The Utility of a Parable
The rabbis say: Do not make light of the mashal [parable or illustrative fable]. For with the aid of a parable, one can understand the words of Torah. It is comparable to a king who lost a golden coin or a fine pearl in his home. Is it not [with the aid] of a penny wick1 that he finds it? So, too, with the aid of a parable, one can understand the words of Torah. Know that this is the case, for Solomon with the aid of this parable understood fine points of Torah.
Translated by Marc Hirshman.
Notes
[I.e., a very inexpensive wick, with little value other than to briefly illuminate.—Ed.]
Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 2: Emerging Judaism.
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