dsg@mhuxi.UUCP (GREEN) (06/12/84)
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A man journeyed to Chelm in order to seek the advice
of Rabbi Ben Kaddish, the holiest of all ninth-century
rabbis and perhaps the greatest noodge of the medieval era.
"Rabbi," the man asked, "where can I find peace?"
The Hassid surveyed him and said, "Quick, look
behind you!"
The man turned around, and Rabbi Ben Kaddish
smashed him in the back of the head with a candlestick.
"Is that peaceful enough for you?" he chuckled, adjusting
his yarmulke.
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In this tale, a meaningless question is asked. Not only
is the question meaningless but so is the man who journeys to
Chelm to ask it. Not that he was so far away from Chelm to
begin with, but why shouldn't he stay where he is? Why is
he bothering Rabbi Ben Kaddish - the Rabbi does'nt have
enough trouble? The truth is, the Rabbi's over his head
with gamblers, and he has also been named in a paternity case
by a Mrs. Hecht. No, the point of this tale is that this man
has nothing better to do with his time than to journey around
and get on peoples nerves. For this, the Rabbi bashes his head
in, which, according to the Torah, is one of the most subtle
methods of showing concern. In a similar version of this tale,
the Rabbi leaps on top of the man in a frenzy and carves the story
of Ruth on his nose with a stylus.
by Woody Allen from "GETTING EVEN"
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I don't think that this "story" is offensive. If I had half
of Susan's talent, I would have written my own instead of
copying something from Woody. If the "net" likes this
tale I'll post another great Hassidic tale next week.
Really, the question is, " What words, jokes, comedy material,
writing, etc. is offensive, and to who and why?"
Shalom,
David Seth Green 201-564-4468 {most systems}..mhuxi!dsgdsg@mhuxi.UUCP (GREEN) (06/19/84)
I received this by UUCP: I, for one, think the Hassidic tales, far from being irreverent, demonstrate an ironic sense about Yiddishkeit. Irony does not imply (or does not HAVE) to imply) disrespect; it can--and, to be effective, MUST--imply a love for the Tradition and an ability to treat it in the spirit of mind-play. The redacted Talmud probably does not record some of the jokes that must have been told during study sessions in the yeshivot of Sura and Pumbedita, but I would not be surprised if some of them treated with comic intellectual respect the very deliberations in which the Rabbis were engaged. In order for one to retain perspective on an intensive activity, it is sometimes necessary to step back from it and treat it ironically. It restores perspective and a sense of mortality. Thus, I think Woody Allen is engaged in something a good deal older than himself, and which probably puts him in the line of great Jewish ironists which includes Herschel Ostropolier and Sholom Aleichem. They were of their centuries, he is of his . . . and ours. By the way, since I don't have direct access to the Net, you might want to post this as a general reply. Thanx. Ken Wolman, 898-1177 posted by David Seth Green 201-564-4468 mhuxi!dsg