress
ate away at him and tormented him very much. So
there were severe quarrels and bickering between
them; and she would say nasty things to him until
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

she made him so miserable that he ordered her

banished. And he sat judges to try her; they ruled
that she be banished, and she was banished.
Afterwards the emperor sent out into war and was
not successful; he blamed this on some general:
"Because you did so, therefore you lost the war." He
banished the general. After that he sent off again
into war and again was not successful. He banished
more generals, and so he banished a number of
generals. The country saw that he was doing bizarre
things: first he banished the empress, then the
generals. They (i.e. the citizens) decided: maybe the
other way around - the empress should be sent for,
he should be banished, and she should rule the
country. They did so, and banished the emperor; and
the empress they took back and she led the country.
And the empress immediately sent for the burgher
and his wife the burgheress to be brought back (as
the emperor had put them down and made them into
paupers as mentioned etc.). And she brought them
into her palace.
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

And the emperor, while he was being sent into exile,

went and begged those who were transporting him
that they should release him, "for, after all, I have
been your emperor and must certainly have done
you favors. Now do this for me and let me go, for I
will certainly not come back to the country any
longer. You need have no fear. Release me. Let me
go my way. Let me at least be free, the little bit of
life that I have yet to live." They released him, and
he went on and went on. Meanwhile, several years
passed by and the emperor went on and went on
until he reached the sea. The wind carried away his
boat too, and he too reached the aforementioned
desert, until he came to the place where the other
two were living (i.e. the young man, the burgher's
son, and his daughter, the beauty, who was now
going dressed as a male). They did not recognize
one another, for the emperor had already become
overgrown with hair, and already several years had
passed; and they too had become overgrown with
hair as mentioned. They asked him, "From where
have you come here?" He answered them, "Through
a merchant." And they answered him thus as well.
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

The three of them stayed there together, eating and

drinking there, as mentioned. And they played on
musical instruments there, for they all were able to
play, for this one is an emperor and likewise they too
were able to play.

And he, that is, the young man, was the competent [
berya] among them, for he had already been there
since long ago. And he would bring them meat, and
they ate, and they would burn wood there, which
was more precious than gold in settled places. The
young man used to prove to them that here it is good
for them to live out their years. According to the
benefits that people have on earth in civilization. It
is better that they should stay here, living out their
worldly existence here. They asked him, "What sort
of good did you have, that you say it is better for you
here?" He answered them and told them what had
happened to him: how we had been a burgher's son
etc. until he came here, and what did his being a
burgher's son benefit him - that he had everything
good, here too he has all the good. (Thus did the
young man keep saying to them.) And he kept
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

proving to them that here it is good to live out their

worldly lives.

The emperor asked him, "Have you heard of the

emperor?" He answered him: he had heard. He
asked him about the beauty: whether he had heard of
her. He answered him also, "Yes." The young man
began to talk angrily and said, "The murderer!" (As
one who gnashes his teeth at the other person, so did
the young man talk angrily about the emperor of
whom they were speaking, for he did not know that
the emperor himself is talking with him.) He asked
him, "Why is he a murderer?" He answered him,
"Because of his cruelty and because of his arrogance
I've arrived here." He asked him, "How did that
happen?"

The young man made up his mind that here he has

no need to fear anyone, so he spoke to him and
retold the entire story what had happened to him. He
asked him, "If the emperor should come into your
hands, would you take revenge on him now?" He
answered him, "No," (for he was a good person and
merciful) "on the contrary, I would provide
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

sustenance for him just as I sustain you." The

emperor proceeded and began to sigh and groan,
saying, "What an evil and bitter old age this emperor
has!" For he had heard that his daughter, the beauty,
had been lost and he himself had been banished.
Again the young man spoke up, "Because of his
cruelty (in other words, mercilessness) and because
of his pride, he squandered himself and his daughter,
and I have been cast off to here - all because of
him." Again he asked him (the emperor to the young
man), "If he should come into your hands would you
take revenge on him?" He answered him, "No. I
would sustain him precisely as I sustain you." The
emperor made himself known to him, and informed
him that he himself is the emperor, and what had
befallen him. The young man fell on him, and kissed
him, and hugged him. And she, that is, the beauty,
who was also present, only in disguise etc. was
listening to everything as the two were talking to one
another.

And the young man, his routine was to go everyday

and make a sign for himself on three trees and look
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

for the writing there (i.e. in these three, of the trees),

for there were thousands of thousands of trees, so he
would make himself a sign on those which he
searched, in order that he should no longer need to
search in these three trees tomorrow; thus he kept
doing everyday; perhaps he would still find the
writing (i.e. the note that she had sent him which he
had lost among the trees, as mentioned). And when
he would return from there, he would come with
wept-out eyes, for he would cry when he searched
and could not find. They (i.e. the emperor and the
beauty) asked him, "What do you look for among
the trees and then come back with wept-out eyes?"
He told them the entire story: insofar as the
emperor's daughter (i.e. the beauty) had sent him a
note; he had hid it in one of the trees; a storm wind
came etc. as mentioned. Now he searches; maybe
he'll find it. They said to him, "Tomorrow when you
go look, we will also go with you. Maybe we will
find the note." And so it was. They went with him
too, the emperor's daughter found the note in a tree,
and she opened it up and saw that this is her own
writing, from her hand. She reckoned if she
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

immediately discloses to him that it is she herself,

proceeding again to remove these clothes and return
again to her beauty, and again be a beauty as before,
he may collapse and pass away. And she wants that
it should be done in a kosher way, lawfully (in other
words, she cannot marry him here in the wilderness,
for she needs to have a wedding with him, as it
ought to be). She went and returned the note to him,
and told him that she had found the note. (In other
words, she did not tell him that this is she herself;
rather, she simply told him that she had found the
note.) He immediately dropped down and remained
faint. They restored him to health and there was
great rejoicing among them.

Later, the young man said, "What use is the writing

for me? How will I ever be able to find her? For
surely she is now with some king (for he thought
that she had been sold by the murderer, just as the
emperor had told him). What use is it for me? I will
live out my years here." And he went and gave her
back the writing and said to her, "Here! Take the
note for yourself, and you go and marry her" (for she
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

was disguised as a male). She allowed herself to go

but asked him to go with her as well. "For I will
certainly take her; things will be good for me; I'll
give you a share of my good. (In other words, the
emperor's daughter who was disguised as a male
said thus to the young man.) And the young man
saw that "he" is a wise man and will certainly take
her; he was willing to go with him (i.e. with the
emperor's daughter who he thought was a male).
And the emperor was left alone, for he was afraid to
go back into his country. She asked him to go too:
for he will surely take the beauty. "You no longer
have anything to fear. (In other words, she said to
him, 'I will certainly seek out the beauty, so you no
longer have anything to fear, for the mazal will
return when she is found.') And you will also be
ordered to return."

The three set out together, and they hired a ship, and
they came to the country where the empress lived,
and they came to the city where she is located, and
they docked the ship. The emperor's daughter
figured: if she immediately informs her mother that
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

she has come back, she may pass away. She went
and dispatched to her mother, inasmuch as there is a
man who has knowledge of her daughter. Then she
herself went to the empress and told her what had
happened to her daughter, telling her the entire story.
And at the end, she said to her (in these words),
"And she (i.e. the daughter) is also here." She told
her the truth: "I myself am her!" And she informed
her that her bridegroom, that is, the burgher's son is
here too; however, she said to her mother that she
wants it no other way except that her father, the
emperor, be restored to his place. But her mother did
not want this at all, for she was very upset at him,
because all this was due to him; but nonetheless she
had to do it for the sake of her daughter. They
wanted to bring him (the emperor) back; they
searched for the emperor - and he's not there at all.
Her daughter told (out to) her that the emperor is
also here with her. The wedding took place; the joy
was complete. And the kingdom and the empire they
took over, that is, the burgher's son with the beauty
who got married, and they reigned over the face of
the earth (lit. everything under the cap of the sky),
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

that is, they reigned over the entire world, amen and
amen.

Afterwards as well, the old emperor had no

greatness, for it was all because of him. The burgher
had enormous greatness - he is the emperor's father,
who is the essential one. The sailor was smacked
(Heb.: and smacked in the face) and pushed away.

[Notes Following the Story]

By Lot it says, "to the mountain flee to salvation"
(Gen. 19:17) - this is a burgher [a play on words:
Yid.barg - mountain], and from him comes [Heb. is
born] Messiah [Heb. may he come speedily in our
days, amen].

The Jews in Egypt had signs who the Redeemer

would be etc. [Heb only: pakod pakadeti (Exodus
3:16; "I have remembered you;") - he who says to
them these terms is the Redeemer. And it is an
astounding thing, since all Israel knew of this - so
then what is this sign? Possibly it was not
transmitted except to the elders.] And upon the
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

[Heb. final] Redeemer [Yid. to come] there are

certainly signs [Yid. here] as well.

Messiah will tell every Jew everything that has

happened to him every single day. Tamar also lost
the signs, as it says in the Midrash (Beraishis Rabba,
85:11 also see the Me-Am Loez). Also when she
was going to be burned the Samech-Mem (Satan)
came and distanced the signs from her, and the angel
Gabriel came and brought them near, as it says in the
Midrash; and from her comes out Messiah, speedily
in our days, amen.

Regarding that which is explained in the story, that

everyone comes with his love poem and some are
replied to via an emissary etc. as mentioned - so
there are a number of great people who each do what
they do [Heb. only: each says poetry and so forth]
and each busies himself and wants to reach the truth
(Heb. the desired) purpose. But there is none who
merits to the essential true purpose completely -
except the one who is worthy of it. And some are
answered via an emissary, or from under [Heb.
behind] the wall, or they show them the face etc. as
 Story of a Burgher and a Pauper

in the story. However, in the end, when they leave

this world, they answer them that they've still done
nothing at all, as it is written in the story, how the
beauty ultimately answers them [Yid. "The waters
however, did not pass over you."] until the right
leader comes - speedily in our days, amen! This too
the Rebbe said (shmoozed).

All this the Rebbe said (shmoozed) after the story so

that one can make some kind of appraisal how far
the story reaches. So, good for him who is privileged
to know the secret of the stories even in the other (-
future) world!
 King's Son and A maid's Son - Exchanged

Story 11

(After Sabbath of the Torah Portion Noach – 5570)

A tale. There once was a king. In his home there was
a bondmaid who served the queen. (Generally no
cook may enter into the king's presence, but this
bondmaid had some other service, a minor service.)
The time came when the queen was supposed to
have a child, and the bondmaid had to give birth at
that time as well. The granny [Yid. bubbe, Heb.
midwife] went and switched the infants to see what
would happen; what would arise from this. So she
took the king's child and put him down next to the
bondmaid, and the bondmaid's son she placed next
to the queen.
 King's Son and A maid's Son - Exchanged

Afterwards the children began to grow up, and the

king's son (i.e. the child who grew up at the king's,
whom they thought was the king's son) they exalted
(i.e. they made great) and lifted up always higher
and higher until he became extremely great and
became a big person. And the bondmaid's son (i.e.
he who was reared by the bondmaid, who in truth
was the king's son) also grew up at the maid's, and
both children studied together in one schoolroom.
And the king's true son (who shall be called "the
bondmaid's son"), his nature was drawn to the
manners of royalty, except that he was brought up in
the home of the servant.

Conversely, the bondmaid's son (who shall be called

"the king's son"), his nature was drawn to a different
deportment not like the bearing of a king, except that
he was brought up in the king's home so he had to
act according to the manners of a royal person,
because those were the manners they brought him up
with.

Now the granny, because women's minds are fickle

[i.e. women are light-minded], in other words, they
 King's Son and A maid's Son - Exchanged

cannot hold themselves back, went and spoke out the

secret to some person, inasmuch as she had
exchanged the children. Every person has a friend,
and that friend has another friend, thus one person
told the other until the secret was revealed, as the
way of the world is, until the world was talking
quietly about it, that the king's son was switched.
But it was not permissible to speak about it outright,
so that the king should not become aware of it, for
what will the king be able to do in such a case since
he cannot correct it? For he cannot believe it, as
perhaps it is a lie, so how can one reverse the
exchange? Therefore one certainly may not say it
out in front of the king; however, amongst
themselves the public talked about it quietly.

The day arrived when someone came along and told

(out) the secret before the king's son, how they say
about him that he was exchanged. "However, you
cannot investigate this, for it does not befit you. And
how can one probe such a thing? Just, I am telling it
to you in order that you should know, for perhaps
there will be a conspiracy against the monarchy; the
 King's Son and A maid's Son - Exchanged

conspiracy will be able to grow stronger through

this, for they will say that they are taking for
themselves the king's son as a king, that is, the one
who they say of him that he is the king's true son, as
mentioned before. Therefore you need to outwit the
fellow." (All this, that person said to the king's son
who in actual truth is the bondmaid's son, as
mentioned).

The king's son went (i.e. the one who is called the
king's son; and the rule is that wherever simply "the
king's son" is mentioned, it refers to the exchanged
son, that is, he's actually the bondmaid's son, except
that he is called the king's son because he was raised
at the king's; and similarly with the "bondmaid's
son" where a bondmaid's son is mentioned: only
where "the king's true son" or "the bondmaid's true
son" is mentioned, then the meaning is the actual
truth) and began to do shenanigans to the other one's
father (who was really his own father), and arranged
everything to constantly do him evil. And he kept
dealing him devilry, one after another, in order to
force him to uproot himself along with his son. Now,
 King's Son and A maid's Son - Exchanged

the whole time the king himself was still alive, he

did not yet have such an authority; nonetheless he
kept dealing him woes.

Afterwards the king grew old and died, so he (i.e.

the bondmaid's son who is now called the king's son,
as mentioned above) assumed the reign; then he
dealt even more evil to the other son's father (i.e. to
the father of the bondmaid's son who in truth was the
king's son, and the father was really the own father
of the one who had taken up the reign, for they were
exchanged, as above) and he dealt him evil disguised
so that people would not know that it's from him, for
it's unseemly in front of people, and always dealt
him devilry, time and again.

This one [the son's father] understood that he is

doing chicanery on account of the matter (i.e.
because the public discusses that the children were
exchanged). He spoke up and said to his son (i.e. the
bondservant, the bondmaid's husband who was
constantly dealt woes, in order that he should drive
out his son because they say that the children were
exchanged, as mentioned) - and told him the whole
 King's Son and A maid's Son - Exchanged

affair, and said to him, "I have great pity on you, for
anyway you approach it: if indeed you are my child,
of course I certainly have great pity on you; if
indeed you are not my child, but in truth the king's
son, there is even greater pity on you, because that
one (i.e. he who took over the reign) wants to expel
you entirely, perish the thought. Therefore you must
pull out (i.e. run away) from here." He was very
ired, and by him this matter was extreme iniquity.
However, the king (i.e. the one who became king in
place of his father, because it seemed he is the king's
son due to the exchange) meanwhile kept constantly
dealing out woes, one after another, so the son (i.e.
the king's true son who was exchanged) decided he
must run away. His father gave him a great deal of
money and he left.

It upset him very much that he was driven out of his

country for nothing, for he looked around: "Why do
I deserve this, that I should be driven out? If indeed I
am the king's son, I certainly don't deserve this, that
I should be driven out. And even if I am not the
king's son, I also don't deserve this, that I should be
 King's Son and A maid's Son - Exchanged

a fugitive (i.e. one who has run away) for nothing.

For, what is my sin? What am I guilty of here?" It
upset him very much, and on account of this he took
to drinking and went to brothels (i.e. into the rooms
where whores stay). And with that he wanted to
spend the time of his years, getting drunk and
following after what his heart desires, because he
was driven away for nothing. And the king (i.e. the
false prince, the exchanged one who became king)
took over the reign powerfully. And when he heard
anything about people murmuring and discussing
anything about it (i.e. that they were switched, as
mentioned) he penalized (in other words, punished
and tortured) them, and took his revenge on them.
So he ruled with force and strength.

And the day came to pass when the king went with
his noblemen on a hunt ("na ulavi" - Rus.: i.e.
catching animals) and they came to a pleasant place.
And a stream of water was before that place, and
they stopped there to rest themselves, and wanted to
walk around. The king lay down for a little bit, and
the deed that he had done, that he had driven away
 King's Son and A maid's Son - Exchanged

that certain one for nothing, came to his mind. For,

anyway you look at it: if he is indeed the king's son,
is it not enough that he was exchanged? Why should
he additionally be driven out for nothing? And if he
is not the king's son, he also does not deserve to be
driven away, for what had he done wrong? The king
contemplated to himself this matter, and had
remorse over the transgression and the great
injustice that he had done; and the king could give
himself no recourse what he should do here. And to
talk about it - one cannot do such a thing with any
person whatsoever, to take counsel with him (for one
is obviously ashamed to discuss such a thing with
people), so the king grew very concerned with great
worry. He ordered the nobles to turn back, because
since worry had befallen him, there was no need to
stroll about any longer. They returned home. When
the King returned home, he obviously had many
affairs and concerns, and he busied himself with his
concerns, and the issue (i.e. the worry and the
remorse that he had over the fact that he had driven
away the other one for nothing) left his mind.
 King's Son and A maid's Son - Exchanged

And the one who was driven away (i.e. the king's
true son) - well, he did what he did and squandered
his money. One time, he went out alone for a walk;
and he lay down and it came to his mind what had
happened to him, and he thought: "What has G-d
done to me? If I am indeed the king's son, I certainly
don't deserve this, and if I'm not the king's son, I also
don't deserve this (very thing); that I should be a
fugitive and an exile." Afterwards he came to a
resolution of this mind: "Just the reverse. If it is so,
that Hashem Yisburach can indeed do such a thing,
that they should exchange a king's son, and such
things should befall him - do I turn myself to behave
this way?! Is it right, what I have done? Does it befit
me that I should behave thus, the way I have done?"
And he began to have great anguish and strong
remorse over the evil deeds he had done. Then he
turned back home, there where he was staying, and
further took to drinking. However, because he had
already began to have remorse, the thoughts of
remorse and repentance that came to his mind all the
time would confuse him.
 King's Son and A maid's Son - Exchanged

One time he laid himself down to sleep and he

dreamed how in such and such a place there is a fair
on such and such a day; therefore he should go there,
and whatever he strikes first - any gainful service -
he should immediately do it, even if it won't be
according to his dignity (thus went his dream). And
he woke up with a start, and the dream was very
much in his thoughts - for sometimes it happens that
the matter immediately leaves the conscious - but
rather, this dream very much entered in his thought.
Albeit, nonetheless, it seemed very hard for him to
do this, and he went and continued drinking. And the
dream appeared to him again several times, and the
dream confused him greatly.

One time they said to him in the dream, "If you want
to have pity on yourself, do it" (i.e. he should go to
the fair etc. as mentioned), so now he had to carry
out the dream. And he went and gave away the
remaining money he still had; he gave it away to the
inn where he was staying, and the good clothes
which he still had, he also left at the inn [in the book
The Life of Rabbi Nachman, item #61, Rabbi
 King's Son and A maid's Son - Exchanged

Nachman clarified that this was not for payment to

the inn. Rabbi Nachman said that this little detail
and every little detail of these stories are extremely
critical], and he took for himself a simple garment
like merchants', that is, a coverall ['apintche'], and he
journeyed to the fair. And he arrived there, and he
got up entirely early, and went to the fair.

A certain merchant encountered him and said to him,

"Would you like some work?" He answered him,
"Yes." He said to him, "I need to drive animals here.
Will you hire yourself out to me?" And he didn't
have time to settle his mind due to the dream (for the
dream had been that he must take on the first gainful
work etc. as mentioned), and immediately answered,
"Yes." And the merchant immediately hired him,
and immediately begin to lord it over him like a
master over his servants. And he began to look at
himself, what he had done, for he certainly doesn't
deserve such servitude, for he is a delicate man, and
now he'll have to drive animals, and he'll have to go
along with the animals by foot. However, it was too
late to have any regret, and the merchant bossed
 King's Son and A maid's Son - Exchanged

over him like a master. He asked the merchant,

"How shall I go alone with the animals?" He
answered, "I have more herdsmen driving my
animals. You will go together with them." And he
gave over to his hands certain animals to drive; he
led the animals out of the town, and there the rest of
the herdsman who drive animals gathered together,
and together they went along. And he drove the
animals, and the merchant was riding on a horse and
proceeding with them. And the merchant was riding
cruelly (i.e. with anger and without compassion),
and against him he was extra cruel, and he grew
more and more terrified of the merchant, since he
saw in him that he has extremely great cruelty and
anger against him. And he feared lest he deal him a
blow with his stick then he'll instantly die (for the
king's son was quite a delicate person, and on
account of his delicacy he was very terrified, and
thus it seemed to him). So he was walking with the
animals and the merchant (was) with them, and they
came to a certain spot; they took the sack wherein
lies the herdsmen's bread, and he (the merchant)
 King's Son and A maid's Son - Exchanged

gave them to eat; to him as well they gave of the

bread, and he ate.

Afterwards, they were walking by a very thick

forest; two animals from his animals (of this son
who had become a herder for the merchant) walked
off into the forest. The merchant yelled at him, and
he went after the animals to capture them. And the
animals ran away further, and he pursued them
more; and since the forest was very thick, as soon as
he entered the forest they already could not see each
other, so he immediately disappeared (i.e. became
hidden) from their eyes (i.e. from the rest who were
going with him). And he (i.e. the king's son) from
whom the two animals walked off, kept going and
continued chasing after the animals, and they kept
running away. And he chased after them a great
deal, until he arrived into the thick of the forest.

He made up his mind: "Either way, I'm already

going to die, because if I return without the animals
I'll die through the merchant (for on account of the
great fear that he had of the merchant, it seemed to
him that the merchant would kill him if he returns
 King's Son and A maid's Son - Exchanged

without the animals). And if I will be here, I will

also die through the beasts of the forest." He
decided, "Why should I return to the merchant? How
can I come to him without the animals?" For he had
great fear of him. He went and chased further after
the animals, and they kept running away. Meanwhile
it became night, and such a thing he had never
experienced, that he should have to sleep alone at
night in such a thick forest; and he heard the roaring
of the beasts which roared in their usual way. He
made up his mind, and went up on a tree, and spent
the night there, and he heard the sound of the beasts
which yelled in their usual way.

In the morning he took a look: he saw that the

animals were standing close by him. He got down
the tree and went to capture them; they got further
away. He went after them more, and they got away
more. And the animals found themselves some
grasses to eat there and they stopped to graze. He
would follow after to capture them; they got away
further. And thus he kept going after them and they
ran away, he went after them more and they ran
 King's Son and A maid's Son - Exchanged

away - until he arrived in a very thick forest where

already there were beasts that have no fear
whatsoever of any people, because they are far from
settled areas. And again it became night and he
heard the sound of the beasts roaring and he was
very terrified. Meanwhile he noticed that a very
large tree is standing there, and he got up on the tree.
As soon as he was up on the tree, he noticed there
was a man lying there. He took fright, but still he
was relieved for having found a human here. They
asked one another, "Who are you?"

"A man."

"Who are you?"

"A man."

"From where have you come here?"

He did not want to tell what had happened to him, so

he answered him, "By way of the animals which I
tended, two animals walked off here, and thereby
I've arrived here." In return he asked the other man
 King's Son and A maid's Son - Exchanged

who he found there on the tree, "From where did

you get here?" He answered him, "I got here through
the horse, for I was riding on a horse; I stopped to
take a rest and the horse went off into the forest. I
chased after it to capture it, and the horse ran away
further, until I arrive there."

They made up between them that they would remain

together, and they agreed that even when they will
come into civilization, they would also remain
together. And the two of them slept the night there,
and they heard the sound of the beasts roaring and
screaming very much. Towards day he heard a very
great laughter ("cha cha cha") over the entire forest
(in other words, the sound of the laughter went over
the entire forest), for it was a very great laughter, to
the extent that the tree trembled from the sound of
the laughter, and he became very terrified and had
great fear from it. The other person said to him (i.e.
the man whom he had found there on the tree), "I
already have no fear of it whatsoever, for I've slept
here already several nights. All nights are like this;
as it gets close to day, one hears the laughter, to the
 King's Son and A maid's Son - Exchanged

extent that all the trees tremble and quake." He was

very frightened and said to the other, "It seems that
here is the place of 'those people' (i.e. of the
demons), for in settled areas one does not hear such
a laughter whatsoever, for who has heard a laughter
over the entire world?" Then it immediately became
day. They took a look; they saw; the animals of his
were standing, and the horse of the other was also
standing. They went down and began to chase after -
this one after the animals, and that one after the
horse. And the animals ran away further, and he
chased more etc. as before. And likewise the other
kept chasing after the horse, and the horse kept
running away, until they [the two men] had gone off
one from the other, and one already did not know of
the other. Meanwhile he (i.e. the king's son who was
still chasing after the animals) found a sack with
bread. Now this is certainly very important in a
wilderness, so he took the sack on his shoulders, and
went after the animals.

Meanwhile he encountered a man. Initially he was

afraid; however, even still he had a little relief
 King's Son and A maid's Son - Exchanged

because he had found a person here. The man asked

him, "How did you get here?" He asked the other
man in return, "How did you get here?" The other
man answered him, "I (with an expression of
amazement) - my parents and my parents' parents
were raised here. But you, how did you come here?
For, no man whatsoever comes here from the settled
areas." He was very frightened, for he understood
that this is no human being at all, for he says that his
ancestors were raised here and no man from
civilization comes here at all, so he understood that
this is no human at all. But still he did not do
anything to him whatsoever and was welcoming (i.e.
this man of the forest did not do any harm to the
king's son who had went after the animals). And the
man of the forest said to him, "What are you doing
here?" He answered: he is chasing after the animals.
The man (of the forest) said to him, "Stop chasing
after your sins already, for it is not animals at all, but
rather your sins are leading you around like this.
Enough already! You have already received yours
(i.e. your punishment you've already received). Now
stop chasing them anymore. Come with me; you will
 King's Son and A maid's Son - Exchanged

arrive at the thing that is fitting for you." He went

with him, and he was afraid to speak with him and to
ask him anything, for a man like this may open up
his mouth and will swallow him down. He followed
him.

Meanwhile, he encountered his friend who was

chasing after the horse. As soon as he saw him, he
immediately winked at him (to signal) that "this is
no human being at all; don't have any dealings with
him whatsoever, because this is not at all a human."
And he immediately went and whispered it to him in
his ear, that this is not a human being at all etc..
Meanwhile his friend (i.e. the man of the horse) took
a look and he saw: he has a sack with bread on his
shoulder! He began to appeal to him, "My brother! It
is already days that I have not eaten. Give me
bread!" He answered him, "Here in the wilderness
nothing avails; since my life takes priority, I need
the bread for my sake." He began to beg him and
beseech him greatly, "I will give what I'll give you."
(Except in the wilderness certainly no gift helps at
all for bread). He answered him, "What can you give
 King's Son and A maid's Son - Exchanged

me for bread in the wilderness?" He said to him (i.e.

the man of the horse who begged for the bread, said
to the man of the animals, who is the king's true
son), "I give away myself entirely; I will sell myself
to you as a servant for the bread." He (i.e. the man of
the animals) decided: "To purchase a man, it's worth
it to give him bread," and he bought him as a
permanent slave. And he swore him with oaths that
he shall be a slave to him forever, even when they
arrive in civilization, and he will give him bread,
that is, they shall both eat from the sack of bread
until it will run out.

And they both went together and followed the man

of the forest; and the slave walked behind him (i.e.
the man of the horse who sold himself as a slave,
followed after the man of the animals, for he was
already his slave. And both of them walked after the
man of the forest). And meanwhile now it became a
little bit easier for him (since he had a servant
already). When he needed to lift up some object or
do something else, he ordered his slave to lift it or
do something. So they followed together behind the
 King's Son and A maid's Son - Exchanged

man of the forest, and they came to a place where

there were snakes and scorpions; he grew very
terrified, and on account of fear he asked the man of
the forest, "How will we get past here?" He
answered him, "But (if this is a problem) what then
(- how will you contend with the following) - how
will you enter my house?" - and showed him his
house standing in the air. They went with him and he
brought them over in peace, and he brought them
into his house, gave them to eat and to drink, and
went away.

And he (i.e. the king's true son who had driven the
animals) ordered his slave about for whatever he
needed. It upset the slave very much that he had sold
himself as a slave for the sake of a single hour when
he needed bread to eat, because now he already had
what to eat, and just for the sake of a single hour he
would be an eternal slave. And he made a big sigh
and groaned, "What have I come to, that I should be
a slave?" He asked him (i.e. the king's true son, who
was his master, asked him), "What kind of greatness
 King's Son and A maid's Son - Exchanged

did you have, that you sigh that you have come to
this?"

He answered him and recounted to him how he had

been a king; they said about him that he had been
exchanged etc., as above (for this man of the horse
was really the king himself, who was truthfully the
bondmaid's son); he drove his friend away (i.e. the
king's true son). One time it came upon his mind that
he had done not right and he regretted etc.. Regrets
kept coming to him constantly over the evil deed,
and over the great injustice he had done against his
friend. Once, a dream appeared to him that his
remediation is that he should throw away the reign
and go wherever his eyes will bring him, and by this
he will rectify his error. He didn't want to do it, but
those same dreams kept confounding him constantly,
that he should do so, until it was fixed in his mind
that he should do so. And he abdicated the kingship
and went where he went, until he came here; and
now he shall be a slave.

Now the other one heard all this and kept silent (i.e.
the king's true son who had driven animals, heard
 King's Son and A maid's Son - Exchanged

out all this that he told him), and he thought to

himself, "I will know well enough how to deal with
you."

At night, the man of the forest came and gave them

to eat and to drink, and they spent the night there.
Towards day, they heard the great laughter
(mentioned earlier), until all the trees trembled [Yid.
only:] it broke all the trees (the sound of the
laughter). He urged him (i.e. the slave urged the
king's true son, who is his master) to ask the man of
the forest what it is. He asked him, "What is this (-
such a) great laughter, close to day?" He answered
him, "This is the day laughing at the night, for the
night asks the day, 'Why when you come do I have
no name?' The day lets out a big laugh and then it
becomes day. And that is the laughter that is heard
close to day." This was a big wonder to him, for this
is something extraordinary, that the day laughs at the
night. (He could already ask no further, since the
other answered with such a language.) In the
morning, the man of the forest went away again, and
they ate and drank there. At night he came back and
 King's Son and A maid's Son - Exchanged

they ate and drank and spent the night there. At night
they heard the sound of the beasts as they all
screamed and roared with the wild sounds. The lion
screamed and the leopard roared with a different
sound. And similarly the rest of the beasts, each
beast roared with a different sound, and the birds
whistled and clicked, and so, all gave voice with
wild sounds. And at first they became very scared;
they did not listen correctly to the sound on account
of fear. Later, they inclined their ears and listened;
they heard that it is a sound of a melody they sing,
an extremely delightful tune which is an
extraordinary novelty. They listened even more; they
heard that it is an extraordinarily fine melody that is
quite a wild marvel, which was an extremely great
pleasure to hear, such that all the pleasures of the
world are entirely nothing and amount to absolutely
nothing in comparison to the astounding great
pleasure that one has when one hears this wondrous
tune. They discussed between themselves that they
want already to remain here, since for eating and
drinking they have, and they have such a delight,
 King's Son and A maid's Son - Exchanged

that is such a marvel, that all kinds of delights of the

world are utterly null against this pleasure.

The slave urged his master (i.e. the king's true son)
to ask him (i.e. the man of the forest) what it is. He
asked him. He answered him: Inasmuch as the sun
has made a garment for the moon, all the animals of
the forest have spoken up; since the moon does them
great favors, for the animals' dominion is mainly
only at night, for sometimes they need to go into a
settled area, and by day they cannot, so of course the
main time of their dominion is only at night. And the
moon does them such a favor by shining for them at
night; therefore they agreed that they should make a
new melody in honor of the moon, and this is the
tune that you hear. When they heard that it is a
melody, they listened even more; they heard that it is
quite a lovely, sweet melody that is an extremely
wild novelty. He (i.e. the man of the forest) replied
to them, "What, is this such a novelty for you? But if
it is so - I have an instrument which I've received
from my parents, who inherited it from their parents'
parents, which (the instrument) was made with such
 King's Son and A maid's Son - Exchanged

material, and with such leaves, and with such colors,

that when one takes the instrument and puts it on
any animal or on any bird, it immediately begins to
play this melody (i.e. the melody that the animals
played)." Then the laughter happened again and it
became day, and the man of the forest went away
again, and he (i.e. the king's true son) went searching
for the instrument. And he searched out the entire
room and did not find, and he was fearful to go any
further. And they (i.e. the king's true son with his
slave who is the bondmaid's son who was king
before) were afraid to say to the man of the forest
that he should lead them into civilization.

Later the man of the forest came and said to them

that he would lead them into civilization. He led
them into civilization, and he took the instrument
and gave it to the king's true son and said to him,
"The instrument I give to you. And with him (i.e.
with his slave who was previously king etc.) - know
how to deal with him." They asked him, "Where
shall we go?" He said to them that they should
inquire after the country which is called by this
 King's Son and A maid's Son - Exchanged

name: "The Foolish Land and the Wise King {Das

Nayrishe Land un der Kluger Malchus (kingship)} ."
They asked him, "In which direction should we start
to ask after this land?" He showed them with his
hand: here (as someone points with a finger). The
man of the forest said to the king's true son, "go
there, to that land, and there you will come to your
greatness."

They went where they went, and they very much

desired to find any beast or an animal to test the
instrument, whether it would be able to play (as
before). However, they still did not see any sort of
beast. Afterwards they arrived more into civilization.
They found some animal and laid the instrument on
it, and it began to play the tune (as before). So they
went and went until they came to the country. And
the country was surrounded by a wall, and one could
not enter (in the land) except by one gateway. One
must go around several miles until one comes to the
gateway. They went around until they came to the
gateway. When they had already came to the
gateway, they did not want to let them enter;
 King's Son and A maid's Son - Exchanged

inasmuch as the king of the land had died, the king's

son remained, and the king had left a will: "Since the
land until now has been called Das Nayrishe Land
un der Kluger Malchus {The Foolish Land and the
Wise King}, now it will already be called the
reverse: Das Klugeh Land un der Nayrisher Malchus
{The Wise Land and the Foolish King}. And
whoever will undertake to restore the first name to
the country, that is, that once again the country will
be called The Foolish Land and the Wise King - this
very one shall be king" - therefore they do not let
any man into the land except he who will undertake
this itself, that he will return to the country its first
name. They said to him, "Can you take this upon
yourself, that you will return the first name to the
country?" He certainly could not undertake this, so
they could not enter. His slave urged him that they
should return home. However, he did not want to
return because the man of the forest had said to him
that he should go to this country and there he will
come to his greatness.
 King's Son and A maid's Son - Exchanged

Meanwhile another man arrived, who was riding on

a horse, and he wanted to go in but they also did not
let him in on account of this (as mentioned).
Meanwhile he noticed that the other man's horse is
standing, so he went and took the instrument and
laid it on the horse and it began to play the very fine
melody (as above). The man of the horse pleaded
with him very much that he should sell it to him, and
he replied, "What can you give me for such a
wondrous instrument?"

The man of the horse said to him, "Well, what can

you do with this instrument? You can only make
entertainment (comedy) and take in a gulden. I
however know a thing that is better than your
instrument, I know something that I have received
from my parents' parents: to be meivin duvar
meetoach duvar {someone who can understand and
deduce something from another thing}, when
someone says just a word, one can, through that
which I have received, understand a thing from a (-
this) thing (i.e. one thing from the other). And I have
not yet divulged the method before any man in the
 King's Son and A maid's Son - Exchanged

world. Therefore, I will teach you this thing, and for

that you will give me this instrument." He (i.e. the
king's true son who had the instrument) came to a
resolution that it is in truth a great novelty that one
should be meivin duvar meetoach duvar {understand
one thing from another}. So he gave (away) the
instrument to him, and he (i.e. the man of the horse)
went ahead and taught him to be a meivin duvar
meetoach duvar.

Now the king's true son, since he had now become a

meivin duvar meetoach duvar, was walking around
here by the gateway of the country, and he
understood that it is indeed possible for him to
undertake to return the land to the first name, for he
had now become a meivin duvar meetoach duvar;
therefore he understood that it is possible, even
though he did not yet know just how and by what
means he will be able to do this, that he should
return the first name to the country. However, still,
because he had become a meivin duvar meetoach
duvar he understood that it is possible.
 King's Son and A maid's Son - Exchanged

He made up his mind that he would order to let him

in, and he would take upon himself to return the first
name to the country. What would he lose with this?
He said (to those people who did not want to let him
in) that they should let him in, and he will take upon
himself that very thing, that he should return to the
country the first name. They let him in, and they
informed the ministers that there is found a man who
wants to undertake (it) to return the land to the first
name. They brought him to the ministers of the land.
The ministers said to him, "You should know that
we are also no fools G-d forbid, except the previous
king - he was a very extraordinarily great sage, such
that against him we were all fools. Therefore the
country used to be called 'The Foolish Land and the
Wise King.' Then the king died; the king's son
remained, and the king's son is also a wise man,
except compared to us he is not wise at all.
Therefore the land is now called the opposite: 'The
Smart Land and the Foolish King.' The king left a
will: when there will be found such a wise person
that (he) can return the land to the first name, he
shall be king. And he commanded his son that when
 King's Son and A maid's Son - Exchanged

such a man will be found, he shall step down from

the reign for him, that is, when there will be found
such a wise men - that he will be such an
extraordinarily great age that compared to him
everyone will be fools, he will become king, for this
man will surely return the country once more to the
first name: 'The Foolish Land and the Smart King,'
for they are all fools compared to him. Therefore
you should know what you are taking upon yourself
here." (All this the ministers said to him).

In addition they said to him (i.e. the ministers again;

this is all a continuation of their words), "The test
whether you are this wise, will be: Inasmuch as there
is a garden that is left over from the previous king,
who was a very great sage, and the garden is quite a
fantastic novelty - metal instruments grow in it (i.e.
tools of ironwork), silver instruments and gold
instruments - it is an extremely wild novelty.
However, one cannot go in the garden, for when a
person goes in the garden, then immediately they
begin to chase him; so they chase and he screams,
and he doesn't know at all, and doesn't see at all,
 King's Son and A maid's Son - Exchanged

who is chasing him, and so they chase him

continuously until they make him run away from the
garden. Therefore, we shall see whether you are
wise; if you'll be able to go into the garden." He
asked whether they beat the person who enters. They
said to him: The main thing is they chase him and he
does not know at all who they are that chase him,
and he has to run away in very great panic. For that
is what people who had gone in there, told them.
(All this the ministers said to the King's true son).

He got up and went to the garden. He saw that it has

a wall around it, and the gate is open, and there
aren't any guards there, for one certainly doesn't
need any guards for this garden (for no one is able to
go in it, as mentioned)! He was walking by the
garden (i.e. the king's true son) and he took a look:
he noticed that standing there by the garden is a
man. That is, a man was portrayed there. He looked
some more, and he saw that above the man there is a
tablet, and there it is written that the man (Yid. - it)
was a king several hundred years ago, and in that
king's times there was peace, for until this king there
 King's Son and A maid's Son - Exchanged

were wars, and likewise, after him there were wars,

but in the days of this king there was peace.

He understood, because he had already become a

meivin duvar meetoach duvar, that it all depends on
this man. When one enters the garden and they start
to chase him, one need not run away at all, but just
put himself next to the man; thereby he will be
saved. Furthermore (even) if this man would be
taken and placed inside, in the interior of the garden,
then every man will be able to enter peacefully into
this garden. (All this the king's true son understood
because he had become a meivin duvar meetoach
duvar).

He got up and went inside the garden, and as soon as

they started chasing him he went and put himself
next to the man standing by the garden from the
outside, and thereby he emerged in peace and it did
not harm him at all. For others, when they entered
(in) the garden and would begin to be chased, would
run away in very great panic and were consequently
battered, but he emerged in peace and tranquility by
placing himself next to the man.
 King's Son and A maid's Son - Exchanged

And the ministers saw this and were astonished that

he got out in peace. Then he ordered (i.e. the king's
true son called) that they should take the man and
insert him inside, within the interior of the garden.
They did so, and then all the ministers went inside
the garden, and they passed through and left in
peace.

The minister said to him, "Still, even though we

have seen from you such a thing, nevertheless for
the sake of one thing you do not yet deserve to be
given the kingship. We will try you more with one
thing. Inasmuch as there is a throne here from the
previous king, and the throne is very high, and by
the throne stand all sorts of beasts and birds carved
out of wood, and in front of the throne stands a little
bed, and by the bed stands a table, and on the table
stands a menorah (-lamp). And from the throne
emerge paved roads, and the roads are walled, and
the roads go out from the throne in all directions,
and no man has a clue what this is about, the matter
of the throne with these roads. And these roads,
when they go out and extend for a bit - a golden lion
 King's Son and A maid's Son - Exchanged

stands there. And if some man should approach it, it

will open its mouth and swallow him. And beyond
this lion the road extends even further, and likewise
with the rest of the roads that go out from the throne.
That is, with another road that goes out from the
throne in a different direction, it is also like that:
when the road extends a bit further, a different
animal is standing there, namely a leopard [Heb.:
lavi, means lion but perhaps can refer to a leopard,
as the Yiddish] of ironwork. And there too one
cannot approach it (as before, because it will
swallow him). And beyond the leopard the road
extends further, and so it is with the rest of the roads.
And these (same) roads extend and go throughout
the entire land, and no man whatsoever knows what
the throne with all these things and the road, is
about. Therefore you shall be tested with this, if you
can figure out the matter of the throne with all these
things."

They showed him the throne, and he saw that it was

very high etc.. He went to the throne, he inspected it
and understood that the throne was made of the
 King's Son and A maid's Son - Exchanged

(same) wood of the little chest (i.e. the instrument

that the man of the forest had given him). He looked
some more and he saw that the throne is lacking
some little rose ['rayzille'] at the top, and if the
throne would have this rose, the throne would have
the power of the little chest (i.e. the aforementioned
instrument which had the power, that when one
would lay the instrument on some animal or beast, it
began to play, as mentioned). He looked some more
and he saw that this rose which is missing at the top
of the throne, this rose is situated at the bottom of
(in) the throne. The little rose must be removed from
below, and be seated above, and thus the throne will
have the power of the little chest. For the previous
king had done everything with wisdom and had
disguised everything, in order that no one would
understand the matter - what it means - until there
would come such an extraordinarily great sage who
would surmise and would be able to properly
reposition everything, and arrange all the things as
necessary. And so too the little bed, he understood
that it needs to be moved away a bit, from the place
where it's standing. [Heb. only: And also the table
 King's Son and A maid's Son - Exchanged

needs to be moved away a bit from its place.] And

also the menorah (lamp) needs to be moved away a
bit from its place. And so too the birds and beasts,
all of them also need to be relocated; this bird should
be taken from this place and put in (on) that place.
And so too everything had to be repositioned. For
the king had purposely disguised everything cleverly
in order that no one should know what it meant, until
the wise man, who would be able to understand,
would come, he would arrange everything properly.
And so too the lion that stands there, where the road
goes out, needs to be put yonder. And likewise all of
them, they all need to be relocated. He ordered that
they should arrange everything as necessary: they
should take out the little rose from below and seat it
above, and likewise all the things - they should all be
repositioned and arranged differently (as is needed;
in the way he called for). As soon as they did so,
they all began playing the exquisite melody that is
an extremely wild novelty, and they all did what
they needed to do. So they gave him (i.e. the true
king's son who demonstrated all the clever things, as
above) the kingship. He spoke up and said to the
 King's Son and A maid's Son - Exchanged

[actual] bondmaid's son: "Now I understand that I

am indeed the real son of the king, and you are
really the bondmaid's son."

[Notes Following the Story]

Translator's note: " Y" indicates notes that appear
after the Yiddish text, "H" indicates notes that
appear after the Hebrew text, and "YH" indicates
notes found in both.

H: (These too are the words of Rabbainu let his light

shine; after he told this story he spoke up and said
these words):

Y: In former generations when they would discuss

kabbalah, it would be talked about in such language
(as this story is).

H: For until Rashbi (Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai) they

would not discuss kabbalah openly; only Rashbi
disclosed kabbalah openly; and before, when the
fellows would speak kabbalah, they would speak in
such language.
 King's Son and A maid's Son - Exchanged

When they placed the ark upon the oxen they began
to sing; and understand this.

H: For there are renewals of the moon, when the

moon receives innovations from the sun, and this is
the aspect of when they bring the Ark to Beit
Shemesh [a city, lit. "House of the Sun" I Sam. 6],
and then all the beasts bearing the throne make a
new melody, "A Song: Sing to Hashem a new song"
(Isaiah 42, Psalms 96, 98, 149. Note that Rabbi
Nachman revealed the new song: Na Nach Nachma
Nachman MeUman), which is the song which the
cows of Bashan (note that this is an acronym for:
Nachman Ben Simcha) sang. And this is the aspect
of: bed, table, chair, and lamp; they are the
restoration of the Shechina (Divine Presence). And
the aspect of the garden: for Adam haRishon (the
first) was driven out of the Garden, and Sabbath
guarded over him, as brought [in the Zohar Exodus
138]. And Sabbath is the aspect of "the King unto
whom peace belongs," the aspect of the
aforementioned man, who is the king during whose
 King's Son and A maid's Son - Exchanged

days there was peace; and therefore he stationed

himself by Sabbath. And the rest he did not explain.

H: (He spoke up and said after telling this story, in

these words:)

YH: This story is a big wonder, and it's entirely one:

the animals etc., the throne etc., and the garden; it's
all one. At times it (the aspect hinted to in the story)
is called by this name, at times by this name; H: all
according to the context and the aspect.

H: And the things are very, very deep, wondrous and

awesome. (These too are the words of Rabbainu let
his light shine.) And there is more, but there is no
need to reveal it to you. Also there is additionally
what the king of (that was in) that land did,
something corresponding to the sun, and something
corresponding to the moon (i.e. that these things
alluded to the sun and the moon), and the moon was
holding a lamp in its hand, all when the day arrives
then the lamp does not shine, for "a lamp at midday
etc. (is superfluous. Talmud Tractate Chulin 60:)."
this is what the night said to the day: "Why is it that
 King's Son and A maid's Son - Exchanged

when you arrive I have no name?" (as expressed

above), for in the day, a lamp does not avail
whatsoever.

YH: the explanation of the story is like the throne

which the king made, as mentioned, that the main
wisdom is, that one needs to know how to put the
things in order; therefore whoever is proficient in the
books and {Y:} is truthfully very wise, {H:} his
heart is whole,

YH: can understand the explanation; however, the

things have to be ordered well, for sometimes it is
called this and sometimes it is called that,

H: and likewise with the rest of the things, that is,

with the explanation of the story, sometimes the man
of the above story is called by this name, and
sometimes by a different name, and similarly with
the rest of the things.

Y: then will he merit to understand.

 King's Son and A maid's Son - Exchanged

H: Fortunate is he who merits to understand the true

meaning of these things.

H: This is all the words of Rabbainu HaKadosh ri"p,

memory of the tzaddik for blessing.

Y: All of this he himself ri"p said over after the

story.

H: Blessed be Hashem forever, amen and amen.

 Story of a Prayer Leader

Story 12

(After Sabbath of the Torah Portion of VuAiru, and

after the first of the month of Shevat – 5570)
A tale. Once there was a Prayer Leader [/Master of
Prayer] who was always involved only with prayers,
songs, and praises to Hashem Yisburach (the
Blessed G-d), and he dwelled outside of civilization.
And his program was: he would regularly go into
civilization and enter in [conversation] with some
person - typically going in [conversation] with lowly
people, such as poor people and so forth - and he
would start talking with the person regarding the
purpose of the whole world, that truthfully there is
no purpose whatsoever in the world except for
serving G-d all one's life, spending the years only
with prayer to Hashem Yisburach, with song and
praises to Hashem Yisburach etc.. And he would
 Story of a Prayer Leader

speak a lot of such talk with the person to wake him

up, until his words entered his heart, until the person
would be willing to join him. And as soon as the
person agreed with him, he would immediately take
him and bring him to his place which he had outside
of civilization (i.e. outside of settled places; not
where people dwell), for the Prayer Leader had
chosen for himself a place outside of civilization,
and there was a river [Heb.: before it], as well as
trees, and fruits there too, and they would eat of the
fruit, and they would not pay attention to clothes
whatsoever - how one goes, he goes.

And so was the constant schedule of the Prayer

Leader, going into civilization and persuading
people to go his way, to only serve Hashem
Yisburach and only be involved with prayers etc.;
and who ever listened to him, he would take and
bring to his place outside of civilization, as
mentioned, and they would be involved there, just
with prayers, songs, and praises to Hashem
Yisburach, and confessions, fasts, privations (i.e.
torturing one's body), repentance, and so forth; and
 Story of a Prayer Leader

the Prayer Leader would give them his compositions

(i.e. books) that he had of prayers, songs, praises,
and confessions, and they would be engaged in them
constantly, to the extent that there would be found
among his people that he brought there, those who
could now also bring people to Hashem Yisburach.
He would sometimes give permission to one of his
people, that he could already now also go into
civilization and awaken people to the Almighty, that
they should only serve Hashem Yisburach.

The Prayer Leader kept doing this, all the time

drawing his people and taking them out of
civilization, as mentioned, until an impression was
made on the world, and the thing began to become
known, because suddenly people would disappear
from the country and no one knew where they went:
this one had a missing son, that one had a missing
son-in-law, and no one knew where they were, until
it became known that there exists a Prayer Leader
who goes and talks people into (serving) Hashem
Yisburach. Except, catch him they could not,
because the Prayer Leader would conduct himself
 Story of a Prayer Leader

very craftily, and would present himself differently

for each person. For this one he presented himself as
a poor man, for that one as a trader, and for another
he disguised himself still differently. Furthermore,
when he would come to talk to a person, when he
understood that he could not accomplish with the
person what he wanted, he would speak to him in
such circuitous talk that it was not possible at all to
detect that he meant that - that is, to draw him closer
to Hashem Yisburach. And it was impossible to
realize that he meant that, even though in truth his
whole intention was only that, for, in the things he
chatted and talked about with people, he meant
nothing other than this, that is, to draw them close to
Hashem Yisburach. Only when he understood that
he was not influencing him, he would so deceive and
misguide him with talk, until the other thought that
he did not want that at all. (Therefore they could not
catch the Prayer Leader.) The Prayer Leader
remained occupied with this matter, until there was
an impression and publicity (all) over the world; and
they wanted to catch him but it was impossible, as
mentioned.
 Story of a Prayer Leader

So the Prayer Leader with his people dwelled

outside of civilization, and were involved only with
prayer, songs, and praises to Hashem Yisburach, and
confessions, fasts, afflictions, and penances. It was
also the Prayer Leader's business that he could
"suffice" for each person (in other words, provide
for each person) what he needed. If he understood of
one of his people that in accordance to his intellect
he needed, for serving Hashem, to go dressed in
'gilden geshtik' (gold [-embossed] clothes), he
supplied it for him, and vice versa, when sometimes
some rich person would draw close to him, and he
extracted him from civilization, and he understood
that this rich person needed to go in tatters, he would
make him go [dressed] that way; whatever way he
knew a person needed to go, he supplied it for him.
And for the people whom he drew close to Hashem
Yisburach, a fast or the biggest privation (i.e.
torturing oneself) was dearer than all the world's
delights, for they had more delight from the big
privation or fast, than from all the delights of the
world.
 Story of a Prayer Leader

And the day came to pass, and there was a country

where there were enormous riches; they were all
rich. Only, their behavior was quite disturbing,
because by them, everything went according to
wealth; everyone's status and honor was only
according to his wealth. It was determined by them,
that whoever had a certain amount of money -
thousands or ten-thousands - attained one status
[Yid.: and this honor]; and whoever had such and
such an amount of money attains another status;
similarly, all the hierarchy by them, was all
according to the money each person had. And he
who had so many, so many thousands and ten-
thousands, as was determined there by them - is
already a king.

And similarly they had flags, that whoever had so

much money is in this banner, and deserves status
and honor in that flag; and who ever had so much
money, is in another flag, and deserves the status in
that pennant, all according to his money. So it was
determined for everyone how much money he
should have in order to have the status in this flag,
 Story of a Prayer Leader

and how much money he should have in order to

already be in another flag, and have there, some kind
of status and honor. And so every man's honor, and
all of his status, was all only according to how much
money he had, as had been determined by them for
every status and honor, how much money he needed
to have.

And similarly it was determined by them, if he has

only so much money, he is a plain human, whereas
if he has yet less, he is already no man at all, just a
beast or bird (i.e. it's just a beast that looks like a
human). So they had beasts and birds, that is, if he
has this little money, it's just a lion - it's a human
lion; but if he has that little money, he is a mere bird.
And similarly they had other beasts and birds, for
someone who has little money, is no man at all by
them, just a beast or a bird. Because the main object
for them was money, and the status and honor of
everyone, was only according to his money.

It was heard in the world that there is such a country.

The Prayer Leader made a very big sigh over this
[Heb: would sigh over this, and would say], and he
 Story of a Prayer Leader

said, "Who knows how far they can stray through

this?" Some men from his people were present, and
they did not ask his opinion at all, and they picked
up and went to that country to get them out of it.
Because they (i.e. the people of the Prayer Leader)
had great pity on that country which was so led
astray in the craving of money, and especially since
the Prayer Leader had said that they could go further
astray, therefore these people of the Prayer Leader
went to that country; perhaps they could bring them
out of their nonsense.

They entered the country and they approached one

of them who was apparently a person of low-status
whom they call a beast, and they began to talk with
him, that truthfully money is not a purpose at all,
and the main purpose is only to service Hashem, and
so forth. But he did not listen to them at all, because
it was already rooted in their thinking that the main
thing is only money. And likewise they chatted with
another, and he too did not listen. And they wanted
to talk with him more, but he replied, "I have no
more time to talk with you."
 Story of a Prayer Leader

They asked him, "Why?"

He replied, "Because we all must leave the country

and go to another country, for we have seen that the
main goal is only money, therefore it is set by us that
we must go to such a country where they make
money (i.e. there, there is a kind of earth from which
they make gold and silver). Therefore we all must go
now to that country."

It was also settled by them that they wanted to have

stars and constellations too, that is, whoever has so
much and so much money, according to the amount
they had determined for it, he should be a star,
because since he has so much money he must have
the power of the star, because the star generates the
gold, because the fact that there is earth from which
gold is made, is after all, due to the star that
generates such earth from which gold is made. Since
this man has so much gold, he must have the power
of this star, therefore he himself is a star. And
likewise they said they wanted to have constellations
too. That is, when someone would have so much and
so much money, however much they had determined
 Story of a Prayer Leader

for it, he should be a constellation. And likewise

they made for themselves angels, all according to
(the amount of) money. Until they agreed that they
should have gods too, that whoever would have vast
(amounts of) money, so many and so many
thousands and myriads, however much they had
determined for this, he would be a god, because
since G-d gives him so much money, he himself is a
god. [Heb: And so they carried out and did
everything that was mentioned above].

Furthermore they said that they ought not dwell in

the air of this world, and they must not at all be
together with other people, so that they should not
contaminate them, because the other people of the
world are completely impure compared to them;
therefore they decided that they should find for
themselves very high mountains that are higher than
the whole world, and they should dwell there, so that
they can be higher than the air of the world. They
sent people to seek high mountains, and they found
very high mountains. The whole country went and
settled there on the high mountains, that is, on each
 Story of a Prayer Leader

mountain a gathering of people from the country (in

other words, a city) settled [Yid: and so too on the
other mountains etc.]. And around the mountain they
made a big fortification and great trenches around
the mountain, until it was impossible for any man to
reach them, because there was no longer but one
hidden path to the mountain, which no other person
had any knowledge of, to reach them. And likewise
on the next mountain, and so on all the mountains,
on all of them they made a fortification etc. as
mentioned. And they appointed guards far from the
mountain, so no one [Heb: stranger] would be able
to come [Heb: close to them].

So they dwelled there on the mountains and

conducted themselves as mentioned earlier, and they
had many gods, that is, according to the money, as
mentioned. However, since wealth was the main
thing for them - so much so that via great wealth a
person could become a god - they were under threat
of murder and theft, because anyone would be a
murderer or thief in order to become a god via the
money he would steal. But they said, since the
 Story of a Prayer Leader

wealthy one is a god, he will protect himself from

theft and murder. And they established devotions
and offerings, to bring offerings and pray to the gods
to thereby get money, and they would sacrifice
people, and would sacrifice their very selves to the
gods, in order to be included in them, and later be
reincarnated as a rich person. Because their main
credence was in money. And they had devotions,
sacrifices, and incenses with which they served their
gods (i.e. those who had much money). But despite
this, the country was certainly full of murder and
theft, because whoever did not believe in the
devotions became a murder and thief in order to get
money, because the main thing for them was wealth,
since through money one can buy anything - food
and clothing - and the essential life of a man is
through money; therefore money was their main
creed (such was their foolish and confused thinking).
And they all tried to not lose any money, because
money was for them the fundamental faith and the
god; on the contrary, it was necessary to endeavor to
bring money into the country from other places.
Traders would embark (from them) to trade in other
 Story of a Prayer Leader

countries, in order to win money, in order to bring

even more money into the country. And charity was
certainly a great prohibition for them, because how
can someone be permitted to give away the money
that G-d has given him - which was for them the
main thing, to have money - how can someone be
permitted to give that away? Therefore certainly for
them it was a prohibition to give to charity.

And they had officers who were appointed to

monitor everyone whether he has as much money as
he says, because everyone had to always show off
his wealth in order to remain in the status and honor
that he had according to his money (in other words,
all the rich people who, for them, were gods, stars,
angels etc. due to their money, would always be
inspected whether he has so much money; whether
he is not a god in vain, and so forth, and people were
appointed to constantly oversee this). And
sometimes by them, an animal would become a
person, or a person an animal, namely, when a rich
person lost his money he already became a non-
human - a man became an animal, because he
 Story of a Prayer Leader

already had no money for himself; and vice versa

when someone won money, so an animal became
human; and so on with the other classes, which by
them were all according to money (it likewise also
happened with someone sometimes becoming a non-
god because he had already lost the money). And
they would have the figures and portraits of the gods
(i.e. those who had much money) and everyone had
the portraits, and they would hug and kiss them,
because money was their entire devotion and faith.

And the people of the Prayer Leader (who were

previously there in that country) returned to their
place, and they told the Prayer Leader of the
nonsense of the country, how they were so fooled
and lost in the craving of money, and that they
already wanted to leave their country for another
country (where they make money as mentioned) and
wanted already to make stars and constellations. The
Prayer Leader spoke up and said that he feared lest
they stray more and more. Afterwards people heard
that they had already made themselves gods (as
mentioned).
 Story of a Prayer Leader

The Prayer Leader spoke up and said, "This is what I

meant, this is what I feared" (i.e. by his always
saying he feared lest they get further lost, he meant
this). The Prayer Leader had great pity on them, and
came to the decision to personally go there; perhaps
he would extract them from their foolishness (Heb:
return them from their error). The Prayer Leader
went there and came to the guards who stand around
each mountain (as mentioned), and the guards, it
would reason, where people of low status who were
able to stand in the air of this world, because the
people who had status, from their money, were not
at all able to be together with the people of the
world, and could not stand in the world's air, so that
they should not contaminate them, and they were not
at all able to speak with people of the world, so that
they should not contaminate them with their breath
(in other words, by the foolish country the world
was completely impure compared to them, as
mentioned), therefore the guards who stood outside
the city were surely of low status, except the guards
also had the portraits (of their gods) and would hug
 Story of a Prayer Leader

and kiss them all the time, because with them too,
money was the main object of faith.

The Prayer Leader came to one of the guards and

began talking with him about the ultimate purpose,
inasmuch as the only ultimate goal is serving G-d -
Torah, prayer, good deeds etc. - and money is utter
foolishness and not the ultimate purpose at all etc.;
but the guard did not listen to him at all, for it was
already ingrained in them for a long time that the
main thing is only money, as mentioned. And
likewise the Prayer Leader went to all the guards and
talked with them this way, and they did not listen to
him whatsoever. The Prayer Leader came to a
decision and went into the city which was on the
mountain (as mentioned).

When he arrived inside the city, it was the great

novelty to them, and they asked, "How did you get
in here?" Since no one was able to reach them.

He answered them, "Why do you ask? I am already

inside the city, all the same." The Prayer Leader
began talking with one of them about the purpose of
 Story of a Prayer Leader

the world, that money is no purpose at all etc. (as

was his custom), but the man did not listen to him at
all, and likewise another, and likewise all of them,
because they were already so lost in their mistake
that they already could not listen to anybody, as
mentioned. And it was a wonder to the people of the
city that such a man exists, and had come to them,
and was speaking to them such things, the complete
opposite of their creed. It struck them that this man
must be the Prayer Leader, because they had already
heard that there is such a Prayer Leader in the world,
since the matter of the Prayer Leader had already
become publicized in the world (as mentioned), and
people in the world would call him "Der Frummer
Baal Tefilah" (the devout Prayer Leader), but they
could not catch him, because he would make himself
appear different to each person: to one he appeared
as a merchant, and to another as a pauper etc.,
immediately afterwards disappearing from there (in
other words, he was quickly gone away).

And the day came to pass: and there was a warrior

('geebor': a muscleman, or a valiant, mighty, or
 Story of a Prayer Leader

strong man) unto whom other warriors had gathered.

The warrior and his warriors were going around
taking over countries, the warrior wanted nothing
else but submission (in other words, that they should
become subjugated under him). And when the
people of the country submitted to him, he would
release them; and if not - he would ruin them. So he
went around subjugating countries, without any
desire for money whatsoever - only submission; that
they should be under him. And the way of the
warrior was: he would send his warriors to a country
when he was still very far from it - fifty miles - for
them to surrender to him; and so he was continually
taking over countries.

And the merchants of the aforementioned wealthy

country, who used to conduct trade in foreign
countries, returned to their country and told over
about the warrior, and a great terror fell on them.
And even though they were willing to submit
themselves under him, the thing that prevented them
was that they heard that he loathes money and does
not want any money at all, and this was contrary to
 Story of a Prayer Leader

their creed, therefore they could not submit

themselves under him, because for them it would be
like apostasy, since he did not at all believe in their
faith, that is, in money. And they were very afraid of
him, and they began to perform their devotions, and
bring their sacrifices to their gods (i.e. to those who
had much money); and they would take a little beast
(i.e. someone with little money, who was considered
by them a beast) and bring him for a sacrifice to
their gods (as mentioned), and similarly they
performed the other devotions (i.e. the things with
which they would serve their gods).

And the warrior was continually coming closer to

them, and had started to send his warriors ahead [to
ask]: "What do they want?" - as was his usual
custom, as mentioned. A great terror came over
them, and they did not know what to do. Their own
merchants gave them a suggestion, inasmuch as they
had been in a country where the entire populace
were gods, and traveled about with angels - that is,
(that country,) the entire country, from small to
great, are all very extraordinarily wealthy people,
 Story of a Prayer Leader

such that even the smallest among them is also a god

according to their foolish delusion (because the
smallest person in the country is exceptionally
wealthy, and has as much money as was reckoned
by them, that with that much money one becomes a
god, as mentioned). And they 'travel with angels'
since their horses are covered with such great
wealth, with gold and so forth, that the covering of
one horse was worth the amount that an angel had.
Thus, the riders 'travel with angels,' tying three pairs
of 'angels' to a carriage, and riding with them.

"Therefore you need to send to this country and they

will surely help you, for they are all gods." (All this
was still the advice of the merchants.) Their advice
pleased them very much, for they believed that they
would surely be saved by the other country, since
they are all gods, as mentioned.

And the Prayer Leader came to the decision that he

would go once again to that country; perhaps he
would still lead them out of their folly. And he went
there, came up to the guards, and he began speaking
 Story of a Prayer Leader

with one guard, in his usual way. The guard told him
about the warrior, that they are in great terror of him.

The prayer leader asked him, "What do you have in

mind to do?"

The guard told him the idea mentioned above, that

they want to send to the country where they are all
gods etc..

The prayer leader laughed heartily at him and said,

"That is quite a great folly! Because they are humans
like we are. And all of you, with all your gods, are
all merely humans, and not one of them is any god at
all; there is no more than one G-d over the world: He
who created everything, and He alone should be
served, and only to Him one should pray; and this
alone is the main purpose in the world." This and
similar argumentation the Prayer Leader spoke with
the guard, and the guard heard none of it, since their
foolish belief had already been ingrained within
them from a long time ago, as mentioned.
 Story of a Prayer Leader

However, the Prayer Leader debated with him

extensively, until finally the guard answered him,
"What more can I do? I am only one individual
(Heb: in the world (and against me are the numerous
residents of the country))." Now this already had
somewhat of an appearance of a response
(/repentance) [Heb: this answer was a small
consolation for the Prayer Leader, because he
understood...], as the words which the Prayer Leader
had spoken before with the guard, and the words
which he spoke now, joined together until they
stirred him somewhat. Because the response that the
guard had answered, "What can I do?" etc., revealed
that the words of the Prayer Leader were already
starting to enter his heart a little bit.)

And so the Prayer Leader went to another guard, and

also spoke with him in his usual way, as above; and
he too did not listen to him, but in the end he also
replied as above, "I am one person," and so forth, as
above. And so, all the guards answered him this
response in the end.
 Story of a Prayer Leader

Afterwards the Prayer Leader entered the city and

began to talk with them in his usual way: inasmuch
as they are all very much in complete error, and
money is no goal at all; rather, the essential purpose
is solely to delve in Torah, in prayer, and so forth.
They did not listen to him, for they were all very
much rooted in money from a long time ago; and
they told him about the warrior, and that they want
to send to the country where they are all gods etc..
He laughed at them too, and told him that was a
folly, and they are all humans etc., "and they will not
be able to help you at all, because you are human
and they are human, and they are no god
whatsoever; there is only one God, Blessed is He,
etc." As for the warrior, he replied to them (using
this expression), "Isn't this the warrior?" (like
someone wondering: isn't he the one he knows?)
They did not understand what he meant. And so he
went from one to the other, and continued talking
this way with them, as above. And as for the warrior,
he said to everyone, "Isn't this the warrior?" etc., as
above. They did not understand his words; what he
meant.
 Story of a Prayer Leader

Meanwhile, a commotion broke out in the city,

inasmuch as there was found someone who says
such things, making laughter of their faith, and
saying that there is only (a solitary) One, that is,
Hashem Yisburach, Blessed is He etc.; and as for the
warrior, he always says, "Isn't this the warrior?" etc.
as above. They understood that this must certainly
be the Prayer Leader, because he was already well
known to them, as mentioned. They ordered for him
to be sought and caught. Even though he always
appeared differently (i.e. sometimes presenting
himself as a merchant, and sometimes as a poor
person, and so forth, wherefore they were not able to
catch him, as mentioned), nonetheless they knew of
this too, that the Prayer Leader constantly presents
himself differently; they ordered an investigation
into him, for him to be captured, and he was sought
out until they caught him. And they brought him to
the elders.

When they began talking with him, he told them also

as above, "You are all mistaken, and in great folly,
and that is no purpose whatsoever (i.e. money is no
 Story of a Prayer Leader

goal at all), but there exists (a solitary) One, Blessed

is He, namely the Creator, blessed be His Name,
who has created everything. He alone should be
served, and money is an utter nonsense etc.. And the
country where you say they are all gods - they will
not be able to help you whatsoever, for they are only
human etc.."

They considered him insane, because the entire

country was already so immersed in money, and
they were already so crazed, that whoever said
something contrary to their foolishness was for them
a madman.

They asked him, "What is this that you say about the
warrior, 'Isn't this the warrior?'" as above.

He answered them, "Inasmuch as I used to be with a

king, and by the king a warrior was lost; and if this
is that warrior, I am acquainted with him. And
furthermore, your relying on the country where you
say they are all gods - this is nonsense, because they
will not be able to help you whatsoever; on the
 Story of a Prayer Leader

contrary: that will end up being your downfall if you

rely on them."

They asked him, "Where do you know this from?"

He answered them, "Since by the king," who he was

with, "he had by him a Hand [yad], that is, the king
had something resembling a hand with five fingers
and with all the grooves (i.e. all the creases and ruts)
that are on a hand. And the Hand was the map of all
the worlds; and all that has been since the creation of
heaven and earth until the end, and what will be
afterwards, was all depicted on the Hand, for
depicted in the scratches and folds of the Hand, was
the diagram of all the worlds; how every world
stands, with all the things of every world in detail,
everything standing out on the Hand as depicted on a
land map (as is known to those who are used to land
maps, that is, depicted on a paper is each town,
every country, and every bridge; and similarly other
things: streams, woods etc.; and by everything it is
all written down, that this is this town, and this is
that country, and so forth). Thus all the worlds were
depicted on the Hand by the ruts and folds of the
 Story of a Prayer Leader

Hand. And in the ruts of the Hand were a

resemblance of letters, just as letters are inscribed on
a map next to each thing so that one may know what
it is, that is, that one may know that here is this
town, and here is this stream, and likewise other
things; in exactly the same way, by the ruts of the
Hand were depicted the likeness of letters next to
everything depicted on the Hand, so as to know what
everything depicted there is. Thus every city
separately, every town, and all the rivers, bridges,
mountains, and other objects (whatever is found in
the world and in all the worlds) were all depicted on
the Hand, by the ruts and folds on the Hand, and
next to everything there always stood letters, that
this is this thing, and that is that things, etc.. And
also all the people who go around in every country,
and all their experiences (i.e. everything that passes
over a man during his lifetime), were all depicted on
the Hand.

And even all the paths from one country to another,

and from one place to another, were written on it,
and on account of that I knew the way to come in
 Story of a Prayer Leader

here, to this town, which no man can enter (because

the wealthy country had dug around their cities, and
nobody could come to them, as above). And
likewise if you want to send me into the other town,
I know that way too, all through the Hand. And also
imprinted on the hand, was the way from one world
to another world, for there is a path and a course on
which one can ascend from earth to heaven (for, one
cannot go up from earth to heaven, due to not
knowing the way; but depicted there, was the way to
go up to heaven); so depicted there, were all the
paths that exist from one world to another world.
For, Eliyahu (Elijah) ascended to heaven with this
path, and that path is written there; Moshe Rabbainu
(Moses) went up to heaven with a different path, and
that other path was also written there; and likewise
Chanoch (Enoch) ascended to heaven with yet
another path, and that path was written there too.
Thus from one world to the other (farther, higher)
world was all depicted by the ruts and folds of the
Hand.
 Story of a Prayer Leader

Also represented on the Hand was everything as it

was at the time the world was created, and as it is
now, and as it will be in the future. For instance,
Sedom (Sodom) was depicted there as that city had
been (while inhabited) before it was overturned; in
addition, depicted there, was Sedom being
upheaved, as a city turning over; and further
depicted there, was Sedom as it appears today, after
the upheaval. For on the Hand was depicted what
was, what is, and what will be. And there on the
Hand I have seen that the country of which you say
they are all gods, together with all the people who
come to them for help (i.e. that the country should
help them), will both (all) be obliterated." (All this
for the Prayer Leader told them).

It was an extraordinary novelty to them, for it was

recognizable that this is true talk, for it is known that
on a map all things are depicted, so they understood
that his words are true, since such things cannot be
thought up, because one can see for himself that he
can put together two ruts of the hand and from them
will become a letter. For this reason they
 Story of a Prayer Leader

understood, this is no contrivance; thus it was an

extraordinary novelty to them. They asked him,
"Where is the king? Perhaps he will show us a way
how to find money?"

He answered them (with an expression of someone

who is awestruck and angered), "You still want
money?! Don't talk about money at all!"

They asked him, "Nonetheless, tell us where the

king is."

He answered them, "I too do not know of the king;

where he is. And this is how the story happened:

"Once, there was a king and a queen, and they had

an only daughter. And it came near the time to marry
her off, so they seated advisors to give counsel as to
whom she ought to be married. And I too was there
among the advisors (i.e. the Prayer Leader, who is
still relating this in front of them) because the king
liked me, and my advice was that they should give
her the warrior, because the warrior had wrought us
many benefits, for he had conquered many
 Story of a Prayer Leader

countries; therefore he ought to be given the queen's

daughter for a wife. My advice was very well
received, and they all agreed upon it, and there was a
big celebration there for having found a groom for
the queen's daughter. And they wed the queen's
daughter with the warrior, and the queen's daughter
had a child. And the baby was quite an extraordinary
beauty, which was no sort of human beauty
whatsoever: his hair was golden and had all the
colors, his face was like the sun, and his eyes were
(like) other luminaries. And the child was born with
mature wisdom, because they saw in him
immediately, when he was born, that he is already a
great sage, for when people were talking, in the
place when one needs to laugh he would laugh; and
so with other such things they recognized in him that
he is a great sage – except he did not yet have the
motions of an adult, that is, he still could not talk
and other such faculties – but this they saw right
away: that he is already a big genius.

"And by the king was orator, that is, a speaker who

is a master of language and rhetoric, who was able to
 Story of a Prayer Leader

talk very eloquently: very fine expression, songs,

and praises for the king. And the orator was on his
own account a fine orator too, but the king showed
him the hidden path and the way for him to go up
and get the power of the science of rhetoric, and
thereby he became a very amazing superb orator.
The king also had a sage, and the sage was also a
sage on his own account, but the king showed him
the way for him to go up and get wisdom, and
thereby he became an extraordinary, superb sage.

"And similarly, the warrior was mighty on his own,

but the king showed him the way for him to go and
get strength, and thereby he became an
extraordinary, superb warrior. For, there is a sword
that hangs in the air, and the sword has three powers.
When the sword is lifted, then all the officers of the
[opposing] army flee, so as a matter of course they
fall, because when the officers flee, there is no one
to lead the battle, so they certainly fall. But despite
this, the survivors may still be able to wage war –
however, the sword has two sharp edges, and they
have two powers: through one edge, they fall down,
 Story of a Prayer Leader

and through the other edge, they get the sickness

called 'dahr' (wasting; consumption), namely they
(the enemies whom they are fighting) become
meager (-gaunt) and lifeless, as is known of this
sickness; the Merciful One spare us. So by merely
making a move with the sword in its place, the
enemies are stricken with the aforementioned things,
that is, by using one edge the enemies have defeat,
and by using the other edge the enemies are stricken
with dahr, as mentioned. And the king showed the
warrior the path that there is to the sword, and from
there he attained his great strength.

"And to me the king also showed the way to get my

specialty; I got from there what I needed. (In other
words, the Prayer Leader, who is telling all this, said
that the king showed him the way from which to get
his thing, namely, prayer).

"And likewise, the king had a faithful friend [ohev

ne'eman] (in other words, a good friend, a good,
trusty friend) who was in love with the king (lit: who
loved himself with the king) with a very
extraordinary love. They loved each other so much,
 Story of a Prayer Leader

that it was impossible for them to be one without

seeing the other for some amount of time. But
nonetheless there must be times when they need to
be apart, so they had portraits in which both their
images were depicted. They would delight
themselves (in other words, take pleasure and
satisfaction with) the portraits when they could not
see each other. And the images depicted how the
king and his faithful friend love each other and hug
and kiss each other with great love. And the portraits
had the special ability that whoever looked at the
images attained great love (in other words, one
received the trait of love when looking at the
images). And the faithful friend also received the
love from the place which the king showed him.

"A time came when they all went, each one to his
place, to receive his power there for his thing – that
is, the orator, and the warrior, and all the king's
people, each went up to his place to renew his
power. And the day came to pass – there was a very
big storm wind upon the world. And the storm wind
mixed up the entire world, and overturned sea to dry
 Story of a Prayer Leader

land, and dry land to sea; and wilderness to settled

area, and settled area to wilderness; so it overturned
the entire world. And the storm wind went into the
king's chamber and did nothing at all there (in other
words, there at the king's, it wrought absolutely no
damage), except that the storm wind went in and
snatched away the aforementioned child of the
queen's daughter. And amidst the commotion, as
soon as the storm wind snatched away the dear
child, the princess followed immediately (in other
words, the princess immediately began to run after
the child in order to snatch him back; she too went
off someplace, no one knows where). So too the
queen, and so too the king: they all went after the
child, until they all became dispersed, and no one
knows where they are. And all of us were nowhere
nearby during this, for we were gone away then,
each to his place to renew his power, as mentioned;
and when we came back, we could no longer find
them all, as mentioned. The Hand too became
missing then.
 Story of a Prayer Leader

So from that time on, we have all become scattered,

and can no longer go, each to his place to renew his
power, for since the entire world has been
overturned, we now need different paths; therefore
we can no longer go up, each to his place to renew
his power. However, the impression that remains by
each of us (meaning the token, that is, the little bit
that has remained by each one from long ago) is also
very great – and if this mighty one (which the
country feared) is the king's warrior, he is certainly a
very mighty warrior." (All this, the Prayer Leader
told the people).

And they heard out his words and were very

amazed, and now they held the Prayer Leader fast,
and would no longer let him go (because perhaps the
warrior who wants to come upon them, is the king's
warrior mentioned above, with whom the Prayer
Leader is acquainted).

And the aforementioned warrior kept coming closer

to the country, always sending emissaries to them,
until he reached the country. And he stationed
himself below the city, and sent his emissaries inside
 Story of a Prayer Leader

to them (for them to tell him what they want: to

submit themselves or not, as above). They were very
terrified of him, and they begged the Prayer Leader
to give them an eitza (-advice,remedy). The Prayer
Leader told them it was necessary to inspect the
conduct of this warrior in order for him to recognize
thereby if this is the aforementioned warrior of the
king. The Prayer Leader [went, and he] went out
towards the warrior, and he reached the warrior's
army and began talking with one of the warrior's
accompanying warriors (i.e. with one of the sentries)
(in order to examine if he is the warrior whom he is
familiar with). The Prayer Leader asked him, "What
do you do? And how did you get together with this
warrior?"

He answered him (i.e. that one warrior replied to the

Prayer Leader), "What took place was like this:

"It is written in their chronicles how there had been a

great storm wind over the world, changing sea to dry
land, and dry land to sea; and wilderness to settled
area, and settled area to wilderness, mixing up the
entire world. And after the noise and upheaval, the
 Story of a Prayer Leader

entire world having become so mixed up, the world's

people decided to make a king for themselves. They
started to investigate who ought to be made king
over them, and they reasoned, 'Inasmuch as the
essential thing is only the ultimate purpose (tachlis)
therefore whoever most occupies himself with, and
exerts himself in the purpose of the world – he
deserves to be king.' They began probing what the
purpose is, and several opinions arose among them.

One faction said that the main object is honor, for,

'We see that the world considers honor the main
thing. Because when a person is not given his
respect – that is, when some word is uttered against
his honor – he experiences bloodshed, because the
main thing for the entire world is honor. And even
after death, people are careful to accord the dead his
honor, burying him with respect and so forth (and
telling him, 'What is being done for you, is all being
done for your honor'). Even though after death, one
no longer wants any money, and the dead person
certainly has no desire for anything, nevertheless
they are particular about the honor of the dead, and
 Story of a Prayer Leader

guard his honor. Therefore (it is) honor (that) is the

main purpose. They continued saying more such
conjectures and deductions of the sort, that honor is
the main object of the world, until it became settled
among them that the ultimate purpose is honor.
Therefore they needed to search for an honorable
person (that is to say, a person who has honor), and
moreover the person should also pursue honor, for
since he receives honor and pursues it, and assists
(human) nature which desires honor, therefore this
person exerts himself and pursues after the main
goal, and has reached it, because the goal is, after
all, honor, as mentioned; therefore such a person
deserves to be king. (All this was the foolish opinion
of a sect of them; and so they found foolish
conjectures and deductions until they became led
astray therein, and said that honor is the purpose.)"
Likewise all the other factions that will appear
below, all had foolish reasoning for their foolish
notions. (Heb. only: Some of them are explained
below, but Rabbainu of blessed memory, did not
want to explain all the perplexed reasoning for these
beliefs, because there are some rationales in this,
 Story of a Prayer Leader

that are so perplexing that it is possible to indeed be

led astray by these false rationales; the Merciful One
spare us.) "They went searching for such a person,
and they went and saw an old Gypsy beggar being
carried, while following him were perhaps five
hundred Gypsies. And the beggar was blind,
hunchback, and mute, and all these people followed
him because they were all his relatives, for he had
sisters, brothers, and ragtag (lit. wicked) progeny,
until there came to be so many of them, all of whom
followed him and carried him. And the old beggar
was very particular about his honor, for he was a
very angry person and always heaped his great
indignation upon them, always ordering that others
should carry him, and always scolding them. Hence
this elderly beggar is a very 'honorable' man,
because he is so strict over his honor. Therefore this
beggar pleased them, and they accepted him as (a)
king. And because land also has an effect, for there
is a land that engenders and is conducive (mesugal)
to honor, and similarly there is a land that is
specially suited for another trait, therefore this
faction (which regarded honor as the main purpose)
 Story of a Prayer Leader

sought a country that engenders and is conducive to

honor; and they found such a country that is
conducive to it, and they settled there.

"One faction said that the main object is not honor,

and they conceived that the main object is murder,
for, 'We see that all the things that are found upon
the earth – grasses, and all plants and people, and all
that is in the whole world – must all ultimately cease
to exist. Hence the very goal of all things is to be
finished off (i.e. destroyed). Therefore, a murderer
who kills and destroys people, is really bringing the
world to its purpose.' Therefore they came to the
conclusion that the goal is murder. They looked for a
person who would be a murderer; an angry person
and an extremely vengeful person, for such a person
is closest to the purpose (according to their deluded
mindset) and he deserves to be king. They went
looking for such a person and they heard a shriek.
They asked, 'What is this, such a screech?!'

"They replied to them, this shriek is: someone has

slaughtered his father and mother.
 Story of a Prayer Leader

"They spoke up, 'Where else can one find such a

strong hearted and angry murderer, that he should
murder his own father and mother? This man here
(i.e. the one who killed (his) father and mother) has
reached the purpose!' And they were very pleased
with him, and they accepted him as (a) king over
them. And they sought for themselves a country that
causes (i.e. brings about) murder, and they chose a
place among mountains where killers abide, and
they went there and settled there with their king.

"A (Heb: different) faction said that worthy of being

king, is he who has a great abundance of food, and
does not eat the fare of other people, but only fine
foods (such as milk, so that his mind should not
become coarse); such a person ought to be king.
However, they could not immediately find such a
person who would not eat the foods of other people.
In the meantime they chose for themselves a rich
man who had plenty of food (and whose food was a
bit finer) until they would find such a person as they
want, who would not eat etc. as above. And
meanwhile, they made the rich man (into a) king
 Story of a Prayer Leader

until they would find such a person as they want, as

above; then the rich man would descend from the
reign, and the other one would be taken up as (a)
king. And they chose for themselves a country suited
for this, and they went and settled there.

"A (Heb: different) faction said that a beautiful

woman is fit to be king, for the main object is, after
all, that the world should be inhabited with people,
since for that reason the world was created. And
since a beautiful woman brings about that desire,
through which the habitation of the world grows
greater (since more people come about), it comes out
that she brings the world to the goal. Therefore it is
befitting for a beautiful woman to be king. They
chose for themselves a beautiful woman, and she
became king over them. And they sought for
themselves a land conducive to this, and they went
there, and settled there.

A (Heb: different) faction said that the main

objective is speech, because the distinction between
a man and a beast is only speech, and since that is
the essential in which a man is greater than a beast,
 Story of a Prayer Leader

therefore it is the main purpose (i.e. speech). They

sought for themselves a speaker (i.e. a talker) who
would be eloquent, and who would know many
languages, and would always talk a great deal all the
time, for such a person is at the goal. They went and
found a French lunatic who was going around and
talking to himself. They asked him if he knows
languages, and he knew several languages. Now
such a man has certainly already reached the goal
(according to their foolish deluded ideas), since he is
a master of language, knows many languages, and
talks a great deal – for he talks even to himself.
Therefore they were very pleased with him, and they
accepted him as (a) king. And they chose for
themselves a land conducive to this, and they went
and settled there with their king. And surely he led
them on the straight path!

"A (Heb: different) faction said that the ultimate

purpose is happiness. For, when a person is born
people are happy; when there is a wedding, people
are happy; when conquering a country, people are
happy. It follows that the main purpose of
 Story of a Prayer Leader

everything is only happiness. Therefore they sought

a man who would always be happy, for he is at the
goal, and he should be king over them. They went
searching and they saw a gentile going along with a
disgusting shirt and carrying a bottle of brandy,
while following him were several other gentiles.
And this gentile was very happy because he was
very drunk. They saw that this gentile is very happy
and has no concern whatsoever, and they were very
pleased with him, this gentile, because he had
reached the goal, since the goal is only happiness.
They accepted him as (a) king over them, and surely
he led them on the right path! And they chose a land
conducive to this, that is, where there are vineyards
so that they would make wine, and from the seeds of
the grapes they would make brandywine; and
nothing whatsoever of the grape vines should go to
waste, because for them this was the main purpose:
to drink and go drunk, and always be happy, despite
not having the faintest idea for what, for they had
nothing at all to be happy about. But nevertheless it
was the main purpose for them, to always be happy.
 Story of a Prayer Leader

And they chose for themselves a land conducive to

this, as above, and they went and settled there.

"A (Heb: different) faction said that the main thing

is wisdom. They sought for themselves a great sage,
and made him (a) king over them, and they sought
for themselves a land conducive to wisdom, and they
went and settled there.

"A (Heb: different) faction said that the main goal is

to cultivate oneself with food and drink, which is
called pillevin [Yid. = Ger. pflegen], in order to
enlarge the limbs. And they sought a 'man of limbs,'
that is, someone who has large limbs, and develops
himself to enlarge his limbs (i.e. the members of the
body), for since he has big limbs, he has a larger
portion in the world, because he takes up more space
in the world; and this man is closer to the purpose,
because the purpose is to enlarge the limbs.
Therefore such a person ought to be (a) king. They
went and found a tall man (which is called a
'veynger' [Yid.]) and he pleased them, because he
has large limbs and is at the goal. They accepted him
 Story of a Prayer Leader

as (a) king, and they sought a land conducive to this,

and they went and settled there.

"And there was a different group that said that all

these things are no goal at all; rather, the right
purpose is to be involved only in prayer to Hashem
Yisburach, and to be a humble person, and a lowly
person etc. (in other words, one should not deem
anything of oneself), etc.. And they sought for
themselves a prayer leader, and they made him (a)
king over them." (One will already understand by
himself that all the aforementioned factions were all
very mistaken and deluded in great foolishness, each
faction in their folly, through their foolish
hypothesis and foolish deductions. Only this last
faction hit upon the proper truth – so fortunate they
are!) All this was related by one of the strongmen
before the Prayer Leader. And he went on to tell
him, that they (namely the warriors who were going
with the warrior as mentioned) – they are from the
faction of the 'men of limbs' mentioned above (i.e.
the faction that said that the main objective is only to
cultivate oneself to enlarge his limbs) who had taken
 Story of a Prayer Leader

up as (a) king over themselves a 'man of limbs' (i.e.

a large person, as mentioned).

"And the day came to pass, and a company of them

were going along (in other words, many of the
ample-limbed people were going together) with the
wagons in train (which are called ibez [- Ukr. oboz,
train]) bringing along food, drink, and other such
things. Now, the world was certainly afraid of these
large-limbed ones, for they were large and mighty
men, and whoever encountered them was sure to
step off the road. Meanwhile, as the camp of the
ample-limbed was going along like that,
approaching them from the opposite direction came
a big warrior (and this was the warrior who goes
with them now), and this warrior did not step off the
road for them, and he went into the camp and
dispersed them here and there, and the people of the
camp were terrified of him. And he (i.e. the warrior)
went inside among the aforementioned wagons
which trailed behind them, and ate up everything
that was there. This was an extraordinary novelty to
them (that he is so valiant that he has no fear of them
 Story of a Prayer Leader

whatsoever, and went right into their midst, and ate

up all that was on the wagons) so they promptly fell
down before him, saying immediately, "(Long) Live
the King!" (meaning, they immediately made him
(a) king) because he certainly deserves the reign.
And so it was: they took him up as king (i.e. the
warrior who came against them, as mentioned).
"And this is the warrior with whom we now go
about conquering the world. But he says (i.e. the
warrior who has now become king over them) that
he means something else in his going about
conquering the world, for he does not at all intend
that the world should be under him; rather he means
something else." (All this one of the warriors told
the Prayer Leader who had asked him how they
joined the warrior; he answered him all this).

The Prayer Leader asked him, "Wherein is the

strength of the warrior who is now your king?"

He answered him, "Inasmuch as there was a country

that did not want to submit themselves under him,
the warrior took his sword which he has, and his
sword has three powers: when it is lifted, all the
 Story of a Prayer Leader

army officers flee" etc. (and he recounted the three

powers explained above, from which king's warrior
got his strength, as mentioned).

When the Prayer Leader heard this, he realized that

this is certainly the king's warrior mentioned above.
The Prayer Leader asked if it were possible to be
granted an audience with the warrior who is their
king. They answered him, it must be announced for
approval ('meldeeven') before him. They went and
announced, and he summoned that he should come
in, and the Prayer Leader came in to the warrior.
When he came in to him, they recognized each
other, and there was very great rejoicing amongst
them that they merited to be reunited. And there was
rejoicing and crying (happiness and weeping)
between them, for they recalled the king and his
men; they cried over that; therefore between them
was rejoicing and crying. The Prayer Leader began
to discuss with the warrior how it came about that
they arrived here.

The warrior told the Prayer Leader that from the

time that there was the storm wind – when they all
 Story of a Prayer Leader

became dispersed – when he returned from where he

went to renew his power, and did not find the king
with all his people, as mentioned, he then let himself
go wherever he would go. And he passed by them
all, that is, he understood he was at the place where
the king is, and where all his people are. That is, he
was at a certain place, and he understood that the
king is certainly there, in this place, however he was
unable to seek and find him. And similarly he passed
by another place, understanding that the queen is
certainly there, however he was unable to seek and
find her; and thus he passed by all the king's people.

"Only you I did not pass by!" (i.e. the warrior who is
telling this, said to the Prayer Leader, that he passed
by all the places of all the people; only the place of
the Prayer Leader he did not pass by).

The Prayer Leader replied to him saying, "I passed

by all their places, and by your place as well. For, I
was passing by a certain place and I saw the king's
crown standing there, and I understood that the king
is certainly here, however I was unable to seek and
find him. And so I went further and passed by a sea
 Story of a Prayer Leader

of blood, and I understood that this sea is certainly

made from the tears of the queen who weeps over all
this, and the queen is certainly here, however I could
not seek and find her. And so I passed by a sea of
milk, and I understood that the sea is certainly made
from the milk of the queen's daughter whose son
was lost, and the milk pressured her, and from this
came to be the sea of milk; and the queen's daughter
is certainly here, however I was unable to seek and
find her. And so I went further and saw the golden
hairs of the child laid out, and I did not take from
them whatsoever, and I knew that the child is
certainly here, however it was not possible to seek
and find him. And so I went further, passing by an
ocean of wine, and I knew that this ocean is certainly
made from the speech of the orator, who stands and
speaks consolations before the king and the queen,
and then turns his face and delivers consolations to
the queen's daughter, and from these words came
about the ocean of wine (as it is written [Song 7:10],
'your palate is like good wine'), however I could not
find him. And so I went further, and I saw standing
there, a stone which had etchings in it just like the
 Story of a Prayer Leader

Hand with its ruts (i.e. just like the Hand with all the
furrows etc. which had been at the king's, as
mentioned), and I understood that the sage (of the
king) is certainly here, and the sage had engraved for
himself the depiction of the Hand on the stone, but it
was not possible to find him. And so I went further
and I saw arranged on a mountain the golden tables,
the credenzas [display cupboards], and the rest of the
king's treasures, and I understood that the king's
treasurer [i.e. he who sits over all the treasures] is
certainly here, however it was impossible to find
him." (All this the Prayer Leader told over to the
warrior).

The warrior replied, "I too passed by all these

places, and I did take from golden hair of the child,
for I took seven hairs that had all sorts of colors, and
they are very dear to me. And I settled down and
sustained myself with whatever possible, with grass
and so forth, until I had nothing whatsoever to
sustain myself. I let myself roam about, and when I
went away from my place, I forgot my bow there."
 Story of a Prayer Leader

The Prayer Leader replied, "I saw your bow! And I

knew that it was certainly your bow, but I could not
find you."

The warrior went on telling the Prayer Leader that,

"When I went away from that place, I went until I
encountered the company mentioned above (i.e. the
rest of the ample-limbed warriors mentioned above),
and I entered in their midst, because I was very
hungry and wanted to eat; and as soon as I entered
among them they immediately took me up as (a)
king, as mentioned. And now I go conquering the
world, and my intention is: perhaps I will be able to
find the king and his people mentioned above."

The Prayer Leader began to discuss with the warrior,

"What to do with these people?" That is, with the
country that is so fallen into the lust of money, to the
extent that they came up with such crazy
foolishness, that those who have a lot of money are
gods for them; and so the other follies the country
had.
 Story of a Prayer Leader

The warrior answered the Prayer Leader that he had

heard from the king, that from all the cravings a
person has fallen into, he can be extracted, except
for someone who has fallen in the lust for money; it
is impossible to extract him from it by any means.
"Therefore you will have no effect on them
whatsoever, for it impossible to extract them from
this at all. Albeit through the way that there is to the
sword mentioned above" – from where he gets his
power as mentioned – "only through this way can
one extract from the lust of money, someone who
has sunk into it." (So he heard from the king).

The warrior remained together with the Prayer

Leader for a while, and as for the country which
beseeched the Prayer Leader that he should go out to
the warrior on their behalf, as mentioned, they
extended the time: that is, the Prayer Leader
convinced the warrior that he should give them (a)
time (i.e. during which time he should do nothing at
all to them). He allotted them time. Afterwards, they
made signs between themselves, that is, the Prayer
Leader and the warrior exchanged signs so that one
 Story of a Prayer Leader

would be able to know from one another, (and) then

the Prayer Leader went off on his way.

As the Prayer Leader went on, he saw people going

along and entreating Hashem Yisburach, praying
and carrying prayer books. He was afraid of them,
and they were frightened of him too. He stood to
pray, and they also stood to pray. Then he asked
them, "Who are you?"

They answered him, "Inasmuch as when there was

the storm wind, the world separated into many
factions, these choosing this thing, and those
choosing that thing (just as all the different factions
are explained above). At that time we chose for
ourselves that the main purpose is to be constantly
involved only in prayer to Hashem Yisburach. We
sought and found a master of prayer, and made him
(a) king.

When the Prayer Leader heard this, it exceptionally

pleased him, for this is what he himself wants. He
began to converse with them, and showed them the
order of his prayers, and his books, and (his) ideas
 Story of a Prayer Leader

he had regarding prayers. When they heard his talk,

their eyes opened, and they saw the greatness of the
Prayer Leader; they immediately made him (a) king
over them, for their king deferred the kingship to
him, since they saw that he is quite a great man
[Heb: that he is set apart on a very, very high level].
The Prayer Leader taught them how to pray to
Hashem Yisburach, and he made them into very
great, complete tzadikim, for they had been tzadikim
before as well, since they had involved themselves
only in prayer, but the Prayer Leader opened their
eyes until they became extremely great tzadikim.
The Prayer Leader sent a letter to the warrior, and
informed him how he was privileged and had found
such people as he desires, and had become king over
them.

Now the aforementioned country (i.e. the wealthy

land for whom money was the main objective etc. as
mentioned) continued to occupy themselves with
their devotions (i.e. they kept doing wild things and
offering sacrifices to their gods, i.e. to those who
had a lot of money, as mentioned), and the
 Story of a Prayer Leader

additional time that the warrior had given them was

already shortly transpiring. They were very
frightened, and they did their devotions, and offered
sacrifices and incense, and engaged in their prayers
which they prayed to their gods. They caught a little
critter, that is, such a person who has little money,
and offered him as a sacrifice to their gods. And they
were convinced that they must act upon their first
plan which they had been given, that they should
send to the country where they are all gods there,
because they have very extraordinary wealth there
(which according to their opinion makes them all
gods) and that country would certainly save them,
since they are all gods, as mentioned. They did so,
and they sent emissaries there to that country.

Meanwhile on the way, as the emissaries were

going, they got lost, and they discerned a man
walking with a cane, his cane was worth more than
all their gods, that is, his cane was set with very
expensive diamonds, so that the cane was worth
more than the riches of their gods. Should one put
together all the riches of their gods, and even of the
 Story of a Prayer Leader

gods of that country they're going to, the cane would

be worth more than all their riches. Furthermore, the
man was walking with a hat in which there were
diamonds, so that the hat was also worth a fortune.
As soon as the emissaries noticed this man, they
immediately fell down before him, bowing and
prostrating (that is, they bowed profusely before
him), because according to their foolish opinion, this
man is a god over all gods, for he has such
extraordinary, great wealth. (And this man whom
they encountered was the king's treasurer mentioned
above).

The man said to them, "This here is a novelty to

you!? Come with me, I will show you wealth!" He
led them atop the mountain where the king's treasury
was arranged, and he showed them the treasury. As
soon as they saw the treasury, they immediately fell
down, bowing and prostrating, because he is a god
over all gods (according to their foolish and deluded
opinion, because by them the essential faith was
money as mentioned). Albeit they brought no
sacrifices, for in accordance with their belief that he
 Story of a Prayer Leader

is such a god etc. they certainly would have offered

themselves to him, however (when the emissaries
departed) the emissaries were warned not to offer
any sacrifices on the way, for they were afraid that
should they want to offer sacrifices along the way,
none of them would remain, for maybe one of them
will find a treasure on the road; maybe one of them
will enter there (Heb: which would be a god for
him). He will want to sacrifice himself to it, and
none of them would be left; therefore the country
warned the emissaries that they should not offer any
sacrifices on the way, whatsoever. [Heb: Therefore
these emissaries did not offer sacrifices to this
aforementioned warden. But this was clear to them:
that he was a god over all gods, since he possessed
such astounding and vast wealth].

The emissaries came to the decision: What reason

remained for them to go to those other gods, that is,
to the country they were sent to, where they are all
extremely rich (people), whom they considered to be
gods? Much better that this man – he can help them
better, because he is a god over all of them
 Story of a Prayer Leader

(according to their crazed notion), since he has such

extraordinary, great wealth, more than everyone
(many, many times over)? Therefore they beseeched
this man that he should go with them (in) to their
country. He was content to oblige them, and went
with them, and entered their country. There was a
great celebration in the country, that they had
acquired such a god, for they were already sure now
that through him they would have a deliverance, for
he is such a god, since he has such a great fortune.
The man (who was the king's treasurer, as
mentioned, who was accepted by the countrymen as
god) ordered that until there would be a proper order
in the country, no one, in the meantime, should offer
any sacrifices. (For this treasurer was in fact a great
tzadik, for he was of the king's people, who were all
very great tzadikim. The treasurer certainly loathed
the foolish practices of the country, but he was
incapable of leading them out of their evil way;
however, for the time being, he ordered them that in
any case no sacrifices should be brought).
 Story of a Prayer Leader

The countrymen started to beseech him regarding

the aforementioned warrior of whom they were very
terrified, and the warden also replied to them,
"Could this be the warrior (whom he knows)?"

The treasurer got up and went out to the warrior, and

asked the warrior's people if it were possible to be
granted an audience with him, and they said that
they would announce it.

They announced it. He ordered [for] him [to be] let

in, and the treasurer entered before the warrior. They
recognized each other, and there was celebration and
crying between them, as above (i.e. they were very
happy that they were privileged to find each other,
but still wept very much: how can the rest of the
aforementioned people be brought as well?).

The warrior spoke up to the treasurer, "Our kosher

Prayer Leader is also here, and I have already seen
him, and he has already become a king!" (Heb. only:
And they told each other how it evolved that they
arrived here).
 Story of a Prayer Leader

The treasurer told the warrior that he had passed by

everyone, that is, by the place of the king with all the
people as mentioned above; only by the two of them
he did not pass, that is, by the place of the Prayer
Leader and the warrior he did not pass. The treasurer
talked with the warrior about the country that had
become so errant and so deluded in money that they
had fallen into such nonsense.

The warrior answered the treasurer that which he

had told the Prayer Leader, that he had heard from
the king that whoever has fallen into the lust of
money cannot be taken out of it by any means,
except by that way (Heb: of the sword, from where
the warrior receives his power and might) as
mentioned.

Again they extended the time, that is, the treasurer

convinced the warrior that he should give the
country yet another date. The warrior gave them
another date.

Then they made signs between themselves – the

treasurer and the warrior – and the treasurer left the
 Story of a Prayer Leader

warrior and returned to that country. (Now, the

treasurer certainly kept rebuking them severely over
their evil way in which they had become so abased
in (the desire of) money, but he could not lead them
out of it, since they were already very deeply rooted
in it. But nonetheless, since the Prayer Leader and
the treasurer had talked with them very much, they
had already become a little confused, and kept
saying, "On the contrary! Take us out of it!" Even
though they still held themselves fast in their foolish
notion, and did not want [to get] out of their
nonsense at all, nevertheless when they were
rebuked, they kept saying, "On the contrary, if it is
indeed so that we are mistaken, please take us out of
our error!")

The treasurer replied to them, "I will give you a

suggestion (against the warrior). I know the warrior's
power and from where he gets his strength." And he
told them the matter of the sword, mentioned above,
from where the warrior gets his strength. "Therefore
I will go with you to the place of the sword, and by
this you will be able to stand up against the warrior
 Story of a Prayer Leader

(for you will also get strength from there)." And the
treasurer's intention was: when they arrive at the
sword's place, they will already be (Heb. only: able
thereby to return and get) out from their money
craving (for by means of that way to sword, thereby
a person gets out of the desire for money, as
mentioned).

The country accepted his advice, and sent their

magnates, who were gods for them, and they went
together with the treasurer to sword. (And the gods,
that is, the magnates who went with the treasurer,
certainly went dressed in gold and silver jewelry,
since this was the main thing for them). So they
went together, the treasurer and the country's
magnates whom they called gods.

The treasurer informed the warrior of this thing,

inasmuch as he is going with them to seek the place
of the sword, and his intention is, maybe he will be
privileged to find on the way, the king and his
people.
 Story of a Prayer Leader

The warrior replied, "I too will go with you." The

warrior disguised himself (so that the people going
with the treasurer would not know that he himself is
the treasurer) and also went the treasurer.

They (the treasurer and the warrior) decided, they

would inform the Prayer Leader of this as well. They
informed him, and the Prayer Leader replied, he will
also go with them. The Prayer Leader went to them,
and before he went away, the Prayer Leader ordered
his people that they should pray for this, that
Hashem Yisburach should make their venture
successful; that they should merit to find the king
and his people, for the Prayer Leader used to always
pray for this, that the king and his people should be
found, and always used to order his people that they
should pray for this, and now that he wanted to go
with the treasurer and the warrior, so that they
should go together to search for the king and his
people, he urged them even more to pray for it
constantly, that they should merit to find them. The
Prayer Leader came to the treasurer and the warrior,
and there was certainly great rejoicing amongst them
 Story of a Prayer Leader

– celebration and weeping, as before. They, all three,

went together, that is, the treasurer, the warrior, and
the Prayer Leader, with the 'gods', that is, the
country's magnates (who were called 'gods' in their
country) going with them.

They went and went, and they came to a certain

country, and there were guards there standing
around the country. They asked the sentries, "What
sort of country is this, and who is your king?"

The guards replied: Inasmuch as when there was the

storm wind, at which time the world became
separated into numerous factions (i.e. into many
opinions, as each sect had a different opinion, as
mentioned), then the people of the country chose for
themselves that the main thing is wisdom, and they
took up for themselves a great sage as (a) king. Not
long ago they found quite an exceptionally great
wise man, who is an extraordinarily very great wise
man. The king relinquished the kingship to him, and
they took him up as king, since for them the main
thing was wisdom.
 Story of a Prayer Leader

The three of them (i.e. the treasurer, the warrior, and

the Prayer Leader) said that it appears that this must
be our sage (i.e. the king's sage). They asked if it
were possible to be granted an audience with him,
and they answered them, "It must be announced."
They went and announced, and he ordered them to
come in. They (i.e. the three of them) entered into
the sage, who had become king in the country. They
recognized each other, for this sage was indeed the
king's sage mentioned earlier. There was certainly
great celebration there – rejoicing and weeping, for
they wept, "How to merit to further find the king and
the others?"

They asked the sage if he knows anything about the

king's Hand. He answered them that the Hand is
with him, but since the time that they had become
dispersed by the storm wind – from that time
onward, he does not want to look at the Hand at all,
because the Hand belongs exclusively to the king.
Only, he had carved out a depiction of the Hand on a
stone, in order to use it a little for his own concern;
but upon the Hand itself he doesn't look at all.
 Story of a Prayer Leader

They discussed with the sage how he had came here,

and he told them that since the time the storm wind
happened, he went where he would go (and as he
went, he passed by everyone [Heb: of the king's
people]; only by the three of them, that is, by the
place of the Prayer Leader, the warrior, and the
treasurer he did not pass by), until the country found
him and took him up as (a) king; and now in the
meantime he must guide them according to their
way, according to their paralogisms, until later he
will lead them out to the proper truth.

They talked with the sage regarding that country that

had become so deluded about money etc., and they
said, "If we had been cast about and dispersed for
nothing more than on account of that country, in
order that we should correct them and turn them to
the truth, it would also be worth it, for they have
become so deluded." Because in truth, all the
aforementioned factions, each one had chosen its
nonsense; this one wanting honor, and this one,
murder etc. – they had all become deluded and
needed to be led out to the correct purpose, because
 Story of a Prayer Leader

even the sect that had chosen for itself that the main
thing is wisdom, they too had not reached the true
purpose, and needed to be led out from that, for they
were under the persuasion of foreign wisdoms and
heresy; however, it is easier to extract people from
all the follies, but these ones are so deluded in the
idolism of money, and are so fallen into it, that it is
impossible to extract them from it.

And the sage also replied to them, that he too had

heard from the king that it is possible to extract
someone who has fallen into any craving, but from
the craving of money it is impossible to extract,
other than by the way that there is to the sword, as
mentioned. The sage said, he too would go with
them, and all four of them, went along, and the
'gods' (i.e. the wealthy ones of the country) went
with them too.

They came to a certain country, and they also asked

the watchmen, "What sort of country is this, and
who is your king?"
 Story of a Prayer Leader

They answered them: Inasmuch as there had been

the storm wind, the people of this country chose for
themselves then, that the main purpose is speech.
They took up an eloquent talker as (a) king. Later
they found an extremely superb bard and orator;
they accepted him as (a) king, because the king
relinquished the kingdom to him because he is so
eloquent.

They realized, "This surely must be our king's

orator." They also asked if it were possible to be
granted an audience with the king.

They answered them, "We must announce it." They

announced it, and he ordered that they should come
in.

They entered to the king, and it was the king's

orator. They recognized each other, and there was
also great rejoicing and weeping between them.

The orator also went with them, and they went

further in search; maybe they would find the rest of
them, for they saw that Hashem Yisburach was
 Story of a Prayer Leader

helping them; (so that) they repeatedly find their

friends. And they attributed all this to the merit of
their kosher Prayer Leader who is always praying
for this, and through his prayers they were privileged
to always find their friends. They went onward;
maybe they will additionally find the others.

They went and came to a certain country, and they

also asked, "What sort of country is this, and who is
your king?"

They answered them, that they are of the faction that

had chosen for itself that the main goal is to go
drunk and be happy. They had taken up for
themselves some drunkard as (a) king, because he is
always happy, but later they found a man sitting in
an ocean of wine, and they were very much more
pleased with him, because this is certainly a very big
drunkard, for he is seated in a sea of wine. They took
him up as (a) king.

They also asked for an audience with him, and they

[the guards] went and announced it. They went in to
the king, and this was the king's faithful friend who
 Story of a Prayer Leader

had been sitting in the sea of wine that had come

about from the talk of the orator who consoles them,
as mentioned. (And the countrymen figured that he
is a great drunk since he sits in a sea of wine, so they
took him up as (a) king.) When they went in to him,
they recognized each other, and there was great
rejoicing and weeping between them, as before. And
the faithful friend went with them as well.

They went onward and came to a certain country.

They asked the watchmen, "Who is your king?"

They answered that their king is a beautiful woman,

insofar as she leads to the goal, because the goal is
habitation of the world (i.e. that the world should be
inhabited with people, as mentioned). And initially
they had a beautiful woman as a queen; then they
found a beauty who is a very exceptional beauty,
and they accepted her as (a) queen.

They realized, this must surely be the queen's

daughter. They also asked for an audience with her,
and they went and announced, and they entered in to
the queen and recognized that this is the queen's
 Story of a Prayer Leader

daughter herself. And the rejoicing that was there is

certainly unimaginable. They asked, "How have you
come here?"

She told them that after the storm wind happened

and had snatched away the dear (boy-) child out of
the crib as mentioned, immediately in that frantic
moment, she ran after the child but did not find him.
The milk pressured her, and from this the sea of milk
came about. Then the country found her and
accepted her as king over them. And there was a
great celebration there.

But they also wept abundantly over the dear (boy-)

child who is not there, and over her father and
mother whom she [the queen's daughter] doesn't
know of (their wellbeing). But now already the
country has a king too, because the husband of the
queen's daughter, who had become queen here, is
already here – for the warrior himself is her husband
– so now the country had a king.

The queen's daughter asked the Prayer Leader, for

the time being, to go in her country and purify them
 Story of a Prayer Leader

a little, (meanwhile,) of their repulsive vice, because

since for them the main purpose was a beautiful
woman, they were certainly very defiled and deep in
their lust, therefore she asked the Prayer Leader to
meanwhile go purify them of it, in the meantime (i.e.
he should tell them mussar so that they should not be
so deep in this craving of promiscuity), so that they
should not be so crude in this vice, because beyond
it being a craving, moreover it was like a faith for
them, that this is the goal (because all of the factions
that had each chosen its bad thing as the purpose, as
mentioned – for each of them the objective was just
as a creed, that this is the purpose), therefore she
asked the Prayer Leader to go and purify them a
little, in the meantime.

Afterwards, they all went searching for the others.

They went and came to a certain country, and also
asked, "Who is your king?"

They answered them that their king is a one year old,

for they are from the faction that had chosen for
themselves that whoever has an abundance of food,
and is not nourished from what other people eat – he
 Story of a Prayer Leader

should be made (a) king. They temporarily accepted

a wealthy man as king. Then they found a man who
was sitting in a sea of milk, and they were
exceptionally pleased with him, because this man
was nourished his whole life from milk, and was not
nourished from what other people eat, therefore they
took him up as (a) king. And for that reason he is
called a "one-year-old," since he lives on milk like a
one year old. They realized that this is surely their
child. They requested an audience with him, and
they went and announced. They entered in to him
and they recognized each other, for he also
recognized them, even though he was only a little
child when he was snatched away – nevertheless,
because he was a mature sage since his birth, since
he was born with great wisdom as mentioned,
therefore he recognized them, and they of course
recognized him. There was certainly a very great
celebration there, albeit they still wept that that they
did not know of the king and the queen. And they
asked him, "How did you get here?"
 Story of a Prayer Leader

He told them that when the storm wind had snatched

him away, it carried him away where it carried him,
and he was there in that place, and sustained himself
with what he found there, until he came to the sea of
milk. He understood that this sea was certainly made
from his mother's milk, for the milk certainly
pressured her, and that is how the sea came about.
He settled there on the sea of milk, and was
nourished by the milk until these countrymen came
and took him up as (a) king.

Then they went onward and came to a country. And

they asked, "Who is your king?"

And they replied that they had chosen for

themselves that murder is the goal. They accepted a
certain murderer as king, then they found a woman
sitting in a sea of blood, so they took her up as king,
because they saw that she is surely a very great
murderer since she is seated in an ocean of blood.
They also asked for an audience with her, and they
went and announced. They entered in to her, and this
was the aforementioned queen who keeps crying
constantly, and her tears come to be the sea of blood
 Story of a Prayer Leader

mentioned. They recognized each other, and there

was certainly a very great celebration there, albeit
they still wept that they still did not know of the
king.

They went onward and came to a certain country.

They asked, "Who is your king?"

They replied that they had chosen for themselves as

a king, a certain honorable person (i.e. a person who
has honor, as mentioned), because for them the main
purpose is honor. Then they found sitting in a field,
an old man wearing a crown on his head. They were
very pleased with him, for he is a dignitary, for he
sits in a field adorned with a crown, and they
accepted him as king. They realized that this is
certainly their king himself, and they also asked if it
was possible to have an audience with him. They
went and announced, and they entered in to him and
recognized that he is the king himself. And the
rejoicing that was there, is certainly inconceivable
(in the mind). And the foolish 'gods' (i.e. the very
wealthy ones from the land of riches who went with
them) were traveling with them, and for the life of
 Story of a Prayer Leader

themselves, they knew absolutely nothing about

what was happening, why there is so much
happiness here.

And now the entire holy community [kibbutz] was

recovered, and had gathered united together, that is,
the king and the holy people. They sent the Prayer
Leader to all the countries (i.e. the countries of all
the factions that had each chosen for itself a bad
thing as a goal, as mentioned) to correct them and
purify them; to lead them out of their error, each
country out of its vice and its nonsense, for they had
all become deluded, as mentioned, and now the
Prayer Leader certainly had the power to go to them,
and turn them around to the right way, for he had
received power and permission from the kings of all
the lands, since here were all their kings, as
mentioned (because the king and his people who had
come together – they all were the kings of all the
lands of the factions mentioned above). The Prayer
Leader went with their power to purify them, and
bring them back in teshuva (repentance).
 Story of a Prayer Leader

The warrior spoke with the king regarding the

country that is so fallen into the idolism of money.
The warrior said to the king, "I heard from you that
through the way that I have to the Sword – through
it, it is possible to extract someone who has fallen
into the idolism of money."

The king answered him, "Yes, it is so." The king

told the warrior (the thing, how one can take them
out of the craving of money through that way):
"Inasmuch as on the way where he goes to the
Sword there is a way on the side; by this way one
comes to a fiery mountain, and on this mountain
crouches a lion. And the lion, when he needs to eat,
goes and falls upon the flocks, and takes for himself
sheep and cattle, and eats them up. And the
shepherds know of this, and guard the sheep
intensely from him, yet the lion does not pay any
attention to this – just whenever he wants to eat, he
falls on the flocks, and the shepherds bang, and
strike, and storm at him, the lion however, does not
hear this at all, he just takes sheep and cattle for
himself, and roars, and eats them. And the mountain
 Story of a Prayer Leader

of fire is entirely invisible (in other words, there is a

mountain of fire there, only, one does not see it).

"And moreover, from the side there is yet another

way; with this way one comes to a place called
'Kech' (Kitchen). And there in that kitchen there are
all sorts of food, and in the kitchen there is no fire
whatsoever; rather, the foods are cooked by way of
the fiery mountain mentioned above. And the fiery
mountain is very far from there, but channels and
pipes go from the fiery mountain to the kitchen, and
thereby all the foods are cooked. And the kitchen too
is not at all visible, but there is a sign (-indication):
there are birds standing there on the kitchen, and
through them one knows that the kitchen is there.
And the birds hover with their wings, and they
thereby kindle the fire, that is, by the birds' flapping,
they blow on, and inflame the fire, and also by their
very flapping, they put out the fire, so that the fire
should not flame too strongly, more than necessary;
and they blow on the fire according to what is
necessary for the foods, that is, for one food, such a
fire is needed, and for another food, a different fire
 Story of a Prayer Leader

is needed – all according to the food, so the birds

blow on the fire." (The king told all this to the
warrior).

"Therefore lead them (i.e. these people from the land

of riches who are 'gods', there) first against the wind,
so that the smell of the foods should get to them.
Then when you give them from the foods, they will
surely cast away already, the craving for money."
The warrior did so, and took these people, that is, the
magnates from the land of riches who are gods in
their country, who came here with the treasurer, as
mentioned. Now, when they left their country with
the treasurer, the countrymen gave them power that
whatever they do shall be done, and the whole
country must abide by whatever they do.

The warrior took the people and led them on the way
(which the king told him, as mentioned), and he
brought them up until the kitchen where the foods
are. And first he led them against the wind, and the
smell of the foods wafted over to them, and they
began to beg him intensely to give them from those
good foods. Then he led them (away) from the wind,
 Story of a Prayer Leader

and they began to scream, "It stinks terribly!" He

again brought them against the wind, and again the
good smell of the foods reached them, and again
they begged intensely that he should give them from
the foods, then he led them again (away) from the
wind, and they again began to scream, "It stinks
outrageously!"

The warrior responded to them, "Don't you see that

there is nothing whatsoever here that stinks. It must
certainly be that you yourselves stink, for here, there
is nothing that has a bad odor."

Then he gave them from the foods. As soon as they

ate of these foods, they immediately began to cast
away (from themselves) their money, and each one
dug for himself a grave and buried himself in the pit
due to the great disgrace that they were so ashamed
of themselves, because they felt that money stinks
intensely (Heb. only: which smells like actual feces)
because they had tasted of the foods. And they
scratched their faces, and buried themselves, and
could not lift their faces at all, and each one was
ashamed in front of the other (because such is the
 Story of a Prayer Leader

special power [segulah] of the foods, that whoever

eats of the foods is very repulsed by money) because
there in that place money is the greatest disgrace of
all disgraces, and when someone wants to say
something derogatory about another, he spits out at
him, "You have money!" for money there, is a huge
embarrassment, and the more money someone has,
the more he is ashamed, therefore they buried
themselves out of great disgrace, and each of them
was unable to lift his face even in front of the other;
even more so, in front of the warrior. And whoever
still found by him any gilden (-dinar) or grush (-
penny), would rid himself of it immediately, and
throw it away (from himself).

Then the warrior came to them and took them out of

their pits that they had dug for themselves there out
of disgrace, and he said to them, "Come with me,
because now you need no longer have any fear of
the warrior, for I myself am the warrior!"

They begged the warrior to give them from the foods

(in order) to bring into their country, because they
themselves would surely despise money already,
 Story of a Prayer Leader

however, they wanted that the whole country should

get out of this lust of money. The warrior gave them
from these foods, and they brought the foods into
their country, and as soon as they gave them from
these foods, they all immediately began to cast away
their money, and buried themselves in the earth out
of shame; and the very wealthy and the gods were
most ashamed, but even the lesser people who were
called 'animals' and 'birds' by them, were also
ashamed for having been so little in their own eyes
until now because they had no money, because now
they knew that on the contrary, it's just the opposite:
money is the main disgrace. For these foods have
such an effect (segula), that whoever eats from these
foods, very much detests money, for he feels the
stench of money exactly like feces. They all cast
away their money, and their gold and silver. Then
they sent them the Prayer Leader, and he gave them
teshuvos (- ways to make amends and return to HY)
and tikkunim (- rectifications), and he cleansed
them. And the king became king over the entire
world, and the entire world returned to G-d, Blessed
is He, and they were involved only in Torah, prayer,
 Story of a Prayer Leader

teshuvah, and good deeds. Amen, may it so be His

Will, Blessed is Hashem for eternity, amen and
amen.

[Notes Following the Story]

The verse states that Hashem Yisburach has an oven
in one place, and fire in a different place, distant
from the oven, as written [Isa. 31:9], "Says Hashem,
Whose fire is in Zion and His oven in Jerusalem;"
see there the entire chapter, which speaks of this
whole story. "Woe to those who descend to Egypt
for assistance, and rely on horses … (verse 3)
However Egypt is man and not G-d, and their
horses, flesh and not spirit" – alluding to the
country, the land of riches, that they relied upon to
save them, for according to their mistaken beliefs
they considered them all gods, and their horses
angels, as explained above in the story; see there.
This is why the verse concludes, "and (-however)
Egypt is man and not G-d, and their horses are flesh
and not spirit etc." understand this.
"And Hashem will stretch out (/turn) His hand, and
the helper and the helped will stumble and fall; and
 Story of a Prayer Leader

together they will all perish." This alludes to the

Hand, for on the Hand they saw that both would
perish together, the helper and the helped, as
mentioned.
"Like the growling of the lion and the young lion
over his prey, which a band of shepherds is called
forth against it etc. (verse 4), Like flying birds (verse
5)"- this alludes to the lion and the birds mentioned.
Take a good look above inside the story and
understand. "For on that day each man will detest his
silver idols and gold idols etc.. (verse 7)"
"And Assyria shall fall by the sword not of man…
and shall flee from the sword (verse 8)… and his
rock shall become weak from fear (verse 9)," this
alludes to the three powers of the sword in the story.
'And he will fall,' 'and he will flee' allude to two of
the powers, 'and his rock will become weak from
fear,' alludes to the illness of dahr, where one's
strength and power wither and disappear, for 'his
rock' refers to their strength; this alludes to the third
power of the sword. Take a good look and
understand.
 Story of a Prayer Leader

Then the verse (9) concludes, "says Hashem, Whose

fire is in Zion and an oven He has (/for it) in
Jerusalem," these are the oven and fire in the story.
Look, and see, and understand how this chapter
explains the entire story. (All the above were the
Rebbe's words.) And Rabbainu of blessed memory
said this explicitly, that the entire story from
beginning to end is alluded to in its entirety in this
chapter [i.e. Isa. 31], and he said that all the ideas of
the story, all of them can be found in the Scriptures
and so forth.
[e.g. "You shall render impure the plating of your
silver graven idols and the adornments of your
golden molten idols, disperse and estrange them like
a menstruating woman, proclaim on it expulsion
(Isa. 30:22)." And similarly the verse, "On that day
[the] man will throw away his silver gods and his
gold gods etc. to the deep ditches etc. to come into
the crevices of the rocks etc. (Isa. 2:20-21)," that is
they will throw away the desire for money which is
actual idolatry, and they will hide themselves in
ditches etc., as is explained in the story, because
 Story of a Prayer Leader

money stinks like actual excrement, as it is written,

"You will disperse and estrange them as a
menstruating woman, proclaiming on it expulsion
['tzay' – go out, is the same root as 'tzoah'
excrement]." And so forth one can find all
phenomena of the story in the Scriptures and so
forth.]
But the integral story in its entirety was said on the
aforementioned chapter, for there it is all explained
and alluded to entirely. However, we do not know
how, beyond what the Rebbe revealed to us
explicitly (i.e. what is explained above). But the rest
of the story's events we did not merit to perceive
how they are hinted in that chapter, however, he
stated explicitly that the entire story is alluded to
there.
The order of the king and his men is as follows: The
Prayer Leader and the warrior; the treasurer and the
sage; the orator and the faithful friend; the queen's
daughter and her child; the king and the queen (t.n.
the queen and the king). That is their order, and they
correspond to 'the World of Rectification'. And they
 Story of a Prayer Leader

are ten concepts, but they are not reckoned in order,

that is, these ten are not reckoned according to the
order explained in books of kabbalah. But there are
hidden factors. It is also explained in the books, that
when the influx of one attribute passes through
another attribute, when the influx tarries there, then
it is named after that attribute. That is, the (hosting)
attribute in which tarrying in it is the influx of
another attribute which is passing through it, is
called by the name of the attribute from which that
influx is coming. And because of this the order here
is different. There are also other elements involved,
which are elucidated to those proficiently adept in
the books. The Rebbe of blessed memory said all
this explicitly. I also understood from his words, that
the death and rectification of the kings [t.n.
enumerated at the end of Parshas VaYishlach,
referring to the destruction and reconstruction of the
worlds which took place before the aforementioned
'World of Rectification'] are alluded to in this story,
although neither the aspect of the destruction, nor
the aspect of the rectification are mentioned in the
 Story of a Prayer Leader

order of the ten aspects mentioned above, for the

reasons and factors mentioned above.
But the matters are still hidden and sealed, because
the secret of the story he did not reveal at all; he
only enlightened our eyes with the verses and ideas
above, so that we should know that there are very
great and awesome hidden secrets in the story. But
we do not know the extent. Fortunate is one who
merits to understand a bit of the secrets of these
stories explained in this book, because they are all
extremely wondrous and awesome novelties, "Deep,
deep, who can find it out? [Eccl. 7:24]," "What shall
we say... what shall we speak [Gen. 44:16]," "Who
has heard such a thing? Who has seen such a thing?
[Isa. 66:8]."
 Story of the Seven Beggars

Story 13

(Started on the night of the holy Sabbath of the

Torah Portion of Shmeenee, 25 Adar II, 5570)
What do you know how to rejoice out of
depression?
I will tell you how people once were happy.
A tale. Once there was a king who had an only son.
The king wanted to transfer the kingdom to his son
during his lifetime, so he threw a grand party (which
is called a 'ball'). Now, when the king throws a ball,
there is certainly great merriment, so especially now
that he had transferred the kingdom to his son during
his lifetime, there was certainly a very grand
celebration. And there at the ball, were all the royal
officers, and all the dukes, and gentry. And it was
very merry at the ball. And the country also had
 Story of the Seven Beggars

enjoyment from this, that the king is transferring the

kingdom to his son in his lifetime, since it a great
honor for the king. So a very great celebration took
place there, and there were all types of festivities
there: music bands ('kappelliess'), and comedies, and
so forth, as well as anything that is used just for
merriment, it was all there at the ball.

And when they had already become very merry, the

king got up and said to his son, "Being that I am a
stargazer, I see that you will at some time descend
from the kingship, therefore see to it that you have
no sadness (i.e. no grief) when you descend from
your reign, instead you should be happy; and if you
will be happy, I will also be happy. Even if you will
have sadness, I will still be happy that you are not
king, since you are not fit to be king if you cannot
keep yourself happy (in other words, if you are the
kind of man that you cannot keep yourself happy
even when you fall from your reign, then you aren't
fit to be any sort of king); but when you will be
happy, then I will be extraordinarily happy.
 Story of the Seven Beggars

The king's son took up the reign very sharply and

appointed his own royal ministers, and he had dukes,
and ministers, and soldiers. Now, this son of the
king was a wise man and loved wisdom very much,
and there were very great intellectuals by him. And
whoever came to him with some sort of wisdom,
was very esteemed by him, and he would grant them
honor and riches for their wisdom. Whatever each
one wanted, he gave him: one wanted money – he
gave him money; another wanted honor – he gave
him honor; anything for wisdom. And because
studying was so important to him, they all took to
wisdom, and the entire country was occupied with
wisdoms, because this one desired money – in order
to get money for it, and that one desired status and
honor. And because all of them were busy only with
wisdoms, therefore they all forgot there, in that
country, the strategies of war (in other words, how to
wage war), for they were all busy exclusively with
wisdoms, to such a degree that the smallest person in
that country was (-would be) the greatest sage in
another country, while their own wise men were
utterly phenomenal scholars. And on account of
 Story of the Seven Beggars

their wisdoms, those wise men of the country fell

into heresy, and drew the son of the king too into
their heresy, albeit the simple folk were not harmed
and did not become disbelievers. For there was great
depth and subtlety in the sages' wisdom – so the
common folk were not able to enter into their
wisdoms; therefore it did not harm them – only the
wise men, and the king's son became heretics.

And the king's son, because there was good in him,

for he was born with goodness and had good
character traits, would frequently remind himself,
"Where in the world am I? What am I doing?" etc.
and would make a very big groan, and sigh deeply
over it. He would ponder, "How is it possible I
should be carried away with such things?! What is
going on with me? Where am I in this world?" as he
kept sighing intensely. However, as soon as he
began to use his intellect, again the heretical
philosophy became strong by him. This happened
numerous times, that he would still contemplate
where in the world he is, what he is doing, etc. as
above, with groaning and sighing, but as soon as he
 Story of the Seven Beggars

began to use his intellect, the heretical belief became

strong by him again, as above.

And the day came to pass, there was a flight in a

certain country – everyone fled, and as they were
fleeing, they went through a forest, losing two
children there, a male and a female; someone lost a
male, and someone lost a female. And they were still
little children of four or five years. The children had
nothing to eat, they screamed and cried because they
didn't have anything to eat. Meanwhile, there came
up to them a beggar, going along with his sacks
(which are called 'torbes'), carrying bread in them,
and these children started to cling to him and bond
with him. He gave them bread and they ate. He
asked them, "From where have you come here?"

They answered him, "We don't know," for they were

little children. And he started going away from
them, and they asked him to take them with him.

He said to them, "This I do not want, that you should

go with me." Meanwhile they took a look – the
beggar is blind! It was a marvel to them: since he is
 Story of the Seven Beggars

blind, how does he know how to go? (And in truth,

this itself is a novelty, that such a question occurred
to them, for they were still young children.
However, they were clever children; therefore it was
a wonder to them.) He (this blind beggar) blessed
them, "You should be as I am; you should be as old
as I," and he left them more bread, and went away.
And the children understood that Hashem Yisburach
was watching over them, and had sent them here a
blind beggar to give them food.

Afterwards the bread ran out (by them), and again

they started screaming for food. Then it became
night, and they passed the night there. In the
morning they still had nothing to eat, so they
screamed and cried. Meanwhile, again a beggar
came, who was deaf; they started to talk to him, and
he showed them with his hands, and said to them, "I
hear nothing whatsoever." And this beggar also gave
them bread to eat, and started to leave them. They
also wanted him to take them with him, but he did
not want. And he too blessed them, "That you
 Story of the Seven Beggars

should be as I am!" and also left them bread, and

went his way.

Later on the bread also ran out by them, and again

they screamed as above. Again a beggar came to
them who was inarticulate (i.e. he stammered with
his mouth). They began to speak with him, and he
mumbled his words, so they didn't know what he
was saying, and he did know what they were saying,
only they did not know what he was saying, because
he stammered. This beggar also gave them bread to
eat, and also started to go away, and also blessed
them that they should be like him, and went away, as
above. Then there came again a beggar who had a
crooked neck, and also the same transpired as
before. Then there came again a beggar who was
hunchbacked (who is called a 'hoykeyr'). Then there
came again a beggar without hands. Then there came
a beggar without feet. And each one of them gave
them bread and blessed them that they should be like
him, just as the other beggars as mentioned above.

Afterwards the bread yet again ran out by them, and

they started walking toward a settlement, until they
 Story of the Seven Beggars

came to a road. They went with that road until they

came to a village. They (these children) went into a
house, and they had pity on them, and gave them
bread. They continued into another house, and there
they gave them bread as well, so they kept going
around into houses, and saw it was good, to be given
bread. The children decided between them that they
should always be together, and they made for
themselves large sacks (which are called 'torbes')
and went around to the houses, and went to all happy
occasions, to circumcisions, and to weddings. And
they continued further along, going into cities, to the
houses; and went to market fairs, and would sit
among the beggars, in the same way they sit there on
the banks of earth ['prizbes'] with a plate for
collecting alms ['teller'], until these children became
famous already among all the beggars, since they all
recognized them and knew of them; that they were
the children who had been lost in the forest as
mentioned.

One time there was a big fair in a big city, and all
the beggars went there, and the children also went
 Story of the Seven Beggars

there. It occurred to the beggars that they should

match the children; that they should marry each
other. And as soon as they started to discuss it, they
were all very pleased with it, and they made the
match. But how can they make them a wedding?
They came to the decision, inasmuch as on such and
such a day the king would have his birthday feast
(which is called a 'myenines' [-Slavic myena – name,
lit. 'name day']), all the beggars would go there, and
from what they would request for themselves there,
meat and bread, they would make a wedding. And so
it was; all the beggars went to the myenines and
begged meat and bread for themselves, and also
collected what was left over from the banquet, meat,
and bread which is called kolitch [big loaves special
for celebrations]. And they went ahead and dug out a
big trench which could hold a hundred people, and
covered it with sticks, earth, and trash. And they all
went inside and made a wedding there for the
children. Setting up a chuppa (wedding canopy) for
them, and they were very, very happy there; and the
groom and bride were also extremely happy. The
groom and bride began to recall the kindness
 Story of the Seven Beggars

Hashem Yisburach had done for them when they

were in the forest, and started crying and yearning
greatly, "How can the first beggar, the blind one,
who brought us bread in the forest, be brought
here?"

First Day
And just as they were longing very much after the
blind beggar, meanwhile he [Heb. only:
immediately] called out, "I am here. I have come to
you for the wedding, and I'm presenting you with a
wedding-discourse present (which is called a
'drashah geshenk'), that you should be old as I. For
previously I had blessed you with this, that you
should be old as I; now I present it to you as an
absolute gift, drashah geshenk, that you should live
as long as I. You think that I am blind, I am not
blind at all, except [Heb: all the time of] the whole
world does not amount by me to the blink of an eye
(thus he appears blind, for he doesn't peek into the
world whatsoever, even as a blink of an eye,
therefore no vision nor any glimpse of the world at
all, is relevant to him), because I am very old, and I
 Story of the Seven Beggars

am yet entirely young and have not yet begun to live

at all – but I am still very old. And it is not I alone
that says this, rather, I have an approbation on this
from the great eagle. I will tell you a story. (All this
the blind beggar said).

"One time there were people traveling on many

ships on the sea. A storm wind came and broke the
ships, and the people were saved. The people came
to a tower; they ascended the tower and they found
there all kinds of food, drink, clothing, and whatever
one needs, and everything good was there, and all
the delights of the world. They spoke up and said
that each one should tell an old story – what he
remembers from his first memory, that is, what he
remembers since his memory began. There were old
and young people there, and they honored the oldest
one among them to tell over first.

"He answered and said, 'What shall I tell you? I

remember back when they cut the apple off the
branch.' No one at all knew what he was saying,
however there were wise men there, and they said,
'Oowa! – that is a totally old story.' Then they
 Story of the Seven Beggars

honored the second elder, who was younger than the

first, that he should tell over. The second one
replied, 'That there is an old story?! (expressing
wonder) I remember that story, but I remember back
even when the candle was burning.' Those who were
there replied, 'That story there is older yet than the
first,' and it was a marvel to them that the second is
younger than the first, and remembers an older story
than the first. Then they honored the third elder, that
he should tell over. The third one, who was younger
yet, spoke up saying, 'I remember back even when
the construction of the fruit was just beginning;
when the fruit was just starting to become a fruit.'
They answered there, 'This is an even older story.'
Then the fourth spoke up, who was even yet
younger, 'I remember back even when they were
bringing the seed (so as) to plant the fruit.'

"The fifth answered, who was yet younger, 'I recall

even the sages who thought up, and brought out the
seed.' The sixth, who was even yet younger, called
out, 'I recall even the taste of the fruit before the
taste entered into the fruit.' The seventh called out, 'I
 Story of the Seven Beggars

recall even the smell of the fruit before the smell

entered the fruit.' The eighth answered and said, 'I
remember even the appearance of the fruit before it
went upon the fruit.'

"And I (i.e. the blind beggar who is telling all this)

was at the time just a child, and I too was there, and
I announced, 'I remember all these stories – and I
remember absolutely nothing.'

"They replied, 'That is a story entirely older than all

of them,' and it was a great marvel to them, that the
child remembers more than all of them.

"In the midst of this came a great eagle, and knocked

on the tower, and said to them, 'Cease being poor!
Return to your treasures, and use your treasures,' and
he said to them that they should go out from the
tower by age; whoever is oldest should go out first.
He took them all out from the tower, removing the
child first, for truthfully he is older than all of them,
and likewise whoever was younger, he brought out
first, and the oldest elder he brought out at the very
end, because the one who was younger was in fact
 Story of the Seven Beggars

older (because the younger he was, the older a story

he told over), and the oldest elder was younger than
all of them.

"The great eagle said to them, 'I will explain to you,

all the stories that everyone told over. The one who
told over that he remembers back when they cut the
apple off the branch, means: he remembers back
even when they severed his navel (i.e. even what
happened to him immediately as soon as he was
born – when they severed his umbilical cord – even
this he remembers); and the second, who said that he
remembers back even when the candle was burning,
means: he remembers back even when he was in the
uterus, when a candle burns over one's head (for it
says in the Talmud, that when a child is in the
mother's womb, a candle burns over his head etc.);
and he who said that he remembers back even when
the fruit began to form, this is: he remembers back
even when his body began to take form, when the
fetus was only beginning to take form. And the one
who remembers back when they were bringing the
seed to plant the fruit, this is: he remembers back
 Story of the Seven Beggars

even when the droplet was being drawn down [Heb.

only: during relations]. And he who remembers the
sages bringing out the seed, means, he remembers
back even when the droplet was still in the brain (for
the brain emits the droplet). And the one who
remembers the taste – it is the nefesh (lowermost
soul – vital lifeforce); and the smell – it is the ruach
(middle soul - spirit); and the appearance – it is the
neshamah (uppermost soul – intelligence). And the
child said that he remembers absolutely nothing,
because he is greater than all of them, and
remembers even what he was prior to nefesh, ruach,
and neshamah; thus he said he recalls absolute
nothingness. (In other words, he recalls not existing
at all; he remembers even what was happening there,
which is highest of all).

"And the great eagle said to them, 'Return to your

ships, which are your bodies which have been
broken and will be rebuilt; now return to them,' and
he blessed them. And to me (i.e. the blind beggar
[who was a child then] who is telling all this) the
great eagle said, 'You come with me, for you are like
 Story of the Seven Beggars

me, for you are very old and completely young, and
haven't at all started to live, and are yet nonetheless
very old. And I am like that too, for I am very old
and still very young etc..' It comes out that I have a
testimonial from the great eagle, that I am very old
and completely young, etc.. Now I present it to you
as an absolute gift, drasha geshenk, that you should
be as old as I." There was a great celebration there
with great jubilation, and they were extremely
happy.

Second Day
On the following day, of the seven days of mishteh
[celebration, lit. drinking], the groom-bride [-Heb:
couple] again thought back about the other beggar,
who was deaf, who had given them vitality and had
given them bread. And they were crying and
longing, "How can the deaf beggar, who kept us
alive, be brought here?" Meanwhile, as they were
longing after him, he came in and said, "I am here!"
And he fell upon them, kissed them, and said to
them, "Today I present to you as a gift, that you
should be as I am, that you should live as good a life
 Story of the Seven Beggars

as I do. Because previously I had blessed you with

this, today I give you my good life, as an absolute
gift, drasha geshenk [wedding-discourse present].
You think that I am deaf. I am not deaf at all, except
that the whole world does not matter to me
whatsoever – that I should hear their lacking. For
each and every voice in the world is only about
needs, since everybody screams about his
deficiency, that is, what he hasn't got; and even all
the world's celebrations are all exclusively about
deficiencies, the rejoicing over that which he did not
have, whereas now he has what he didn't have. And
by me the entire world does not amount to anything
whatsoever, that I should hear their deficiency, for I
live such a good life that has absolutely no lacking
whatsoever. And I have an attestation of this, that I
live a good life, from the land of wealth." And his
good life was: he ate bread and drank water.

(He told them): "Inasmuch as there is a land where

there is great wealth – they have enormous fortunes
– one time the wealthy people gathered together and
each one began to boast of his good life – how he
 Story of the Seven Beggars

lives such a good life – and each one described the

routine of his good life.

"I spoke up and said to them (i.e. the deaf beggar

who is telling all this), 'I live a better good life than
you, and this is the proof – for if you live the good
life, help out that country – for there is a country
where they had a garden, and in the garden were
fruits which had all kinds of tastes in the world, and
all kinds of scents in the world; also there in the
garden were all kinds of sights of every color, and
all the pleasant flowers ('kweyatin') of the world –
everything was there in the garden. And over the
garden was a gardener ('agradnik'; i.e. someone who
sees to the garden), and the people of the country
would live a good life through the garden. The
gardener there got lost, and naturally, whatever there
is in the garden must surely cease to exist since the
gardener in no longer there to see to the garden, and
go about with what needs to be done around the
garden. But despite this, they would have been able
to live from the garden's untended growth (that is
from the regrowth, that is, what grows in a garden
 Story of the Seven Beggars

by itself, from that which falls down). A cruel (in

other words, merciless) king came (imposing
himself) over the country and could do nothing
against them, so he went and spoiled the country's
good life that they had from the garden; it was not
that he spoiled the garden, rather he left behind in
the country three crews of slaves, and commanded
them to do what he ordered them, and by doing there
what the king ordered them, they ruined the taste, for
through what they did there, they made it that
whoever wanted to sense a taste, it would have the
taste of rotten carcass, and similarly they ruined the
smell, so that all the scents would have the scent of
galbanum ('chelbinnu'), and similarly they destroyed
the appearance, for they made it be dark in the eyes
just like when it's cloudy. (All this the three crews of
slaves accomplished in the country, by doing there
what the king ordered them, as mentioned.) Now, if
you live the good life, let me see if you can help out
that country. (All of this the deaf beggar said to the
land of wealth which had bragged that they live the
good life, as mentioned.) And I say to you, if you
won't help them out, it will harm you too (i.e. that
 Story of the Seven Beggars

which the appearance, taste, and smell in that

country were ruined, this will also reach you).'

"The rich men mentioned above, got up to go to that

country, and I went with them too, and on the way
they lived their good life, each his own, for they had
fortunes as mentioned. When they came near to the
country, the taste and the other things began to spoil
by them too, they felt [Heb: in themselves] that it
had become spoiled by them. I spoke up to them,
'Just consider – if now, when you have not yet
entered the country, the taste, appearance, and scent
have already become spoiled for you, how will it be
when you go in? And all the more so, how can you
still help them?' I took my bread and water, and gave
(them to) them. They felt in my bread and water all
the tastes (and all the scents etc.) and it was set right
by them that which had been ruined by them (i.e. the
taste, appearance, and smell).

"And the other country, that is, the country where

the garden was (where the taste etc. had been ruined,
as mentioned), started to look around to repair the
country's ruined taste and so forth. They came to a
 Story of the Seven Beggars

decision: inasmuch as there is a land of wealth (i.e.

that very land mentioned above with whom the
beggar had spoken, as mentioned), it seemed to them
(i.e. the country where the garden was, found
appealing) that their gardener who became lost
(through whom they had lived the good life), is from
the same root as [Heb: the people of] the land of
riches who also live the good life; therefore they
liked the idea that they should send off to the land of
wealth – they will surely help them! They did so,
and sent messengers to the land of wealth. The
messengers went, and they encountered each other
(i.e. the emissaries came up against the people of
that very land of riches on the way, for the land of
wealth themselves wanted to go to them, as
mentioned). They asked the messengers, 'Where are
you going?'

"They answered, 'We are going to the land of

wealth, so that they will help us.'

"They spoke up, 'We ourselves are that rich country,

and we are going to you.'
 Story of the Seven Beggars

"I (i.e. the deaf beggar who is telling all this) spoke
up to them, 'Don't you need me? For you cannot go
there and help them,' as mentioned above (because
when they only so much as came near the country
they themselves were already affected; all the more
so when etc., as mentioned). 'Therefore you stay
here, and I will go with the emissaries to help them.'

"I went with the emissaries, arrived at the country,

and entered a city. I saw people coming, and one of
them said a vehrtil (wisecrack), and then more
people came up, until a small crowd was formed,
and they said vehrtlich (wisecracks), and they
laughed. I listened up to what they were
schmoozing, and heard them speaking obscene
language. This one said a quip of foul speech (/dirty
joke), and that one spoke a little more subtle, and
this one laughed, and that one had enjoyment, and so
forth, as is their way. Later, I went further to another
city (of that country) and saw two people fighting
with each other on account of some business deal.
They went to the courthouse to bring suit, and the
court decided for them: this one is entitled, and that
 Story of the Seven Beggars

one is obligated – and they went out from the court.

Afterwards, they again bickered with each other, and
said that they no longer want this courthouse – they
only want another courthouse – and they chose for
themselves another courthouse, and brought their
case before the other courthouse. Afterwards, one of
them again got into an argument with someone else,
and again they selected a different courthouse, and
so they fought on and on there, this one with that
one, and that one with this one, always choosing a
different court, until the entire city was filled with
courthouses. I took a look and saw that this was due
to their being no truth there; now, this one tilts the
verdict and favors this one (in other words, he
curries favor with him, and decides in his favor), and
later the other favors him (in other words, later the
other decides in his favor in return), for they take
bribery, and they have no truth there.

"Afterwards, I saw that they are full of adultery, and

there are so many illicit relations there, that it has
already become like an altogether permissible thing
for them. And I said to them that on account of this,
 Story of the Seven Beggars

the taste, the smell, and the vision were ruined for
them, because the aforementioned cruel king had
unleashed on them the three aforementioned groups
of slaves so that they should go and ruin the country:
since they went around and spoke obscene language
among them, bringing foul speech into the country,
and through obscene language the result was that the
taste was ruined, so that all the tastes had the same
flavor as rotten carcass; and likewise they brought
bribery into the country, and through this their vision
was ruined and their eyes became darkened, for so it
states [Exodus 23:8, Deut. 16:19], 'because the
bribery blinds the eyes of the wise,' in other words,
bribery makes the eyes blind; and similarly the
slaves brought lechery into the country, and through
this the smell was ruined, for lechery results in
ruined smell (and look in another place in our words
[Likutay Moharan II 1:12] that lechery blemishes
one's smell); therefore you should see that you repair
the country from these three sins, and seek after
these people (i.e. the slaves who brought the three
sins into the country, as mentioned), and drive them
out. And when you do so, and purge the country
 Story of the Seven Beggars

from the three sins, [Yid. only: I tell you that] not
only will the taste, vision, and smell be repaired, but
that moreover, even the gardener who was lost from
you, you will also be able to find.

"They did so, and they began to cleanse the country

from these three sins, and they sought out the people
(i.e. the slaves mentioned above), and they would
grab someone and ask him, 'From where did you
come here?' – until they caught the slaves of the
cruel king, and drove them out, and they cleaned out
the country from the sins.

"Meanwhile there was a commotion: 'Maybe the

insane one is the gardener after all?' For there is an
insane man going about who keeps saying that he is
the gardener, and everyone holds him to be insane,
and stones are thrown at him, and he is driven away
– but maybe he is in fact the true gardener?! They
went out and brought him (i.e. before these that sat
and rectified the country, and also he, namely the
deaf beggar who is telling all this, was there).
 Story of the Seven Beggars

"And I said, 'Of course he is the gardener!' (i.e. the

one whom they had previously called insane).

"Hence, I have a testament from there, that I live the

good life, for I myself repaired the country. Now I
present you with my good life as a gift."

There was a very grand celebration and supreme

bliss there, and they were extremely happy. The first
one had given them chayim aruchim, that is, long
life. And the other had given them chayim tovim,
that is, good life. And so, all the beggars came
afterwards to the wedding, and gave them for a
wedding-discourse present the same thing that they
had previously blessed them to be like themselves;
now they gave this to them as an absolute gift,
drasha geshenk (wedding-discourse present).

Third Day
On the third day, the groom and bride again thought
back, crying and longing, "How can the third beggar
be brought here, who was inarticulate (i.e. who
stammered with his mouth)?"
 Story of the Seven Beggars

Meanwhile, he came and said, "I am here!" And he

fell on them, and kissed them, and he too said to
them as before, "Previously I had blessed you to be
like me. Now I give you for a wedding-discourse
present that you be like me. You think I am speech-
impaired. I am not speech-impaired at all, except,
the utterances of the world which are not praises to
the Supernal One have no completion (in others
words – therefore he appears to be like someone
who is speech impaired who cannot speak, for he
wishes not to speak any word whatsoever of this
world, which is not praise to Hashem Yisburach,
since talk that is not praise to Hashem Yisburach has
no perfection; consequently he stammers in his
speech). But in truth I am not speech-impaired at all.
On the contrary I am an advocate and a speaker, that
is, an orator extraordinaire, something that is a wild
novelty. And I can say such wildly innovative
riddles, poems, and songs, that when I begin to
speak my riddles, poems, and songs, there does not
exist a creature in the world that will not want to
hear me (in other words, there is not a creature in the
world that will not want to hear his poems etc.). And
 Story of the Seven Beggars

contained in them (i.e. in the riddles and poems he

says) are all the wisdoms. And I have an approbation
to this from that great man who is called 'The Truly
Benevolent Man' (Der Grosser Man – Der Emmesser
Eesh Chessed – this is the term Rabbainu of blessed
memory related). And there is a whole story to this.

"For once upon a time, all the wise men sat, and
each one boasted of his wisdom. One boasted that
with his wisdom he had brought out the production
of iron (i.e. the ability to make iron from earth, is
what he brought out to the world), and this one
boasted that he had brought out another type of
metal (i.e. another type of metal alloy: zinc or lead
etc.), and this one boasted that with his wisdom he
had brought out the production of silver – this is
already more momentous (i.e. the ability to make
silver - this is what he brought out), and this one
boasted that he had brought out the ability to make
gold, and this one boasted that he had brought out
weapons of war (i.e. the instruments with which war
is conducted, namely guns, cannons, and so forth –
the technology of making these instruments is what
 Story of the Seven Beggars

he brought out); and this one boasted he can produce

metal wares without those things that they produce
these metals from, and this one boasted of other
wisdoms, for there are numerous things in the world
that have been brought out through wisdoms,
namely saltpeter, gunpowder, and the like. So each
one boasted of his wisdom.

"Someone there called out, 'I am cleverer than (all

of) you, for I am wise as the day.'

"No one there understood what he was saying, that

he is 'wise as the day.'

"He replied to them, 'Because all your wisdoms can

be put together and they will constitute no more than
one hour, even though each wisdom is obtained from
a different day, according to the creation that came
into being on that day. For all of those wisdoms are
compounds (i.e. several things are mixed together
and from them the thing is produced; therefore each
wisdom is taken from the day in which G-d created
the things from which the materials are taken, and
combined with wisdom to make the thing they want
 Story of the Seven Beggars

to make: silver, copper, and so forth); in spite of this,

all of these wisdoms of yours can be put together by
wisdom, constituting no more than one hour. But I
am wise like an entire day.' (So boasted the final
wise man mentioned above).

"I (i.e. the inarticulate who is telling all this) called

out to him, 'Like which day?' (In other words, 'Like
which day are you wise?').

"He (the wise one mentioned) responded, 'This one

here (i.e. the inarticulate) is wiser than me, since he
asks, "like which day?" But like whatever day you
wish – that's how wise I am.'

"However, why after all is he smarter for having

asked, 'like which day?' if the wise man himself is
also as clever as any day he wishes? But there is a
whole story.

"For the Truly Kind Man is in truth a very great

man. And I (i.e. the inarticulate who is telling all
this) go about gathering up all true kindness, and
bring them to the Truly Benevolent Man. And the
 Story of the Seven Beggars

root of time's genesis (i.e. that there should exist

time, for time itself, that is, the very existence of
years and days in the world, was itself also created
by Hashem Yisburach) is solely through true
kindness. And I go about and gather up all true
kindnesses and bring them to the Truly Benevolent
Man, resulting in time coming into being.

"And there is a mountain, and on the mountain

stands a stone, and from the stone emerges a spring.
Now, everything has a heart, and the entire world
also has a heart, and the heart of the world is a
complete structure, with face, hands, feet, etc. – but
the nail of the foot of the world's heart is heartier
['hartzikker'] than the heart of anything else. And the
mountain with the stone and the spring, stands at one
end of the world, while this heart of the world stands
at another end of the world, and the heart stands
facing the spring, desiring and hoping continuously,
exceedingly, that it should come to the spring, and
the longing and desire of the heart to come to the
spring is very wild. And the heart is constantly
 Story of the Seven Beggars

screaming to come to the source, and the source

longs for the heart too.

"And the heart has two weaknesses (i.e. two

drowsinesses). One, because the sun hunts it
exceedingly, and scorches it (because it always
yearns and desires to come to the source), and the
second sleepiness the heart has, is due to yearning
and desiring, that the heart constantly yearns and
wishes to go right to the source. And it screams with
everything it has [Heb: with the expiration of the
soul] to come to the source, for the heart is always
standing facing the source, and screams, 'Na!
Gevald!' (Please! Woe!), and keeps on yearning
most exceedingly for the source, as mentioned.

"However, when the heart needs to rest a bit, so as to

catch its breath ('up suffen'), (then) a big bird comes
and spreads its wings above it, shielding it from the
sun; then the heart gets a little rest. But even then,
while resting, it also looks facing the spring, and still
longs for it. But since it longs so much for the
source, why does it not go to the source? Only, as
soon as the heart wants to go close to the mountain
 Story of the Seven Beggars

upon which the source is, then it no longer sees the

peak; it cannot look at the spring – and as soon as it
would not look at the spring, it would expire, for the
heart's entire vitality is only from the source, so
when it stands facing the mountain, then it sees the
mountain peak where the spring is, but immediately
as soon as it wants to go to the mountain – the peak
no longer is visible (for such indeed is the way with
a tall mountain; standing from afar the peak is
visible, but upon going nearer, the peak is no longer
visible), then it can no longer look at the source, and
could, Heaven forbid, expire, and if this heart,
Heaven forbid, would expire, the whole world would
be destroyed, for the heart is the very vitality of
everything, and how can the world endure without
the heart? Therefore the heart cannot go to the
spring; it only stands facing the spring, longing and
screaming ceaselessly to be able to come to it, as
mentioned.

"And the spring is completely timeless, for the

spring is not within time at all (in other words, the
spring has no time at all, that is, because it is
 Story of the Seven Beggars

completely above worldly time). So how can the

spring exist in the world? (For in the world, nothing
can exist without a time.) Only, all the spring's time,
is simply the heart giving the spring a day as a gift.
And when it comes time for the day to be let out
already [Heb: finished and stopped] – and should the
day go away, the source would no longer have any
time, and would depart from the world; then when
the source is no longer, the heart itself would also
expire, Heaven forbid, then the whole world would
become nil, Heaven forbid, as mentioned. Thus,
when it gets right close to the end of the day, then
they begin to take leave of each other, which is
called 'gizzegginin' [wishes and blessings upon
departing] – the heart with the source – and begin
saying wonderful riddles, poems, and songs, one to
the other – very fine riddles and songs – with great
love and tremendous yearning (one for the other, the
heart for the source, and the source for the heart).
Now, the Truly Benevolent Man supervises and
keeps watch over this, and when the day reaches its
very end, and needs only to give out (at which very
instant when the day lets out, and the source shall no
 Story of the Seven Beggars

longer have any day, as mentioned, it will pass

away, and thus, Heaven forbid, the heart will expire
too; the whole world will be destroyed) – at that
moment the Truly Benevolent Man arrives and gives
the heart a day, and the Heart gives the day to the
source; thus the spring once again has time (i.e. that
day the source can again maintain its existence, and
consequently the heart too can maintain its existence
etc.). And when this day comes from the place
whence it comes, it comes along with riddles too,
and with fine poetry which contain all the wisdoms.
And there are distinctions between the day, for there
is a Sunday, a Monday etc., and similarly there is a
first of the month, and holidays (in other words,
according to what sort of day comes along, with
such poetry it arrives).

"And all the time the Truly Benevolent Man has, is

entirely through me (i.e. through the inarticulate one
who is telling all this). For I go along and gather up
all true kindness, from which all the time comes to
exist, as mentioned. (And therefore the inarticulate is
even cleverer than the sage who boasted he is wise
 Story of the Seven Beggars

like any day one wishes, for time itself and its days
altogether come to exist entirely through him, the
days coming along with poetry and riddles
containing all wisdoms etc., as mentioned). Hence I
have an approbation from the Truly Benevolent Man
that I can say riddles and poetry containing all the
sciences (because all the days, with the riddles and
their poetry, come to exist entirely through him, as
mentioned); today I present you as an absolute gift,
drasha geshenk, that you should be like me. There
was a grand celebration and great gladness there.
And they had a blast ('heelu gittun').

Fourth Day
When they had completed that day's celebration, and
passed the night afterwards, in the morning, they
again thought back and yearned, and so forth, for the
beggar who had a crooked neck. Meanwhile he came
and said, "I am here! (and so forth…) Previously I
had blessed you to be like me, today I present it to
you, drasha geshenk, that you should be like me.
You think that I have a crooked neck, I have no
crooked neck whatsoever. On the contrary, I have a
 Story of the Seven Beggars

very even neck, a very beautiful neck, except, there

are vapors [havalim] of the world (i.e. worldly
nonsense), and I wish to release no breath or spirit
[duch] whatsoever into the vanities of the world (and
therefore it appears his neck is crooked, since he
twists his neck from the vanities of the world, and
wants to release no breath or spirit whatsoever into
the world's vanities). But in truth I have a very
beautiful neck, an extremely fine neck. For I have a
superb voice, and all kinds of sounds (koaloas) in
the world, which are only sound without speech – I
can mimic all of them with my voice, for I have a
very superb neck and voice. And I have testament to
this from that country.

"For there is a country where they are all expert in

the science of music making, and they are all
involved there in this wisdom, even little children.
There is not a child there who cannot play on some
musical instrument. And the most minor person that
is in that country is (-would be) the greatest expert in
another country in musical knowledge. And the
sages and king of that country, and the cappellas
 Story of the Seven Beggars

[music band], are extraordinary great masters of that

wisdom.

"One time the country's sages were sitting, and each

one boasted of his musical prowess (chuchmah).
This one boasted he could play on this musical
instrument, that one boasted he could play that
musical instrument, and another boasted: on another
musical instrument. This one boasted he could play
several musical instruments, and this one boasted he
could play on all kinds of musical instruments. This
one boasted he could perform with his voice like this
musical instrument, that one boasted he could
perform with his voice like that musical instrument,
and this one boasted he could perform with his voice
like several musical instruments. And this one
boasted he could perform with his voice exactly like
a drum (which is called a poik) when it is struck, and
this one boasted he could produce with his voice just
as the firing of a cannon (which is called urmatis).
And I too was there (i.e. the one with the crooked
neck who is telling all this). I spoke up and said to
them: My voice is better than your voices, and this is
 Story of the Seven Beggars

the proof: because if you are indeed such experts in

musical sound, help the two lands.

"For there are two lands a thousand miles apart from

each other. And there, in these two countries, when
night comes no one can sleep, for when it becomes
night they all begin crying out with wailing voices –
men, women, and children. For at night there is
heard an exceedingly wailing sound (i.e. a whining
call of lamentation), and because of it, all who are
there must start wailing; men, and women, and little
children. If a stone were to rest there, it would melt
down. And that is what takes place in the two
countries. Because in this country the wailing call is
heard and everyone must lament as mentioned, and
likewise in the other country it is also so. And from
one country to the other, there is a distance of a
thousand miles. So if you are such expert musicians
(i.e. you can play and sing) [Heb: let me see if you
can] help the two countries, or at least reproduce the
calling (i.e. mimic the wailing sound that is heard
there).

"They said to him, 'Will you take us there?'

 Story of the Seven Beggars

"He said, 'Yes, I will take you there,' and they all
began [Heb. aroused] to go there.

"They went and arrived there (i.e. at one of the two

aforementioned countries). When night came, it was
as always – they all began wailing, and the experts
also wailed as well. (So they saw already that they
could not help.) He said to them (i.e. the one whose
neck was crooked, said to the aforementioned
sages), 'In any event, tell me from where is the
wailing call which is heard here – from where is this
calling?'

"They said to him, 'And you know?'

"He replied, 'I know indeed.'

"For, there are two birds, one male and one female,
and they are just one pair in the world. The female
got lost. He seeks her, and she seeks him. They had
sought each other very long, until they lost their
ways, and they saw they can no longer find each
other, so they stayed stationary and made themselves
nests. He made a nest near one of the two countries
 Story of the Seven Beggars

– and not actually near it, except that in

consideration of the bird's call, it is called near, since
from the place where he stopped and made himself a
nest, his call can already be heard there in that
country. And likewise, she also made herself a nest
near the second country (i.e. also like that, not right
adjacent, except from there her call can already be
heard over there). And when night comes, in this
way this pair of birds begin to wail, for he bemoans
over her, and she bemoans over him, they lament
very much with a great howling call. And this is the
wailing sound heard in these two countries, which
on account of this call, they must all begin wailing
there, and cannot sleep. (So the crooked-neck told
over, all of this).

"But they would not believe this, and said to him,

'Will you lead us there (i.e. to the birds)?'

"He said, 'Yes, I can lead you there. Except, how can
you come there? For if even here you cannot bear
the wailing sound and must all wail – when you will
come there, you will surely be unable to stand it at
all! And by day, one cannot stand the joy there, for
 Story of the Seven Beggars

by day the birds come there to the bird, to each one

of them separately, that is, to him and to her, and
console them, and make them happy with extremely
great rejoicing. And they pour out words (of
sympathy), and console them, 'You will yet find
each other,' making them very happy, so much so,
that by day, it is impossible to bear the joy there.
And the sound of the birds making them happy is
not heard from afar, just when one comes there. But
the sound of the pair wailing at night, this is heard
far away. You cannot, therefore, come there.

"They said to him, 'Can you correct this?'

"He replied, 'Yes, I can correct it. For I can mimic

all the sounds of the world (i.e. all kinds of sounds in
the world, he can produce them with his voice,
making it exactly like any sound that may be);
furthermore, I can throw voices, that is, I can throw
a sound, which here – in the place I release the
sound, the sound will not be heard at all, only
somewhere far away will the sound be heard there.
And therefore I can throw her voice to him, that is,
the sound which I will let out will arrive close to the
 Story of the Seven Beggars

place where he is, and likewise I can throw his voice

so that it arrives close to her, and through this I will
draw them (until he brings them together).

"But who would believe this?

"He went and led them into a forest. They heard as if

someone opens a door, shuts it again, and slams the
bolt (klaimke) shut; and firing from a gun (biks),
sending the dog to fetch (the thing that he was
shooting), and the dog thrashing in the snow
('gigraznit in shney'). The sages heard all this, and
they looked around – they saw nothing at all, and
also from him they heard nothing at all. (It could
only be, that he, the crooked neck, was throwing
those sounds. So they saw for certain, that he can
replicate all kinds of sounds exactly, and also throw
sounds.) (And he did not tell more about this, but
continued on, <Heb:>and it is understood that he
skipped over here.) Hence I have testament from that
country, that I have a wonderfully fine voice, and I
can replicate all the sounds of the world. Today I
present this to you as an absolute gift, drashah
 Story of the Seven Beggars

geshenk, to be like me." There was a grand

celebration there, and extremely high spirits.

Fifth Day
On the fifth day they were also very happy. They
remembered the beggar who was a hunchback
[hoiker], and they yearned very much, "How is it
possible to procure that hunchback beggar here? For
if he were here, the joy would be immense."

In the midst of this, he arrived and said, "I am here! I

have come to you for the wedding." And he fell on
them, hugged them, and kissed them, and he said to
them, "Previously I had blessed you that you be like
me, today I present you as a wedding-discourse gift,
that you should be like me. And I am not a
hunchback [hoiker] whatsoever. On the contrary, I
have the sort of shoulders [plaitzes] that are the little
that hold the much. And I have a testament to this.

"For, there was once a conversation in which people

boasted about this matter, each one boasting that he
has this feature of the little holding the much (in
other words, a small space containing very much).
 Story of the Seven Beggars

They laughed and scoffed at one of them. And the

rest who boasted about this feature of the little
holding the much were accepted. But my little holds
the much is greater than all of them.

"For, one of them boasted that his brain is a little

that holds the much, for he carries in his brain
thousands and myriads of people with all their
needs, all their customs, and all their discussions and
movements; he carries all this entirely in his brain –
so he is a little that holds the much, since a bit of his
brain bears on it so many people with their needs
and so forth. (Therefore he is called a little that holds
the much, that is, a bit of space containing and
bearing so much, namely the bit of brain bearing so
many people with all their affairs etc.).

"They laughed him off, and those present there

replied, 'You are nothing, and your people are
nothing.'

"One of them spoke up and said, 'I have seen such a

little that holds the much. For, once I was passing by
before a mountain, and I saw a huge amount of
 Story of the Seven Beggars

garbage and filth on it. It was novelty for me – from

where does so much garbage and filth come upon
the mountain? There was a man there, by that
mountain. The man said, "It's all mine." For he was
dwelling there beside the mountain, and kept
throwing on the mountain his garbage and secretions
from his eating and drinking, and defecated there – it
was from him that there was so much garbage and
feces on the mountain. So this man is a little that
holds the much, insofar as so much garbage comes
about from one man. That's what this is too.' (That
is, so is the little that holds the much of the one who
boasted that his brain bears so many people etc.).

"One of them boasted he has the feature of the little

that holds the much, 'since he has a bit of
countryside that produces a great quantity of fruits.
Afterwards they reckon the fruit that the country has
produced, and they see that the country does not in
any way hold as much space as the fruits need to
take up; there is not at all in the country so much
space as the fruits need to occupy. Thus this is a
little that holds the much (namely, a little space that
 Story of the Seven Beggars

holds so much).' His words pleased them, for in

truth, this is certainly a little that holds the much.

"One of them said, 'inasmuch as he has an orchard

[pardes] – a very fine one – where there are fruits
and so forth, a great many people and noblemen
travel there, for it is quite a nice orchard. And when
summer comes, very many people and noblemen
travel there to promenade there, and in reality, there
in the garden there is not sufficient area capable of
holding so many people. This, then, is a little that
holds the much.' His words too pleased them.

"One of them said that his speech is a little that

holds the much, for he is a private secretary for a
great king, 'and many people come to the king. One
comes with praises to the king (i.e. each one says a
praise to the king), another comes with petitions to
the king, and so forth; and the king certainly cannot
hear out all of this. I gather up all their words into
just a few words, and tell the king just these few
words which contain all their praises and requests.
And all their very words are implanted in my few
 Story of the Seven Beggars

words which I tell the king. Therefore my speech is

a little holding the much.'

"One of them said that his keeping silent is a little

that hold the much, for he has against him very
many accusers and slanderers who besmirch him
very much, for they fight him and talk against him
very much. And to whatever they slander him,
quarrel with him, and what they say against him, he
performs one silence, and that is the solution to all
the questions and all the utterances spoken against
him. Hence his silence is a little holding the much.

"One of them said that he is a little that holds the

much, for there is a person who is 'well-visioned'
[i.e. blind] and very large, whereas he (i.e. the one
who is boasting and telling this) is very small, and
leads about the large poor one who is blind. Hence
he is a little holding the much, for the blind one
could slip and fall, but he holds him up with his
guidance, and due to this, he is a little that holds the
much, since he is a small person and holds the big
blind one.
 Story of the Seven Beggars

"And I (i.e. the hunchback who was telling all this)

was also there. I declared, 'It is true that you have the
feature of the little that holds the much. And I know
what all of you meant (i.e. all those who boasted one
by one of their little that holds the much – he knows
what each of them meant); even the final one, who
boasted that he leads around the big blind one. He is
greater than all of you. But I am still greater and
higher than all of you. Because he who boasted that
he walks the big blind one, he means that he
conducts the lunar cycle (i.e. the heavenly sphere
where the moon is), for the moon is called blind, for
she does not shine in-and-of herself, and she has
nothing of her own whatsoever, and he (i.e. he who
boasted of this) conducts the moon, even though he
is small and the moon is very great; and this gives
the entire world sustenance (in other words, by
means of this, the entire world has existence), for the
world is in need of the moon. Hence he is certainly a
true little that holds the much. However, all the
same, my little that holds the much is completely
higher than all of them. And here is the proof:
 Story of the Seven Beggars

"For, once there was a group that investigated:

Inasmuch as every beast has its shade in which it
specifically wants to be [Heb: rest], and so every
beast has their own unique shade, for each beast
chooses for itself a shade, and it desires to rest only
in that specific shade. And similarly, each bird has
its branch, on which this specific branch this bird
desires to perch, and not on any other branch. And
another bird has a different branch which only there
it perches, and not on any other branch. And so each
and every bird has their specific branch. Therefore
the group investigated if there could be found such a
tree in whose shade all the beasts could rest – which
all the beasts would desire to rest there in the shade
of this tree. And upon the branches of this tree, all
the birds would perch. They investigated if such a
tree was to be found. And they discovered that there
is such a tree. They wanted to go there to that tree,
for the delight that there is there by that tree is
absolutely limitless, since all the birds and all the
beasts are found there, and there no harm is extant
from any beast whatsoever (i.e. to say, no beast
injures anyone there), and all the beasts there mix
 Story of the Seven Beggars

freely. They all play there, and it is certainly a very

wonderful pleasure to be there at that tree. They
began to investigate which direction ('side') one
needs to go to come to that tree. It became a dispute
between them regarding this, and there was no one
(/decisive factor) to decide. For, this one said that it
was necessary to go here in this direction, to the
east, and another said it was necessary to go west;
one said here, and another said there, and so on, until
they could not discern the right way, where they had
to go.

"A sage came along as said to them, 'Why are you

investigating which direction is necessary to go to
that tree? Investigate first who are the people who
can come to that tree! Because to that tree not every
man can come, since no one can come to the tree
except one who has the tree's attributes. For, this tree
has three roots: One root is faith (that one should
believe in G-d, blessed is He), the other is awe, and
the third is humility (i.e. not to have special regard
for oneself), and truth is the body (-trunk) of the
tree, that is, the tree itself is truth, and from there go
 Story of the Seven Beggars

out branches. Therefore no one can come to the tree,

only one who has these traits of the tree.' (i.e. faith –
he should believe in G-d; fear – he should have fear
of G-d, and humility – he should not have any
special regard for himself; and truth.) (So the Sage
said to the group).

"The group however, did not all have these

attributes; only some of them had in themselves
these traits. But they had between them very great
unity (i.e. the group all loved each other and held
themselves tightly together). They did not want to
separate from each other in order that some of them
should go to the tree (i.e. those who already had
these traits of the tree) and the rest would stay
behind – they did not want this, for they held
themselves very much together. Instead they had to
wait until the rest of them would exert themselves in
attaining these attributes so that they could all come
to the tree. And so they did, toiling until they all
came to those traits mentioned above. (i.e. they all
waited for each other until each had toiled, and they
all came to those virtues mentioned above, that is, by
 Story of the Seven Beggars

now they all have faith, fear, and so on, as

mentioned). As soon as they all came to the
attributes, then they all came to one mindset, and
everyone agreed on one way by which to go to the
tree. They all went. They went along for a while
until they could see the tree from afar. Meanwhile,
they took a look – and the tree is standing on no
place at all, for the tree has no space whatsoever.
And since it has no place whatsoever, how can
anyone come to it?

"And I (i.e. the hunchback) was also there with

them. I announced to them, 'I can bring you to the
tree. For the tree has no place whatsoever, for the
tree is completely above space (in other words, it
transcends worldly space; it has no place
whatsoever), and the aspect of the little that holds
the much still takes place in space, for although it is
a little that holds the much, that is, a little space
holding much more than can be put in the space,
nevertheless it still takes place in space, since in any
case it still occupies some bit of space. But I (i.e. the
hunchback) have such a little that holds the much,
 Story of the Seven Beggars

that it is the absolute edge of the place beyond which

there is no space whatsoever. Therefore I can carry
all of you to the tree, which is above space
completely.' (For, this hunchback is something like
an intermediary, that is, a midpoint, between space
and transcending space, for he is the ultimate degree
of the little holding the much, which is the actual
end of space, above which there is no unit of space
whatsoever, since from there and above is the aspect
of completely beyond space. Therefore he can take
them out of space, and bring them above space.
Understand this.) I took them and carried them to the
tree. Hence I have a testament that I have such an
ultimate degree of the little holding the much. (And
that is why he had the appearance of a hunchback,
for he carries on himself so much.) Today I give you
this very thing as a gift, that you should be like me."
A very great joy took place there and a very great
gladness.
 Story of the Seven Beggars

Sixth Day
On the sixth day they also rejoiced, but they also
yearned, "How can the one without hands be
brought here?"

Meanwhile he came in and said, "I am here! I have

come to you for the wedding." And he too spoke to
them as the others, and he fell upon them, and kissed
them, and said to them, "You think I am crippled in
the hand. I am not at all crippled in the hands. I do
[Heb: truly] have power in the hands, only I do not
use the power in my hands in this world, for I need
the power for something else – and regarding this I
have a testament from the Castle of Water [foon dem
vasseriken schloss].

"For, once I was sitting together with some men, and

each one was boasting of his power that he had in
his hands. One boasted that he had such a strength in
his hands, another boasted that he had another
strength in his hands, and so each one boasted of the
strength that he had in his hands.
 Story of the Seven Beggars

"Namely, one was boasting that he has such power

and strength in his hands, that when he shoots an
arrow, he can pull it back to him again, for he has
such a power in his hands, that although he has
already shot the arrow, he can still turn it around and
tow it back to him again.

"I asked him, 'What kind of arrow can you pull

back?' Because there are ten kinds of arrows, since
there are ten kinds of poison. For when one wants to
shoot an arrow, one smears it with a poison. There
are ten kinds of poison, and when the arrow is
smeared with this poison, the arrow injures like this,
and when the arrow is smeared with a different
poison, it does more damage, and so there are ten
kinds of poison, each one worse than the other, that
is, more harmful. (Heb: And this in itself is ten kinds
of arrows, for the arrows are one sort; it is only
because of the variety of the poisons that the arrows
are smeared with, which are ten kinds as mentioned
above, that they are called ten kinds of arrows.) So
he asked him, "What kind of arrow can you pull
back?' In addition he asked him, whether [only]
 Story of the Seven Beggars

before the arrow has struck someone he can pull it

back, or whether even after the arrow has already
struck someone, he could also pull it back.

"Thereupon that person answered, 'Even after the

arrow has already struck someone, I can still pull it
back.'

"'But still, which sort of arrow can you pull back?'

"He answered, 'This-and-this kind I can pull back.'

"I (i.e. the one [without hands] who is telling all this)
called out to him, 'You cannot heal the queen's
daughter. If you can pull back no more than one kind
of arrow, you cannot heal the queen's daughter.'

"One was boasting that he has such power in his

hands, that whoever he receives from, he gives to
(i.e. by his very getting something from someone, he
gives to that person), and hence, he is a master of
charity.

"And I asked him, 'Which kind of charity do you

give?' (For there are ten kinds of charity).
 Story of the Seven Beggars

"He replied, he gives a tithe.

"I called out to him, 'If so, you cannot heal the
queen's daughter, for you cannot at all come to her
place (because you give only a tithe), for you can
enter in no more than one wall (in the place where
she is dwelling); therefore you cannot come to her
place.'

"One boasted that he has the following power in his

hands, 'Inasmuch as there are officials in the world
(i.e. senior men who are given command over a city,
a country etc.), each one needing wisdom – I have
such a power in my hands, that with my hands I can
give him wisdom, by laying my hands on him.'

"I asked him, 'What kind of wisdom can you give

with your hands?' For there are ten measures (kabin)
of wisdom (i.e. ten fields of knowledge).

"He replied, 'Such-and-such a wisdom I can give.'

"I called out to him, 'If so, you cannot heal the
queen's daughter, for you cannot even know her
 Story of the Seven Beggars

pulse, because there are ten varieties of pulses, and

you cannot know but one pulse, since you can only
give one wisdom with your hands.'

"One boasted that he has such a power in his hands:

when there is a storm wind, he can restrain it with
his hands; he can grasp the storm wind with his
hands to hold it back. And further, with his hands he
could make the wind tempered, that it should be the
sort needed: measured.

"I asked him, 'Which kind of wind can you grasp

with your hands – there are ten types of winds?'

"He replied, 'Such-and-such a wind.'

"I called out, 'You cannot heal the queen's daughter,

for you cannot at all play the melody for her. For
there are ten varieties of melody, and the queen's
daughter's healing is through melody, and you
cannot play more than but one melody for her.'

"They called out, 'What can you do?'

 Story of the Seven Beggars

"He replied, 'I can do what you all cannot do,

namely, all the nine parts of each thing that each one
boasted of, which you cannot do, I can do. For there
is a story:'

"'[He tells the story:] For, one time a king desired

[lit. cooked himself up, about) a queen's daughter,
involving himself with executing schemes to capture
her, until the thing was attained, and he caught her;
then she was with him. One time the king dreamed
that the queen's daughter stood over him and killed
him. He awoke sharply (lit. caught himself up), and
the dream entered deep in his heart. He called all the
dream-interpreters, and they interpreted for him
according to its simple meaning, that the dream
would be fulfilled according to its simple meaning,
that she would kill him. The king could not give
himself any counsel, what to do with her. To kill her
– would pain him; to send her away from him – this
vexed him severely, for another man would take her,
and this vexed him very much, for he had made so
much effort for her, and now she would come to
another man's hand, and moreover, if he let her go
 Story of the Seven Beggars

and she came to another man's hand, then certainly

the dream could be fulfilled that she would kill him,
since she was by another. To hold her fast by him –
he feared because of the dream, lest she kill him. So
the king did not know what to do to her. Meanwhile,
his love for her perished little by little because of the
dream (i.e. he no longer loved her so much as
before) and at each moment the love perished more
and more, and likewise by her, the love perished
more each moment, until it became by her a hatred
of him. So she fled from him.

"The king sent after her to seek her, and they came
and told him that she was circling around the Castle
of Water. For there is a castle of water, and there are
ten walls there, one inside the other, and all ten walls
are completely of water, and also the ground in the
castle, on which to walk, is also of water. And
likewise the garden, with its trees and their fruits, are
entirely of water. As for the beauty of the castle, and
the novelty of this castle, there is no need to discuss,
for it is certainly a very wonderful novelty, for the
whole castle is of water. Entering the castle is
 Story of the Seven Beggars

certainly impossible, for one would drown, for the

whole castle is entirely of water. Now, the queen's
daughter, upon fleeing, reached the castle and was
circling there around the castle. They told the king
that she was circling there around the castle.

"The king and his soldiers went to catch her. When

the queen's daughter saw this, she decided she would
run into the castle, for she preferred to drown in
water than the king catching her and she would be
by him; and perhaps even still she would be saved,
and she could gain entry into the Castle of Water.
When the king saw this, that she was running into
the water, he said, 'If that is the case, well then…' He
ordered to shoot her; if she dies, she dies. They shot
her, and all the ten types of arrows that are smeared
with the ten types of poisons struck her. And she, the
queen's daughter, ran into the Castle of Water, and
entered into its interior, passing through all the doors
of all the ten walls of the Castle of Water, until she
entered into the castle's interior, fell down, and
remained faint.
 Story of the Seven Beggars

"And I (i.e. the handless one who is telling all this)

heal her. For whoever does not have in his hands all
the ten types of charities cannot enter past all the ten
walls of the Castle of Water, for he would be
drowned in water. So the king and his soldiers
pursued after the queen's daughter and were
drowned in water. But I can enter past all the ten
walls of the Castle of Water. Now, the walls of
water are ocean waves standing like a wall. The
winds are what erect the waves of the ocean, and
hold the waves up. And these waves, which are what
the ten walls are, stand there constantly, but it is the
winds that hold the waves, and erect the waves. And
I can enter past all the ten walls of the Castle of
Water, and I can pull out from her (i.e. from the
queen's daughter) all the ten varieties of arrows. And
I know all the ten varieties of pulsebeats through the
ten fingers, for through each finger of the ten fingers
once can know a particular pulsebeat from the ten
varieties of pulsebeats. And I can heal the queen's
daughter through all the ten varieties of melodies
(for her healing is through melodies, as mentioned).
Therefore I [Yid: do (in fact)] heal the queen's
 Story of the Seven Beggars

daughter. Hence, I have such a power in the hands.'

Today I give you this very thing as a present."
Thereupon, tremendous happiness prevailed there,
and they were extremely joyous.

[Notes Following the Story]

[Rabbi Nachman said:] This story is very hard for
me to tell, but because I have already begun telling
it, I must already finish it. In this story there does not
exist one word bereft of intention, and whoever is
proficient and versed in Judaic books (sfurim) can at
least understand some of the hints. And the arrows –
of which that [character] boasted he could pull back
arrows – this is written in the verse (Deut. 32:41),
[Heb: "My hand will yet have hold on the justice…"
and as Rashi explains, "Flesh and blood shoot an
arrow and cannot retrieve it, but the Holy One,
blessed is He, (can) shoot an arrow and retrieve it."].
And the charity which correlates the walls of water,
[Heb: which are ocean waves] – this is also written
in a verse (Isaiah 48:18), "And your charity as the
waves of the ocean." [Heb: And the wind mentioned
above, that he could grasp in his hands, this is the
 Story of the Seven Beggars

aspect of (Proverbs 30:4), "Who has grasped the

wind in his fists?" (Which is an aspect of producing
melody, as explained elsewhere [Likutay Moharan
54].)] And the ten types of pulses and ten kinds of
melody, this is already explained in the Zohar (and
see Likutay Moharan II, Torah 24). [Rabbi Nussun:
All this we heard explicitly]. But who, when, and
what? (Beyond this he said nothing more).

[Rabbi Nussun:] This is deep, deep. That is the

actual story, who they all are, what this is, and when
this all took place – this cannot be known (Heb: to
deep to conceive).

The conclusion of the story – that is, what happened

on the Seventh Day with the footless beggar, and the
conclusion of the king's son with whom the story
began – he did not tell over; and he said that he will
no longer tell it over, and it will not be heard until
the Messiah comes – speedily in our days, amen!

He also said, "If I did not know any other thing

besides this story, I would still be an extremely wild
novelty." [Heb: he said so explicitly]. For this story
 Story of the Seven Beggars

is an extremely wild novelty. There is in it a great

deal of mussar, and a lot of Torah, for it contains
many teachings, and it speaks of many ancient
tzaddikim; of King David, peace on him, for King
David stood at the edge of the world, and cried out
to the Spring that flows from the Rock that is on the
Mountain, as mentioned above (Third Day) as
written in Psalms (61:3), "from the end of the earth I
cry to You, when my heart is faint, lead me to the
rock which is higher than I."

Heb: All this we heard from his mouth explicitly.

And what is understood from his words, is that King
David, peace on him, is the aspect of the Heart, as
has been transmitted (Zohar, Exodus 108), and he is
hinted to in the story regarding the Heart of the
world, which stands at the end of the earth, facing
the Spring, crying and longing for it constantly etc..
But still the words are closed up; fortunate is
whoever will merit to attain perception of the secrets
of this story.]

The matter of King David and the aforementioned

scripture, "From the end of the earth," that is hinted
 Story of the Seven Beggars

to in the story, pertains to the third day, because

there it speaks about the Heart and the Spring; [Heb:
look there and you will see wonders, how in each
matter, wonderful things are hinted].

[Yid:] In this story are found very, very great

secrets of the Torah, from beginning to end. All the
stories of this book are thoroughly great secrets of
the Torah; each word and each thing means
something completely different – but this story is
greater than all.

[Heb:] And of the greatness of the awesomeness of

this story it is not at all possible to tell, for it is
above all of them. Fortunate, fortunate is whoever
will merit, even in the future world, to know of it
just a little bit. And whoever has a brain in his skull,
the hairs of his flesh shall stand on end; and he will
understand a little of the greatness of the Creator,
Blessed is He, and the greatness of the true
tzaddikim, when he looks well into this awesome
story, the likes of which will not be heard.
 Story of the Seven Beggars

The matter of the verse, "From the end of the earth,"

mentioned above, pertaining to the story of the third
day – this I heard explicitly from his holy awesome
mouth, of blessed memory. Furthermore, look at this
which I found afterwards – that the majority of the
words of the chapter of Psalms where this verse is
written, which is Chapter 61 – virtually all of it is
explained there [in] hints of the lofty secrets of the
story of the third day mentioned above: "You will
add days onto the days of the king etc. (verse 7)" –
for he always needs that they should add days to his
days etc. as mentioned. "Summon kindness and truth
to preserve him (the king) (verse 8)," – this is the
True Man of Kindness etc., "Der Groser man; Der
Emmesser Eesh Chessed" – because all the time and
the days are made via the great man, who is the True
man of Kindness, as mentioned there in the story,
and he gives and adds each time, days to the days of
the king, who is the Heart, which is the concept of
King David, peace on him, as mentioned. And this
is, "they will preserve him" – because he guards and
protects, for as soon as the day comes very close to
ending – and then the Spring and the Heart and the
 Story of the Seven Beggars

entire world would end, G-d forbid – then the True

Man of Kindness protects and guards this, and
comes and gives a day to the Heart etc. as
mentioned. And this is, "So I will sing Your name
forever, as I fulfill my vows day by day (final - verse
9)" – because each and every day which he gives
him, it comes with song and poems etc. as
mentioned. "I will take refuge in the covert of Your
wings, selah (verse 5)" – for when the Heart needs to
rest, a great bird comes and spreads its wings over it
etc., and this is, "I will take refuge in the covert of
Your wings" etc..

Pertaining to the First Day: The matter of the elders,

that each one boasted of his memory, that this one
remembered even when they cut his umbilical cord
etc. and this (other) one was the elder who was
younger than all of them etc.. Rabbainu of blessed
memory said, that in the Talmud (Jerusalem,
Tractate Kesuvos 5:6) something similar is recorded,
that Shmuel boasted that he remembers the pain of
his circumcision etc., see there.
 Story of the Seven Beggars

Who can glorify? Who can tell over? Who can

evaluate? Who can fathom even the tip of a
minuscule one thousandth of thousands and myriads
of myriads, of the sparkling of a bit of the hints of
the utterly wondrous, from the very, very awesome
and supreme secrets of this awesome story, which is
full of secrets of secrets from beginning to end? One
who commits his heart to understand the matter will
find good (Proverbs 16:20), a sparking buzz of some
allusions, according to his capacity.
 Afterword of the Legendary Tales

The Telltale Chandelier

A tale. A man left his father and was in other
countries for many years by other people. In time, he
came to his father and boasted that he had learned
there a great craft: how to make a chandelier (which
is called a hang leichter/hanging light). He told his
father to assemble all the masters of this craft, and
he would show them his wisdom in this craft. And
so his father did. He gathered all the masters of this
craft to see his son's greatness; what he had
accomplished all this time that he was in the hand of
others.

And the son took out one chandelier that he had

made, and it was very ugly in all their eyes. And his
father went to them and asked them to disclose the
truth to him, so they were forced to inform him the
truth, that it was very ugly. And the son boasted,
"Surely you have seen the skill of my artisanship?"
 Afterword of the Legendary Tales

And his father informed him that it did not appear

beautiful in all their eyes. The son replied, "On the
contrary! With this I have shown my greatness, for I
have shown to all of them their deficiencies, for in
this chandelier are found the lackings of each one of
the artisans found here. Behold you will see, that by
this person, this part is ugly, but a different part is
very beautiful to him; and by another (person) it is
the opposite — on the contrary, that piece that is
ugly for his colleague, is beautiful and wonderful in
his eyes, but only this piece is ugly; and likewise
with all of them: whatever is bad in this one's eyes,
is beautiful in the eyes of his colleague, and vice-
versa. And I have made this chandelier solely from
deficiencies, to show (to) all of them that they do not
have completeness, and each one has a lacking, for
what is beautiful in his eyes, is a lacking in the eyes
of his colleague. But in truth I can make it as it
should be."

If [people] would know all the lackings and

insufficiencies of a thing, they would know the
essence of the thing, even if they had never seen it.
 Afterword of the Legendary Tales

“Great are the works of Hashem” [Ps. 111:2]. No

man is identical to his fellow. And all the forms
were in Adam HuRishon (the first). That is, in the
word "ADaM" (man) alone, all these forms were
included. And so with other things. All the
luminaries were included in the solitary word "OhR"
(light), and so (with) all of them, that is, all the
works of creation. And even two leaves of a tree –
not one is identical to its fellow, and so forth. And
he (Na Nach Nachma Nachman MeUman) spoke at
very great length about this, and he stated at that
time, that there are wisdoms in this world through
which a person could live on these wisdoms alone,
without any eating or drinking. And he spoke at
length in a wondrous and awesome talk (see the
second introduction to Sefer Hamidos, regarding
da'as).

The Pump
Regarding what they [some of Rebbe Nachman’s
chassidim] were telling over about someone who
was then in one of the large non-Jewish cities and
tarried there a long time because each time he
 Afterword of the Legendary Tales

imagined that now he would succeed, and so it was

each time, until he was delayed there a long time.
And he [Na Nach Nachma Nachman MeUman] said,
that is the way it goes when one comes to such
places, that each time it seems to him, "Now I will
accomplish, now I will accomplish," etc., etc. And
he told this story:

There was one man who did not believe what the
world says, that there are leitzim (demons who make
devilry and scoff) from the Other Side (realm of
evil) that come sometimes and mislead people, as
has happened several times; he did not believe this.
One night, a leitz came to him and called him to go
outside. He went out, and the leitz showed him that
he had a beautiful horse to sell. He looked, and
behold it is a very beautiful horse, so he asked him,
"How much do you want?" The leitz answered,
"Four adumim (rubles)." He saw that it was easily
worth eight rubles, for it was a choice, fine horse. So
he bought the horse from him for four rubles and he
considered it a great find. The next day, he took the
horse out to sell, and people stepped up to purchase,
 Afterword of the Legendary Tales

and they wanted to give him some amount. He said,

"Probably, if they are willing to give me so much, it
must be worth double!" So he was not satisfied, and
he took the horse onward, and they wanted to give
him also double, as he desired. He said, "It is
probably worth more than double this amount." So
he brought the horse onward, until the price of the
horse reached into the thousands. But he was not
satisfied with any of them to sell it, for whatever
they wanted to give him, he said, "It is probably
worth twice as much." Eventually, there was no one
who could buy it except the king.

So he brought it to the king, and the king wanted to

give him an exorbitant amount, for the horse was
exceedingly pleasing to everyone. However, he was
not willing with the king either, for he said, "It is
probably worth more." As a result even the king did
not buy the horse. So he went from the king, with
the horse to give it to drink. There was a pump
(plumpf) there from which people take water. The
horse jumped into the pump, disappeared, and was
no more (That is, it appeared to him as such, for the
 Afterword of the Legendary Tales

entire incident of the horse was an act of leitzim). He

yelled vehemently over this, and people gathered
around him to the call of his screaming, and asked
him, "What are you screaming?" He replied that his
horse had jumped into the pump. And they hit him,
till he was beaten and bruised, for he appeared
insane, since the opening of the pump is very
narrow, and how can a horse jump into it? He saw
that they were beating him and that he appeared
insane, and he wanted to go from there. As he
wanted to leave, the horse began to stick its head out
of the pump. So he began to scream again, "Aha,
aha!" since it appeared to him that his horse was
there. The people gathered around and beat him
again, since he was insane, as mentioned. Again he
decided to leave; and as soon as he wanted to go, the
horse again stuck its head out of the pump. He began
again to shout more as before, and the people
gathered upon him again and beat him as before.

Thus, the Other Side (realm of evil) deceives a man

each time with nothingness; with complete
falsehood that has no substance. And he is enticed
 Afterword of the Legendary Tales

after it, pursues it, and each time it appears to him

that he will profit more and will fill his desires more.
So he runs after it many times, and suddenly all his
desires disappear, escaping and vanishing from him
— as this happens sometimes, that the cravings go
away a little, and when the man wants to detach
from them, then they return and stick out their heads
and he returns and chases after them. And so it
carries on further, that as soon as they stick out their
heads, he returns to chase after them. (And he did
not explain the matter further. And understand this
well.)

Heated Flesh and Bones

A story about one tzadik, who was a very great
tzaddik, who had completely and entirely departed
from that known desire, properly with perfection.
And he ascended to the upper worlds, and he saw
pieces of flesh and bones sitting in a pot. He asked,
"What is this?" They answered him that this was a
very, very beautiful woman, and therefore due to the
fact that she used to heat up her body for sin,
therefore she is being heated up here. And he wanted
 Afterword of the Legendary Tales

to see her. And they gave him (Divine) Names, that

she should be returned and assembled as before, and
he saw that she was a very extremely beautiful
woman. And from this it is proper to see the
condemnation of this desire. If they cut her into
pieces pieces, would this desire still be relevant
etc.?!

The Tzaddik who fell into sadness

It is known that sadness is a very despicable trait,
and one needs to keep very far away from it. And it
is proper to enliven and raise oneself, for one should
know that every single movement and dislodgement
that one moves and dislodges himself upon entering
the service of Hashem, is very precious in Hashem's
eyes, even if he moves himself only a hairsbreadth,
because since a person exists in a body in the
physical ('assiya') world, any movement or
dislodgement is very hard for him; therefore it is
very precious in Hashem's eyes.

There is a story that happened with a Tzadik that

great heaviness and sadness fell upon him (and
 Afterword of the Legendary Tales

sadness and heaviness, when they beset a Tzadik it

is very hard for him, for upon him it strengthens
itself more and more). So much sadness and
heaviness fell on him that he was mamash (actually)
completely unable to move from his place due to the
great heaviness and sadness that had intensified over
him. And he wanted to make himself happy and lift
himself, but he was unable to cheer himself up and
lift himself with anything, for with whatever thing
he wanted to cheer himself, the Accuser found
sadness in it for him, until he was unable to make
himself happy with anything, because in any joy that
he wanted to cheer and raise himself with, he found
sadness in it. And he began to cheer himself with the
joy of "that He did not make me a heathen." And this
is certainly a very great joy that has no bound, for
one cannot estimate the difference and separation,
the thousands of thousand of thousands of
separations that are between the holiness of the
lowest of lowest of Israel, and the filth of the
impurity of the idolaters. And when a person
remembers well the kindness Hashem had upon him
in not making him a heathen, it is certainly proper
 Afterword of the Legendary Tales

for his joy to grow very great, and it is a joy that has
no sadness upon it. For when a person makes
himself happy with a thing that he himself did, in
this it is possible to find sadness in any joy, for he
will find deficiencies in everything, so as not to let
him raise and cheer himself. But in this, "that He has
not made me a heathen," which is only from Hashem
Yisburach, that Hashem Yisburach did so and had
mercy on him, and did not make him a heathen, how
is it possible to find a lacking in this joy, which is
the sole work of Hashem Yisburach? For, certainly,
however it may be, in any case it is a huge
difference between him and the idolaters which has
no bound or limit.

And the Tzadik mentioned above began to cheer

himself with this, and began to rejoice and raise
himself little by little. And each time, he raised and
cheered himself exceedingly, until he came to such a
great joy that he reached the joy that Moshe
Rabbainu (Moses), of blessed memory, had when he
went up to receive the Tablets. And while he was
raising and cheering himself, he flew up in the
 Afterword of the Legendary Tales

worlds many, many thousands of miles (parsahs),

and during this he took a look at himself and behold,
he was very far from the place where he was at first.
And he was very afflicted, for he thought he would
fall down to some other place, and there would be
great bewilderment over him that he had disappeared
suddenly, and the Tzadik always desires to go about
discreetly ('hatznaya leches' – Micah 6:8). And the
joy began to end, for joy has a limit, that it begins
itself and ends itself. And when the joy began to
end, it ceased bit by bit, and it lowered bit by bit.
And when he returned, and he descended, and was
lowered from the place where he flew up to during
the joy, he did not first return to the first place where
he flew up from, in the same manner that he flew up,
but rather he went down immediately down in that
place where he flew up to (-explanation: originally
he had done two things, one, he elevated higher and
higher, two, he flew to distant worlds. When he
came down from the elevation, he did so in that
distant place, and even still when he came down, he
found himself back in his original place). And
therefore it was a great wonder that he found himself
 Afterword of the Legendary Tales

after he came down, in his original place.

(Understand this well). Eventually he returned to the
place where he was at first, and he took a look at
himself and saw that he was mamash (actually)
where he was at first, and did not dislodge from his
place at all, except for possibly a hairbreadth which
was impossible for a man to measure, only Hashem
Yisburach. And it was very baffling in the eyes of
the Tzadik, that he had flown up so much in the
worlds, while here below he did not move at all.
And they showed him that it is so precious in the
eyes of Hashem Yisburach a small motion and
dislodgement that a man dislodges himself in this
world, even less than a hairsbreadth — to the extent
that many, many thousands of worlds and parsahs
(miles) are incomparable to it.

And to understand this, it is known that this material

world is only the central point inside the [heavenly]
spheres, as is understood by the astronomers; and all
the more so, against the higher worlds the entire
Earth is not considered more than a point. And it is
known that all the lines which you draw from a
 Afterword of the Legendary Tales

central point, behold they are close to each other by

the point – all the lines. And the farther they get
from the point, the farther they become from each
other. And so when the lines extend exceedingly far
from the point, the lines also become extremely far
from each other, even though down below by the
point they are adjacent, like this:

Hence if a person projects in his mind, lines drawn

from the Earth which is at the bottom, even only out
to the planetary orbits, he will find that even if he
moves only a hairsbreadth, nevertheless in the place
of the planets, there will be a vast distance from
where they were originally opposite his head; now it
will be far away many, many thousands of miles
(parsahs), according to the sheer magnitude of the
upper trajectory compared to the lower Earth, as is
known, for innumerable stars are fixed there, and
each star is as huge as this world and larger. And all
the more so, and all the more so, when he projects in
his mind the lines extending out to the upper worlds,
which in comparison to them, all the planets are
totally insignificant. Hence there is no measure to
 Afterword of the Legendary Tales

the distance he spans there in the upper worlds

through the slightest change of location, even less
than a hairsbreadth, that he distances himself and
goes from the place he was at initially — even
though here on the lower Earth he did not go far, and
went just less than a hairbreadth, visibly not moving
at all — for this is impossible to measure except by
Hashem Yisburach. Even still, there, in the upper
worlds, he spans many, many thousands of worlds
and miles — and all the more so, all the more so,
when someone goes a mile or many miles in service
of Hashem; "Eye has not seen... (Isaiah 64:3)."

The Two Palaces

Know that there are two kinds of palaces, and the
two palaces are identical. In one lives a king, and in
the second lives a slave. And certainly in truth there
is a vast difference between the palace of a king and
the palace of a slave, but nevertheless it is possible
to mistake one for the other, for there is a
connection, that many souls connect to the extent
that from them is made a house and palace. For one
binds to another, and one to another, until there is
 Afterword of the Legendary Tales

made from them a foundation, and then a tent, until

there is built from them a house and an abode. And
this abode is an abode for truth. And when there is a
need to request truth, it is found there in that abode,
that is, amidst the connection of the souls previously
mentioned which from them is made an abode for
the truth, as mentioned. And therefore the Torah
commanded, "Turn the [judgment] to follow the
majority [opinion] [Ex. 23:2]," for since many have
bound together as one, certainly the truth is there, as
mentioned.

And this is the aspect of, “All the soul of the [lit: to
the] House of Jacob [Gen. 46:26,27 and Rashi there
explains that it says 'soul' singular, because they
were united in serving One G-d]." That is, from the
souls are made the “House of Jacob,” that is, an
abode for truth, which is the aspect of Jacob, as is
written, “Grant truth to Jacob [Mic. 7:20]."

However, be aware that diametrically opposed to

this, there is the bond of the wicked, that many souls
of the wicked bind together, and from them is made
a house and abode for falsehood. And regarding this
 Afterword of the Legendary Tales

the prophet warned (Isa. 8:12), “Do not say (-

recognize as) a band, to whatever this people say
(with the force of) a band [Isa. 8:12]," for the
banding of the wicked is not counted, and regarding
this it is written, “Do not follow a multitude to do
evil [Ex. 23:2]."

But behold, between these two houses it is possible

to make a mistake, that is, between the truth and the
falsehood. For falsehood simulates itself to the truth,
for there too there is the connection from many
souls, and it possible for a man to be mistaken, and
not know where the truth is, and to where he should
draw himself.

And know, that by means of the mitzvah of

redeeming captives, one merits to understand (-
differentiate) between the two houses mentioned,
between truth and falsehood, between a king and a
slave, for falsehood is the aspect of a slave, an
aspect of 'cursed,' an aspect of, "cursed is Canaan —
a slave of slaves etc. [Gen. 9:25]."
 Afterword of the Legendary Tales

The Two Intellects

And know that there are two types of intellects, and
they are the aspect of, "behind" and "before." That
is, there is an intellect that comes to a man with
time, and the older and more advanced in years he
gets, the more he knows, an aspect of, “Days will
speak” [Job 32:7]. This type of intellect is in the
category of “behind,” since it comes with the
delayment ('behind') of time, for this intellect needs
time. But there is an intellect that comes to a man in
great abundance, very swiftly, in less than an instant,
for it is above time; and no time at all is needed for
this intellect, and this intellect is the category of
“face," which is the aspect of Jacob, the aspect of
truth, in the aspect of, “those that seek Your face,
Jacob. Selah [Ps. 24:6]." (see Likutay Moharan,
Torah 21).

A Remedy For Pox

After Shabbat, Torah Portion of Vay'chi, he said,
“At this Shalosh Se`udos (third meal) I became
aware of a segulah (a rite or charm) for pox. Take
 Afterword of the Legendary Tales

chalk (-soft white limestone – calcium carbonate.

Heb: sodium) and take soap [boarees] three times
the weight of the chalk, and from the two make a
bath to bathe the baby. And it is necessary to do this
as soon as the baby starts to have fever and burn up
from this, and it will be effective with the help of
Hashem, if the decree is not severe, but if the decree
is severe Heaven forbid, it will not help.”

And he said, “The disease of pox resulted from the

Sin of the Calf. So, in this regard there is a
difficulty: Isn't this disease also found by the nations
of the world? But it is brought in the Midrash that
the nations of the world ought not have any diseases
(since their portion is this world), but only in order
that they not oppress and provoke Israel, all the
illnesses that Israel have, were given to them, as
Rashi has explained on the verse, `Do not put me to
be the disgrace of the scoundrel' [Psalms 39:9]:
Bring plagues and pains upon him as well so that he
will not be able to say to me, 'You are stricken but
we are not stricken;’ and this prayer caused
afflictions of sicknesses to be brought upon the
 Afterword of the Legendary Tales

nations. And there is another seeming problem:

Surely this illness certainly existed before the Sin of
the Calf. However, beforehand, the illness was not
severe, and the pox was only a result of blood that
the baby had drawn in its mother's womb, as is
known to the erudite doctors, but it was not a grave
illness with mortal danger Heaven forbid, as it is
now; and this was induced by the aforementioned
sin.

[The remedy] is also slightly alluded to in Jeremiah,

where everything is mentioned in one verse: "Even
if you wash yourself with chalk and increase greatly
for yourself soap, the stain of your sin is before Me”
[Jer. 2:22]. Rashi explains that this refers to the Sin
of the Calf. [Nesser – means Kraid in Yiddish;
Boarees – Zayif]. (Thus, the secret of the segulah for
this illness caused by the Sin of the Calf is alluded to
here, that is, to wash with nesser, which is chalk, and
to use much boarees, which is soap.) And
understand wonders.
 Afterword of the Legendary Tales

Sarah Esther
[A story] from the days of his youth. One time
people came to him with a pidyon (-redemption), to
pray for a girl, Sarah Esther bas (daughter of)
Yehudith. And he said that she would die, and so it
was. And he said that he knew this from the holy
Torah, since he saw then the verse, “Vehadagah
asher ba'yeor maissah va'yeev'ash/And the fish
which were in the river died and stank” [Ex. 7:21].
And in the words, "maissah va'yeev'ash" this was
revealed to him — "MaiSsaH Va'YeeV'ASh" is an
acronym of "Sarah [A]esther [V]bas Yehudith Vai
MaiSsaH [Woe! Sarah Esther daughter of Yehudith
died]!" May Hashem keep us.

The Ten Psalms – Tikun Haklalli

[The Rebbe] cautioned his men, when an impure
accident happens to them (i.e. nocturnal emission)
Heaven forbid, that they should go immediately to a
mikvah [ritual bath] to immerse, because through a
nocturnal emission Heaven forbid, there is done
what it is done. Therefore it is very good that before
some [bad] thing starts to be done as a result of this,
 Afterword of the Legendary Tales

Heaven forbid, the man should preempt, and

immerse and purify himself.

And he cautioned us very much that a man should

not fear this at all, for fear, worry, and melancholy in
this matter are very, very harmful, especially after he
revealed these ten chapters of Psalms which have the
segulah to rectify this offense, namely: 16, 32, 41,
42, 59, 77, 90, 105, 137, 150, as explained in the
books which have been already printed. At that time
he said, “Whoever merits to fulfill this, to say these
(the) ten chapters of Psalms mentioned above, on the
same day he has a nocturnal emission Heaven
forbid, will certainly have his sin rectified, and
should no longer worry at all.” He also scoffed of
those chassidim and [Heaven] fearing people whom,
whenever some thought occurs to them, they fear
lest they come to a nocturnal emission, and due to
this they are accustomed to do frequently what is
permitted, for fear that they shouldn't come to a
nocturnal emission. And he, of blessed memory,
would make scoff of this. And his main intention
was: that a man needs to not be scared or fear such
 Afterword of the Legendary Tales

things at all, and not to think any thoughts at all

regarding this, but only be like a valiant soldier
standing against his craving, and detach his mind
from this completely and not be scared at all, and
Hashem, what is good in His eyes will do with him,
what He, Blessed He, desires.

And he hinted with his words that this is the aspect

of the infraction of King David ob"m, with
Bathsheba etc., but he did not explain the matter
well (See Tractate Sucah 52b). And a person very,
very much needs to strengthen himself in joy
continuously, and not fall in his mind at all from
anything in the world, no matter what happens to
him. And if he will be strong in his mind, and not
get frightened at all, and not devise thoughts at all
(which are called iber trachten/over-thinking), and
will go unfeigned in joy, he will merit to ultimately
pass everything in peace. And things like these, are
impossible to explain in writing, but a clever person
will understand in stride (Proverbs 14:15).
 Afterword of the Legendary Tales

A King's Hand
In addition, what he told over on Shabbat Chanukah
but it was forgotten, of a king's son who was
distanced from his father etc., and he yearned very,
very much, etc. etc.. And a letter from his father
arrived to him, and he delighted in it very, very
much, but still he yearned very much, and he
yearned that anyhow he would extend his hand to
him, and if he would extend his hand to him, he
would hug it and kiss it. And afterwards he settled
himself, "Behold this letter is the handwriting of the
king himself, and therefore it is the king's hand, etc.
etc. (All this was not written properly, for it has been
forgotten, since it was not written down at the time.
Many see this story as referring to the holy Petek
that Saba Yisroel received from Rabbi Nachman)
 Afterword of the Legendary Tales

Trust

Rabbainu Hakadosh told over this story on the night of

the 4th of Elul 5566, and it was publicized by Rabbi
Yisroel Karduner ob"m.

[Rabbi Nachman] spoke up and said,

furthermore I have told over a story about
trust (in Hashem), and this is it:

A king said in his heart, “Can anyone be found with

nothing to worry about, more than I? For I have
everything good, and I am king and ruler.” And he went
to investigate this. He would go at night, and he would
stand behind the houses to heed and listen to the talk of
the populace. He would hear the worries of each one, that
for this one it isn't working out properly in his store, and
afterwards he went to another house, and heard that he is
worried for he has concern from the government, and so
all the other worries of each and everyone.

Afterwards he went and saw a low house standing

submerged in the ground, the windows low down
hugging the earth, and the roof fallen in and broken. He
saw there, someone sitting playing the violin so that it
was necessary to listen attentively in order to hear the
 Afterword of the Legendary Tales

sound, and he was extremely happy, and there was a pot

with beverage set before him, and the beverage was wine,
and foods were set before him, and he was extremely
happy, full of happiness without any worries whatsoever.
He went and entered the house and asked his wellbeing,
and he answered him. And he saw the pot with the
beverage before him, and the variety of foods and how he
was just full of joy. And he honored (-offered
refreshment to) the king to drink, and he drank with the
king, and the king also drank for the sake of comradery.
Afterwards he lay down to sleep, and (the king) saw that
he is just happy without any worry. In the morning the
king got up, and he also got up and escorted the king out.

The king asked him, "From where do you (have the

wherewithal) to buy all this?"

He answered (him), "I am able to fix all necessary repairs

of broken objects. For I am not capable of a complete
craft, just the repair of broken items. I go out in the
morning, and I mend some things, and when I have
earned from this a sum of five or six golden, I buy for
myself all these items of food and drink."

When the king heard this, he said in his heart, "I will ruin
this for him."
 Afterword of the Legendary Tales

The king went and made a proclamation, that whoever

has something to be fixed, should not give it to anyone
for repair, rather he should fix it himself or buy a new
one.

In the morning he went asking for things that need fixing,

and they told him that the king had decreed not to give
anything to anyone for repair. This was bad in his eyes,
but he trusted in Hashem. So he went and saw a rich man
chopping wood, and he asked him, "Why are you
chopping wood? Is this befitting of you?"

He said to him, "I searched for someone to chop the

wood and couldn't find anyone, so I was forced to chop it
myself."

He said to him, "Allow me, and I will chop with you."

And he chopped the wood, and the rich man gave him a
golden. He saw that this is good, and he went to chop
more wood, until he had earned six golden, and he once
again bought the whole feast (Rabbainu used this
language: 'in dey si-ooda iz given a si-ooda' – and the
feast was a feast), and he was happy. And the king went
again behind the window of his house to see, and he saw
that this one sits and the drink and foods are before him,
 Afterword of the Legendary Tales

and he is extremely happy. The king went and entered

inside the house, and he saw as before, and he lay down
there also like the first night, and in the morning the man
got up and escorted the king out. And he asked him,
"From where do you (have the wherewithal) to buy this,
for this costs money?"

He answered him, "My practice was to fix all the things

that were broken, and afterwards the king decreed to no
longer give anyone to fix, so I chopped wood until I put
together money for this as before."

The king went from him and decreed not to give anyone
to chop wood.

And when the man came to chop wood, he was told that
the king had decreed an edict not to give anyone to chop
wood. And it was bad in his eyes, for there was no money
(to be made), but he trusted in Hashem. So he went, and
he saw someone cleaning a shed, and he asked him,
"Who are you, that you clean a shed?"

He answered him, "I searched but couldn't find anyone to

clean for me, so I was forced to clean it myself."

He said to him, "Allow me and I will clean."

 Afterword of the Legendary Tales

He stood and cleaned it, and he gave him two golden. He

went and cleaned more sheds and put together six golden,
and he purchased again the whole feast as before, and he
went home (and the feast was a feast), and he was
extremely happy. The king went again to see, and he saw
again everything as before, and he entered the house as
before. Afterwards in the morning he again escorted the
king out, and the king asked him again as before, and he
answered him everything recounted above. The king
went and decreed not to give anyone to clean a shed.

In the morning the man went searching for sheds to clean,

and they told him that the king decreed against this as
mentioned. The man went and hired himself out as a
soldier by the minister who acquires soldiers for the king.
For there are soldiers who are conscripted as determined
by the country, and there are soldiers which are hired. So
he went and hired himself out as a soldier, and he
stipulated with the minister that he is not hiring himself
out interminably, just temporarily, and that he would be
given his wages each and every day in the morning. And
the minister immediately dressed him in army uniform,
and girded him with a sword on his side, and sent him to
the necessary place. Afterwards, in the evening, when he
had done all his tasks, he threw off the uniform and
 Afterword of the Legendary Tales

purchased for himself the whole feast mentioned above,

and he went home (and the feast was a feast), and he was
extremely happy. The king went again to see, and he saw
that everything was set before him, and he is extremely
happy as before, and he entered his house and lay down
as before, and he asked him as before, and he told him
everything recounted above. The king went and called the
minister and commanded him not to lift his hand to pay
anyone that day.

In the morning he went to the minister to get his pay for

the day, and he did not acquiesce. And he asked him,
"Did I not stipulate with you, that you would pay me
every day?"

He answered him, that the king had decreed not to pay

anyone that day. And all his arguments with him were to
no avail, and he told him, "Better I pay you tomorrow for
two days, but today it is impossible to pay you."

What did he do? He went and broke off a piece of the

sword and fixed a piece of wood in its place, and it was
not visible or evident at all from the outside. And he went
and pawned the piece and purchased again the whole
feast mentioned above (and the feast was a feast). The
king went again and saw that the joy was complete as
 Afterword of the Legendary Tales

before, and he again entered his house and lay down there
as before, and he asked his as before, and he told him
everything recounted above, that he was forced to break
the blade of the sword from the handle, and he pawned it
in order to buy for himself the necessities of the feast,
"and after, when I receive the money for that day, I will
redeem and fix the sword and it won't be at all
discernible, for I am able to fix anything broken (and
there will be no harm to the king).

The king went to his home, and he called the minister and
commanded him; being that there was someone
sentenced to death, therefore call that soldier that you
hired to be a soldier, and command him specifically, that
he should cut off the head of the one sentenced to death.
The minister went and did so, and he called him, and he
came before the king. And the king commanded for all
the ministers to gather in order to see the comedy, that
there was found a man who stuck a piece of wood in
place of the sword. And he came before the king, and he
fell at his feet, and asked him, "My master the king, why
was I summoned?"

He said to him, "In order to severe the head of the (man)

sentenced to death."
 Afterword of the Legendary Tales

He replied to him, and entreated before him, being that he

never shed blood, therefore he should call someone else
to do it. And the king replied (to him), that he specifically
must kill him now.

He said to the king, "Is the verdict for this clear, perhaps
the judgment isn't clear that he is liable of death, and I
have never shed blood, certainly I shouldn't shed blood
which isn't clear that he is liable of death."

The king replied to him, "Certainly the judgment is clear

that he is liable of death, for there is certainly a verdict on
this (which is called 'decreed'), and now you specifically
are obligated to execute him."

He saw that it was impossible to influence the king. He

turned himself to Hashem Yisburach and said, "Almighty
G-d (Ei"l Shada"i – a Divine Name not to be pronounced
in vain outside of prayer), I have never spilled blood, and
if this man isn't liable of death, let the iron be made into
wood." And he grabbed the sword, and drew it from its
sheath, and everyone saw that it was wood, and there was
an uproar of laughter there.

The king saw that he is such a pleasing man, so he let

him off in peace.
 Wondrous Stories and Parables

from the holy book Stars of Light

(Koachvey Ohr)

Mazal

A story of a pauper who would sit in the Beis Medrash

(House of Torah Study) and learn (Torah). Once an
astrologer (who is called rosh bit. Lit. a stargazer) came
to the city, and the whole city ran to him. But the pauper
sat in the Beis Medrash and didn't go to him. His wife
came to him, inside the Beis Medrash, and she didn't find
anyone there except for her husband, because all of them
went to the seer. And she screamed at him, "You are a
destitute lazy mishap! Why don't you go to the
astrologer? But he didn't want to go, and she badgered
him more, until he was forced to go to him. He came to
the astrologer, and he (the astrologer) said to him that his
mazal (fate, fortune, aptitude) is that he should be a thief.
He returned to the Beis Medrash to his learning, and his
wife came and she said to him, "What did he tell you?"
 Wondrous Stories and Parables

He said to her, "He said to me, a beggar, remain a

beggar." In the evening he came to his house, and ate his
main (lit. large) meal, namely a piece of bread. While he
was eating he began to chuckle, and his wife asked him,
"What are you laughing (about)? Certainly you know
something, and you don't want to tell me." He said to her,
"No, he didn't tell me anything, I am simply laughing (for
no special reason)." He ate some more, and again, a
second time, he began to laugh, and she asked him as
before, and he answered her as before. In the middle of
all this he burst out laughing, and he laughed so heartily
he emitted an odor from his mouth. She said to him
again, "See! Certainly you know something." He told her
that the astrologer told him that his mazal was that he
should be a thief. She replied that she doesn't want him to
be a thief, "and it is good for us to be poor, however it
may be, as Hashem provides, and you should not be a
thief."

Afterwards Shabbat arrived, presumably they had

everything nice for Shabbat in order, that is, challah
(loaves) of grain bread, and the rest of courses properly.
And they sat to eat, and he had presumably four-five
daughters and they grabbed from each other a piece of
bread, for also the aforementioned bread he did not have
 Wondrous Stories and Parables

adequately sufficient. His wife spoke up and said,

"Master of the World! I am very fed up already with this
poverty to the extent that I want you to be a thief, so that
we don't suffer this scrimping." He was forced to fulfill
her desire. [Yid: Ya givalt oon nit givalt, in fort
gegahngen – He did want and/or he didn't want,
nevertheless he went – and so each time Rabbainu used
this expression].

He went to steal, and he settled himself to go to the

wealthiest man of the city to steal. So he went to steal,
and he found the guards sleeping, and no one challenged
him whatsoever. So he went to the store, and the lock was
open, because that was his mazal, and so he went to the
register, and he found its lock open as well. So he took
four-five rubles (adumim) just enough for his livelihood,
and he brought (it) to his wife, and said to her, "See, I
have fulfilled your desire, and draw your expenditures
from this, for I will not continue to steal again." She
answered him, that certainly she also does not desire this,
just that it was incumbent because of the duress.

Afterwards, one time she began screaming at him,

"beggar mishap, you were in the store, why didn't you
take (enough) to get me a yoopu (a long unlined silk robe
worn for formal occasions), and he was forced to go steal
 Wondrous Stories and Parables

again. He went to the store and he found a thief standing

there, and he asked him, "Who are you?" And he replied,
"I am a thief." And so he (the other guy) asked him, and
he answered likewise, that he is a thief. The
aforementioned pauper said to him, "Let us become
partners in robberies, I have the mazal for this," and he
agreed to this. The pauper said in his mind, "if we steal
here, we will make the owner of the house into a pauper,
for I, by myself, would steal just what I need for a yoopa,
but now he will steal a lot and the owner of the house will
be left with nothing." So he said to the thief, "Why
should we bring loss to a Jew, better that we go steal by a
gentile." And he agreed to this, and they settled to go
steal by the king (who lived in this city), for certainly he
can steal there, for that is his mazal as mentioned. The
thief said, "It would be good for us to steal the king's set
(-pair) of clothing that he wears when they coronate him,
and certainly it will be enough for us for generations
upon generations, for I know where they are placed. The
pauper agreed, for certainly he could steal them, for that
was his mazal. And they went there, and they went to a
room more interior than a (outer) room, and they found
the clothing, and the pockets (/the encasing) of the
clothing were very valuable, and they took them.
 Wondrous Stories and Parables

Afterwards they start to quarrel between them, because

one garment was large, and one garment was small. The
thief said that he is entitled to the large one, because he
had the intel on them, and the pauper said that he was
entitled to the large one, because he was the one with the
mazal, and with his mazal they stole them. The pauper
said that he will go ask the king. The thief said, "How is
that possible?" He said to him, "Nevertheless, I will go
and ask him." The thief said, "If you could do this, that
you go and ask the king, then I myself will give you the
large garment." He went with him to the king, and lying
near the king was one who told over stories to the king so
that he would sleep. So they came, and they both grasped
the king's bed, that he was sleeping there, and they
carried the bed with the king to a room. In the interim the
king woke up, and he thought that he was in his place.
And the thief began to tell him the story as is written
above, from two thieves mentioned above, and he asked
the king, "Who is entitled to the large garment?" The
king was outraged at him, "What are you asking me?
Certainly the pauper is entitled, because they were stolen
with his mazal! It would be good for you to tell me a
story," and he told him a story, and the king slept. They
stood and carried the bed, and they returned it to the first
room.
 Wondrous Stories and Parables

In the morning it became known that the king's clothing

mentioned above, were stolen. The king remembered that
the one who lies by him had told him the aforementioned
story, and had asked him who was entitled to the large
garment, and he said that certainly he knows from the
robbery. So they beat him, and he said he doesn't know,
and they beat him profusely and tortured him very much,
but he claimed, "I do not know." The king sent for the
archbishop (who is called archiriga) to ask him about the
aforementioned story, if it is possible that even still that
aforementioned man did not steal them. The priest said
that it was possible that he did not know. And the priest
said that is was foolish of the king for ruling that the
pauper was entitled to the large garment. The king was
very outraged at the priest for considering him to be a
fool, and he wanted to do something to him, but was
unable. And they were searching very much for the theft,
but they did not find (anything). The king commanded to
announce that whoever had stolen (the clothing), should
come and acknowledge, for certainly they will not do
anything to him, for the king desires to know how it is
possible to steal these clothing. And crowds and crowds
of people congregated discussing this.
 Wondrous Stories and Parables

The pauper came and asked them, "What is it that you are
discussing?" And they informed him. He spoke up and
said, "What is the commotion? He who stole will return."
And they screamed at him. And so he came again and
asked, and they screamed at him, "Beggar, behold you
are liable for your life, for they will say of you, that you
know about the theft." He said, "Yes, I know of the
theft." They said to him, "If you know, go and tell." He
said, "I will tell." So the pauper came to the king, and
said, "I know of the theft." The king said that he desires
strongly to see the thief. He replied, "I am he." And the
king kissed him, and asked him, "How did you steal
(them)?" And he told him over the whole story as above,
and they sought the thief, and they returned also the
second garment which was by him.

The king said to the pauper, "Make contrivances to

ensnare the aforementioned archbishop, because I am
upset with him." He said, "So I will do." The pauper
commanded to make for him clothing like the archbishop
wears when he performs their prayers, and that they
should catch many fish-reptile (that are called ruckees),
and that they should give him many candles. And he went
and dressed himself in the clothing mentioned, and he
stuck a candle to each and every reptile, and he lit the
 Wondrous Stories and Parables

candles mentioned, and he let the reptiles mentioned run

and fly inside his prayer house, and he stood on the place
from which thing are conducted. And he began to shout,
and they all came and gathered there, and the
aforementioned priest also came, and he was very
frightened because he saw a flame, and a voice was
calling, but he didn't know what it was. He said to the
priest, that he revealed himself to him because he wants
to bring him into paradise immediately. The priest fell on
his face, and the pauper said to him that before he can
enter paradise he must first go a bit to hell, and
afterwards he will bring him into paradise. And he
ordered the priest to get into a sack, and he got in. He
went and tied him and carried him to the king, and hung
him before the king's courtyard, and informed him.
Everyone went out and saw someone hanging in a sack,
and they didn't know what it is, and they began to throw
stones at it, and they threw so many stones at it until they
hit him, beaten and bruised, and broke all his teeth. And
the priest didn't know what this was, if this was the hell
that was told to him, that he needs to go to first, or if this
is a trick. Afterwards, when they had beaten him, the king
said to throw him out, and they threw him out, and untied
the sack, and he left there in great disgrace.
 Wondrous Stories and Parables

[In an alternate version I heard, the end was that they

took him to be hung, because the end of a thief is to be
hung, and when they were bringing him, someone (the
Accuser) went with a sack of shoes, and said to him, "so
much effort I toiled, and so many shoes I tore, until I
brought you to this etc..] (The copier says: For this is the
way of the Accuser, to entice and afterwards incite [Yid:
raytz her zich] as is brought down in the Story Tale (#8)
about the Rabbi and his only son etc..):

In Siach Sarfey Kodesh (3:99) this alternative version is

what is presented; when the pauper is told that the king
desires to see the thief: 'He does want and/or he doesn't
want' and yet he goes and tells the king the whole story,
from beginning to end. The royal ministers and the
judges tell the king, that even though you don't hold it
against him and pardon him, however we demand justice
from him, and they sat and judged how to punish him,
and they decreed that his punishment was that he must be
hung. When they were taking him to be hung he saw
from a far the astrologer carrying a sack full of torn shoes
etc..
 Wondrous Stories and Parables

A Man Stronger Than a Diamond

A story that Rabbainu ob"m told over. A story of a

pauper who supported himself from digging clay to sell.
Once he was digging clay and he found in the place that
he dug a gem which was worth an absolute fortune, but
he didn't know its value. So he went to a craftsman to
appraise its worth, and he answered that there was no one
in this country that could pay its value, and he would
need to travel to London, to the imperial city. But he was
poor, and he did not have money to travel. So he went
and sold everything he had, and he went from house to
house for donations, until he had enough to travel until
the sea. And he wanted to board the ship but he didn't
have money. So he went to the captain and showed him
the gem, and immediately the captain took him aboard
the ship with great honor, and said to him, you are high
certainty. And he gave him a special first class cabin,
with all the amenities like a prized magnate. And his
cabin had a window into the sea. And he was always
delighting and rejoicing his soul with the diamond. And
especially at mealtimes, for through joy and an expanded
heart, it is beneficial and healing, to facilitate the
digestion of the food.
 Wondrous Stories and Parables

One time he sat to eat, and the diamond was resting on

the table, to be delighted with, and he slept. In the interim
the servant came and took the tablecloth and the crumbs,
and didn't know from the diamond, and he threw
everything into the sea. And when he awoke from his
sleep, and he understood all this, he had great anguish,
and he almost went out of his mind, and what could he
do, the captain is a marauder who would kill him for the
price of the trip on the ship. Therefore he made himself
happy as if he didn't know.

And the custom of the captain was to speak with him

every day for a few hours, and so he came on this day,
and he made himself happy to the extent that he did not
recognize in him any change. And the captain said to
him, "Behold I know that you are wise and of straight
heart, and I want to buy a lot of grain to sell in London,
and I can profit handsomely, but I am worried that they
should not say of me that I steal from the king's
warehouse (/treasury), therefore the purchase will be in
your name, and I will pay you well. This was appealing
in his eyes, and they did so.

Immediately upon their arrival in London the captain

died, and everything was left by this man, and it was
double, quadruple the value of the diamond. And
 Wondrous Stories and Parables

Rabbainu ob"m concluded that the diamond was not his,

and the proof is that it was lost from him. And the grain
was his, and the proof is that it remained by him. [Yid: un
vus her iz gekuemen tzu zany zach iz nur viel her hut
zich dehr halten-] And everything that came to his cause,
was only due to his holding himself up etc..

Kaptzin Pasha

Once by the Turkish King (Sultan) there was a man from

our Jewish brethren, who was very important in his eyes,
more than all the royal ministers that he had, and he
loved him with very great and strong love, more than all
the royal ministers that he had. And every single day he
would call him to his house to delight in his company.
The royal ministers were jealous of him, and they
schemed plots to defame him before the king so that he
should eradicate him from the world. And between them
there was a pasha who was called Kaptzin Pasha, whose
hatred for this Jew was greater than all the ministers', but
in front of the Jew he presented himself as his friend.
And every day he schemed plots of his desire, that he
should succeed in finding on him some defamation
before the king.
 Wondrous Stories and Parables

Once the aforementioned pasha came to the

aforementioned Jew, and he began to speak to him slyly,
and he told him how he was by the king, and he heard
from his mouth, "how he loves you, but he suffers from
one thing, for when you come before him to speak with
him, he is not able to bear the odor of your mouth, for he
senses a bad odor wafting from your mouth, but he
cannot be without you, and he has great suffering from
this.""So for this my advice is that every time you come
before the king, hold a kerchief with fragrance in front of
your mouth, in order that the king won't sense the bad
breath from your mouth, for the fragrance will dispel the
bad odor, in order that you don't stink in the eyes of the
king." And the aforementioned Jew, due to his temimus
(innocence) believed his words, and decided in his mind
to do so.

Afterwards the aforementioned pasha went to the king,

and he told him that he heard from the aforementioned
Jew, that he said that he has great suffering, for every
time he speaks with the king he senses a bad odor
emanating from the king's mouth, "therefore his
resolution is that when he comes to speak to you, my
master the king, he will hold a kerchief with fragrance
against his mouth, in order not to sense the bad odor from
 Wondrous Stories and Parables

the king's mouth. And this is the sign that my words are
true, for tomorrow, when he comes to speak with you,
you will see with your eyes that he will hold a kerchief
against his mouth." When the king heard this he was very
angry, and he said to him, "When I see that your words
are true, then I will abolish him from the world."

And behold, the aforementioned Jew came on the

morrow before the king, and he held a kerchief against
his mouth as the pasha had advised him, because he
believed his words. And when the king saw this, and it
was clear in his mind that the words of the pasha were
true, immediately he wrote a letter as follows, "When the
person who gives over this note comes before you, throw
him immediately into the incinerator which all those
sentenced for execution are burned there." And the king
sealed the letter with his seal, and said to this man, "I
request of you, that you personally deliver this letter to
the man written in the address, which is in such-and-such
a place." And the aforementioned Jew took the letter, and
promised the king that he would do as he said, and he
didn't know what was written in it, and he went to his
home.

Now this Jewish man mentioned above, was avidly active

in the mitzvah to circumcise Jewish children, and
 Wondrous Stories and Parables

whenever they would honor him with the mitzvah of

cutting, he would not pay attention to any hindrance
confronting him, because the mitzvah was very precious
in his eyes. And then, on that day that he needed to travel
to deliver the letter from the king to the place where it
was to be sent, and Hashem, Who desired to save His
trusted friend, brought about that someone came from a
town and honored him to travel with him to the town and
circumcise his son. And because his practice was not to
leave this mitzvah for any reason, he began to
contemplate, "What shall I do for the king's command, in
the matter of his letter?" And Hashem brought about that
the aforementioned pasha came before him, and he told
over to the pasha that he was by the king, and the king
gave him a letter for him to deliver to the person it was
being sent to (him), and today Hashem presented him
with the mitzvah of cutting, and my practice is not to
leave this mitzvah for any reason, therefore I am
requesting from you, that you should take the letter and
bring it there. Now, the aforementioned pasha was very
happy, because now he can slander him more, before the
king, because he didn't do the king's desire with the letter.
And the pasha took the letter from his hand, and
delivered to the person it was being sent to (him) – and
this was the executioner appointed to burn those that the
 Wondrous Stories and Parables

king had sentenced to death. And immediately he

grabbed the aforementioned pasha, and he threw him into
the incinerator and he was burned, as he was deserving to
be punished by Hashem, measure for measure.

Now the Jew did not know anything of the

aforementioned (pasha) what was done to him. On the
morrow he returned and came before the king. When the
king saw him he was very puzzled, and said to him,
"Have you still not delivered the letter that I put in your
hands for that aforementioned man?" He answered him,
"My master the king, the letter I gave over to (the
aforementioned) Kaptzin Pasha, that he should deliver it
to that man, because Hashem Yisburach presented me
with the mitzvah of cutting, and my practice is not to
leave this mitzvah." The king then understood, is it not a
phenomenon that this pasha who has slandered him (the
Jew) before him (the king) should be burned. So the king
immediately asked the man, "What is this, that you hold a
kerchief with fragrance against your mouth when you
speak with me?" He answered him, that the pasha had
given him this remedy, "because he told me that he heard
from you, that you are unable to bear my bad breath."
The king then told over to him how the pasha had
slandered him before him, "that you said to him that you
 Wondrous Stories and Parables

are unable to bear my bad breath, and therefore you will

hold a kerchief with fragrance so as not to sense the bad
odor from my mouth." And the king told over to him
what was written in the letter that he had given him, and
he said to him, "Now I know that Hashem is the ruler of
the land Who saves His cherished from all bad; and to the
aforementioned pasha, just as he schemed to do onto you,
so was done to him, and Hashem returned unto him
retribution upon his head." And from then on his
importance in the eyes of the king was greater than all the
ministers that were with him, and he was very, very
important and precious in his eyes.

The Flood

A story of rain, regarding the matter that Hashem

Yisburach will conquer the battle with only the simple,
those who recite Psalms with simplicity etc., and not with
those who go with wisdoms.

Rabbainu ob"m told over a parable of a king who went

hunting, and he set out dressed as a commoner so as to
facilitate the amusement.

In the middle, suddenly, heavy rain fell – literally a flood

of water. All of the ministers scattered one by one etc.,
 Wondrous Stories and Parables

and the king was in dire danger, and he searched until he

found a cottage. And there was a villager there, and he
took the king (in), and dressed him, and gave him his (the
villager's) food - groats (barley soup) etc., and he heated
the oven and let the king sleep on its threshold. It was so
sweet and pleasant for the king, that he never tasted such
a taste of pleasantness, since he had been so tired and
exhausted etc..

The royal ministers searched for the king until they came
there, and saw that he was sleeping. They wanted the
king to return home with them, but he told them, “Since
you did not save me, rather everyone scattered to save
himself, whereas this man saved me, and here I tasted
such sweetness, therefore, he will bring me in his wagon,
and with these clothes, and he will seat me on the royal
throne.”

Rabbainu ob"m concluded this, that it is brought down

that at the heels (the times ushering in) of the Messiah
there will be a flood – they will shoot with heresy, not of
water, but of foreign (-improper) thoughts. And they will
cover all the towering mountains. Even in the Land of
Israel, where the flood was not, just due to the force of
their projection, the waters streamed there; i.e. it will
splash in even into the kosher hearts, and with wisdoms
 Wondrous Stories and Parables

no remedy will be able to be given. And all the royal

ministers scattered, and all the royalty will not stand
strong – will not hold up, just the simple Jews who recite
Psalms with simplicity etc.. Therefore when the Messiah
comes they will place the royal crown on his head.

There is another version to this story which was

censored, without going over all the discrepancies of the
main story as told above, I will just bring an additional
part to the story not brought down in the standard printed
version.

After the villager (according to the censured version, the

villager is a gentile) crowns the king, the king tells him,
"In reward for your saving me so much from death, ask
for something from me and I will do it for you." And he
asked from him a ridiculous thing: Being that there is a
great distance from his house to Odessa, hundreds of
miles, and his sons bring merchandise to Odessa and it is
very laborious for them, because it's a long journey and it
takes them days and years, and the profit goes for the trip,
and they are not left with anything, just a small profit,
"Therefore I ask that he should command to make the
way shorter." And the king promised him, and
commanded that they make the parsuos (large units of
length) longer; e.g. if the parsu was twenty kilometers,
 Wondrous Stories and Parables

they should now make the parsu forty kilometers, and

thereby the way will be shorter, for in place of forty
parsuos, now it will be just twenty parsuos.

In Rabbainu's concluding words mentioned above, he

added mention to this addendum – that the simple Psalm
reciters who unknowingly save the King and bring him
back to crown him, should have the intelligence not to
ask for something foolish.

Ivan

A parable of 'who is here?' that Rabbainu ob"m told over,

that a man once traveled with a wagon driver (to Berlin
or some other large city). The man went to attend to his
needs, and the coachman, whose name was Ivan [-coarse,
without sensitivity], was left with the wagon in the
middle of the market. A policeman (soldier) came over to
him and asked him why he was stationed there, and he
said to him, "VerDa?" [“Who is here?”]

And he, thinking that the policeman was asking him his
name, he said to him, “Ivan.”

And he struck him and said, "VerDa?!" [“Who is here?!”]

 Wondrous Stories and Parables

And he yells, "Ivan!"

And he strikes him and screams, "VerDa?!" ["Who is

here?!"]

Until he (the policeman) took him (Ivan) with the wagon

to a sidestreet.

When the man returned, he searched for him until he

found him, and he said to him, “Ivan etc."

He (Ivan) replied in a whisper and with fear, "Do not say

Ivan, just: VerDa."

After he left the city, he (Ivan) said to him, "Now you can
call me Ivan."

There he was called VerDa [-Who is here?], and there he

was called Ivan [-coarse and unsensative].

Rabbainu ob"m concluded, “By me it is 'ver-da', that is,

'who is he?' – that he knows his lowliness; and also his
body (Ivan) is refined, and is called in the aspect of 'who'
and 'what' – 'ver-da' ["who is here?"], and when they
leave me it continues to be 'Ivan', the material (body) is
materialistic."
 Wondrous Stories and Parables

Bitter Herbs

A story of bitter herbs that Rabbainu ob"m told over that

once a Jew and a German went wandering about together.
And the Jew taught the German to make himself out to be
like a Jew (since the language (Yiddish and German) is
the same), and (thereby) the Jews are compassionate and
they will have mercy on him.

And when (/because) Passover was approaching, he

taught him how to conduct himself throughout the whole
seder (when the homeowner invites him to the house for
the seder), that kidush is made, and the washing of the
hands, he just forgot to tell him about the eating of bitter
herbs.

When he came to the seder he was famished from the

whole day, and anticipated eating all the good things that
the Jew had told him, but they give him a piece of karpas
(celery) in salt water, and the other items which are
customary of the seder, and they recited the hagadah.
And he was already looking expectantly for the eating,
and he was happy that they are already eating the matzah.
Suddenly they give him murror (bitter herbs), and his
mouth became pungent, and he thought that this is the
feast, that this alone is what they will eat. He
 Wondrous Stories and Parables

immediately fled, with bitterness and hunger, and he

thought to himself, "Cursed Jews, after the whole
ceremony, this is what they give to eat." And he came to
the beis medrash (house of Torah study) and slept.
Afterwards the Jew came with joyous countenance,
satiated from eating and drinking, and he (the Jew) asked
him, "How was the seder for you?" He told him angrily.

He said to him, "Hoy German fool, if you would have

waited a bit more, you would have eaten sumptuously
like me."

The same is true in the matter of Rabbainu (and the

service of Hashem), that after all the exertion and toil
until the arrival (and drawing close to Rabbainu, or to the
devotion of Hashem to purify the body), a bit of murror –
bitterness – is given, because the purification of the body
comes with bitterness, but the person thinks that it will
always be just the bitterness, only this is all there is, just
the bitterness etc., therefore he immediately flees.
However, when (/because) he waits a bit, and endures
this small bitterness of the purification of the body, then
he feels afterwards all types of vitality and delight (and
these parables, it is possible to learn from them counsel
for all matters of the service of Hashem). This holds true
in this matter of the service of Hashem, that first
 Wondrous Stories and Parables

transpires the bitterness of the refinement of the body, but

afterwards one feels the vitality etc.. [See also Medrash
Rabbah, Beraishis 66:4; tzaddikim, their beginning is
suffering and their end is harmony, and the evildoers
have the opposite].

The Treasure Under the Bridge

A story he told of the treasure that is under the bridge,

that once there was a man from a certain city, who
dreamt that in Vienna, under the bridge there is a
treasure. Therefore he traveled there and stood by the
bridge and sought out a contrivance what to do. For in the
day he was unable due to the people. And a soldier
passed by there, and said to him, "What are you standing
and contemplating?" He thought in his mind that it would
be good to tell him in order that he would help him and
they would divide it between them. He told him the
whole matter. [The soldier] spoke up and said to him,
"Ay (a) Jew gives consideration to a dream, in that case, I
also dreamt that in such and such a place, by such and
such a person (and he mentioned the city of the man, and
the name of this man) in the closet there is a treasure, will
I travel there?"
 Wondrous Stories and Parables

So the man travelled to his house, and dug in his closet

and found the treasure. And he said afterwards, "Now I
know: the treasure is by me, but in order for me to know
of the treasure, it was necessary to travel to Vienna."

So it is in the matter of serving Hashem, that the treasure

is by each one by himself, but in order to know of the
treasure it is incumbent to travel to the tzaddik.

The Turkey Prince

The parable about the turkey, that once a prince fell into a
(hebephrenic) psychosis that he is a (bird called a) turkey,
and it was a requisite for him to sit naked underneath the
table and drag bits of bread and bones like a turkey. All
the doctors despaired of helping him and healing him
from this, and the king was extremely distressed by this.

Until a sage came along and said, “I take upon myself to

heal him!”

He (the sage) too undressed himself naked, and sat

underneath the table next to the aforementioned prince,
and also dragged crumbs and bones.
 Wondrous Stories and Parables

The prince asked him, “Who are you, and what are you
doing here?”

He answered (him), “And what are you doing here?”

He said (to him), “I’m a turkey.”

He said (to him), “I’m also a turkey.”

The two of them sat together like that for some time, until
they became familiar with each other. Then the sage
signaled, and they threw them a shirt.

The sage turkey said to the prince, “You think a turkey

cannot go with a shirt? It is possible to wear a shirt and
even still be a turkey!”

So they both put on a shirt.

After some time, he signaled, and they threw them pants.

And he said to him again as before, "You think that with
pants it is not possible to be a turkey etc.," ensuing with
their donning pants. And so with the other clothing.

Afterwards, he signaled, and they threw them human

food from the table, and he said to him, "You think that if
one eats good foods it is no longer possible to be a
 Wondrous Stories and Parables

turkey? It is possible to eat and still be a turkey." And

they ate.

Afterwards, he said to him, "You think that a turkey must

be specifically under the table? It is possible to be a
turkey and be by the table."

And so he dealt with him until he healed him completely.

(There is a version with the following addition: And this

is the aspect of what our Sages ob"m said on the verse
(Kings I:5:11) "And he became more wise than all
mankind," – even from the fools).

The referent is understandable to those with

understanding.

(The transcriber says: It is possible to say, that a person

who desires to draw close to the service of Hashem,
behold he is a turkey dressed in materialism etc., and in
this fashion it is possible, little by little, to draw himself
close to the service of Hashem, until one enters
completely. And so with the outreach to people in this
fashion. And this is sufficient for the wise).
 Wondrous Stories and Parables

The Tainted Grain

The parable about grain, that once a king said to his dear
friend the second to the king, “Being that I am an
astrologer, I see that all the grain that will grow this year,
whoever eats from it will become crazy. Taking this into
consideration, devise a plan.”

And he replied (to him), that they should therefore

prepare for themselves grain so that they wouldn't need to
eat from the aforementioned grain.

The king replied to him, “If so, when we alone will not
be crazy, and the whole world will be crazy, then it will
be the opposite (and to prepare for everyone is
impossible) – we will be the crazy ones. Therefore
certainly we will also have to eat from the grain, just this
– that we will make a sign on our foreheads so that at
least we will know that we are crazy. For if I will look at
your forehead, and so, when you look at my forehead, we
will know from the sign that we are crazy.

There is another version to this story (Siach Sarfey

Kodesh 2:271), that it was the second to the king who
suggested that they would have to eat from the tainted
grain, but the king vehemently rejected this, saying that
 Wondrous Stories and Parables

just because the whole world was crazy, they do not, and
should not be crazy. And if they would appear to be crazy
to the rest of the world, so what. That is no reason to eat
the grain that makes people crazy. So they would prepare
grain for themselves.

This version of the story is presented with the referent

that so it is with the service of Hashem, that just because
the world is crazy, caught up in the empty pursuits and
vanities of this world, one must be strong to engage only
in Torah, mitzvos, and good deeds, even if he will appear
to be crazy to the rest of the world. A citation is also
given to the Talmud (Sanhedrin 97a) which based on the
verse in Isaiah (59:15) says that a person who wants to
distance himself from evil, will appear crazy. In Sefer
Hamidos (The Aleph Bet Book; Truth item #31) Rabbi
Nachman says: One who wants to turn away from evil,
and sees that there is no truth in the world, makes himself
as a fool.

The Deer

The parable about a king who chased after a deer but was
unable to catch it, and the royal ministers stood
(themselves) up and said, "Our master the king, let us
return etc.." The king spoke up and said, "I must hunt
 Wondrous Stories and Parables

down the deer, and whoever wants to return, let him

return…."

It is brought down that Rabbi Nachman said this parable

in regard to the Torah he revealed in Likutay Moharan
55) where the deer symbolizes the Holy Land of Israel.
Moses is also likened to a deer (switching the letters in
the A"T Ba"Sh code, also deer means desire, the trait of
Moses), and Saba Yisroel is known to be king, as our
Sages said, who are the kings? The rabbis, and Saba is
the last known verified rabbi. Thus this parable alludes to
Saba's unsuccessful attempt at bringing the holy tomb of
Rabbi Nachman – the aspect of Moses, to Israel. And
when those around him gave up, Saba said, "I must
continue going to Uman, and work on bringing the holy
tomb to Israel, and whoever wants to say Uman is over
and remain in Jerusalem, let him…"

Appeasing the King

Another story Rabbainu ob"m told over, that there was a

king who was practicing astrology, and he saw that if
they would not harvest the grain this year by a certain
time, all the grain would spoil etc. etc.. And the time was
short.
 Wondrous Stories and Parables

He resolved to take harvesters and give them all the

amenities and all their needs in order that they would
have expanded consciousness to work by day and by
night, so that they could finish the harvest before the
aforementioned deadline. And they, on the contrary, they
enjoyed the pleasures and they forgot (the task), and the
aforementioned deadline passed, and they did not harvest
the grain, and all the grain spoiled.

They didn't know what to do so that the king would not

be angry at them. A Sage advised them how the king
loves a certain bird, and by bringing him this bird,
through the pleasure (nachas ruach) and the delight from
this, it will atone for everything. But it is very difficult to
obtain the bird, because it is in a place high up in the air,
and they do not have a ladder, and time is short. And the
sage advised them, as they were many people, so they
should position themselves one upon his fellow, higher
and higher, until they would reach the bird. But they
fought with each other, because each one wanted that he
should be above and his friend beneath him. And through
their fighting they were negligent and the bird flew away,
and thus they were left to the anger of the king on
account of their negligence of harvesting the grain, as
mentioned.
 Wondrous Stories and Parables

(The import is, that Hashem Yisburach created man, and

gave him all the delights and everything so that they
would harvest the grain before he would be spoiled with
infringement of the covenant (- sexual morality), and to
serve Hashem Yisburach etc. with clean mind. But he
was negligent through the pleasures, until he stumbled
with the grain that already spoiled and the mind was
marred, Heaven save us. But there was still the recourse
through the bird, which is the tzaddik, through which
everything would have been atoned. But through the
strife and jealousy, that everyone desires to be above,
through this they are distant and do not bond to the
tzaddik etc.. And this is sufficient for the wise).

The Book of Eylim defeats the heretical

scholars

Found in a hidden manuscript is the following story

regarding the Book of Eylim (Eylim is a place mentioned
in the Torah e.g. Exodus 15:27), and it is a very precious
book authored by a G-dly man, Rabbi Yosef of Kandia
ob"m. In his days five hundred students outstanding in
Torah gathered, and they began to study books of
philosophy and the Guide for the Perplexed, until they
became wanton and heretic in the Living G-d, and they
 Wondrous Stories and Parables

said that the world etc. and that there is no Divine

Supervision over the world Heaven forbid. And all the
aforementioned students came to the tzaddik Rabbi Yosef
of Kandia ob"m so that he too would approve with them
on this evil theme. And the aforementioned tzaddik,
when he heard this matter, he was seized with dread. And
they began to present proofs and debate with him, and he
was unable to bring them around from this matter. And
he spoke up and said to them, "Give me some time and I
will answer you." And they gave him some time, and
they went away.

And the aforementioned tzaddik sent letters to all the

great rabbis, that they should come to him quickly. And
they came to him. And he told them the aforementioned
matter, and they all prayed to Hashem, and they fasted
night and day, and also the aforementioned tzaddik fell
on his face for three days and three nights, not eating
bread and not drinking water. After the three days (and)
he got up quickly from the ground, and he said, "A time
to act upon for Hashem, nullify (/they have nullified)
your (/Your) Torah (Psalms 119:126)." And he took a
scribes pen in his hand, and he wrote without rest, he
didn't eat and didn't drink, did not learn and didn't pray,
 Wondrous Stories and Parables

just wrote with a scribes pen, and he composed the

aforementioned book which is called the Book of Eylim.

Afterwards when all the students came to him, (and) he

took the aforementioned book, and he put it in their
hands. And with this book he defeated them (because all
the wisdoms are there, and they saw his wisdom, and
even still he is a believer, so it seems to me), and they all
became consummate tzaddikim.

The Rabbi who chose to dress like a

priest
The story that Rabbianu ob"m told about the tende and
rende (vestments of a priest), that once there was a rav
who went collecting donations (for redeeming captives
or for the marriage of a orphan bride), and he needed
some hundreds of adumim. He approached a rich man
and solicited him. The rich man told him that he has
(by him) a tende and rende (vestments of a priest), and
if he (the rav) would wear it, and traverse all the streets
of the city dressed like that, then he will give him all
the money he needs for the aforementioned charity.
And he agreed to this, and did so, and he took from
him the money that was needed for charity. Afterwards
 Wondrous Stories and Parables

he (the rav) requested from him that he give him as a

present the (tende and rende) aforementioned
vestments, and he gave them to him. Before the rav
passed away he left a will that from this vestment (the
tende and rende) they should make the shrouds for
him. And they did this for him, and a small portion of
the foot was left which this vestment didn't suffice, and
they made that piece from something else. After many
years there was a cause that forced them to clear out
his grave, and they found that the whole body was
complete not having been attacked by maggots, except
for the small portion of the foot which wasn't dressed
from the tende and rende.