From Slave to King: A Dangerous Journey Through the Desert
A 1,000 year old fable that holds the secret to healthy Jewish living.
Dear Healthy Jew,
Before Pesach, you might recall, I shared with you a beautiful ancient parable about a slave in the desert sands of Arabia whose master offers him freedom with the chance to become a king. We then contemplated the story’s message for the upcoming holiday when our nation was freed from the bondage of slavery to Egypt, and sent on its way to the Kingdom of Israel.
After we quickly review the story, I’m going to tell you its original interpretation, as I learned it from a very important but not-famous-enough book of Jewish philosophy, HaEmunah HaRamah (The Exalted Faith), composed by Rabbi Abraham ibn Daud (c.1110- c.1180) in the generation before the Rambam. He apparently learned it from the writings of the Islamic philosopher al-Ghazali (1058-1111).
Pay close attention, because this story holds the key to a life lived well. Seriously.
Here’s the parable, again:
One day, the master turned to the slave and said:
You have three choices. If you stay here, you will forever remain a slave. If you go on the Hadj to Mecca and walk around the Kaaba, I will make you a king. If you set out on the journey, but don’t reach Mecca, I will let you free, but as a regular person, not a king.
The slave’s path to royalty has three phases.
The final stage is circling the Kaaba, which will crown him a king.
Before becoming a king, he must endure a hard desert journey.
To survive the trip, he must prepare well. He’ll secure the best camel available, and gather as much food and water as possible. Before that, he’ll spin string to sew a leather flask to hold the water that he’ll drink while traveling to Mecca.
Even while spinning strings, the slave’s destination is the monarchy. The freedom he obtains by beginning the journey is only the first step toward his goal. And yet: with the simple act of walking out the door for the purpose of reaching royalty, he has already become a free man.
But our slave may never take that first step. He might spend the rest of his days spinning string in slavery, dreaming for the day when he’ll be prepared for the journey to royalty.
Even before understanding each stage, we can hear the story’s lesson, as I shared with you before Pesach:
True freedom is born with a paradigm shift: setting the goal of becoming a different person – a king, if not over a country, then over oneself. The slave must seek to inhabit a different place, literally or metaphorically.
Yet freedom doesn’t wait until the coronation ceremony. By taking one humble step in the direction of royalty, the slave has earned his freedom. He’s no longer stuck in captivity, but freely walking toward wholeness.
Still, that simple action can be terribly hard. Afraid of the journey’s challenges, he might spend the rest of his days making sure that he’s totally prepared.
Now let’s get specific:
When we begin spiritual growth, we find that we’re slaves to our desires and distractions. Our goal isn’t merely to become free, able to be who we truly want to be. We’re heading toward royalty - a life of knowing and emulating the Source of all wisdom, power, and perfection. The endgame is beyond anything this world can offer: an everlasting, dynamic, and loving relationship with the Creator of the universe.
The road toward that destination isn’t magical or mysterious: it passes through all the “deserts” of the material world. The archetypical journey, as I explained here, is the hard and fulfilling work of becoming a good person - not esoteric ponderings about what’s out there in the heavens but making the choices and taking the actions that balance our character traits so that we can relate healthfully to ourselves and others. With every act of kindness and justice, and every mitzvah we fulfill with our bodies, we take another step to royalty - as free people, no longer slaves to our instincts.
But before we head out on the journey of personal growth, we must have healthy bodies and minds. If we’re sick, anxious, and struggling to stay afloat, we won’t be able to take a close look at what isn’t working and strive to do better next time. We can’t give what we don’t have. Therefore, the journey to royalty begins with taking care of our own health, putting ourselves first. Only after we’ve spun a few threads, woven them into our flasks, and piled provisions on our camels, can we take the first concrete steps into freedom.
Our mission here at Healthy Jew is to integrate these 3 stages into one naturally flowing process. When caring for our health is part of a larger picture, we won’t get stuck spinning threads forever.
We’re not eating well, moving well, and being well just for the sake of making the most out of life’s pleasures. We’re looking for Wellness with Wisdom: how our efforts will enable us to survive and thrive in the journeys of life. As I like to say, healthy living doesn’t just make good living possible, but is where all good choices begin. (Learn more in the Choosing Wellness posts here.)
At the other end, our relationship with our Creator is the direct result of our journey through the desert with adequate supplies. God isn’t miraculous: He naturally fits into our human lives. Living with Him is enjoyable and meaningful, what we call Sensible Spirituality.
Where does this all happen? In the Land of Life: the place on earth where life here is a path to the realm of the spirit.
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Be well,
Rabbi Shmuel Chaim Naiman
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