Entry Three THE MASTER OF PRAYER, excerpt from book title "The Tales of Rabbi Nachman" by Martin Buber
Then it came to pass once that all the king's men were gone at the same time, each to his place to renew his gift.
A Great Storm At that time a great storm wind came over the world and in its raging mixed up the elements with one another, made the ocean into mainland and the mainland into ocean and fruitful habitation of men into desert wastes.
He also entered the king's palace, roaring, took the marvelously beautiful child of the king's daughter on his wings and bore it away in whirling haste.
The king, the queen, and the king's daughter all hurried after him wailing, but in the terrible revolution of the elements none found the road by which the child was taken away, and so they scattered in all directions, straying aimlessly. Meanwhile, one after the other, each of the king's men returned home from his place to the house of the king, and each found it abandoned.
And each in his anguish set out to seek the lost ones and did not wait for his comrades. Thus, we have all become separated from one another and seek one another in all places."
Thus spoke the master of prayer, and the people heard his words with great astonishment. They deliberated about him and decided not to let him out of the city so that if the hero really proved to be his friend, he could intercede with him for them.
For already the hero's messengers had come into the country and demanded submission.
Also, the great hero himself had marched with his bands nearer and nearer to the country of wealth, and while his messengers still were conferring with the mightiest men of the kingdom, he already lay with his troops before the walls and awaited the decision. When the rich now turned to the master for protection, he said he would go into the camp of the hero to see whether he recognized in him his former friend. He did so, met one of the warriors and began a conversation.
"What are your customs," he asked, "and how did it happen that you made yourselves subject to this man?"
Then the soldier reported how the great event of that storm wind had befallen the children of the world.
The Aftermath of the Great Storm "When the power of the fiend had mitigated itself," he said, "the men stood there helpless and scattered, estranged from their accustomed homesteads. They reflected then that they needed a ruler and pondered on whom they might raise over them as their king. All were agreed that he who stood closest to the meaning of life should be their lord.
But about the meaning of life there were many and varied opinions. The men could come to no accord and no conclusion, "Some thought to find the goal in wisdom; for can one get from all things anything better, they said, than to know them? But others raised the objection that wisdom would be an idle game without the power of words and would waste itself within its own circumference if it were not joined by speech, which leads it into the realm of working and happening; the word is the meaning of life. Again there existed a group that declared that all knowing and saying comes from others and goes to others; one thing alone holds sway wholly its own, affected by nothing alien, and that is beauty, which rests eternally in itself. She alone should be sought; she alone should be served.
But others among them cried out that beauty would not be at all real without one who rejoices in her; she is nothing other than a thing and image of joy, born mysteriously out of joy, begetting wonderful joy everywhere, embraced by joy; joy is the sun in whose warm light life perfects itself.
Still again there were some who listened to this scornfully and with compressed lips, and soon they let it be understood that it was foolish to strive after such fleeting and unstable vanities; the true goal of life is death, and to breathe in its atmosphere during all of one's earthly days is the only value of existence.To them, however, some replied that it is only the path of those without deed that is limited by death; but he who creates noble works and wins honor withstands destruction, for he appears as an image to distant generations in the hour of their reflection and makes himself into a never-to-be-extinguished star of future human ages; honor is the meaning of existence for it binds it to eternity.
"In such manner they all disputed about the goal for seven days and seven nights until it became clear to them that there was no bridge from one to the other. Each group set out, one after the other, and each went its way to select a country and a prince in conformity with their view of the meaning of life.
"But I and my comrades," spoke the warrior to the master of prayer, "we were strong men, a great band, but unused to speaking, and we did not take part in the quarrel.
Still we could not join any of the peoples, for we felt in our blood and in the beat of our hearts how without force life would lack meaning, and beyond that we could see nothing save to use it and to influence the use of it by others.
When the others now departed, we too made ready and marched away, and every creature hid itself when we came. One day a young hero met us and demanded submission. When we refused it, he raised a sword and held it toward us, and the sight of it alone bowed us to the earth.
We vowed faithfulness to him, he assumed dominion over us, and since then we march after him, triumphing from country to country. But, strange to say, our lord says that it is not strength and conquest that signifies to him the meaning of life;
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