Weekly Story: The Palace Builders

by Rabbi Sholom DovBer Avtzon

As noted a few weeks ago, I am working on a book about the Shpoile Zeide. This week I am posting the one chapter that I noted my understanding of some of the numerous lessons to be learned from it.

While I always note that your feedback is appreciated, in this case it is especially so, as I would be able to incorporate your thoughts and insights in the upcoming book. Thank you.

On Purim, sometimes instead of making a Purim spiel, the Zeide would sometimes say a story, which in reality would be a parable. So while the story itself may not have occurred, its lessons and insights are real and vital.

One Purim the Zeide turned to one of his chassidim and said, “You like to hear stories, so I will tell you a story that you will remember.”

There was once a king who desired to build a palace whose beauty and grandeur would surpass the beauty of any other palace. Calling in his trusted manager, Moshe, he told him of his desire and he promised him that if he would succeed in building it to his satisfaction, in addition to rewarding him monetarily, he would appoint him as his highest minister. Moshe understood that in order to succeed, he would need to obtain exquisite material that no one else was using so that in addition to the design, the material itself would stand out.

Moshe accepted the challenge and set out to find the lumber that would be used. He visited many unknown islands and countries, often putting his life in danger, searching for a special tree whose lumber would be unique. After traveling for a year, he arrived in some distant place where he saw a forest of trees that reflected the light of the sun, causing them to look causing them to shine like sapphire. He was mesmerized by the sight and knew that his search was now over; he had found something that would please his master the king.

He cut off a branch, wrapped it up, and began his return trip to the king. Entering the king’s chamber, he unwrapped the piece of wood. The king and all of his advisors were awestruck by its beauty. They all exclaimed that they had never seen such magnificent wood before in their entire lives. The king’s palace would indeed be in a class of its own, surpassing any other palace.

Hearing that he would need to send numerous woodchoppers and several wagons to transport the lumber from that distant land didn’t deter the king. He would spend whatever amount of money from his treasury that was needed in order to succeed.

While the king desired the palace to be built immediately, he patiently waited the weeks and months it took until Moshe and his team returned with the necessary material. Just seeing how the lumber sparkled in the sunlight gave the king tremendous enjoyment. Full of anticipation, he watched how each day the builders were slowly but surely erecting his palace.

When the palace was finally ready, the king invited the other kings in the region to behold the structure. They were astounded; none of them had even seen or even imagined such a beautiful edifice. It was indeed a masterpiece. The king was thrilled and kept his word, rewarding Moshe and appointing him as his top minister.

However, the king desired that the palace’s windows be as beautiful as its walls. So he issued a proclamation that any glazier who could create windows that would resemble the walls would also be rewarded and appointed as a minister. 

One day, a cossack presented himself at the palace and informed the king that he was a glazier and could create the windows the king wanted. The only problem was that the sand needed for this project could only be obtained in a distant country. But to fulfill the king’s wishes no expense was spared, and once again the workers went with numerous wagons and some months later brought back the sand that was needed. The glazier went to work and indeed created windows that looked exactly like the wooden walls. From the outside, one couldn’t see the difference between them. He, too, was rewarded and appointed as a minister.

But then envy and jealousy sprung up. The cossack felt that the ultimate beauty of the palace lay in his handiwork, the windows, and therefore he, not the Jew, should be the chief advisor. So he began speaking to the king against the Jew and finding fault with his advice. However, the king realized it was all an outcome of his jealousy and didn’t pay attention to him.

This enraged the cossack even more, and he plotted to cause the Jew’s downfall. Speaking to other advisors of the king, he saw that many of them also harbored ill thoughts against the Jew. He hired false witnesses to inform the king that they had heard the Jew mock the king. 

While the king didn’t believe them, he was bound by law to have the court judge the case. At the trial, the judges, who also disliked the Jew, issued their decision that the chief advisor was trying to incite a rebellion against His Majesty the king and should be given the death penalty.

The king knew that the testimony was fabricated. However, to ensure law and order, he had no choice but to accept the ruling of the judges, so he signed their decision. At the same time, he wanted to somehow spare his trusted advisor from this terrible fate. So the king told him as follows:

“When a nobleman is given the death penalty, instead of being executed like a commoner, he is banished to an uninhabitable island with a month’s worth of bread and water. The island is surrounded by an underwater coral reef that prevents large boats from coming near it, and it is inhabited by vultures and other animals that eat carcasses. No edible fruit or vegetation grows on the island. After a month goes by, it is only a matter of time before the exiled person passes away and is devoured.

“Although I cannot annul the death sentence entirely, I will replace it with exile to this island. I will also secretly supply you with money and any tools you need to help you survive.”

After thanking the king from the depths of his heart, the Jewish advisor replied, “While money will not do me much good in this forsaken spot, tools will be extremely valuable. If His Majesty agrees, please supply me with flintstones, a strong axe, a lantern, some heavy, thick rope, and a fishing net. With G-d’s help, I will be able to survive.”

The king arranged this, and a few days later, the advisor was dropped off on the island. Walking around, he shuddered at the sight he beheld: Scattered around the island were the skeletal remains of the people who had been exiled before him. It was just a question of how many days he could endure with the provisions he had been supplied with. For him to survive, he needed to get to work immediately.

The first thing he did was to create a fire to keep himself warm. He then took his fishing net and caught a few fish, which he fried over the fire. This small meal revived him.

The following day he sought out some trees and cut them with his axe, binding their trunks together with the rope to fashion a raft. He then taught himself how to row the raft, and every day he would row out a little further into the sea, until he was able to row past the reef. 

One day, the carcass of a large fish washed onto the shore. Opening it, he found a ring inside its stomach. After washing and cleaning it, he recognized it as the king’s signet ring. Somehow it had fallen off the king’s finger when he had gone for a swim and this fish had swallowed it. A plan began forming in his mind.

One day, when the ocean was calm, he loaed up his raft with some fish he had roasted and carefully navigated it out into the sea. Some time passed until he noticed a large ship.

Taking some pieces of metal he had on board, he began banging them together, and the noise reverberated across the water. The captain of the ship heard the commotion and understood there was a person nearby in distress. He lowered a small boat into the water, and they reached him and brought him to their ship. The ship then took him to another country.

While he was now safe, he wasn’t happy. He couldn’t allow the cossack to rid himself of his competitors by falsely accusing them of speaking against the king. So he decided to return to the land ruled by his king.

Knowing that His Majesty enjoyed a walk near the riverbank every morning, he found a place to hide nearby. When he saw the king approach, he plunged into the river and remained underwater as long as he could. He then raised his head out of the water and called out to the king.

The king was both shocked and thrilled. He recognized his advisor’s voice and couldn’t believe that he was still alive and had escaped. He instructed him to come out of the water and tell him how he had arrived there. The advisor requested that a set of clothing be prepared for him as he was undressed, and he then swam out of the river.

He then related:

“When I came to the island, I realized what was going to happen. Like those who were exiled before me, I would die and be devoured and ripped apart by the animals and vultures. So I decided to try to swim to safety. However, as I was swimming, I was swallowed by a large fish. The fish was so big that I was able to walk around in its stomach. 

“Some hours passed and the fish spit me out, and I found myself standing before the king of the oceans, the Livyasan fish. Its eyes shone like the sun; they were so bright that I couldn’t look at its face.

“The Livyasan commanded me to relate my story. I told him how after building a beautiful palace for His Majesty the king, another person enhanced the palace by building windows of the highest quality. 

“The Livyasan was extremely happy to hear this. He said, ‘Know that whatever is on land has its equivalent in the sea. These trees grow in the ocean as well, and I, too, had a palace built for me from these trees. However, it is missing windows. I, too, desire windows that will look exactly like the walls, just as your king desired.’

“However, alas I wasn’t able to move in as I wasn’t able to find any glazier to create the proper windows to complete and finalize the edifice. So I am extremely pleased to hear that there is such a person who is capable of creating this masterpiece.

“The Livyasan continued, ‘Your king lost his ring in the river which leads to the sea, and I have it. So as a sign of friendship, I will give it to you and you are to return it to him. In return, I am requesting that he send me the royal glazier to create my windows. Hopefully, he will reciprocate my friendship. However, if he doesn’t desire to do so, I will flood his country and obliterate it.’ 

“The Livyasan then instructed a large fish to swallow me and transport me to His Majesty, and here I am. The fish is waiting here to swallow the cossack and transport him to the Livyasan.” Saying that, he handed over the signet ring.

Seeing this, the king immediately called for the glazier and had him overthrown into the river for the fish to swallow, never to return.

* * *

Our Sages teach us that we should learn even from the ordinary conversation of a Torah scholar (Sukkah 21b); how much more so from a parable said by a scholar with the intention of giving over a message. So I will attempt to write the insights and thoughts I saw in this parable. Obviously, I cannot say that they are what the tzaddik had in mind, as they merely represent my understanding. Feel free to contemplate on this parable and take out whatever insights you find.

Our Sages give various reasons as to why Hashem created the world. According to Chassidus, the ultimate reason is so that we Jews will transform the physical and material world into a dwelling place where Hashem’s glory can and will reside. This is alluded to by the king’s desire that a palace be built for him. Hashem wanted us to build it on our own, not that He should build it.

The neshomah (soul) was originally found in Hashem’s presence, where it stood in awe of His greatness. However, in order to fulfill Hashem’s will, the neshomah descended to this world, a place where Hashem’s glory is not apparent to everyone and a person might conduct himself contrary to His will. The reason the neshomah agrees to put itself in such a dangerous and precarious situation is because it realizes that this is Hahem’s will and if it succeed, it will be elevated to an even higher level than before. 

This is alluded to by the king’s promise to elevate the Jewish contractor above the other advisors if he would succeed in his mission. Therefore he traveled to distant lands, often placing himself in danger.

In the maamar of Basi L’gani the Frierdiker Rebbe explains that while it is the nature of a king to preserve and indeed increase the valuables in his treasure house, there is a time when he will splurge and spend them — namely, when he goes out to war. That is a time when he demonstrates his greatness, and there are no limits on the costs of achieving victory.

Here, too, it is mentioned twice that while the expenses to bring the lumber and sand were enormous, the king readily covered them without hesitation.

However, the other nations argue that their contribution to humanity and civilization is greater than that of the Jews. Furthermore, they argue that the Jews have rebelled against the Creator. They bear witness that they have sinned and demand that justice be served and that Hashem allow them to annihilate the Jewish people. 

This is the meaning of the cossack making windows for the palace and enhancing its grandeur, as well as of the witnesses testifying that the Jew spoke against His Majesty. 

Our Sages inform us that instead of destroying the Jewish people when they sinned, Hashem, in His great love for them, sent them into exile (see Eichah Rabbah 4:14). Here, too, the king didn’t execute the Jew but rather exiled him to a forlorn island. 

While in exile, there is the danger that our essence might become devoured by our surroundings. As the ten spies stated, “The land devours its inhabitants” (Bamidbar 13:32). Furthermore, a Jew might feel that the forces of assimilation are too powerful and it is impossible to survive as a Jew. Therefore it is mentioned that the king secretly supplied his advisor with tools that would enable him to survive. So, too, we must know that although Hashem has exiled us, He has given us the tools — the talents and abilities — to overcome the darkness and not be conquered by it.

Everything that is on land has its equivalent in the sea, so what is the difference between them? A land animal roams the earth. While the animal needs the earth to survive, it is possible to think that in essence, it is independent of the earth. Whereas with fish everyone knows that if separated from the water, it will cease to exist.

As long as we view ourselves as independent entities who happen to serve Hashem, we are in danger of faltering and the evil inclination will try to entrap us. However, when we  realize that we are one with Hashem, since we are nothing without Him, the evil inclination no longer has any power over us.

This is alluded to by saying that when the Jew appeared in the water, the cossack drowned. When our actions demonstrate that we are one with Hashem, the evil inclination no longer has any sway over us and is completely nullified. 

Alternatively, perhaps the drowning of the cossack alludes to the days of Moshiach, when we will overcome the obstacles of golus and “the spirit of impurity will be removed from the earth” (Zechariah 13:2). Returning the ring to the king demonstrates that Hashem’s sovereignty will then be manifest throughout the entire world.

So in essence, this parable tells the entire story of history, starting from the goal Hashem set at the beginning of creation through the time of Moshiach, may he come speedily in our days.

An additional thought:

A person who becomes successful might attribute his success to his hard work, talents, and expertise. However, we must realize that in reality, our success comes from Hashem. It is only that Hashem usually orchestrates things in a manner that makes everything appear natural.

Here, the king happened to decide to swim while wearing his ring. It then slipped off his finger and was swallowed by a fish. That fish happened to wash ashore in a spot where the Jew would notice it. Yes, all this can happen and did not involve miracles, but what are the chances for things to take place just so?

The same is true in every area. In every business, you have a multitude of competitors often openly competing for a certain contract, but somehow you managed to obtain it. Don’t you realize that Hashem blessed and helped you and it is not your own accomplishment?

Please share your thoughts so I will be able to add them when this book on the Shpoler Zeide is published, b’ezras Hashem.

Rabbi Avtzon is a veteran mechanech and the author of numerous books on the Rebbeim and their chassidim. He can be contacted at avtzonbooks@gmail.com