WHO SHOULD POPULATE THE KING'S PALACE?
Noach
There was once a king who built a place and brought a group of mute individuals to live in it. Every day they would praise the king with their hand gestures and by tipping their hats. The king thought that if this is how even the mute inhabitants praise him, those who are capable of speaking would surely praise him in an even greater way.
The king replaced the mute residents with speaking ones. However, instead of praising him, they seized the palace for themselves, claiming that it belonged to them and not to the king. On seeing this turn of events, the king exclaimed, let the palace revert back to the way it was.
This parable is brought in the Midrash Rabbah to explain the events of Parshas Bereishis and Noach.
At the beginning of Creation, there was water. On the second day of Creation, Hashem said “let the water be gathered to one place”. The sea praises Hashem, as recorded in Tehillim “From the sounds of many waters and the mighty waves of the sea” What is their praise? “Mighty on High is Hashem.”
Hashem said that if the waters, which have no mouth and cannot speak, praise Me such, surely when I create man, he will praise Me even more.
But Man did not live up to this expectation. In the generation of the Flood, Man rebelled against the authority of Hashem, denying that Hashem was the Creator of the world and living as though the world was his own domain.
On seeing this, Hashem said let them (Man) be removed and let the former residents (water) return. And so Hashem brought the Flood, to wash away Man and to return the water to the surface of the earth to praise Hashem once more.
The commentators point out a number of difficulties. Wasn’t the whole purpose of Creation for Man and didn’t Hashem know that Man would sin?
The Rebbe Maharash, Rabbi Shmuel of Lubavitch, offers a deeper explanation of this Midrash according to the teachings of Chassidus.
The waters represent a state of absolute Bittul, surrender and nullification-of-self before Hashem, so that one has not independent or separate existence. This is like the creatures of the sea which are completely submerged in the water and cannot be removed and separated from it.
Moshe Rabbeinu was given his name כי מן המים משיתיהו, “because I have drawn him from the water”. Moshe was completely surrendered to Hashem, with the highest level of Bittul, as though he had no independent existence whatsoever.
Like the mutes in the parable, Moshe had difficulty speaking, because to speak is to express one’s self, which goes against the very essence of Moshe’s being—Bittul.
In general, this is like the Avodah of the Tzaddikim who only do as Hashem desires and do not possess any independent desires.
In contrast, the speaking inhabitants, represent a state of independence from Hashem. Unlike the Bittul represented by the mutes, speaking being a metaphor for expression of self.
This represents those of us, who are not on the level of Tzaddikim. We perceive ourselves as being independent of Hashem and have a Yetzer Hora that leads us after our own personal desires.
Nonetheless, the Midrash teaches that Hashem populated the world with these ‘independent’, ’speaking’ people because they too can praise Him and their praise would be even greater. When independent beings, through their own efforts, exercise their free choice to praise Hashem and serve Him, this praise is far greater than the praise of the naturally surrendered Tzaddikim.
But the downside and risk is that is also possible that they may exercise their free, independent choice, to not accept Hashem’s kingship. They may even rebel against Hashem, denying His kingship altogether, as Man did at the time of the Flood.
According to the Rebbe Maharash, the king’s exclamation “let the palace revert back to the way it was”, was not to rue the Creation of Man and wishing for the return of the former inhabitants.
Rather it is a wish that independent Man would be able to aspire to and attain the Bittul of water and be purified through the waters of the Flood. Like the Mikva that purifies the defiled, the Mabul represents Teshuvah.
This is the true realisation of the purpose of Creation and is the reason why Hashem did not populate the world with perfect angels or Tzaddikim. Hashem does not desire robotic, infallable subservience. Hashem's true desire is that we as independent thinkers with our personal desires and interests - who can make mistaes, come to the conclusion that the ultimate existence is to submit and completely submerge ourselves to Him.
The king replaced the mute residents with speaking ones. However, instead of praising him, they seized the palace for themselves, claiming that it belonged to them and not to the king. On seeing this turn of events, the king exclaimed, let the palace revert back to the way it was.
This parable is brought in the Midrash Rabbah to explain the events of Parshas Bereishis and Noach.
At the beginning of Creation, there was water. On the second day of Creation, Hashem said “let the water be gathered to one place”. The sea praises Hashem, as recorded in Tehillim “From the sounds of many waters and the mighty waves of the sea” What is their praise? “Mighty on High is Hashem.”
Hashem said that if the waters, which have no mouth and cannot speak, praise Me such, surely when I create man, he will praise Me even more.
But Man did not live up to this expectation. In the generation of the Flood, Man rebelled against the authority of Hashem, denying that Hashem was the Creator of the world and living as though the world was his own domain.
On seeing this, Hashem said let them (Man) be removed and let the former residents (water) return. And so Hashem brought the Flood, to wash away Man and to return the water to the surface of the earth to praise Hashem once more.
The commentators point out a number of difficulties. Wasn’t the whole purpose of Creation for Man and didn’t Hashem know that Man would sin?
The Rebbe Maharash, Rabbi Shmuel of Lubavitch, offers a deeper explanation of this Midrash according to the teachings of Chassidus.
The waters represent a state of absolute Bittul, surrender and nullification-of-self before Hashem, so that one has not independent or separate existence. This is like the creatures of the sea which are completely submerged in the water and cannot be removed and separated from it.
Moshe Rabbeinu was given his name כי מן המים משיתיהו, “because I have drawn him from the water”. Moshe was completely surrendered to Hashem, with the highest level of Bittul, as though he had no independent existence whatsoever.
Like the mutes in the parable, Moshe had difficulty speaking, because to speak is to express one’s self, which goes against the very essence of Moshe’s being—Bittul.
In general, this is like the Avodah of the Tzaddikim who only do as Hashem desires and do not possess any independent desires.
In contrast, the speaking inhabitants, represent a state of independence from Hashem. Unlike the Bittul represented by the mutes, speaking being a metaphor for expression of self.
This represents those of us, who are not on the level of Tzaddikim. We perceive ourselves as being independent of Hashem and have a Yetzer Hora that leads us after our own personal desires.
Nonetheless, the Midrash teaches that Hashem populated the world with these ‘independent’, ’speaking’ people because they too can praise Him and their praise would be even greater. When independent beings, through their own efforts, exercise their free choice to praise Hashem and serve Him, this praise is far greater than the praise of the naturally surrendered Tzaddikim.
But the downside and risk is that is also possible that they may exercise their free, independent choice, to not accept Hashem’s kingship. They may even rebel against Hashem, denying His kingship altogether, as Man did at the time of the Flood.
According to the Rebbe Maharash, the king’s exclamation “let the palace revert back to the way it was”, was not to rue the Creation of Man and wishing for the return of the former inhabitants.
Rather it is a wish that independent Man would be able to aspire to and attain the Bittul of water and be purified through the waters of the Flood. Like the Mikva that purifies the defiled, the Mabul represents Teshuvah.
This is the true realisation of the purpose of Creation and is the reason why Hashem did not populate the world with perfect angels or Tzaddikim. Hashem does not desire robotic, infallable subservience. Hashem's true desire is that we as independent thinkers with our personal desires and interests - who can make mistaes, come to the conclusion that the ultimate existence is to submit and completely submerge ourselves to Him.