And so it came to pass that the prime minister won a resounding victory at the polls and there was great rejoicing throughout the land. And forthwith he began to form his new kingdom by distributing ministries and choice portfolios to his fervent supporters. But alas amid the joy there arose great waves of bitterness for there was only a finite number of ministries that the PM could allot and those who were not given portfolios raged with a great fury for their work for the PM had come to naught seeing that they were not awarded a ministry.
A black cloud of resentment descended over the victorious party and threatened to undo the great triumph that they had triumphed. In the ranks a great anger seethed like a cauldron; men whispered of defection yea even of rebellion. And so the PM seeing all this stretched forth his hand and resolved to pour balm and oil of olives onto the anger in order to calm the restiveness. After much deliberation he decreed in his exalted wisdom that henceforth in addition to the old ministries there shall be created new ministries and by so doing he would bring peace onto the land.
And so it was. The Ministry of Education was subdivided into a Ministry of Education for grades 1–4 another ministry for grades 4–8 a third for high school a fourth for post-high school. And lo and behold what was one ministry now became four with four different offices four different automobiles four different chauffeurs four separate staffs. And similarly the Ministry of the Interior was divided into a ministry for the interior of the exterior a second for the exterior of the interior a third for a director of activities and a fourth for the supervisor of the director. The Ministry of Justice was separated into ministries of justice for women for men for those under 60 for those over 60. Once again one ministry was by the prime minister’s alchemy transformed into four. And so it proceeded: The Ministry of Sport became ministries for football for tennis for swimming for basketball while Ministry of Religion was split into ministries for the Orthodox for the semi-Orthodox for the secular for the semi-secular. By the simple stroke of his pen the PM had transformed the original 12 ministries into 62 ministries which calmed the wrath of a majority of the Knesset members who happy and satisfied returned to their tents to boast to their spouses of how they had been honored by the prime minister.
But it came to pass that on the morning after there arose from the mists of joy much foreboding and anxiety for there was not enough office space to house all the ministries nor enough automobiles for all the ministers nor enough chauffeurs nor enough staff to man each office. But lo and behold the omniscient PM found a solution even for this: He appointed a blue ribbon committee to study these issues.
But alas! Contentment was not to be for it came to pass that the High Court of all Courts was unhappy with a kingdom whose legislature had no legislators because everyone was a minister. The highest justices of the highest court deliberated then they meditated then they considered after which they pondered and reflected and cogitated. Finally they issued an edict. A kingdom with a majority of ministers and a minority of legislators is illegal; therefore the sovereignty of the PM was henceforth null and void as were the election results as were all the ministries old and new. The kingdom would have to shut down and new elections needed to be held.
As the kingdom ground to a halt there was much gnashing of teeth. Anxiety and consternation betook the land. But in the fullness of time the citizenry having no other alternative banded together and having no other choice began to form a stable and just society. A Heavenly blessing descended upon them: Without an Interior Ministry the interior prospered. Without an Education Ministry learning increased. Without a Finance Ministry prices came down and poverty disappeared. Without a Justice Ministry crime disappeared from the streets of the land. Without the bureaucracy efficiency increased. Peace and well-being hovered over the land and every man with his family sat contentedly each under his vine and each under his fig tree.
And then in the fullness of time it came to pass that lo and behold several righteous women in the land bespoke themselves and affirmed that they had with their very own eyes espied in the hills outside Jerusalem an ancient man with a long gray beard sitting astride a white donkey patiently waiting to enter the Holy City. —