There once was a special light that shown when the Holy One, blessed be He created the world that was so bright that could not be used to light the day, because it would hide the light of the sun. (Genesis Rabbah 3:6). It disappeared when Adam and Eve left the Garden. G-d took a piece of this light, put it in a stone and gave it to Adam and Eve to light the darkness. The stone was passed from generation to generation. Noah used this stone to light the inside of the ark. (Genesis 6:16, Sanhedrin 108b). It was passed down to Abraham who had a precious stone hung round his neck which brought immediate healing to any sick person who looked on it. . (Baba Basra 16b) He passed it on to Isaac who gave it to Jacob who handed it on to Joseph. Joseph used it for his dream interpretations. Moses recovered it from the bones of Joseph and placed it in the Mishkan (Tabernacle). (Baba Basra 16b, Leviticus. R. 11; Genesis. Rabbah 31:11). The tzohar passed from the holy and righteous and made it to the wise King Solomon, who used it to light the inside of the Beis haMikdash (Holy Temple) in Jerusalem. When the Holy Temple was destroyed it disappeared.
Binyāme was born in the desert and learned the ways of the shifting sands. His parents had been slaves, but they had run away to find a place where they could be free. Each morning they would thank the Holy One, blessed be He “shelo asani aved” (who has not made me a slave)(Menuchos 43b) Every day they searched for food and water, while the sun beat down on their backs, and sand blew in their faces. Still, Binyāme never lost hope, for his mother would say:
“One day the Bird of Happiness will guide us to a holy city like Jerusalem.” For that was their dream—to reach the holy city with a strong Jewish community like Jerusalem. The question was how could they find their way there?”
Every night, when they stopped to rest, Binyāme’s father would teach him what it meant to be Jewish. They had no books, but his father remembered the holy teachings and the stories he had learned as a boy. He taught his son that he should “You shall love the L-rd your G-d with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” (Deuteronomy 6:5) Binyāme took all his father’s teachings to heart and let them be his guide.
So it was that they wandered for many years, and still the desert stretched endlessly before them. Then one night, Binyāme had a strange and powerful dream. In the dream he was traveling with his parents when the world suddenly grew dark “a darkness that can be felt.” (Exodus 10:21). Binyāme’s parents said, “Quickly, Binyāme, crouch down and cover yourself with a blanket. A sandstorm is coming!” And as soon as he did he heard the roar of the wind as sand started swirling around him and beating down on the blanket, and the sandstorm lasted for many hours. At last the storm passed, and Binyāme and his parents threw off the blankets and discovered that their food had been scattered and their water was swallowed by the storm, and, even worse, their footprints were lost by the sand and wind. They could no longer tell where they had come from or where they should go.
Just when everything looked hopeless, Binyāme saw something on the horizon. At first it was only a speck, but soon he saw that it was a beautiful white bird. That bird came closer and closer, and just as it flew over Binyāme, it dropped something from its beak and in the dream, and Binyāme caught it! At that moment Binyāme woke up and discovered that he was clutching something in his right hand—a glowing stone. Binyāme jumped up and showed it to his parents.
Binyāme hung the glowing stone from a leather thong around his neck, and it proved to be a wonderful guide. For when they were traveling in the right direction, the stone would glow, but when they were going in the wrong direction, it remained dark. In this way the glowing stone guided them to every oasis, where pools of fresh water were surrounded by trees bearing sweet fruit. Each time they came to such an oasis, they said a prayer of thanks.
So it was that after years of wandering through shifting sands and blazing sun, Binyāme and his parents finally came to the walls of a great city—the first city that Binyāme had ever seen. As they passed through the gates, they were surprised to see a huge crowd had gathered in the streets. Binyāme wondered about this, because his father had told him that in cities people live in houses.
Then Binyāme’s father asked why everyone was standing the streets. The man said, “Three days ago our king died. And it is the custom in our city to let the will of heaven decide who will be our next king. So on the third day after the king’s death, the rare Bird of Happiness is released and circles above the city, and whoever the bird lands on is chosen to be the next king of the city. The bird is about to be released. That is why everyone is standing in the street.”
Just then there was a great shout from the crowd, and Binyāme looked up and saw a white bird soaring on high and circling above the city, and there was something strangely familiar about that bird. It spiraled lower and lower, while Binyāme’s glowing jewel glowed more brightly than ever before. And suddenly the bird swooped down and landed on Binyāme’s shoulder! There was a great shout from the crowd, and all at once Binyāme was picked up and carried off, while his parents ran after them, crying, “That’s our son. Where are you taking him?”
The crowd brought Binyāme to the king’s palace, where he was placed on the king’s throne, with the Bird of Happiness still perched on his shoulder. Everyone bowed low before him, and they declared that he, Binyāme, the poor boy wandering in the desert, the son of slaves, was their king. At first Binyāme thought it must all be a dream, but then he felt the tugging of the bird’s talons in his hair, and he knew that it must be real.
Three days later there was a great coronation, and Binyāme was officially crowned king of the great city. After that Binyāme and his parents lived in the palace. No longer did they wonder what they would eat or drink or where they would sleep at night. As king of the great city, every important question was brought before Binyāme to decide. Now while Binyāme had never gone to school or even seen a book, he let the Ten Commandments be his guide in deciding what was right and what was wrong, and he found that they served him very well. Plus, he had the secret assistance of the glowing stone. For whenever the answer to a question was yes, the stone would glow brightly. But if the answer was no, it would remain dark.
At first the nobles of the great city were worried that the fate of the city was being entrusted to such a young boy. But as they listened to his decisions, they came to realize that he was very wise. There was only one thing they wondered about. The young king had asked that a simple shack be built out of branches next to the palace. There he spent an hour each day—but no one knew what he did.
Finally, the king’s minister could not contain his curiosity, and he asked the young king about his strange actions. Binyāme said,
“When I go into that shack, I put on the rags I was wearing when I came here, and I remember where I came from. For only then can I know where I must go.”
When the minister heard this, he knew that Heaven had truly blessed them with a wise young king. After that he served Binyāme faithfully for many years, and in this way Binyāme became a great king. Every day Binyāme and his parents thanked the Holy One, blessed be He for all their blessings — and especially for the Bird of Happiness.
May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)
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Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation. (Joel 1:3)