The Parable of the King

                In order to explain his system of thought, Rihal relates a parable, the parable of the Indian King.  The purpose of this parable is to instruct us in Rihal's method, rather than to impart content.  It attempts to teach us which proofs we must seek in order to distinguish truth from falsehood.  We are not dealing with knowledge or with science; we are dealing with scientific methodology.  We will embark upon an exploration of a technique which we will employ to reach our conclusion.

 

Different versions of the parable

 

            Other sources contain similar tales, and even variations upon this very same story.  Thus, the Rambam relates a similar parable in his "Guide to the Perplexed" (I:46), a parable which, conceivably, was written under Rihal's direct influence.  A comparison between Rihal's version of the story and the Rambam's rendition can teach us much.  In the Guide to the Perplexed we read as follows:

 

"At times you may demonstrate His existence through circumstances that are that are of a more hidden nature than those that have been mentioned.  For instance, if someone asks you, has this country a ruler?  You shall answer him, Yes, undoubtedly.  [And should he ask you,] What proof is there for this?  You shall tell him, Behold this money-changer, who is, as you see, a weak and small man, and this great amount of dinars is placed before him.  A poor man, who is big and strong, stands before him and begs for a single grain of wheat, yet [the money-changer] does not give him, and even reprimands him and drives him off with words.  And but for his fear of this ruler, the poor man would have killed the money-changer immediately or pushed him and taken the money that was in his possession.  Behold, this is a proof that this country has a king.  Thus, you would have proved the existence of the king through the fact that matters in the city proceed in an orderly fashion, the cause of which is the fear of the ruler and the fear of punishment at his hands.  Now in all that we have said by way of parable there is nothing to indicate the ruler's essence and his true character as expressed through his kingship.  A similar situation has occurred with regard to the knowledge of God, may He be glorified and exalted, given to the multitude of the prophets ..."

 

            The central question which the Rambam's protagonist faces is the question of the king's existence.  Is there in fact a king in the country?  However, as we shall expound later, this question is connected to another discussion: What can we say about the king?  Rihal, on the other hand, is concerned with a second stage, just as prophetic Judaism took an additional step forward, beyond the philosophical knowledge of God.  The Rambam's conclusion is too modest.  Rihal, in his parable, does not want to lay philosophical siege upon his intellectual opponent, and vanquish him in a war of attrition, using philosophical proofs.  He wishes to take the enemy by storm, by sweeping assault.  Therefore, he begins by addressing the most problematic issue, and desires to triumph through it.  The issue he addresses is how to recognize the king's true messenger.  Does anyone truly associate with the king?  Rihal attempts to solve this riddle in the manner in which one solves an empirical scientific puzzle.  The key to proving this claim lies in an experiment, a grand-scale experiment which must take place in history:

 

"If the king's messengers came to you with gifts which are to be found, without a doubt, only in the palaces of the king of India, and with a letter which is clearly only from the king of India; and to the letter are added medicines which cure all your ills and maintain your health, and death potions for your enemies and for all those who wage war against you, so that you will vanquish them as you approach them without armies and without weapons; would you not then be obligated to obey the king?"

 

            Only he who is capable of bringing Indian gifts is the messenger of the king of India.  The proof lies in the substance of the items that the messenger brings.

 

            The two parables have much in common.  As we have seen, both Rihal and the Rambam build a model which helps us discuss the essence of the proofs which we seek with greater, almost intuitive ease.  The Rambam's parable speaks of the great philosophical riddle, in which Man looks at the world and asks if the world has a king, or in the words of the legend which describes Abraham's discovery of God, if there is a "Master of the castle."  We observe the world and behold a wondrous order.  From the order in the world, we conclude that there is someone who put it in order.  In the Rambam's parable, the order in the country finds expression both figuratively and tangibly through obeying the law of the land.  The strong do not rob the weak of their riches for fear of the king.  If we translate this to the interpretation of the parable, we find that only the divine decree explains the wondrous law and order in nature.  Only the divine decree explains the puzzling fact that everything functions according to a causality and a system which rules on all levels of reality.  According to the Rambam, then, when we look at the world we find proof of a creator who exists beyond our world, but upon whom the world and its activity depends.

 

            Despite the similarities between the two parables, one significant difference separates them.  The arguers in the Rambam's parable exist in the world, in the kingdom, while in the Chaver's version, we are searching for a proof for something which exists beyond us, for the king of India lives at a great distance from us.  The proof lies in the fact that someone appears bringing us things that undoubtedly come from his kingdom.  The gifts that the messenger brings came from a distant world, from a king whose existence and accessibility we doubted only moments before.  Deviation from nature constitutes the historical evidence for the prophetic mission.  In the Rambam's parable, we realize that there is a God in the world, and that His utterance finds expression through nature; while in Rihal's parable, we search for a God who exists beyond nature, and we seek out the proof of His existence and accessibility not in natural circumstances, but rather in occurrences which deviate from the natural order.  The Indian gifts are none other than miracles, which completely violate the natural order.

 

            At first glance, the Rambam's version appears to approach that of the philosopher in the Kuzari.  However, despite the similarity, there is a decisive difference.  The king, in the Rambam's view, is interested in creating order.  His dominion extends far beyond the royal court, the heavenly cycles and angels, beyond the great scientific principles, and reaches our world as well.  As Rabbi Yosef Albo so trenchantly put it, the wisdom that we find here testifies not only to the existence of an order, but to an order that someone created on purpose.  We learn of the king's intention to maintain the natural order.  This is contrary to the opinion of the philosopher who opens the discussion in the Kuzari.

 

            In Rabbi Yehuda Halevi's philosophy we find a different approach.  We learn that the evidence for the relationship with the king of India contains a proof that the king of India exists; or in our terms, that the world has a king, the King of kings.  This version is adopted by those who base their faith upon the bursting of the miraculous into the process of history.  The philosopher's quest does not suffice them, for they thirst for the encounter with the Master of the Universe, for the mission and the prophecy.  The problem under discussion in Rihal's version, then, focuses on the question of the source: "Do the items that you bring originate from here, in the country that you are in, or are they foreign to this place and come from elsewhere, from India and its king."

 

The Gifts and the Letter: An Interpretation

 

            The gifts represent things that exist beyond our normal reality in this world.  The letter 'which is clearly only from the king of India' is the Torah, a letter that God sends to Man through a messenger.  We are presented with a dual thesis which touches both upon the essence of the letter, and the possibility of changing the world through its agency.  The statements regarding reward of loved ones and punishment of enemies are only a fragment of an entire system which advocates the belief that this letter can alter reality and redeem the world.

 

            We spoke earlier about the two dimensions of the encounter with the king of India: A: Prophecy and revelation, and B: Miracles.  The Rambam saw revelation and prophecy as the central element.  The Torah verifies the validity of the miracles as well as the proofs; miracles do not verify the validity of the Torah.  If a prophet were to appear, perform miracles and attempt on the basis of their authority to invalidate the Torah, wholly or in part, we are forbidden to believe him.  Miracles are not undefeatable weapons, since the basis of our faith is revelation.  Revelation is so focal that it examines prophecy by its own criteria.  In contrast, Rihal builds his approach upon both pillars, upon revelation and miracles.  In his view, prophecy is not of this world, and it has the power to influence the world and change the face of reality.  This proves that prophecy comes from a autonomous world beyond our own.

 

Portrait of a King

 

            Until this point we have probed the question of the king's existence.  We have not spoken at all about the king's personality, a personality that we create when we relate to him.  Can we learn anything about this enigma through the parable?  The Rambam remains consistent.  We have not seen the king of India, and his character will remain hidden from us.  The Rambam concludes that we may achieve an understanding of the king's existence, but not of his essence.  Rihal, on the other hand, speaks of prophecy as an encounter with the king.  The parable presents us with a general formula, which is the key to the rest: it is the theory of attributes, a topic which Rihal will discuss at the beginning of the second section, and to which we will dedicate a number of lectures at a later stage.  However, at this point we must stress one central idea: God searches for and encounters Man.  "For the divine essence connected with them, and watched over them, and performed miracles with them."  In technical terms this is a 'personal' concept.

 

            Allow me to mention an additional facet of the king's personality.  Both parables contain a practical side alongside the academic element, since life is built upon the fact that actions are bound up with ideas.  In chapter 1:22 we read an additional detail of importance:

 

"The Kuzari: Yes, and my original doubt as to whether the people of India had a king would leave me and I would then believe that his kingship and his words affect me."

 

            The fact of his existence generates practical conclusions, and the practical side relates to the individual.  We must read the  words of the Chaver in chapter 19 according to this principle:

 

"If you were told that the king of India was a compassionate man, and that you must worship him and glorify his name and speak of his compassionate deeds, all only according to a rumor that has reached you regarding the righteousness of the people of his country and their good qualities and their honesty in trade, would you feel an internal need to do so?"

 

            It is interesting that the adjective Rihal uses to describe the king of India is 'compassionate.'  Perhaps we would have expected the king to be described by his greatness, his strength, his might or his brave deeds.  Here, the king is described through his moral attributes.  This fact connects in my mind with the letter that the king sends.  The letter, or in other words, the Torah, expresses the fact that the king is a compassionate ruler.  Through our actions we must imitate the king and walk in his ways.  This emulation finds expression in the king's letter, the Torah.

 

            Rihal teaches us that history is the test of the encounter with the king of India.  However, another test awaits us, the ultimate test which will take place in the future: the test of redemption.

 

(This lecture was translated by Gila Weinberg.)

 

Copyright (c)1996 Prof. Shalom Rosenberg, Yeshivat Har Etzion.  All rights reserved.