Be a king -- listen to this: "In the beginning Shlomo, son of David, was king over the angels, over the heavens ... then he ruled only over lower beings, the earth ... then he ruled only over Yisrael ... then he ruled only over Yerushalayim ... then he ruled only over his walking stick ..." (Sanhedrin 20b)
What is this teaching? Do the rabbis come to make fun of Shlomo? No. We explain this as follows: Shlomo, like all of us, looked for greatness -- the great happiness that life contains. In his determination and genius, this led him to be a king even over the heavens. Later, though, he cut back on his operations. The angels could rule themselves -- he did not have to command them all. It would be enough to rule the world, or Yisrael, or even just Yerushalayim -- until he concluded that, the best type of king is he who is a king over himself.
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