An Allegory of a Tiny Vessel

An Allegory of a Tiny Vessel

Baal HaSulam
 

What does one do if he wishes to give his friend

A barrel full of wine,

But his friend has only a tiny cup?

He pours wine into that cup,

And his friend takes it home

And empties it there.

Then he returns with the cup

Fills it with wine once more,

And again returns to his home,

Until he receives all the barrels of wine.

 

I heard another tale.

Once there were two friends,

One of whom became a king,

And the other a pauper.

When he heard that his friend

Had become a king,

The pauper approached his friend, the king,

And told him of his misfortune.

So the king gave him

A letter for the treasurer,

Allowing him two hours to take

As much money as he wanted.

 

The pauper went to the treasury

With a tiny box.

He entered and filled his tiny box with money.

But as he was leaving,

The clerk kicked the box

And all the money fell to the ground.

And so it happened again and again.

And the pauper cried,

"Why are you treating me this way?"

Finally, the clerk told him:

"All the money you have taken

All this time

Is yours.

You may take it all.

Because you had no vessel

With which to take enough money from the treasury,

I played this trick on you."