“Like in the days of old, the king summoned his advisers to explain the dream. None could. Until word reached the Jewish community”

In the king’s dream, he was walking through a beautiful garden. All sorts of trees were growing, flowers, fruit… But then the landscape changed and there was nothing. All the beautiful trees with mighty trunks and endless branches extending into the sky were chopped down to stubs. Nothing was left except a lone tree in the middle of the garden. It had once borne long, powerful branches, but now only one branch remained.

“The king stopped at the single tree, staring at it in astonishment. What did this symbolize? What had occurred in this orchard, which had once been teeming with many trees and numerous branches? Then, as the king stood there, he became aware of a man with a flowing white beard approaching him. The man stopped next to the tree and turned to the king, his eyes flashing fire.

“’The orchard! What has become of it now? Someone has come and chopped down all the trees, destroying them without regard to the consequences. And now only this remains? What will be of the future? Will you destroy even this, wicked one?”