Today’s learning is dedicated to the refuah sheleima of Simcha Nosson ben Zissel.

A royal prince once became mad and thought he was a turkey. He felt compelled to sit naked under the table, pecking at bones and pieces of bread like a turkey. The royal physicians all gave up hope of ever curing him of his madness, and the king suffered tremendous grief.

A sage then came and said, “I will undertake to cure him.”

The sage undressed and sat naked under the table next to the prince, picking crumbs and bones. “Who are you?” asked the prince. “What are you doing here?”

“And you?” replied the sage. “What are you doing here?”

“I am a turkey,” said the prince.

“I am also a turkey,” answered the sage.

They sat together like this for some time, until they became good friends. One day, the sage signaled the king’s servants to throw him shirts. He said to the prince, “What makes you think that a turkey can’t wear a shirt? You can wear a shirt and still be a turkey.” With that, the two of them put on shirts.

After a while, he signaled them again, and they threw him a pair of pants. Just as before, he said, “What makes you think that you can’t be a turkey if you wear pants?”

The sage continued in this manner until they were both completely dressed. Then he signaled again, and they were given regular food from the table. Again the sage said, “What makes you think that you will stop being a turkey if you eat good food? You can eat whatever you want and still be turkey!” They both ate the food.

Finally, the sage said, “What makes you think that a turkey must sit under the table? Even a turkey can sit at the table.”

The sage continued in this manner until the prince was completely cured.

—   Sipurey Masiyos, The Turkey Prince

In his parable, The Turkey Prince, Rebbe Nachman is speaking to each person on their own level. Today, we will discuss some of the lessons learned from this tale.

The story begins by describing a prince who is experiencing a true identity crisis. He believes he is a turkey.

The prince represents us and our pure soul. We are children of Hashem, the King of kings. We are royalty.

However, within each of us, Hashem instilled an evil inclination in the form of negative character traits and desires. Our mission in this world is to combat these “animalistic traits.”

In this story, the turkey represents the temptations we face and any flawed characteristics we may possess.

Rebbe Nachman tells us that the prince began pecking at bones and crumbs. He is teaching us that the sins we crave have no substance, they have no worth. Even the enjoyment we experience is momentary and fleeting.

When Rebbe Nachman says that the prince “became mad,” he is alluding to his teaching where he states, “A person does not commit a transgression unless he is possessed by a spirit of foolishness.”

When a person falls to temptation, it is not a logical decision. Deep in our heart, we understand very well that the few moments of pleasure experienced is nothing compared to the eternal reward we are promised for abiding by the torah and its mitzvos. However, the evil inclination fogs our minds, and we are overcome by temptation.  

After acting like a turkey for long enough, the prince begins to believe he is a turkey. Our Sages teach us, “One sin leads to another sin.” When we begin to fall in one area of our spirituality, the evil inclination tries to make us believe that we are complete failures. The ripple effects are quick and can go unnoticed. Before long, we begin to falter in other areas. Eventually, we completely give up. We start to believe that we are no good; that we are bound for failure.

“And the King suffered tremendous grief.” The King, Hashem, sees our struggles and understands our feelings of distance and hopelessness. This pains Him tremendously.

“The royal physicians all gave up hope…” The evil inclination makes us focus on our shortcomings and convinces us to give up all hope. And as Rebbe Nachman mentions, soon others begin to give up on us as well.

But Hashem has graced us with the true tzadikim, the “sage.” The true tzadik never gives up; not on anyone. The tzadik sees beyond our actions, beyond face value. He sees our true potential, our pure soul. He dedicates his life to raising the fallen; his mission is to return the prince to the king.

Instead of yelling or reprimanding the prince for his actions, the sage sat on the floor alongside the prince. With this Rebbe Nachman teaches us that there is vast difference between intelligence and compassion. When trying to help someone who is struggling, a caring heart has a far greater impact than a wise mind. As the saying goes, people don’t care about how much you know until they know how much you care.

True leaders have the ability to connect to each individual. They lower themselves according to the other person’s level and needs. As Rabbi Shais Taub said, “One who is truly great, can relate.”

Rebbe Nachman is also teaching us that actions speak louder than words. We are expected to lead by example; rather than telling someone how to act, it would be wiser to show them how to act.

The sage begins by building a relationship with the prince. After establishing this connection, the sage begins to work with the prince, slowly but surely. First, they put on their shirts, and then their pants, etc. Rebbe Nachman is teaching us that the best method for continued and lasting success is to take it a step at a time.

Taking on too much at once, can leave us feeling overwhelmed; it becomes too difficult to maintain and we give up on bettering ourselves. But when we have a systematic approach, working on one character trait or one desire at a time, we can accomplish greatness.

The sage specifically started with the shirt rather than the pants, as the shirt is considered easier to put on. When we start with the low hanging fruit, we can begin our spiritual journey with momentum. Just as we mentioned regarding sins, our Sages also state, “One mitzvah leads to another mitzvah.” Rebbe Nachman is teaching us that a strong beginning is essential for long-term success.

We must also remember that although we may falter in one area of life, that is never reason to give up on other areas of our devotion (e.g. if someone struggles with keeping Kosher, that doesn’t mean they can’t keep Shabbos).

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, we learn from this story that nobody is beyond hope; it is never too late.

We all have shortcomings. This does not make us bad; this makes us human. We must be aware of the evil inclination’s tactics. He will try to kick us when we are down. He will try to convince us to completely give up. But we must fight.

This is not a simple task, as Reb Noson teaches, “All the physical wars between kings are small wars compared to the war a person has with his own self.” But Reb Noson assures us that as long we stay in the fight and continue to combat these emotions, “then he is considered winning the war.”

With the guidance of the true tzadikim and with heartfelt prayers to Hashem, we will overcome these challenges. The prince will return to his father, the King.

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