The Turkey Prince #32 min read

This series is dedicated to the loving memory of Rabbi Moshe David Averick, l’illui nishmas Moshe David ben Naftali Yosef HaLevi v’Leah. May his neshama have an aliyah.

.וְכָל הָרוֹפְאִים נוֹאֲשׁוּ מִלַּעֲזֹר לוֹ וּלְרַפְאוֹתוֹ מִזֶּה. הַמֶּלֶךְ הָיָה בְּצַעַר גָּדוֹל מִזֶּה

And all the [professional and expert] doctors despaired from helping him, to heal him from this. And the King was distressed greatly from this. 

In Parshas Mikeitz, (Bereishis, Chapter 41:9), we learn that then the Pharaoh of Egypt was troubled by his two dreams, he called all his magicians and wise men to help him decipher them, but to no avail. Similarly, in our parable, all of the healers of the land come and try to rehabilitate the prince but meet with no success.

Every expert teacher, mentor, and authority figure make their attempt. “You have so much potential,” they cry. “Can’t you see that you are a prince, that this is all so beneath you?” Sadly, their words only serve to strengthen the prince’s resolve to remain where he is, on the floor, as a clucking fowl. With every reminder the healers give the prince of his true lofty nature, he can’t help to shrink lower and lower into his paralysis, reinforcing his self-defined identity. It is precisely this awareness which has likely driven him to this self-imposed delusion in the first place! Now, the prince is more certain than ever that his destiny is to live the life of a humble turkey, far from the stifling pressures of a royal future. As he begins to embrace his newfound purpose, the prince reaffirms to himself that he really is a turkey, and that it is the healers who are confused. They simply don’t accept him for who he truly is. Nobody seems to understand that he doesn’t possess this so-called princely potential. In this way, he becomes the enlightened one. He has found simple and wholesome happiness eating crumbs off the floor, naked.

The next line in the story, which we will analyze more thoroughly in the coming chapter, continues with the words, “and the king was greatly distressed from this.” What, specifically, is the king distressed from? This line of the story comes only after healers have given up, a choice that conjures Rebbe Nachman’s teaching in Likutei Moharan Tinyana 78, where he passionately instructs each individual to strengthen themselves greatly to never give up under any circumstance. The words have become an almost universally known “Breslov battle cry” in the face of obstacles – to never give up, to never despair. Perhaps we may suggest that it was the despair of the healers, their not utilizing the “אֵין שׁוּם יֵאוּשׁ” method that so greatly distressed the King. These people were in the best position to help the son of the king, but simply lacked hope – and their lack of hope for the possibility of curing the prince ran the risk of fortifying his own hopelessness. More than anything else, it was this hopelessness that pains the king – this sense of despair that makes the King of kings, Hashem, feel distressed in His efforts to help us recover from our spiritual ailments.

When Pharaoh’s experts fail to interpret the dreams, the Torah does not record Pharaoh being newly distressed. The pesukim simply inform us that the interpretation was unsatisfactory to him. Sadly, in this scenario, due to the hopelessness of the wise men, the King is pained beyond words. Thankfully, as we will see, not everyone has given up hope just yet…   

Thanks for reading! Join us next week as we continue our exploration of this parable!