 | The precious jewels had been scattered to the farthest reaches of the globe. How would the king recover that which was most dear to him?
25 Comments Posted
Immensly touched. Yes, you know the core of me: that yearning of my soul, of finding a home, an eternal one.
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Your short article speakes volumes.
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The parable is a moving comment on the pain of alientaion and exile which can never be killed or soothed with the finest jewellery and gold.
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This story also depicts the mission of Chabad--they spread all over the world, in the depths of every country, in order to find sparks of holiness (lost nashamot) and purfiy/refine them and bring them back to teshuva.
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every time i read this story with the explanations it gets deeper and deeper
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I got so much out of this story and the explanations that ensued. Thank you so much!
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To paraphrase Albert Einstein, one needs a tremendous imagination (the greatest and holiest of gifts) to translate images into reality.
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this is a wonderful story. where does it come from? Is this a new story or was it told before by the Rebbe? thank you
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hi....
I just want that the author should bring out a nodern day parable which we can see in one way or the other in some people.... so that we can understand more
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This story adds to the wisdom of the world .... The Pheonix a mythical bird also rises to another life from the ashes of destruction.
I wonder : are our stories the product of our history or is the telling and retelling of our stories what creates our history?
Maybe both?
What do I hear within this story? There are many riches (gold, and g_d) to be had and this requires incorporating the concept of distance, journeying far and giving up much. There is also the message that those we love and who love us most often have the greatest wisdom and insight when their wisdom comes to our lives....and such truths are often hard for us to hear!
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Beautiful story for the Jewish people, and I believe God wants all his people back who will come.
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The story shows that we must let go of our pleasure in order to have it.
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One whale of a tale - maybe suggest that a spark means G-ds' light within?
Almost electrifying.
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Thank you for your extraordinarily insightful thoughts. General knowledge teaches that World War II was the end of the Great Depression because everyone was employed fighting evil. While this thinking has it's place, you have shown me another, bigger story taking place.
Instead of seeing the great economic boom of the post WW II era as a wonderful thing for mankind, and as the United States being a sort of fertile garden of Eden where all would flourish and evil be forgotten, you say that "when the communities of Europe were suddenly and brutally destroyed, along with all but a handful of the great tzaddikim, that is when the greatest darkness began." I instantaneously and immediately was taken back to the recent Parshah where the spies sent by Moses returned from the land flowing with milk and honey to say that, and I paraphrase, "the land devours the people!" They saw that the people were working themselves to death to have more and more of what they don't really want or need.
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I am not Jewish but came across these beautiful traditions and stories. So INSPIRING and uplifting.
I bow my head in reverence to all those who despite their own suffering have managed to keep the Faith.
Happy Hanukkah.
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You say that the greatest destruction happened 70 years ago, and now we must leave the comfort of what we know as home and travel to the farthest reaches of our world to find the brightest of our sparks. Perhaps we will discover that the search for the these brightest of sparks takes us farther than we even imagined ... into ourselves.
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BRAVO!!
But the answer lies in one simple word...Love. The ONLY and most simple, wonderful, express route to G-D and to happiness is simply to LOVE each other. The rest is commentary.
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The story can only be complete when the pearls return to where they originated - in the Land of Israel. Jews who return to the Torah in Melbourne, LA, Paris, or Brooklyn are only half the way home. With prayers for a complete and speedy Redemption.
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Thank you dear Rabbi for this story. All glory to Avinu Malkeinu for loving us so much. For His patience with mankind as a whole and for hastening our return. Blessed be His Holy Name. Blessed be He for healing the nations. There is healing in His wings.
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Dear R. Freeman, I can appreciate the depth and the purpose of the last exile you describe. I grew up in the Soviet Union with no religion at all. I believe it is no accident that when my time came to look for spirituality, I came across Yoga and Zen first, several years before lighting my first Shabbat candle. I did come back to the religion of my great-grandparents, but not before picking up some jewels from the wisdom of the younger descendants of Abraham. I believe this enhances my understanding and appreciation of the teachings of Chabad and Jewish philosophy. Thank you for telling the story!
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whats the source of the story , midrash etc ?
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You can call it a modern midrash if you like.
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