QUESTION: Dear R’ Klein,
I hope all is going well with you. I’m wondering if you have seen anything about the word משל, parable, and particularly if there is any linguistic link to the word מושל, rulership or power.
Thanks for all your Torah, and have a freihlechen Adar!
Best,
Yehuda Fogel
ANSWER: Menachem, Ibn Janach, and Radak all write that the shoresh משל has two separate meanings. That said, Rav Hirsch to Gen. 4:7 and Gen. 10:10 puts the two meanings together. It’s hard to do Rav Hirsch justice in my pathetic English, but basically he says something like משל meaning a way of expressing something’s identity or meaning. So in terms of a parable, it helps you clarify the נמשל and in terms of ruling, the ruler helps clarify everyone’s role by telling them what to do. You have to see it inside, it sounds nicer in Hebrew. That’s all I know off-hand. Please tell me if you find anything else