Turning Night Into Day

There was once a wise old rabbi who asked his students, “How can you know the exact moment when night ends and day begins?”

“I think I know,” said one of his pupils.  “Is it when, from a great distance, you can tell a dog from a sheep?”

“No,” said the rabbi.

“I know,” said another.  “It must be when, from a distance, you can tell a date palm from a fig tree.”

“No,” said the rabbi.

His students looked at each other and then at the rabbi.  “We don’t know,” they said.  “Please tell us.”

And the rabbi replied, “It is when you look into the face of any person from any nation…

…man…

…or woman…

…Jew or gentile…

…and see your brother…

…or your sister.”

”And that is the blessed moment,” said the rabbi,  “when the dawn is come.”

c2014NaomiBaltuck

Click here for more interpretations of The Weekly Photo Challenge: Nighttime.

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The Farmer’s Daughter!

An old story begins when a poor farmer’s mare gives birth in the village marketplace… 

The frightened newborn took shelter under a rich man’s wagon, and the rich man claimed the foal as his own.   The young burgermeister was inexperienced, and did not want to displease the rich man.  To settle the dispute, he told the two men to return the next day with answers to three riddles; the one with the best answers would be awarded the foal.  Surely the rich man could outfox an old peasant, and the matter would be done.

“What is the richest thing in the world?” asked the burgermeister.  “What is the swiftest thing in the world?  And what is the sweetest thing in the world?”

The farmer was distressed.  He didn’t know the answers, and he couldn’t afford to lose the foal.  But his daughter was very clever.

“Don’t worry, Papa.  Here’s what you must say…”

The next day, the rich man puffed out his chest and said, “The swiftest thing in the world is my coach and pair, for no other horse or wagon ever passes me on the road.”

The richest thing is the gold in my treasure chest, for am I not the richest man in the village?  And the sweetest thing is cakes made with honey from my own hives.”

“Mmm,” said the burgermeister, turning to the farmer.  “And have you answers to my riddles, old man?”

“Yes,” said the farmer.  “The richest thing in the world is the earth, for do not all riches come from the earth?”

 

“The swiftest thing in the world is thought.

For a thought can travel to the ends of the earth and back again…

…in the blink of an eye.”

 

“And the sweetest thing in the world is sleep.  For when one is sad or tired, what can be sweeter?”

The mayor had no choice but to award the foal to the farmer.  “But you didn’t think of those answers yourself.  Tell me who helped you.”

The farmer confessed that his daughter had solved the riddles for him.  The burgermeister was impressed and intrigued.  He asked to meet the farmer’s daughter.

 But that is a story for another day…

All words and images copyright 2013 Naomi Baltuck

Click here for more interpretations of The Weekly Travel Theme: Sweet.