One afternoon, a king was feeling weary and decided to take a short nap. He ordered his private servant to instruct the members of the palace to keep quiet in order to allow his Majesty to sleep.

Obediently, the servant began walking around the palace, hushing the members of the palace with a “shaa” sound. The others, intrigued by his strange actions, began to imitate him, assuming that the king had asked everyone to behave in this manner. One by one, everyone began saying “shaa,” until they recited the chant in unison.

As this mania spread through the palace, the outside guards followed suit. The onlookers and tourists beyond the palace gates witnessed this new procedure and assumed that this was the conduct expected as they neared the king’s palace. Eventually, this practice spread until the entire city was reciting “shaa,” in subservience to the king, imagining that this was the king’s desire.

An hour later, the king emerged from his quarters and summoned his private servant. When the servant appeared, the king admonished him, exclaiming, “Although your intentions were proper, I have not been able to rest!”

—Diary of a Chassid,
from the Rebbe’s farbrengen, Shabbos Beraishis 5717