A king — the exempla does not name him, which is part of the point — walked into a Jewish school one afternoon. He was doing what kings do: inspecting his realm, accepting the obeisance of his subjects.
The children in the school saw him and immediately prostrated themselves. The whole room fell to the floor. The king turned toward the teacher, expecting the same.
The teacher did not move. He sat at his desk with a rod in his hand and continued the lesson.
The Summons
The king was stunned. He did not punish the teacher on the spot, but ordered him to appear at court the next day to explain himself.
The teacher arrived at the palace the following morning. He entered the throne room and immediately prostrated himself, bowed low, and made full obeisance — exactly as the students had done to the king the day before.
The king was confused. "Why do you bow here and not in your school?"
The Explanation
The teacher answered: "In the school, I am the king. The moment the children see me give up my authority — even to someone worthier — they lose respect for me, and discipline collapses. I teach them loyalty to the king by being, in that room, a small king myself. If they see me prostrate before you, they will no longer listen to me when I tell them to listen to anyone. Paradoxically, my refusal to bow before you strengthens my power to teach them to serve you."
He continued: "But here, in your palace, you are the king. So here, I bow."
The king, according to the exempla, approved greatly. He released the teacher with honor.
The story, drawn by Gaster in 1924 from diverse manuscripts in his collection, preserves an insight about the structure of authority that older rabbinic traditions had long understood. A teacher and a king do not compete for the same honor. They hold authority in different rooms, and each must rule his room completely — so that the students trained in one will one day serve well in the other.