3. Rabbi Nachman's Stories of Ancient Times: Tale 3 - The One Who Could Not Walk

Tale 3

of

One Who Could Not Walk

A tale. Once there was a sage. Before his death he called his children and family and left them a will: that they should water trees. "You may engage in other occupations as well, but this you must constantly do: water trees." Afterwards the sage passed away and he left children. And he had one son who could not walk; he could stand, but he could not walk. His brothers would provide him sufficiently for his livelihood, and they gave him so much, that he had leftover. He would save up for himself, bit by bit, whatever remained beyond his needs, until he had amassed a large sum. He then came to the decision, "Why should I get a stipend from them? Better that I begin some business." And though he could not walk, he came up with the solution to hire a carriage, a confidant, and a wagon-driver, and to travel with them to Leipzig, and he would be able to do business even though he could not walk. When the family heard this, it pleased them very much, and they also said, "Why should we give him subsistence? Better, let him make a livelihood." And they lent him more money so that he could do the business.

He did so. He hired a carriage, a confidant, and a wagon-driver, and he set out. They came to an inn. The confidant said that they should spend the night there, but he did not want to. They pleaded with him, but he was stubborn with them. They traveled away from there and got lost in a forest, and thieves ambushed them. The thieves had come about through the following story: There was once a famine. Someone came to the city and proclaimed: Whoever wants food should come to him. Several people came to him. He discerned which men who came to him were not useful to him, and he rejected them. To one he would say, "You can be a craftsman," while to another he said, "You can be a miller." And he chose only intelligent youths, and went with them into the forest and proposed to them that they become thieves: "Being that from here there are roads to Leipzig, to Breslau [a city in Germany], and to other places, merchants travel through here. We will rob them. We will have money." (So the thief - who had had earlier made the proclamation in the city - told them).

The thieves ambushed them (i.e. the one who could not walk and his men, namely the confidant and the wagon driver). The confidant and the wagon driver were able to flee, and they fled; and he was left on the wagon. The thieves came to him, and took from him the chest of money, and asked him, "Why are you sitting?" He replied: he could not walk. And they stole the chest and the horses, and he remained on the carriage.

The assistant and the wagon-driver (who had fled), came to the decision that inasmuch as they had taken out loans from feudal landlords [poritzes], why should they return home, where they could be placed in chains? Better, to remain there (where they had fled), and be an assistant and wagon-driver there. Now, the one who could not walk, who remained on the wagon, as long as he had the dry bread that he had brought from home, he ate it. Then when it ran out and he had nothing to eat, he thought about what to do. He threw himself out of the carriage to eat grass. He slept alone in the field and was frightened, and his strength was taken from him so that he could not even stand, only crawl, and he would eat the grass that was around him. And as long as he could reach grass and eat, he would eat there, and when the grass around him ran out so that he could no longer reach, he crawled further away and ate again. Thus he ate grass for a time.

Once, he came to an herb the likes of which he had never eaten before. This herb pleased him very much, because he had been eating grasses for a long time, so he knew them very well, and such an herb he had never seen before. He came to the decision to tear it out with its root. Under the root was a diamond. The diamond was quadrangular and each side had in it it a different segula [a charm or special ability]. On one side of the diamond it was written that whoever grasps that side, it would take him where day and night meet together, that is, where the sun and the moon gather in unison. When he tore out the herb with its root (which is where the diamond was) it happened that he grasped that side (i.e. the side of which the segulah was, it would take him to the place where day and night come together). It took him there, where day and night come together. He looked around and beheld he was already there!

He heard the sun and the moon talking, and the sun was complaining before the moon, "Inasmuch as there is a tree that has many branches, fruits, and leaves, and each of its branches, fruits, and leaves has a segulah - one is conducive [mesugal] to have children, another is conducive to livelihood, another is conducive to healing this sickness, another is conducive for another sickness; each tiny bit of the tree is conducive to something else - this tree should have been watered, and if it would be watered, it would be extremely potent [mesugal]. But not only do I not water it, I shine on it too and dry it out."

The moon answered and said, "You worry about the worries of others. I will tell you my worry. Inasmuch as I have a thousand mountains, and around the thousand mountains are another thousand mountains, and that [there] is a place of demons, and the demons have chicken-like feet, they have no strength in their feet, so they take strength from my feet, and because of this I have no strength in my feet. And I have a powder (i.e. a dust) that is a cure for my feet, but a wind comes and carries it away."

The sun responded, "That is what you worry about?! I will tell you a cure. Inasmuch as there is a path, and many paths branch off from that path: One is the path of the tzadikim [righteous]. Even someone who is a tzadik here, the dust from that path is spread underneath every one of his steps, so that with every step, he is stepping on that dust. Another is the path of heretics. Even someone who is a heretic here, the dust of this path is spread underneath each of his steps, as mentioned. And there is the path of the insane. Even someone who is insane here, the dust of this path is spread underneath each of his steps, as mentioned. And so there are several paths. And there is a different path, being that there are tzadikim who accept suffering upon themselves; the landlords march them in chains, and they have no strength in their feet: dust from this path is spread underneath their feet so that they have strength in their feet. So go there, for there is plenty of dust there, and you will have healing for your feet." (All this the sun said to the moon). And he heard all this (i.e. the one who had no strength in his feet heard all this).

Meanwhile, he looked at the diamond on a different side, and saw that it was written there that whoever grasps that side, it would bring him to the path from which many paths go out (namely, the path mentioned above, of which the sun informed the moon). He grasped that side, and it carried him (away) there (i.e. to the path). He placed his feet on the path whose dust was a healing for feet, and he was immediately healed. He went and took the dust from all of the paths and bound each dust separately in a bundle. (Namely,) he bound the dust from the path of the righteous separately, and likewise the dust of the remaining paths he bound separately; so he made himself bundles from the powders, and took them with him. And he came to a decision and went to the forest where he was robbed. When he arrived there, he chose a tall tree near the path from which the thieves go out to rob. And he took the dust of the righteous and the dust of the insane and mixed them together, and spread them on the path. And he went up the tree and sat there to see what would happen with them.

He saw the robbers going out, having been sent out by the senior robber (mentioned above) to rob. When the robbers came to that path, as soon as they took a step on the powder they became tzadikim and began to cry out for their years and days - for having robbed until then and having killed many souls. But since mixed there, was the powder of the insane, they became insane tzadikim, and began to argue with each other. One said, "Because of you we killed," and another said, "Because of you!" So they argued until they killed each other. The senior robber sent once again more robbers, and it was also as before, and they also killed each other. And so it was each time, until they were all killed off, until he (namely the one who previously had no strength in his feet, who was up in a tree) understood that none of the robbers remained except for him alone (namely the senior robber who commanded them all) and one other. He went down from the tree and swept up the dust from the path, and spread the dust of the path of the righteous alone, and went to sit on the tree again.

Now, the senior robber was very puzzled that he had sent all the thieves and none of them had returned. He decided to go personally with the one that still remained with him. And as soon as he came onto the path (where the son mentioned above, had spread the dust of the righteous by itself), he became a tzaddik. He began to cry out to the other bandit over his years and days, over how he had murdered so many souls and robbed so much. And he tore graves and was penitent and very remorseful. When he (the son who was sitting in the tree) saw he had remorse and was very penitent, he came down from the tree. As soon as the robber noticed a person he began to cry out, "Woe to me! I have done such and such! Yow! Give me penance!" He answered him, "Return to me the chest that you robbed from me." For, it was written by them on all the stolen goods, when it was stolen and from whom. He (the senior robber) said to him, "I will immediately return it to you! I will even give you the treasuries of stolen goods that I have! Just give me penance! He (the son) said to him, "Your penance is: just go into the town, call out and confess, 'I am the one who made the proclamation at that time [during the famine, that whoever wants food should come to me] and made many robbers, and I murdered and robbed many souls.' That is your penance." The robber gave him all his treasuries, and went with him into the city and did so. Judgment was passed in that town, that since he had murdered so many souls, he should be hanged, so people would know: meaning, so that others would be aware.

After this he (i.e. the one who previously had no strength in his feet) decided to go to the two thousand mountains (mentioned above) to see what takes place there. When he arrived there, he stood far from the two thousand mountains, and he saw, there were many, many thousands of thousands and myriads of myriads of families of demons, because they are fruitful and multiply and have children as humans, and they are very numerous. And he saw their kingship sitting on a throne, upon which no one born of a woman (meaning, no human) ever sits on such a throne. And he saw how they make scoffery: one tells over that he had harmed someone's baby, another tells how he had harmed someone's hand, another tells how he had harmed someone's foot, and other such scoffery.

Meanwhile, he noticed a father and mother [demon] walking and weeping. They were asked, "Why are you weeping?" They answered: They have a son, whose routine was that he would go his way and at this time he would already return, but now it has been a long time and he still has not come. They were brought before the king. The king ordered to send messengers throughout the world to find him. As the father and mother were returning from the king, they met up with someone who used to go together with their son. He asked them, "Why are you weeping?" They told him. He answered them, "I will tell you. Being that we had a little island at sea, which was our territory. The king to whom this island belonged went and wanted to build palaces there, and had already laid a foundation. Your son said to me that we should harm him. We went and took away the king's strength. He got involved with doctors but they could not help him, so he started getting involved with sorcerers. There was one sorcerer there who knew his family. He did not know my family, therefore he could not do anything to me - but he knew his family, so he seized him and is torturing him severely." They brought him (i.e. the demon who told over all of this) to the king, and he told it over before the king as well. The king said: "Let them return the strength to the king [to whom the island belonged]!" He replied, "There was someone by us who had no strength and we gave away the strength to him." The king said, "The strength should be taken from him and returned to the king!" They answered him: He had become a cloud (i.e. the demon to whom they had given away the strength, had become a cloud). The king said that they should, "Summon the cloud and bring it here." They sent a messenger for him.

He (namely, the one who previously had no strength in his feet, who had witnessed all this) decided, "I will go on and see how these people become a cloud." He followed the messenger and came to the city where the cloud was. He asked the townspeople, "Why is there a cloud here in town?" They answered him, "Here in town, on the contrary, there has never been any cloud here; only for some time has the cloud covered the city." And the messenger came and summoned the cloud, and it went away from there. He (i.e. the one who previously had no strength in his feet) came to the decision to follow them to hear what they were saying. He heard the messenger ask him, "How did it come to be, that you became a cloud here?" He answered him, "I will tell you a story.

"Once, there was a sage. And the emperor [kaiser, caesar] of the country was a big heretic, and he made the entire country into heretics. The sage went and summoned his whole family and said to them, 'Surely you see that the emperor is a big heretic and has made the entire country into heretics, and some of our family he has already made into heretics. Therefore let us set out for the wilderness so that we will be able to remain in our faith in G-d, blessed be He.' They agreed on this. The sage uttered a [Divine] Name; it brought them to a wilderness. This wilderness did not please him. He again uttered a Name; it took them to yet another wilderness. This wilderness too did not please him. He uttered another Name; again it took him to another wilderness. This wilderness did please him. And the wilderness was close to the two thousand mountains (mentioned above). The sage went and made a circle around them so that no one would be able to come near them.

"Now, there is a tree, that if it would be watered, none of us (i.e. of the demons) would remain. Therefore, some of us stand digging day and night, allowing no water to reach the tree." The other one asked, "Why do they have to stand day and night digging? Once they have dug one time then the water will be unable to come, it should suffice." He answered him, "Since there are gossipers among us, and these gossipers go and instigate disputes between one king and the other king, and this causes wars, and the wars cause earthquakes, and the earth around the ditches falls in, which allows water to reach the tree. Therefore, they must stand constantly and dig. And when there is a new king among us, they make all the shenanigans before him, and they rejoice. One scoffs how he harmed a baby and how the mother mourns over it, another shows other diablerie, and similarly many various devilry. And when the king gets into the festivity, he goes and takes a stroll with his ministers and tries to uproot the tree. Because if this tree would not exist at all, it would be very good for us. And the king strengthens his heart very much in order to uproot the tree entirely. When he approaches the tree, the tree gives a great shout, so that a great fear falls on him and he must turn around.

"Once, a new king was appointed among us (i.e. among the demons, for all this the cloud told the messenger, as mentioned). Great mischief was done before him, as mentioned, and he became very joyous and made his heart very bold, and wanted to tear out the tree completely. And he went out to stroll with his ministers, brazened his heart exceedingly, and ran to tear out the tree completely. When he arrived at the tree, it gave a great cry (at him), and a great fear fell on him; he turned back and was very angry. And he made his way back. In the middle of all this, he took a look and noticed people sitting (this was the aforementioned sage with his people). The king sent from his men to do something (i.e. to harm them, as was their custom). When the sage's family saw them, they were overcome with fear. The elder (i.e. the sage mentioned above) called out to them, 'Do not fear.' When the demons arrived there, they were unable to come close due to the circle that was around them. He sent other messengers, but they too were unable to come close. The king became enraged and went himself, and he too was unable to come close to them.

"He asked the elder to let him come in to them. The elder said to him, 'Since you request it of me, I will indeed let you in, however it is not customary for a king to go alone, so I will let you in with one other.' He opened a little door for them, they entered, and he closed the circle again. The king said to the elder, 'How do you come and settle on my [Yid.; Heb: our] place?' He (the elder) said to him, 'Why is it your place? It is my place!' The king said to the elder, 'You have no fear of me?' He said, 'No.' He said again, 'You have no fear at all?' And he displayed himself becoming very big, up to the sky, and wanted to swallow him. The elder said, 'I still have no fear of you at all. But if I want, you will be afraid of me.' And he went and prayed a bit, and big thick clouds formed, and there was great thunder. And thunder kills them drastically, so all his ministers that were with him were killed, and none remained except for the king and the one who was there with him in the circle. He begged him (i.e. the king begged the elder) for the thunder to cease, and it ceased.

"The king spoke up and said to the elder, 'Since you are such a person, I will give you a book of all the demon families. For, there are miracle workers [ba'alei shemot] who only know of one demon family, and even that family they do not know completely. I will give you a book in which all of the families are written. For, by the king they are all recorded, and even a newborn is also registered by the king. The king sent the one who was with him after the book. (Hence, the sage did very well by letting him in with another, for otherwise, who would he send?) He brought him the book. He opened it and saw that written inside were thousands of thousands, and ten-thousands of ten-thousands of their families. The king gave his word to the elder that they would never harm the elder's entire family, and he commanded to bring all the portraits of his whole family, and even if a baby was born to them, to immediately bring its portrait, so that they would not harm anyone from the elder's family.

"Afterwards, (Heb: when) the time came for the elder to leave the world, he called his children and commanded them (Heb.; Yid: left them a will) and said to them as follows: 'I leave you this book. Surely you see that I have the power to use this book in holiness, and even still I don't use it; I just have faith in Hashem Yisburach. You too should not use it. Even if there will be found one of you who will be able to use it in holiness, he should still not use it, and only have faith in Hashem Yisburach.' Then the sage died, and the book was passed on as an inheritance and came to his grandson (his son's son). And he had the ability to use it in holiness, but he just had faith in Hashem Yisburach and did not use it, as the elder had willed.

"The gossipers that are among the demons tried to persuade the elder's grandson, 'Since you have grown daughters and you are unable to support them and marry them off, therefore use this book.' And he did not know that they were trying to entice him, and thought that his heart was advising him do this. So he traveled to his grandfather, to his grave, and asked him, 'Being that you left a testament that we should not use this book, but only have faith in Hashem Yisburach; now, my heart is telling me to use it.' His grandfather (who was deceased) answered him, 'Even though you can use it in holiness, it is better that you should have faith in Hashem Yisburach and not use it, and Hashem Yisburach will help you.' And that is what he did.

"And the day came to pass, when the king of the country where this grandson of the elder lived, became ill. He got involved with doctors, but they could not heal him. Due to the great heat there in that country, the treatments did not help. The king of the country decreed that the Jews should pray for him. Our king (i.e. the king of the demons) said, 'Since this grandson has the power to use this book in holiness and he still does not use it, therefore we need to do him a favor.' He commanded me to become a cloud there, so that the king (of that country) would be healed by the treatments that he had already taken and the treatments he would yet take. And the grandson knew nothing about this. And that is why I have become a cloud here." (All this is what the cloud told the messenger).

And the one who previously had no strength in his feet was following them and heard everything. The one who was a cloud was brought before the king, and the king commanded to take the strength from him and return it to the other king (from whom they had taken away his strength because he had built on their territory, as mentioned), and they returned the strength to him. The son of the demons (whose father and mother had wept for him, as mentioned) returned, and he arrived very afflicted and without strength, because he had been severely tortured there. He was very enraged at the sorcerer who had tortured him there so much, so he ordered his children and his family to always ambush this sorcerer. But among the demons are talkers (i.e. gossipers), and they went and told the sorcerer that they (the family mentioned) were waiting to ambush him, so that he could protect himself from them. The sorcerer performed some schemes and called upon more sorcerers who knew more families, in order to protect himself from them. The (demon) son and his family were very enraged at the tattlers for having revealed his secret to the sorcerer.

Once, it happened that some members of the (demon) son's family and some of the tattlers went together on the king's watch. The son's family went and made false accusations against the tattlers, and the king killed the tattlers. The remaining tattlers were enraged, and they went and made a rebellion (i.e. a huge war) between all the kings. And there were hunger, infirmity, murder, and plagues among the demons. Wars were waged between all the kings, and this caused an earthquake, and all the earth fell in, and the tree was watered completely. None of them (i.e. of the demons) survived whatsoever, and they were as nothing. Amen.

[Notes Following the Story]

[Rabbi Nachman's words:] "Fortunate is the man who did not go etc. did not stand, and in a sitting of scoffers etc.. He will be as a tree planted on brooks of water etc." [Psalms 1] the entire story is alluded to in this chapter. Whoever has eyes, let him see, and whoever has a heart, let him understand, what happens in the world.

[Rabbi Natan's commentary:] The secret of this story is alluded to in Chapter 1 of the Psalms: "Fortunate is the man who has not walked..." - the "path of the wicked" and the "path of the just." These are the aspect of the paths mentioned in the story that have the dust that are spread, etc.. "And he will be like a tree planted by streams of water, which give its fruit in its season, and its leaves... and all that he does will prosper" -- this refers to the tree in the story, that all of its fruit and leaves, everything in its entirety, are all very beneficial, as mentioned.

Examine and you will find more allusions:

"Fortunate is the man who has not walked" -- for, initially he could not walk. "Has not stood" -- for, later on, he could not stand either. "And in the company of scorners" refers to the settlement of the mockers who make mockery, etc., as mentioned. "Like chaff which the wind drives away" refers to the wind that carries away the dust. And all of this is only a few superficial allusions that he [Rabbi Nachman] enlightened our eyes slightly so that we understand and comprehend a little, the extent to which these things reach. But the matters are still sealed in utter concealment, for all of these stories that he [Rabbi Nachman] told are very, very high above human comprehension, and hidden from the eye of all living creatures, etc..

 Na Nach Nachma Nachman MeUman!

Rabbi Nachman's Legendary Tales