top of page
Search

When the Wolf Howls

by Ram ben Ze'ev


When the Wolf Howls
When the Wolf Howls

This parable is not original. It has been handed down through the ages, yet its message is even more important today than it was when it was first told.


A wolf once fell into a deep vat of blue dye beside a dyer’s hut. When he climbed out, his fur shone with a colour no animal had ever seen in the forest.


The other creatures fled from him in fear. The wolf realised what had happened and stood proudly upon a rock.


Then he spoke with authority and said, “Do not fear. I have been sent by Heaven to rule this forest.”


The animals looked at the strange colour of his fur and believed his words. They bowed before him and accepted him as their ruler.


For a time the forest belonged to him.


But one night, far away beyond the hills, a pack of wolves lifted their voices and howled beneath the moon.


The sound reached the blue wolf.


Without thinking, he threw back his head and answered their call.


The animals froze. They looked at one another and suddenly understood. This was no messenger of Heaven. This was only a wolf.


And they drove him from the forest.


A person may change his appearance and posture for many years. Pride and the יצר הרע (yetzer hara — evil inclination) can teach a man how to act righteous while his heart remains unchanged.


But the true nature of a person lives deeper than the words he speaks, deeper than the clothes he wears, and deeper even than the mind.


And when the voice of that nature is called, it answers.



###


bottom of page