Crazy Counsel

Many years ago, an old friend told me this fable. He attributed it to the founder of Hasidic Judaism, Ba'al Shem Tov. Whether or not that is accurate, I do not know. But it has always amused and uplifted me.

A rabbi was an advisor to a king. One day the king called him into his chambers. The king told the rabbi that through his spy network, he discovered that an enemy had poisoned the kingdom's water supply. The poison would not kill, but make all who drank it insane. The king had a private, secure water source. He asked the rabbi, "How can I rule my subjects? They will all be insane and if I remain sane, they will think me crazy. What should I do?"

The rabbi thought for a while and then told the king, "We shall mark our foreheads and then drink the poisoned water like everyone else. We will become crazy, but the mark will remind us that we chose to be crazy. That will make all the difference." - as ever - BB

"A question that sometimes drives me hazy: am I or are others crazy?" - Albert Einstein