Black on White

In a far away country there once lived a king. He was very kind to the Jewish people. He ordered all the people of his country to live peacefully with the Jewish people.

The reason why the king was so much in favor of the Jewish people was, because he studied many Hebrew books, which tell about the Jewish people, the way they live and the Torah which they follow. He admired the way they all lived together in peace and in harmony.

Above all, the king chose for himself the Chief Rabbi of the Jewish community to be his closest friend. Very often the king would call the Rabbi to his private office and ask him all kinds of questions about the Torah and the Jewish religion. The Rabbi, being thoroughly acquainted with the Torah, would be able to answer all the questions the king would ask him and explain to him anything he would want to know.

One day, the king called the Rabbi into his office and told him that he has a very important question to ask him. He said that this question had been bothering him for a long time, and that he had failed to find a satisfactory answer.

"This is my question," the king said. "while studying your religion, I have learned that in order to be a faithful Jew, one must believe that there is a G-d who created the heavens and earth."

"Now my dear Rabbi," the king continued. "Before we are to believe in G-d, we have to be sure that there is a G-d. Why must we say that there is a G-d? Furthermore, why must we believe that G-d created the whole world? Why can't we say that the world came by itself? What proof do you have to show that G-d created the world?"

While the king was asking the Rabbi these questions, he accidentally brushed his elbow against a bottle of ink, which was on his desk. The bottle turned over, and all the ink was spilled out, blotting up the papers which were near the inkbottle.

The king jumped up from his seat and apologized for having been so careless. Being ashamed, the king didn't call for any of his servants to clean up the desk, but instead, he went down himself to the stockroom to get some rages to wipe up the ink. He asked the Rabbi to excuse him for leaving the room.

As soon as the king left the room, the Rabbi thought of a grand idea. Quickly, he went over to the king's desk and took off all the blotted papers and threw them into the wastebasket. Then he took a clean sheet of paper and began drawing a picture of lofty mountains, tall trees, a river and lovely flower gardens. Since the Rabbi was an expert artist, he was able to draw this wonderful scenery in a very short while. As soon as he finished drawing the picture, he placed it on the desk right next to the turned-over inkbottle. He made it appear as if the inkbottle spilled out all over the paper.

Just then, the king returned to the room. He asked the Rabbi to forgive him for making him wait so long. As the king was about to remove the papers from the desk, he noticed that there was a beautiful picture right next to the overturned inkbottle. "What is this?" asked the king in surprise. "where did this come from?"

How amazed the king was, to find a beautiful picture instead of a pile of blotted papers. Being an admirer of fine art, the king immediately recognized the picture as work of an expert artist and asked, "Who made such a fine piece of art?"

The Rabbi smiled at the king and said, "Oh, that just came by itself. You see when the ink spilled out all over the paper, it made this picture.'

"Please," cried the king, "You are smarter than that. How could you say such a thing? Why, that is impossible. Nothing happens by itself. Do you mean to say that these lofty mountains, trees and flower gardens all formed by themselves? Surely, someone had to draw this wonderful piece of art."

"Well," said the Rabbi, "would you please come with me out onto the balcony. I want to show you something."

The king agreed, and they both went out onto the balcony which faced the king's private flower gardens. Pointing to the tall trees, the Rabbi said, "Your Majesty, please tell me. Where did all of these tall trees come from?" then he pointed towards the lofty mountains and asked; "Who formed these high mountains?"

"And look at these beautiful flowers in the garden below. Who made them? Did all of this come by itself? Of course not. Why, it was just a few moments ago that you yourself said, "It would be foolish to say that anything came by itself, " didn't you?"

"Yes, your Majesty," the Rabbi continued, "It was I who drew the picture you found on your desk. I did it in order to answer the question you asked me. I have just proved to you, "Black on White," that there is a G-d. for who then has created the whole world? Who then has made the heavens, the sun, the moon and stars? Who filled the deep oceans and formed the lofty mountains, if not G-d?"

The Rabbi continued, "Not only did G-d create the world for the first time, thousands of years ago, but is keeping it alive this very moment too."

The king was so impressed and satisfied with the "Black on White" answer the Rabbi had given him, that he asked him if there was anything he could do to repay him in return for all that he did for him.

The Rabbi answer, "My only wish is, that the king continue to show kindness to the Jewish people the way he has until now, and let them worship G-d the way it is taught in the Torah."

The king granted the Rabbi's wish, and the Jewish people were able to study the torah and worship G-d, and there was peace and harmony throughout the land.