In Baal HaSulam’s Letter #1 there is a parable about a king who grew so fond of his servant that he wanted to raise him above all the ministers….

He appointed the servant a guard at the city gate, and told a minister who was a clever joker to pretend to rebel against the kingdom…

The minister did as the king had commanded and with great wisdom and craftiness, pretended to fight against the king’s house. The servant risked his life and saved the king, fighting devotedly and bravely against the minister, until his great love for the king was evident to all.

Then the minister took off his costume and there was great laughter for he had fought so fiercely, and now realized that there was only fiction here, not reality. … Every single item in this terrible war became a round of laughter and great joy. …

[Then for a second time the king] said to that minister that he must disguise himself as a robber and a murderer, and wage fierce war against him. The king new that in the second war he would display wondrous wisdom (Hochma), and merit standing at the head of all the ministers.

In the meantime, the servant inherited “wisdom” (Hochma) from after-knowledge, and “love” from fore-knowledge, and then has been erected for eternity.

It is true, that all the wars in that exile are a wondrous sight, and everyone knows in their kind interior that it is all a kind of wit and joy that brings only good. Still, there is no tactic to ease the weight of the war and the threat on oneself.

We really do not know why we have to go through all of the suffering, problems, wars, and confusion, and on the other side of that, clarification, successes, and failures…. What is the use of all this suffering?

But later on this path, we gradually realize how from this we acquire knowledge, wisdom, power, and understanding of the general system. We study the Creator’s actions that are done to us, and as a result we attain and understand Him, as it is written, “We will know You from Your actions.” To the extent we understand Him, we start to sense Him.

Yet, the reason why we definitely had to reach this by such a difficult path is not clear to us. And now, while we are still on the path of correction, we won’t be able to understand it, but only when we rise above its limitations to the state of perfection. Then we will gain the necessary mind and feelings, the means enabling us to discover the justify this path.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/26/11, “A Parable about a King”

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