An allegory is a narrative or visual representation
in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning
It is similar to a person who wants to give his friend
a big barrel filled with wine,
but his friend has only
a small cup.
What does he do? He pours wine into that cup
After that,
he begins to go with the cup
once more
and fills it with wine.
Then, once more he goes to his house, until he receives all the wine-barrel.
… It is written,
“Though He scoffs at the scoffers,
and He gives grace to the poor” (Proverbs 3:34).
I shall start with an allegory,
and perhaps you will understand:
Yehuda Leib Ha-Levi Ashlag (Baal HaSulam)/Letters 26
A great, benevolent king
wished only to delight
his countryfolk
since
he did not need
any work
to be done for him.
Rather, his only wish was To benefit
his countryfolk.
However, he knew that there are levels
in the recipients
of his
benefit
—to the extent of their love for him
and the measure of recognition
of the value of his exaltedness.
He wished to delight abundantly,
especially the worthy ones among his countryfolk
so the rest of the people
would see
that the king
does not deny reward from those who love him dearly.
Rather, in his goodness,
he showers them with abundant delights
that he has prepared for them.
And in addition to the pleasures that he showers abundantly upon them,
they have a special treat
—they feel that they are the chosen ones from among the people.
This, Too, he wished to give to those who love him.
To keep from people’s complaints,
lest they lie or mislead themselves, as well,
saying that they, too, are among the king’s lovers,
and still, their reward is denied.
And because of the king’s wholeness,
he kept himself from that, as well,
and therefore devised tactics to execute
his plans in full.
Finally, He found a
wonderful tactic:
He sends out a decree
TO ALL the people in the country
none excluded
to come to work a full year for the king
He dedicated a place in his palace for that purpose
and conditioned explicitly that
it is forbidden to work outside
the designated area
for it is an abomination,
and the king
will not be pleased with it.
Their reward
is in the place
where they work.
He prepared for them great feasts and every delicacy in the world whenever they wished.
At the end of the year’s work, he will take all of them to the king’s table, and they will be among those who see his face,
the most eminent in the kingdom.
The proclamation
went out
and every single one came to the king’s city,
which is surrounded by guards and a wall.
They closed themselves in there for the year,
and the work began.
But the king hid,
and there was
no supervision.
They thought the king had prepared watchmen to oversee their work, to know who served him and who did not.
Everyone did as he saw fit
or so it seemed
to them.
However,
they did not know
about the wonderful tactic
—that he placed a kind of bad powder in the delicacies and sweets,
and opposite it
he placed a healing powder in the house of work.
That clarified the supervision by itself:
His lovers and those truly faithful to him
—although they saw that there was no supervision in this place—
kept the king’s commandments carefully out of their love for him.
They did their work as they were told and were careful
to work precisely in the designated area
Thus, they inhaled the healing powder into their bodies, and when mealtime came, they tasted the sweets and delicacies and found in them a thousand flavors as they had never tasted, or ever sensed such sweetness.
Hence, they praised the king extensively, for they were dining at the king’s exalted table!
But the lowly did not understand at all the merit of the king
for which he should be loved with
devoted and faithful love.
When they saw that there was no supervision,
they did not keep the king’s commandments
properly.
They slighted the area that was designated for work,
and each worked where he saw fit in the king’s domain.
When mealtime came and they tasted the sweets, they felt a bitter taste because of the above-mentioned dust. They cursed and despised the king and his despicable table, which he had prepared for them as a reward for their work.
They regarded the king
as the greatest liar,
who—instead of delicacies and finest delights—
gave them these bitter and sour things.
Because of it, they began to devise for themselves foods
from what was found in the city,
to ease their hunger.
Then their suffering was twofold,
for their work had doubled
and they did not know the delight in the king’s table
that was before them.
There is an allegory
about a king
Yehuda Leib Ha-Levi Ashlag (Baal HaSulam)/Letters 1
who grew fond of his servant
until he wanted to raise him
above all the ministers,
for he had recognized
true and unwavering love in his heart.
However,
it is not royal manners
to raise a person to the highest level at once
without an apparent reason.
What did he do?
He appointed the servant a guard at the city gate and told a minister
Rather, it is royal manners to reveal the reasons to all with profound wisdom.
The minister did as the king had commanded,
and with great wisdom and craftiness pretended to fight
who was a skilled joker to pretend to rebel against the kingship
and wage war to conquer the house
while the guards are unprepared
The servant risked his life and saved the king,
fighting devotedly and bravely against the minister
until his love for the king was evident to all.
Then the minister took off his clothes
and there was great laughter
(for he had fought so fiercely and bravely, and now he realized that there was only fiction here, and not reality).
They laughed the most when the minister told of the depth of the imaginations of his cruelty and the fear he had envisioned, and every single item in this terrible war became a round of laughter and great joy.
Yet, in spite of everything, he is still a servant
and is not scholarly, and how can he be raised above all the ministers and the king’s servants?
Then the king reflected and said to that minister that he must disguise himself as a robber and a murderer, and wage fierce war against him.
The king knew that in the second war,
he would display wondrous wisdom and merit
standing at the head of all the ministers.
Hence, he appointed the servant in charge of the kingdom’s treasury.
The minister
now dressed as a ruthless killer
and came to loot the king’s treasures.
The poor appointee fought courageously and devotedly until the cup was full.
Then the minister took off his clothes and there was great joy and laughter in the king’s palace, even more than before.
