The People of Israel Are Like Eagles - Ready to Soar in an Instant

When do you see that you are a king? In the book "The King's Son and the Monk," there is a wonderful parable:

The king's son loved luxury and shunned hard work. One day the monk approached him and said: I will tell you a story. One day the eagle searched for food. He found none in the trees, descended, and sifted through garbage. A rooster came—also sifting through garbage. The rooster said: I am a simple rooster, scraping through garbage. The eagle is the king of birds, and he too is scraping through garbage... What is the difference between him and me? In the end, we are the same!

The eagle flew to sit on the roof. The rooster flew to the roof and sat next to the eagle: We are the same! The eagle spread its wings and soared to the sky. The rooster remained on the ground...

Indeed—we both sift through garbage, we both climb to the roof. But to fly high at a moment's notice—only the eagle can!

The monk continued his lesson to the prince: We all have material needs, we all deal with food and bodily matters. But when do you see that you are a king? When you are able not to sink into materialism and rise above!

This is the power of a king.

Hashem tells the people of Israel: you are like eagles. You have power above everyone else. Everyone eats, everyone drinks. In these matters, all humans are equal. You are not the chosen people in these things.

"You chose us from all the nations, you loved us, desired us"—where is this seen? In "and you elevated us above every language!"—in your ability to rise! To be people of values, people of ethics. This is the power of the eagle that only we have—planted in us by Hashem when choosing us as His people. Only the people of Israel have the power of the eagle to rise from all difficulties, from all trials, and soar higher with the power of faith.

Similarly, it is told of an eagle's egg that rolled into a chicken coop. From the egg hatched an eagle chick, who learned like his chick brothers to pick seeds, beware of the cats, and avoid the eagle's nest. One day, curious, he climbed to the eagle's nest despite warnings—and was warmly received: Welcome—you are our brother!

He enjoyed the noble company, stayed there for a while, and then the eagles prepared to fly. He was confused. Was he an eagle or a rooster? Could he soar to great heights or not? And they urged him: Fly and see! If you do not fall and reach high and soar to great heights—it is a sign you belong in the eagle's nest.

So, too, do we sometimes wonder: Do we have the strength to rise? Or might we fall, crash, and despair? Hashem promises us: You are eagles—you are sons of kings! You have the potential to reach the top! You can overcome and elevate! At Mount Sinai, during the giving of the Torah, I prepared you to be my nation. You have the strength.

In the Holy Ark within the Holy of Holies in the Mishkan and the Temple, lie the tablets of the covenant. Next to them are also placed the fragments of the first tablets that Moses shattered when Israel sinned with the golden calf. Why? What is the reason the fragments are also placed beside the tablets in the Ark? To show that the formation process of the People of Israel began with a break. The path to achieving complete tablets is paved with falls, crises, and difficulties. However, ultimately, we will reach perfection.

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