The Mekhilta offers a parable to explain a seeming contradiction in Jewish prayer practice. A king has two sons. He enters the younger son's room at night and says, "Wake me at sunrise." To the older son he says, "Wake me in the third hour of the day." When sunrise comes, the younger son approaches to wake his father, but the older son blocks him, insisting the king asked to be woken at the third hour. The younger son counters that the king told him sunrise. Their argument wakes the king, who tells them both: "My sons, you each acted for my honor — I will not withhold your reward."
The two sons represent two different traditions about the proper time for morning prayer. One tradition holds that the Shema should be recited at sunrise, following one reading of the biblical command. The other tradition permits recitation until the third hour of the day, following a different reading. Both are rooted in sincere devotion, and both honor the same God.
The genius of this parable is how it resolves halakhic disagreement without declaring a loser. The king — representing God — does not scold either son. He does not say one was right and the other wrong. He rewards both, because both acted out of genuine desire to fulfill his will. The Mekhilta uses this story to teach that when two scholars disagree about the proper way to serve God, and both ground their positions in Torah, both may be honored. The disagreement itself, pursued with sincerity, is a form of worship.