Throughout the ages, many a Jewish community has encountered enemies comparable to the evil Haman of the Purim story. Sometimes the Jews succumbed to his persecutions, Rachamana litzlan; in other instances, there was a reversal of fortune, and they were saved. At such times, a Purim Katan, a local Purim, would be enacted. Its observance on that same date in future years would serve to commemorate their deliverance from impending disaster. Where the sequence of events rendered it appropriate, a day of fasting was instituted on the day previous to the new Purim.
A story is told about the time when, centuries ago, it was decided that all the Jews in Rome were to be expelled. Naturally, there was a big uproar from the Jewish community and, due to the pressure, the Pope finally decided to make a deal. He would conduct a debate on religious and theological issues. A ranking Christian theologian would face off against any rabbi who would be chosen to represent the Jews. If the priest won, all the Jews were to be expelled. If the rabbi won, the Jews would be allowed to remain in Rome.
Realizing that they didn’t have much of a choice, the Jews looked around for a rabbi – any rabbi – who would be willing to champion their faith. But the task was daunting and the risk was too great, and a volunteer could not be found. After exhausting their list of candidates, a simple, old man named Moshe, who spent his days as a caretaker in the local synagogue, stepped forward and humbly offered his services, reasoning that being old, poor, and alone, he had less to lose than the others. With nothing left, the elders agreed, but Moshe had but one condition. Since he was not used to lengthy conversations, he requested that the debate be held in silence, with sign language as the only form of communication. The Pope, full of confidence, saw in it a challenge and readily agreed.
The day of the great debate finally arrived. The Pope, his chosen debater, and his glorious entourage seated themselves on one side, while Moshe and whomever from the Jewish community bothered to show up, sat opposite them. The crowd was hushed and the debaters eyed each other for a full minute. Then, the Pope gave the signal, and the Christian priest suddenly raised his hand and held up three fingers. Moshe looked back at him and quickly raised one finger. The priest then waved his arms all around his head and in all directions, and Moshe countered by pointing to the ground where he sat. Finally, the priest pulled out a wafer and a glass of wine. Moshe took an apple out of his bag.
Suddenly, the Pope stood up and declared, “All right, that’s it. The debate is over. The Jews may stay.” And with that, he stormed away with his entire entourage.
After a while, a member of the Pope’s group mustered up the courage and asked what happened; why did he give up? The Pope explained, “I coached the priest and I told him that the first thing to do was to hold up three fingers to represent the Trinity. The Jewish man wisely responded by holding up one finger to remind us that there still is just one, common G-d to both our religions. Then, my man waved his arms all around to show that G-d was all around us; but the Jew answered by pointing to the ground, signifying, and rightly so, that G-d was also right here with us. The priest then pulled out the wafer and the wine to represent that G-d absolves us from our sins. That brilliant Jew, on the other hand, pulled out an apple to remind us of the original sin. He had an answer for everything, and he was just too good. What could be done?”
Meanwhile, in the other part of town, Moshe simply went back to the synagogue and back to work. But the news traveled fast, and instantly there was a large crowd converging on the synagogue and around Moshe, wanting to know what really happened. How could a simple, feeble-minded old man do what all the great rabbis thought was impossible?
“What happened?” they wanted to know, all shouting in unison to poor Moshe.
Finally, realizing that he couldn’t get away from them without explaining, Moshe answered. “Well, this is what happened. At first, the priest motioned to me that the Jews had just three days to get out of the city. I was going to put up a tough front and I answered that not even one Jew was going to leave! Then, he motioned all over as if to say that this whole city was to be cleared of Jews. I let him know that we were staying right here!”
Moshe turned to walk away, and one rabbi called out, “And then what happened?”
“I don’t know,” Moshe shrugged. “Then he took out his lunch – so I took out mine!”
Rabbi Dovid Hoffman is the author of the popular “Torah Tavlin” book series, filled with stories, wit and hundreds of divrei Torah, including the brand new “Torah Tavlin Yamim Noraim” in stores everywhere. You’ll love this popular series. Also look for his book, “Heroes of Spirit,” containing one hundred fascinating stories on the Holocaust. They are fantastic gifts, available in all Judaica bookstores and online at http://israelbookshoppublications.com. To receive Rabbi Hoffman’s weekly “Torah Tavlin” sheet on the parsha, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
