{"id":8646,"date":"2013-08-09T17:35:49","date_gmt":"2013-08-09T23:35:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=8646"},"modified":"2013-08-09T18:23:55","modified_gmt":"2013-08-10T00:23:55","slug":"the-seeker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/the-seeker\/","title":{"rendered":"The Seeker"},"content":{"rendered":"

By TED ROBERTS, the SCRIBBLER ON THE ROOF<\/em><\/p>\n

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But none of this mattered when his thoughts strayed to Rachel, his sick, crippled daughter.<\/p>\n

Aha, he pondered, it must be a dybbuk \u2013 an evil spirit that had nestled in his soul \u2013 maybe from the tavern where he went too often. Clever dybbuks were known to leap from one victim\/host to another. Now it possessed him.The dybbuk was poisoning his life. He must find the king; only he could restore the daughter he loved.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why he had been wandering for several hours now \u2013 searching, searching for his King who he knew lived in a golden palace deep in the woods. The King was his last hope to cure his young daughter, struck down with a deadly disease. Everyone knew he possessed healing powers.
\nThe seeker even brought a list of his good deeds. It was rumored that the King kept a list of his own of each of his subject\u2019s deeds. But who knew?<\/p>\n

Maybe he missed crediting him for the time he had pulled Meyer Pushkin\u2019s wagon out of the mud. And he didn\u2019t even like Meyer Pushkin. But first he must find the King.<\/p>\n

The grief-stricken father had read all the books \u2013 talked to all the wise men, leafed through many pages of maps, but still his head was whirling. Only the King could make his daughter well.
\nHe must find the King.<\/p>\n

The seeker had never seen him. But it was rumored that he was wise, benevolent, and all powerful. If you sought him out and obeyed his laws, your problems disappeared.But first you must find him and present your credentials; goodness, kindness, and obedience were a prerequisite of But how to find him?<\/p>\n

Ah, a rustle of limbs and leaves told him someone was approaching. \u201cThe King \u2013 his palace?\u201d said the seeker. \u201cWhere is it? Which of these paths will take me to the palace?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow fortunate you encountered me. I am the only inhabitant of the forest that knows the pathway to the palace. Oh, it\u2019s close,\u201d said the stranger, \u201cfollow the paved road till you come to the Magnolia tree \u2013 now in bloom \u2013 a huge green and white chandelier of blossoms. You can\u2019t miss it. Turn right there on the pebbled road and in less than half a mile there is the King\u2019s palace. I know the way since I visit the King often. Just do as I say.\u201d<\/p>\n

Invigorated, the seeker followed his directions only to find that the pebbled road ended in a thick, impenetrable wilderness. Devastated, he sat on a stone ledge and waited for something. He knew not what. But hark, someone was coming.Where oh where is the King\u2019s palace?\u00a0I was told it was at the end of this road.\u201d<\/p>\n

The stranger laughed softly. \u201cHow fortunate that you encountered me. I am the only inhabitant of the forest that knows the pathway to the palace. Whoever told you those directions couldn\u2019t even find his own elbow. No, no. Recall you passed a fork in the main road. You took the right fork; you must go left. At the end of the left fork, there you will find the radiant palace of the King. But listen, why wander in this dangerous wilderness \u2013 buy one of my maps \u2013 only twenty rubles.\u201d<\/p>\n

The seeker leaped to his feet, reinvigorated. \u201cAh, thank you, but no need. I\u2019ll follow your directions.\u201d And this time, taking the left fork, he walked many leagues only to find himself on the banks of a broad, turbulent river. No palace in sight. His spirits sank.
\nAgain, the wrong path and not the slightest glimmer of the King\u2019s palace. He lay face down on the riverside grass and shed bitter tears.<\/p>\n

A hand tapped his shoulder. \u201cStranger,\u201d he said, \u201cnow is not a day for tears. The trees are as green as the grass and luscious fruit provided by the King for your journey hangs from their boughs.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I know, but I seek the King in vain. I\u2019ve crossed and re-crossed the forest wherein he resides \u2013 with no luck whatsoever.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cToday is your lucky day. \u201cHow fortunate you encountered me. I am the only inhabitant of the forest that knows the pathway to the King\u2019s palace. This very morning I spoke to the King. You should not have listened to those other wanderers lost in the woods.They never scanned the map to the King\u2019s abode. Now listen carefully. Just continue on the left fork by the brook. You must turn off where the grove of orange trees stands. Walk half a mile and there, facing you with all of its splendor in a clearing surrounded by Pomegranate trees, there rises the palace of the one and only King. And you know he welcomes all who come to him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Up jumped the seeker bound on this new navigational solution. Need I tell you the results? Same, same, same \u2013 nothing – a foggy swamp as different from the imperial palace as the wilderness of Cush from the towering Himalayas. The fool who gave him directions couldn\u2019t find the King\u2019s palace if the moon hung above it. The seeker propped himself against a fallen log and moaned.<\/p>\n

Through his lamentations he hears someone approach. He wore a yarmulke and a snow white tallith over his shoulders. And a long, dark cloak; far different from the other forest dwellers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are infinite pathways through the forest to the King\u2019s abode. But there is no path for you except the one you make. And you must make it yourself. Here,\u201d he said, and gently laid an ax at the seeker\u2019s feet.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou will need it. There are briars and thorn bushes and tangles of vine that trip you up. Go that way,\u201d he pointed, \u201cand you shortly will be rewarded by the shining spires of the King\u2019s palace, the reward for hacking your own path through the woods. But let me tell you a secret. If you have led a good life, you can even take the wrong road and still end up at the palace.\u201d<\/p>\n

The seeker wildly set off slashing through the underbrush. Soon, through the tops of the tallest Pines, a faint gold glimmer brightened the sky. He had found the path.Soon he would be with the King. Soon his daughter would run in sunlit meadows.<\/p>\n

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