Rebbe Nachman tells the story of a princess who was running away from an evil king. She came to a watercastle, an unbelievable place where there were ten concentric walls of water. As she found a gate between each wall, she entered in deeper until she reached the inside space of the watecastle. The king’s army was shooting arrows at her, actually hitting her as she went deeper into the watercastle. This is reminicent of Pharoah’s army chasing after the Jewish people after they left Israel. The watercastle reminds us of the splitting of the sea, as the army converged upon us, the water became a wall on both sides and we passed through.
This is just a tiny slice of this story, but it brings up some awesome concepts. One being the significance of the 10 walls. Rebbe Nachman speaks of the 10 types of song found in King David’s psalms. These 10 types of songs are each a type of joy, and joy is one of the strongest protections one can find in this world. So, we see in this painting, ten walls around the princess, encompassing her protecting her, and showing her ability to express herself, to sing. The expressions of her song “open” the water walls (hinting at the gates in the walls she came through to enter). Enjoy!