Stañczyk, Jan Matejko, 1862. National Museum, Warsaw
A Jester is an actor, he draws his energy from people who laugh at his jokes. A jester is a shadow of a king. That’s why every court has a clown who is inseparable from the king. But there are more than just a mirror image of each other, a king just like a jester borrows his power from his people (ein melech b’lo am). A prophet is an entirely different creature, unlike a jester and a king, a prophet has gone off the grid; he has gone “wireless”(shechina medaberes b’toich groino). This is the reason prophets rule over kings, a prophet doesn’t need people to give him juice. You can understand now that kings and jesters dependence on people makes them weak. Prophets on the other hand are the prime target of a mob that can’t forgive them the energy independence.
Stañczyk image published with permission from the Web Gallery of Art
Further Reading:
There is no Difference between Orthodox, Reform or Conservative Judaism
A Difference Between a Tribe and a Hierarchy
Benozzo Gozzoli Portraits at Palazzo Medici-Riccardi
