What would you wish for?

II Chronicles.1.7

What would you ask for should a genie emerge from a bottle for you or a goldfish open its mouth to grant your wish in return for its freedom? Folktales from around the world challenge us to imagine what we truly wish for and a similar story shows up in today’s opening chapter of the Second Book of Chronicles. It’s not a genie or a fish but the Creator of the World who asks the question and the one to make a wish is the new ruler of Israel - King Solomon.

What Solomon asks for here is interesting because it’s different than the version that we’ve read in the Book of Kings. What do these two versions tell us about the purpose of this text, and the life lessons and wishes we each can aspire towards - for our sakes and for the sake of all beings and life?

One of the first things Solomon does after being crowned in place of his dead father David is a journey to Gibeon, where the old copper altar from the days of the Mishkah of Moses still resides. A thousand sacrifices are offered on the ancient altar as a way to continue the tradition and to set the stage towards the new permanent home of the sacred - in Jerusalem.

That night, Solomon dreams and has a conversation with the divine:

בַּלַּ֣יְלָה הַה֔וּא נִרְאָ֥ה אֱלֹהִ֖ים לִשְׁלֹמֹ֑ה וַיֹּ֣אמֶר ל֔וֹ שְׁאַ֖ל מָ֥ה אֶתֶּן־לָֽךְ׃

That night, God appeared to Solomon and said to him, “Ask, what shall I grant you?”

II Chronicles.1.7

What would you wish for?

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Rabbi Mira Regev, a dear friend and teacher, reflects on this moment and what it may have meant for Solomon - and for each of us:

“What would I ask for if I, too, were to meet the Goldfish one day?

Would I know what to ask? Would I get it right? And if I asked the wrong thing—would I get another chance?

Ever since I first encountered the folktale of The Fisherman and the Goldfish, I’ve been quietly haunted by it. The encounter with limitless possibility—and the paralyzing fear of asking wrong—echoes deeply with my lifelong struggle to understand what it is I really want. What my soul truly desires.

I’ve always envied David the Psalmist, who seems to know exactly what his “one wish” is:

"One thing I ask of God, only that do I seek: to dwell in the house of God all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of God and to frequent God’s temple."
(Psalm 27:4)

Clarity. Certainty. A soul so sure of its yearning.

And I’ve envied his son Solomon too, especially the young Solomon—who asks for the right thing and, in return, receives so much more. But what exactly did Solomon ask for? And why do we find two different answers?

Solomon’s dream appears twice in the Bible: in 1 Kings 3 and again in 2 Chronicles 1. And in each version, his request is different. In Kings, he asks for a listening heart—lev shome’a—to judge the people and discern good from evil. In Chronicles, he asks for wisdom and knowledge—chochmah u’mada. Two versions, two visions of leadership. Two Solomons?

In Kings, Solomon appears uncertain, even vulnerable. “I am but a young lad,” he says. “I do not know how to go out or come in” (1 Kings 3:7). He asks not for power, but for the sensitivity to hear and understand. In Chronicles, that humility vanishes. Solomon is confident, fortified, blessed. “Solomon son of David strengthened himself over his kingdom, and God was with him and made him exceedingly great” (2 Chron. 1:1). Here, Solomon simply asks for wisdom and knowledge—no heart, no hesitation.

So which is it? A listening heart—or analytical brilliance?

Scholars point to different emphases. Kings presents Solomon as judge, interpreter of divine justice. Chronicles, written much later, paints him as a powerful political leader—a king with statecraft and divine support. The differences align with each book’s agenda: Kings offers a raw and complex story. Chronicles offers a polished legacy.

But let’s pull back. Forget politics for a moment. Forget the divine PR.

Let’s look at the words. A “listening heart” versus “wisdom and knowledge.” The heart listens. It feels, absorbs, senses. The mind knows. It processes, analyzes, explains. Each one is essential—but on its own, incomplete. Like seeing with only one eye.

A Midrash on Proverbs explores exactly this distinction. It tells us Solomon once wondered where wisdom could be found. Rabbi Eliezer said: In the head. Rabbi Yehoshua said: In the heart. And the text sides with Rabbi Yehoshua:

“For it is written, ‘You put joy in my heart’—and there is no joy without wisdom.”
And again: “My child, if your heart becomes wise, my heart, too, will rejoice.”

The Midrash connects these two versions—Kings and Chronicles—but leans into Kings, which foregrounds the heart. The wisdom of the heart, chochmat ha-lev, is what the Zohar and the mystics later craved: the integration of intellect, body, and soul.

We live in a time of too much noise and not enough heart. We think, debate, argue, and reason—but rarely pause to feel. The Goldfish—if it came to me today—might ask me not only what I want, but whether I’ve listened deeply enough to know. Whether my asking comes from the heart—or just from the clever calculations of mind and ego.

I’m still not sure what I’d ask. But I’m working on it.

If that Goldfish shows up again—may I have the heart to ask well. May we all.”

Thank you Rabbi Mira, for this profound teaching, helping us open the second book of Chronicles and the final volume of the Hebrew Bible with a plea for presence, open heart, curiosity and humility.

Who knows what dreams come true and what wishes may come our way? There is so much we yearn for - so much peace and hope and healing needed badly everywhere right now.

Like King Solomon and all our ancestors, teachers and authors of the stories and folktales that mold our existence - may we find wisdom in these chapters, in our dreams and in each other’s minds and hearts so we can co-create the better life we all deserve and yearn for, everywhere, all the time.

Image: The Dream of King Solomon, Luca Giordano, 1693

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