והתברך בלבבו לאמר שלום יהיה לי כי בשרירות לבי אלך וגו', שמעתי ממורי בענין משל שהיה למלך שלשה אוהבים, ודברו עליהם שאינם אוהבים, וציוה להם שיזונו ויפרנסו כל אחד כלב מחצר המלך, אחד היה חכם ועשה עטרה למלך מהוצאה שהיה ראוי להוציא על פרנסת הכלב, ב' פירנס וזן בדוחק את הכלב שלא ימות, ג' השגיח לזונו בריווח, ועבור זה גירה המלך את הכלב בו, מה שאין כן לזה שעשה עטרה וכו' ודפח"ח: (בן פורת יוסף בסופו דקכ"ו ע"ד).
And it shall come to pass, when he hears the words of this dread curse, that he bless himself in his heart and say: “I will have peace, even though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart” . . . G‑d will not agree to forgive such a person. (Ibid. 29:18-19) The Baal Shem Tov told a parable. There was once a king who had three devoted followers. However, other people spoke evil of them, and claimed that they did not truly love the king. And so, the king commanded each one of them to feed his dog from the king’s treasury. One of the men was very wise and said: “Why should I feed my dog and waste the king’s money? It is better if I use the money to make a crown for the king.” The second man fed his dog, but only enough to keep it alive. The third wasted the king’s money and fed his dog well.2The Komarno Rebbe explains this parable as follows: “There are righteous people, intermediate, and wicked people. There are accusations against them in heaven, and the matter is clarified through the King commanding them to feed a dog – that is, the evil inclination and the impure body – from the King’s treasury. For “The earth is the L‑rd‘s and its fullness” (Psalms 24:1). The wise and righteous one makes holy Unifications from all the things in this world, and a crown for the King, until, from the abundance of spiritual light, joy, life and devekus, all the pleasures and desires of this world are completely annulled…. And when he eats and drinks and has marital relations, it was all done with holy Unifications, and in the brilliant light of the Shechinah, of which there is no pleasure in the world that can compare. In comparison to this delight, all material pleasures are completely nothing, and do not even make a mark. Until, from the great light of holiness, the dog is not fed at all, and it is transformed into a holy angel (i.e., the evil inclination is turned into an angel for good)… Others are not on this level, and they fast and afflict themselves and eat only enough to sustain their lives, so as not to waste the king’s money on a dog. This is also good. But the third level follows the desires of his evil heart and feeds the dog well. And so, the King sicks the evil inclination upon him. He does every sin, until he repents and finds favor.” And so, the king sicked the dog on him. But as for the one who made him the crown…3The king rewarded him. Heichal HaBracha, Bechukosai, p. 287d4The last few words of the translation are taken from Ben Poras Yosef, p. 127d, where the parable is also presented.
והתברך בלבבו לאמר שלום יהיה לי כי בשרירות לבי אלך וגו', שמעתי ממורי בענין משל שהיה למלך שלשה אוהבים, ודברו עליהם שאינם אוהבים, וציוה להם שיזונו ויפרנסו כל אחד כלב מחצר המלך, אחד היה חכם ועשה עטרה למלך מהוצאה שהיה ראוי להוציא על פרנסת הכלב, ב' פירנס וזן בדוחק את הכלב שלא ימות, ג' השגיח לזונו בריווח, ועבור זה גירה המלך את הכלב בו, מה שאין כן לזה שעשה עטרה וכו' ודפח"ח:
(בן פורת יוסף בסופו דקכ"ו ע"ד).
And it shall come to pass, when he hears the words of this dread curse, that he bless himself in his heart and say: “I will have peace, even though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart” . . . G‑d will not agree to forgive such a person. (Ibid. 29:18-19)
The Baal Shem Tov told a parable. There was once a king who had three devoted followers. However, other people spoke evil of them, and claimed that they did not truly love the king. And so, the king commanded each one of them to feed his dog from the king’s treasury. One of the men was very wise and said: “Why should I feed my dog and waste the king’s money? It is better if I use the money to make a crown for the king.” The second man fed his dog, but only enough to keep it alive. The third wasted the king’s money and fed his dog well.2The Komarno Rebbe explains this parable as follows: “There are righteous people, intermediate, and wicked people. There are accusations against them in heaven, and the matter is clarified through the King commanding them to feed a dog – that is, the evil inclination and the impure body – from the King’s treasury. For “The earth is the L‑rd‘s and its fullness” (Psalms 24:1). The wise and righteous one makes holy Unifications from all the things in this world, and a crown for the King, until, from the abundance of spiritual light, joy, life and devekus, all the pleasures and desires of this world are completely annulled…. And when he eats and drinks and has marital relations, it was all done with holy Unifications, and in the brilliant light of the Shechinah, of which there is no pleasure in the world that can compare. In comparison to this delight, all material pleasures are completely nothing, and do not even make a mark. Until, from the great light of holiness, the dog is not fed at all, and it is transformed into a holy angel (i.e., the evil inclination is turned into an angel for good)… Others are not on this level, and they fast and afflict themselves and eat only enough to sustain their lives, so as not to waste the king’s money on a dog. This is also good. But the third level follows the desires of his evil heart and feeds the dog well. And so, the King sicks the evil inclination upon him. He does every sin, until he repents and finds favor.” And so, the king sicked the dog on him. But as for the one who made him the crown…3The king rewarded him.
Heichal HaBracha, Bechukosai, p. 287d4The last few words of the translation are taken from Ben Poras Yosef, p. 127d, where the parable is also presented.