Nachman of Breslov

“ Nonetheless, he did not make use of his wisdom at all but just conducted himself with his temimuth (simplicity) as before, and he led the state with temimuth, with truth and with integrity, with not a drop of corruption. For management of state requires no great intellect nor special knowledge, just uprightness and temimuth. When two people came before the "tam" for judgment, he would say, "You are innocent and you are liable," purely according to his simplicity and truthfulness, without any crookedness nor deceit. ”

“ Is there really a Devil in the world? You are evil, torturing us for no reason!" (For these smart men still did would not believe that there is a Devil; instead they insisted that evil thugs were persecuting them without cause.) ”

“ It is completely impossible that you would become wise like me!" The simple man answered, "With Hashem Yithbarakh, everything is possible. It could happen in the blink of an eye that I ascend to your [level of brilliance] ." The clever man made great fun of him.
[The King Sends for the Clever Man and Simple Man] Now these two sons were known in public by their nicknames: "Khakham--Clever" and "Tam--Simple." Even though there are many clever and simple people in the world, still, in this case, it was unusually apparent. ”

“ The simple man spoke up, saying to the clever man, "May the One Who gives grant that you should come up to my level [and become a simple person] !" The clever man replied, "It is possible that I could reach your level — if my intellect would be taken away, God spare us ”

“ As the sons began to grow up, their fathers told them: We do not have enough to pay for you, to sustain you. Do for yourselves what you can.
[The Simple Man and the Clever Man Learn Trades] The tam went and learned shoemaking. The khakham, who was a bar-havana, [an astute, discerning person] , didn't want to apply himself to such a common trade. He decided he would travel the world and see what to do. As he was going about the marketplace, he saw a large wagon with four horses in harness speeding through. ”

“ So the king summoned a clever man and the above-mentioned simple man (the treasurer) and sent them to the two sons. He gave each one a letter. And he gave them an additional letter to the provincial governor under whose authority the two sons dwelt. In it, the king commanded that the governor should send letters of his own to the clever son and the simple son so that they shouldn't be frightened. He should write to them that the matter is not obligatory, that the king is not explicitly decreeing that they should come, but rather the choice is theirs: if they want, they should come. ”

“ And on account of his cleverness he acquired this skill in a short time as well — in a quarter year.
Then he philosophically decided, "Even though I have two trades in hand, who knows, perhaps neither of these will remain important. It would be better for me to learn a craft that will always be important." Probing with his insight and philosophy, he determined to learn medicine, which is always needed and always esteemed. Now, the way of learning medicine is to first learn Latin, the language and its writing, as well as the wisdoms of sophistry. ”

“ The emissaries traveled off, the clever one and the simple one, arriving at the governor, delivering the letter. The governor inquired after the two sons. They told him that the "khakham" is an extraordinarily clever person, quite a wealthy man and the "tam" is an exceedingly simple person who [believes he] has every kind of garment from the single peltz [piece of fur] as mentioned before. The governor took counsel that it is certainly inappropriate to bring him before the king dressed in a peltz. So he arranged for appropriate garments and placed them in the simple man's carriage. ”

“ They began by selling one horse and then the other until they had sold everything and had to go on foot. Incessantly they kept examining the world, finding fault. They became poor vagrants, their status disintegrated, for no one would give consideration to such paupers. ”

“ The leather costs me this much, tar and thread cost this much, the filling between the skins this much, and likewise other items this much; comes out that I profit ten groschen from hand to hand. And with such a profit from hand to hand, what is there to be concerned about?"
So he was only happy and cheerful at all times, but to the world he was a laughingstock; in him, they had just what they wanted--someone to mock however they pleased, for he seemed like a lunatic. People would come and start speaking with him intending to make fun and mock. ”

“ The clever one won't know at all what to make of this, and the simple man might go crazy from fear." So, the king decided to send a khakham to the khakham and a tam to the tam. But where does one get a tam in the royal [capital] city? For in the royal city [where the king lives] the majority are smart people. However, the one who is appointed overseer of the treasury — he is intentionally a simple person. For they do not want to appoint a clever person overseer of the treasury. Perhaps through his cleverness and his intellect he will embezzle all the funds ”

“ Then the authority is given over to the next group until each and every resident takes a turn." His words started to penetrate into the clever messenger's ears until they came to agree and conclude that there definitely is no king in the world at all. ”

“ The two sophisticates were left in the thick mire and were trying to figure out, "What is this? These are nothing but hooligans with whom we had once quarreled, and now they are afflicting us so harshly." They remained there, tortured and horribly abused for a number of years.
[The Clever Man Admits There is a King on the Earth] One time the tam--the simple man [who became the prime] minister--passed by the Baal Shem's home and was reminded of his friend, the khakham, the clever man. ”

“ So too with clothing. He and his wife shared one peltz [Yid. pelt coat; an unfinished piece of fur used as a coat] . He would say, "My wife, give me the peltz, when he needed it namely, to go to the market. She would give him the peltz. When he needed a tulep [fancy overcoat with fine fur on the inside which rolls over onto the collar] to go out socially, he would say, "My wife, give me the tulep," and she would give him the peltz. He would take great delight in it and praise, "What a beautiful tulep this is!" ”

“ And the way with servants is, at first one has to be hired for less and do the heavier work. Then later, one advances to better jobs. The proprietor would use him for very hard work, sending him off to nobility carrying merchandise in the manner of servants--prominently displaying the garments on their extended arms ”

“ As he walked around in the marketplace, he began to investigate and inquire about the men who had brought him, and whether there would be a better place than [with] them. They answered that these people [who had brought him] are honest people and it's good to be with them. However, it is very difficult to be with them since their business dealings are in very distant places. ”