Rabbi Charles P. Sherman
April 8, 2005
A Pre-Pesach Story: The Rooster Who Would Be King
This is Shabbat HaChedesh, literally "The Sabbath of the Month." The first month of the year, the month os Nisan, the month in which Passover is observed, begins tomorrow evening. In honor of Shabbat HaChedesh, a pre-Pesach story.
Once upon a time there was a prince unlike any other prince. What made this prince different was that somehow this prince came to believe he was a rooster. Taking off all his clothes, he strutted around the grounds of the palace, stopping occasionally to preen his imaginary feathers or peck at something that would catch his eye. "Cock a doodle doo, cock a doodle doo," he crowed, his bent arms flapping his invisible wings.
To some the sight of the royal heir, nude and mimicking a rooster, was quite amusing, but none dared laugh for fear of facing the repercussions of the king. The Prince’s father, the king, tried everything he could think of to convince his son that he was not really a rooster. But the king could not seem to reach his son.
All this was driving the king crazy. Not only did he feel like a laughingstock, but every morning he was awakened very early by his son’s squawking, "Cock a doodle doo! Cock a doodle doo!" The king called in all the finest doctors, hoping one of them might be able to help his son. None of them was able to do anything for the boy. The thought of a rooster being his heir and ruling his kingdom was more than the poor king could bear. Finally, in desperation, the king offered a very large reward to anyone who could help cure his son.
People from all over came to try to help the Prince and claim the reward. Unfortunately for the king, all of them failed in their attempts. The Prince continued to believe he was a rooster, and each morning his "Cock a doodle doo! Cock a doodle doo!" could be heard throughout the castle.
When all seemed lost, a wise man appeared and asked for the opportunity to try to cure the Prince. The king welcomed this newcomer but seriously doubted his ability to succeed where all the others had failed. Shockingly, the wise man then began taking off all his clothes. Afterwards, he joined the Prince and began strutting about like a rooster. Before long, he too was preening invisible feathers and crying, "Cock a doodle doo! Cock a doodle doo!"
The Prince was taken aback by this man’s behavior. After watching him for some time, the Prince finally found the nerve to ask the wise man who he was.
"Why, I am a rooster, of course," replied the wise man, "just like you."
That answer was enough to satisfy the Prince. "Cock a doodle doo! Cock a doodle doo!" they crowed joyously together.
As time passed, the Prince and the wise man became close companions, enjoying the time they spent together. Days passed, then one morning the wise man surprised the Prince by starting to put on clothes. The Prince could not believe what he was seeing. "What are you doing?" he asked in amazement. "You are a rooster like me. We have feathers; we don’t wear clothes."
"A rooster can wear clothes if he wants to," replied the wise man." After all, you know I am a rooster; but right now, I just feel like wearing some clothes to help keep me warm."
"It is kind of chilly," the Prince thought. "If it’s okay for the other rooster, then I too will wear some clothes to keep me warm." With that, he put back on his royal robes. "Cock a doodle doo! Cock a doodle doo!" they cried joyously as they strutted about in their clothes.
They went on like this for several days before the wise man requested that the king have a feast prepared for them and delivered to their room. When the food arrived, the wise man had it served to them on the floor. As the wise man began to eat the feast, the Prince, amazed at what he was seeing, blurted out, "Stop! You can’t do this. That isn’t rooster food! We only eat kernels of corn, grain, and scraps from the garden!"
The wise man, making sure the Prince could see just how much he was enjoying each bite of this delicious meal, responded, "I am just so tired of eating nothing but corn, day in and day out. Who says that a rooster can’t still be a rooster just because he likes to eat other food? I bet most roosters would love to have the chance to taste this wonderful food."
The Prince had to admit that the food smelled delicious. It was also very apparent just how much his friend liked the meal. Maybe he too should try it, just to see what it tasted like. After all, if it was good enough for this other rooster, then why not for him? Soon, he joined the wise man in having the most satisfying meal they had enjoyed in quite some time. When they finished eating, they were so full they could barely get out their "Cock a doodle doo! Cock a doodle doo!" before they both retired for a nice little nap.
A couple of days later, the Prince was surprised again when the wise man stood up straight. "You are standing up and walking around like a person, not strutting like a rooster. Get back down here. You are not supposed to do that," the Prince admonished him.
The wise man looked at the Prince and said, "I am tired and sore from crouching all the time. I am a rooster, but if I want to stretch and move about, then that is what I am going to do!"
The Prince had to admit that he too got sore from all the crouching. "It sure would feel good to get up and move about for a change," he thought to himself. Before long, he had joined his friend, and the two of them enjoyed their new found freedom as they danced around the room.
Now that the Prince was dressing in royal clothes, eating regular people food again, and moving about like a human, it wasn’t long before the wise man had him behaving like a real person again, and not like a rooster. The king was thrilled to have his son back to normal. He gave the wise man his reward and gave his son a big hug. The king also looked forward to sleeping late the next morning!
Pesach is about change, about who we are and what we can become. Our ancestors, who were slaves for centuries in Egypt, had a difficult time adapting to being free. They stumbled many times on their journey in the wilderness, yet somehow still continued to move toward their promised destiny.
Perhaps the Prince became a rooster because he only looked at the negative parts of himself and thought that he could never be worthy of his royal heritage. Maybe he was afraid that he would never be good enough, or smart enough, or strong enough to be king. Sometimes we, too, limit our growth by judging ourselves harshly for things we view as shortcomings. We give up on ourselves, thinking that we are never going to be able to know enough or be able to do enough to be worthy of our special heritage, to be good Jews. Maybe it is for this reason that, just like the Prince, we hold ourselves back by not even making the effort to try to grow and learn more.
My friends, if we take it a little at a time – just like the Prince – we can improve ourselves. If we take it one step at a time, one mitzvah at a time, we too can grow and reach our Jewish potential.
The Prince learned the value of wearing the right clothes. I think that we can learn to dress up on Shabbat and festivals to increase our own sense of their importance, their uniqueness, their special qualities. We feel a little bit more Shabbasdik or Pesachdik when we dress up rather than dressing down. Sometimes I see people who go to great lengths to dress up their table for Shabbat or for Yontif, but don’t dress themselves up. I think that is a mistake.
The Prince learned to eat foods that were better for him. We, too, can help ourselves by adapting our diets to include foods that will help us to grow, and to grow special. I think there is something to be said for a Shabbas meal – pizza does not make it for me. I like pizza, but not for Friday night dinner – frankly, not even for a Friday night picnic dinner. I like to welcome Shabbat by making it different than the other nights of the week, including what I eat. I believe that holds at other times too. Pesach reminds us Jews that we are special, and we are reminded all Passover week by what we eat and don’t eat. It is a reminder that we are different, and that difference is important.
And finally the Prince developed the courage to stand up straight and tall. We, too, can learn to not be afraid or insecure or ashamed of who we are. God knows that we are human and have our shortcomings. The main thing is to make the effort to get up and move toward God instead of hiding away beneath all the things that keep us so busy. Life is about growth. If we don’t give up, but continue to make the effort, we can better ourselves.
It can be a matter of perspective. God saw the potential in those Hebrew slaves in Egypt, and God sees the best in us, the potential for what we can yet turn out to be. We should imitate God in this regard; we should look for the good in both others and in ourselves.
Passover is about freedom and the right to choose. We do not need to be slaves; we can choose to be free. We do not need to always be the same; we can choose to grow and learn to be better than we are. Then even as the king welcomed back his son, the Prince, with open arms, so will God joyfully welcome us as we show ourselves worthy of our special heritage. Kayn y’hi ratzon – may we make it so, beginning with this Pesach. Amen
This story and its message are primarily the work of Bruce David, a Judaica artist and educator. I am grateful to him.
He says he adapted this story from a teaching by Rebbe Nachman.
