dsg@mhuxi.UUCP (GREEN) (06/18/84)
[] Rabbi Raditz of Poland was a very short rabbi with a long beard, who was said to have inspired many pogroms with his sense of humor. One of his disciples asked, "Who did G-d like better - Moses or Abraham?" "Abraham," the Zaddik said. "But Moses led the Israelites to the Promised Land," said the disciple. "All right, so Moses," the Zaddik answered. "I understand, Rabbi. It was a stupid question." "Not only that, but your stupid, your wife's a meeskeit, and if you don't get off my foot you're excommunicated." _____________________________________________________________________ Here the Rabbi is asked to make a value judgement between Moses and Abraham. This is not an easy matter, particularly for a man who has never read the Bible and has been faking it. And what is meant by the hopelessly relative term "better"? What is "better" to the Rabbi is not necessarily "better" to his disciple. For instance, the Rabbi likes to sleep on his stomach. The disciple also likes to sleep on the Rabbi's stomach. The problem here is obvious. It should also be noted that to step on a rabbi's foot ( as described in the tale ) is a sin, according to the Torah, comparable to the fondling of matzos with any intent other than eating them. from "Getting Even" by Woody Allen ( Allen Koenigsberg of Midwood High ) ____________________________________________________________________ I have four more Hassidic Tales written by the "Woodman". If there are no objections, I'll post them - one per week. Shalom, David Seth Green Bell Labs 201-564-4468 mhuxi!dsg
rlr@pyuxn.UUCP (Rich Rosen) (06/19/84)
O.K. I've put off submitting this story to the net for some time, but after seeing the "Who did God like better--Abraham or Moses?" story, this (almost) seems appropriate. Most of you are probably familiar with the story of the student who asked the rabbi to tell him all the learning there was while standing on one foot. The rabbi responded with some variant of the golden rule, and told him "The rest is just commentary. Now go study.", while standing on one foot. In the alternate version proposed by myself along with a friend of mine, the student asks the rabbi to tell him all the learning there was while standing on one foot. The rabbi then stands on the student's foot and says: "Hmm, now where shall I begin..." [So, it wasn't appropriate...] -- "I take your opinions and multiply them by -1." Rich Rosen pyuxn!rlr
axm9839@acf4.UUCP (Asher Meth) (06/19/84)
Yom sheini leparshas Korach, 18 SIVAN 5744
Yes, I *do* object to these "Hassidic Tales".
I think that they are in poor taste.
If you want to post some *real* chassidic stories, I suggest that you read
Rabbi Zevin's "Sipurei Chassidim" on the Torah and on the Festivals.
Or you might see the book that relates chassidic stories that happened during
the Holocaust.
One would think that after the 'hulabaloo' over the word 'goy' in this network
just the other week that people would be a *bit* more sensitive, and 'think
before they write' !!
Yes, I realize that this is quite strong; nu.
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I wish everyone a pleasant, happy, enjoyable summer.
I won't be in the country to read all the flack I may get from this letter.
But you can send it anyway. The word may still get back to me, anyway.
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Asher Meth
allegra!cmcl2!acf4!axm9839