The Secret: Chapter 4
| September 9, 2021"It is of utmost importance that you be very pure. Many cannot prepare themselves properly. Are you prepared to do this?”
Damascus, 17th Century
"You must know that I can never reveal such a great secret to you. I am forbidden to reveal it. For many generations, this secret has been passed down in my family from father to son. We allow no one outside of our immediate family to know of it. I’m sorry, but I cannot speak anymore about this.”
Rav Moshe was not impressed by the sheik’s words. Softly but firmly, he pressed the sheik to tell him the truth. Back and forth they argued, but the tzaddik prevailed in the end.
“Fine, I will tell you, but on one condition.” The sheik paused, his breath turning shallow. “You must undergo two days of fasting and when you finally break your fast, do not have meat or wine. On the third day, immerse in a natural spring of water, don your finest garments, and return to me. During the two days of fasting, remain secluded from other people and immerse yourself in holy things. You must prepare yourself for what will happen on the third day. I cannot stress enough that it is of utmost importance that you be very pure. Many cannot prepare themselves properly. Are you prepared to do this?”
“Yes,” Rav Moshe replied. “I will see you again in three days.”
Rav Moshe left the sheik’s house, secluded himself in the back of a shul, and began his period of fasting. As he sat there, a man called Akiva the Storyteller entered the front of the shul and sat down with a group of young children. As the children eagerly surrounded Akiva, the storyteller began to speak.
“Listen closely, my children, as I tell you of the great wisdom of the wisest man who ever lived, Shlomo Hamelech. The nations of the world think that through their scrolls and teachings they can attain great wisdom about the world, but the truth is that all wisdom is contained in the Torah, and one who truly understands the Torah understands everything. Come closer now, and let me tell you how Shlomo Hamelech used his great wisdom to outsmart an African king.”
And this is the famous story about Shlomo Hamelech that Akiva told:
Once, Shlomo Hamelech was explaining some of the great wonders of the world to one of his wives. He told her about the special properties found in certain plants and the different powers they had when used in certain circumstances. This wife had been born from the lands in Africa and she had heard a legend of a plant that could do what none other could.
“What about the plants that can give life, but can also kill? Is such a thing possible, or is it just a legend?” she asked.
“It certainly is real, and the plants exists.”
“I would be so happy if I could see such a thing. Could you present such a plant to me?”
And so, Shlomo Hamelech acquired seeds of this plant and had them planted in the royal garden. After some time, they had grown, and he met with his wife with both the life-giving plant and the plant that caused death.
“Watch closely.” Shlomo Hamelech placed the deadly plant in a pot and cooked it. Then he summoned his wife’s pet, a playful monkey watching curiously from the side of the room. The monkey came forward and Shlomo Hamelech gave it some of the plant broth. The monkey wrinkled its nose at the strong taste and quickly scampered away. As it leaped toward a window sill, it suddenly fell limp and crashed onto the floor, dead.
Shlomo Hamelech then took one of the life-giving plants, cooked it, and poured a few drops of the broth into the monkey’s mouth. Almost immediately, its eyelids fluttered open and it leapt into the air with relief.
“But you must be careful with this,” Shlomo Hamelech warned his wife. “If a day and a night pass before the life-giving plant is administered, the dead person will stay dead.”
The remains from these incredible plants were placed in a pot near the window and there they stayed for a long time.
Sometime after this incident, a group of visiting dignitaries came to Shlomo Hamelech’s palace. Nobles from around the globe would routinely arrive to pay homage to the famous, wise, and holy Jewish king whose fame had spread from one end of the world to the other. The visiting royal guests were taken on a tour through Shlomo Hamelech’s gorgeous palace. One of the members of this group was an African king and an evil man.
As the African king was touring the palace, he met a princess from Africa, one of Shlomo Hamelech’s wives. He told her that she was next in line as the ruler of the country she came from. Blinded by the lure of power, she found herself convinced to find a way to abandon the palace and return to Africa.
Suddenly, her eyes fell on the plants by the windowsill. The African king also noticed them and realized they were something special. Again, using aggressive arguments and verbal force, he managed to pry the secrets of the plants from her. And now the escape plan became obvious: All she would need to do is drink from the plant that caused one to die, and then they would immediately bury her. After that, the African king would come to the cemetery and dig up her grave. Then he would give her to drink from the life-giving plant, and she would return to life and escape to Africa!
That very night, their plan was put into action.
to be continued…
(Originally featured in Mishpacha Jr., Issue 877)
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