I heard that the Rebbe once spoke about famous miracle workers. He used the following parable:203This parable is cited word for word in Tzaddik #226. A king once had two sons, one wise and the other foolish. He put the fool in charge of all his treasuries. The wise son, on the other hand, was not given any position, and just sat beside the king continually.
The people found this very difficult to understand. Here the son who was totally devoid of wisdom was given all the authority and had to be approached every time someone wished to deposit or withdraw anything from the king’s treasury. On the other hand, the wise son had no authority at all.
“But my wise son sits beside me and uses his mind. Many times he comes up with a new idea that would never have occurred to me. He may tell me about lands I have never heard about and show me how to conquer them. This is how I build up my treasury.
“My wise son is therefore much more important than his brother, even if it appears that he has no direct position. For he is the one responsible for acquiring the treasury in the first place.”
שָׁמַעְתִּי בִּשְׁמוֹ, לְעִנְיַן הַמְפֻרְסָמִים בַּעֲלֵי מוֹפֵת. סִפֵּר מַעֲשֶׂה: שֶׁמֶּלֶךְ אֶחָד הָיוּ לוֹ שְׁנֵי בָּנִים. אֶחָד הָיָה חָכָם וְאֶחָד שׁוֹטֶה. וְעָשָׂה אֶת הַשּׁוֹטֶה מְמֻנֶּה עַל הָאוֹצָרוֹת וּלְהֶחָכָם לֹא הָיָה שׁוּם הִתְמַנּוּת, רַק יָשַׁב אֵצֶל הַמֶּלֶךְ תָּמִיד.
I heard that the Rebbe once spoke about famous miracle workers. He used the following parable:203This parable is cited word for word in Tzaddik #226. A king once had two sons, one wise and the other foolish. He put the fool in charge of all his treasuries. The wise son, on the other hand, was not given any position, and just sat beside the king continually.
וְהָיָה קָשֶׁה לְהָעוֹלָם מְאֹד, שֶׁזֶּה שֶׁאֵינוֹ חָכָם יֵשׁ לוֹ כָּל הַהִתְמַנּוּת וְהַכֹּל בָּאִים וְנִכְנָסִים אֶצְלוֹ לְהַכְנִיס אוֹ לְהוֹצִיא מִן הָאוֹצָרוֹת, וְזֶה הֶחָכָם אֵין לוֹ שׁוּם הִתְמַנּוּת כְּלָל?.
The people found this very difficult to understand. Here the son who was totally devoid of wisdom was given all the authority and had to be approached every time someone wished to deposit or withdraw anything from the king’s treasury. On the other hand, the wise son had no authority at all.
וְהֵשִׁיב לָהֶם הַמֶּלֶךְ: "וְכִי זֶה הוּא מַעֲלָה, מַה שֶּׁהוּא לוֹקֵחַ אוֹצָרוֹת מוּכָנִים וּמְחַלְּקָם לְהָעוֹלָם?!
The king answered, “What is so special about disbursing money from an existing treasury?
כִּי זֶה הֶחָכָם יוֹשֵׁב אֶצְלִי וְחוֹשֵׁב מַחֲשָׁבוֹת וּבָא עַל עֵצוֹת חֲדָשׁוֹת שֶׁאֵינִי יָכוֹל לָבוֹא עֲלֵיהֶם, וְעַל־יְדֵי אֵלּוּ הָעֵצוֹת אֲנִי כּוֹבֵשׁ מְדִינוֹת שֶׁלֹּא הָיִיתִי יוֹדֵעַ מֵהֶם כְּלָל אֲשֶׁר מֵאֵלּוּ הַמְּדִינוֹת נִמְשָׁכִים וּבָאִים כָּל הָאוֹצָרוֹת שֶׁלִּי.
“But my wise son sits beside me and uses his mind. Many times he comes up with a new idea that would never have occurred to me. He may tell me about lands I have never heard about and show me how to conquer them. This is how I build up my treasury.
אֲבָל זֶה הַמְמֻנֶּה לוֹקֵחַ אוֹצָרוֹת מוּכָנִים וּמְחַלְּקָם לְהָעוֹלָם.
“My son – the overseer - merely distributes what I already have.
עַל־כֵּן בְּוַדַּאי גָּדְלָה וְשָׂגְבָה מְאֹד מַעֲלַת הֶחָכָם עַל הַמְּמֻנֶּה אַף־עַל־פִּי שֶׁנִּרְאֶה שֶׁאֵין לוֹ שׁוּם הִתְמַנּוּת. כִּי מִמֶּנּוּ נִמְשָׁכִים כָּל הָאוֹצָרוֹת" כַּנַּ"ל.
“My wise son is therefore much more important than his brother, even if it appears that he has no direct position. For he is the one responsible for acquiring the treasury in the first place.”