Dreaming Kingship: Meta-Parable and Divine Desire

This article examines the theological and philosophical implications of the phrase “K’she’ala b’machshavah Ono Emloch” (When it rose in thought: I shall rule) in the writings of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi (the Alter Rebbe), founder of Chabad Hasidism. Building on recent scholarship in Hasidic thought and integrating insights from literary theory and phenomenology, this study proposes that the Alter Rebbe’s understanding of divine kingship represents a radical ontology of divine desire expressed through what I term “meta-parable.”
Drawing primarily on Likkutei Torah on Shir HaShirim, and incorporating comparative analysis with Rabbi Tzadok HaKohen of Lublin’s Tzidkat HaTzadik, and the Degel Machaneh Ephraim, this essay argues that kingship itself constitutes the primordial divine parable (mashal hakadmoni)—a foundational narrative structure through which God experiences selfhood through sovereignty. This framework repositions creation not as divine emanation but as divine imagination, transforming the cosmos into a medium for divine self-discovery through narrative. The study contributes to contemporary scholarship on Hasidic theology, mystical hermeneutics, and the intersection of literary theory with Jewish mysticism.

Keywords: Alter Rebbe, Chabad, Divine Kingship, Mashal Hakadmoni, Tzimtzum, Hasidic Mysticism, Metaphorical Ontology, Narrative Theology.