The King in the Tower Who Watched His Hidden Laborers

"A just balance and scales are the LORD's; all the weights of the bag are His work" (Proverbs 16:11). "A balance" is Scripture; "scales of judgment" are the legal rulings; "the LORD's" are the laws (halakhot); "all the weights of the bag are His work" is the Talmud. And all who perform these are destined to receive their reward in the time to come. Rabbi Yose the Galilean said: A parable of a king of flesh and blood who had a great orchard, and built within it a high tower, walling it so that his garden was within it. He hired laborers and appointed them to be occupied in their work. The king arose and went up to the top of the tower, and he could see them, but they could not see him. Toward the close of day the king came and stood over them in judgment. He said: Let the hoers come and take their wages; let the weeders come and take their wages; let the gatherers of stones come and take their wages. And there remained among them laborers who had not been occupied in their work. The king said: What are these doing? They said to him: They move things from full houses into empty houses. The king said: And what benefit do I have from them? The king said: Let these who were occupied in my work take their wages, and let these who were not occupied in my work be led out to execution, for they rebelled against my words. So too the Holy One, blessed be He, created His world and placed human beings within it, and commanded them to be occupied in Torah and commandments and good deeds, and He caused His Presence to dwell among them; He sees them, but they do not see Him, as it is said, "and the LORD is in His holy Temple" (Psalms 11:4). In the time to come, the Holy One, blessed be He, is destined to sit over them in judgment, and He will place a Torah scroll upon His lap and say: Whoever was occupied in this, let him come and take his reward, as it is said, "Where is the scribe? Where is the weigher? Where is the counter of the towers?" (Isaiah 33:18): "Where is the scribe" - these are the teachers of children for the sake of Heaven; let them come and take their reward. "Where is the weigher" - these are those who weigh the lenient and the stringent cases; let them come and take their reward. "Where is the counter of the towers" - these are the students of laws and aggadot; let them come and take their reward. Rabbi Ze'ira said: As for the wicked, what is the Holy One, blessed be He, destined to do with them? He is destined to say to them: Wicked ones, in vain did you wear out your strength, since you did not occupy yourselves in Torah and good deeds, but were in My world like an empty vessel that has no use in it. I have no use for you. Might one think they would be released and go free? No, but first they shall see the joy of the righteous, and afterward they are judged in Gehinnom. A parable of a king who made a banquet and invited everyone, but did not fix for them a set time. Those who were careful about the king's word went and washed and anointed themselves and laundered their garments and made themselves ready for the banquet, while those who were not careful about the king's word went and did their work. When the time of the banquet arrived, the king said: Let them all come at once. These came in their honor, and those came in their filth. The king said: Let these who made themselves ready for the banquet eat of my banquet, and let those who did not make themselves ready for the banquet not eat of my banquet. Might one think they would be released and go off? The king said: No, but these shall eat and drink and rejoice, while those shall stand on their feet and watch and be punished and be grieved, as it is said, "Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, My servants shall eat, but you shall be hungry; behold, My servants shall drink, but you shall be thirsty; behold, My servants shall rejoice, but you shall be ashamed; behold, My servants shall sing for gladness of heart, but you shall cry out for sorrow of heart and shall wail for breaking of spirit" (Isaiah 65:13). What caused this for them? Because they were not careful about the king's word. Concerning them Solomon explained in his wisdom and said: "There is a way that seems right before a man, but its end is the ways of death" (Proverbs 16:25). "A way that seems right before a man" - these are those who are careful about the words of the Holy One, blessed be He; "but its end is the ways of death" - these are those who are not careful about the words of the Holy One, blessed be He.