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Jewish Jocularity
One important thing Christians, Jews and Muslims have in common is that they all believe that there is only one God. The idea is framed in the ancient Jewish prayer from the Bible (Deuteronomy 6:4) called the Shema: "Hear, Oh Israel, the Lord our God is One." That's it. Simple and to the point. It's the beginning of theology for the three great monotheistic religions. It should enable lots more mutual respect and cooperation among all we who believe it than thus far has happened.
I thought of this when Dr. Joel Krugler sent me a piece of Jewish jocularity. Joel is one of my very best friends. He was reared in an Orthodox Jewish family in the Bronx and now lives in Cornelius, NC. He is not now an observant Jew. He is the smartest man I know, a physicist and my source on Jewish humor. I call him a cheap imitation of Henny Youngman. Now I know that he and I are among the few people still living who are old enough to remember that old Jewish comedian, but you can Google Youngman if you are interested. Anyhow, Joel gave me the following story that involves the Shema.
When, in a service in an old synagogue in Eastern Europe, the Shema prayer was said, half of the congregation stood and the other half remained seated. The members who remained seated began yelling at those standing to "Sit down!"
Those who were standing began yelling to those sitting, "Stand up!"
The rabbi was well-educated in the Law. But he was new to this shul (synagogue) and he didn't know how to deal with this outburst. So his congregation suggested that he consult a renowned, homebound, 98-year-old rabbi who was one of the founders of their temple. The new rabbi took a representative of each faction and went to the nursing home. He hoped the old sage would be able to reveal what the actual temple tradition was.
The one who represented the "standers" during the Shema asked the old man, "Is it the tradition to stand during the Shema ?"
The old rabbi answered, "No, that is not the tradition."
The person representing the "sitters" said, "Then the tradition is to sit during the Shema?"
The wise old man replied, "No, that is not the tradition."
Then the young rabbi said to the old man, "But the congregants fight all the time. They yell at each other about whether they should sit or stand."
Then the old rabbi interrupted, explaining, "THAT is the tradition!"
I love that story! It reminds me that no matter what our religion, sometimes we find ourselves embroiled in hilarious controversaries. Once there were two, neighboring churches who were separated by a dispute over Pharoah's daughter. One congregation maintained that she found the baby Moses in a basket in the bullrushes at the river. The other congregation held the view that Pharoah's daughter said she found the infant Moses down at the river!
Once I heard a radio preacher speaking with scorn about a rival congregation that he regarded as wishy-washy in its convictions. He believed it ought to rename itself "The First Church of the Last Straw." He shouted, "They have four commandments and six 'Do the best you cans!'"
We have one God but, my oh my, don't we have a bunch of religions? THAT is the tradition!
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