The Never-Ending Story

Summary #10

November 7, 2022

Mitch Chefitz & Adam Gindea

(The summary is written by Mitch with inclusions from Adam.)

Note: The recent edition of The New Yorker magazine has an article titled – “The Never-ending Story”. They must have borrowed that from us.

A reminder: We select stories at random so we – Adam and I – DON’T prepare. If we should prepare, we would become the authorities. Since we all begin together, each of us is free to express our own creativity to contribute to the initial vacuum.

Last week we chose a story from Buber titled “The Smith” – a story of Yaakov Yitzhak of Pzhysha, a rabbi most often referred to simply as The Yehudi (The Jew).

When Rabbi Yaakov Yitzhak was young and had board and lodging in the house of his father -in-law, his next-door neighbor was a smith. The smith got up very early in the morning and struck hammer on anvil until the sound roared like thunder in the ears of the sleeping youth. Yaakov Yitzhak woke up early and thought: “If this man tears himself away form sleep so early for worldly work and world profit, shall I not be able to do the same for the service of the eternal God?”

The following morning he rose before the smith, who, as he entered his smithy, heard the young man reading in a low tone. This irritated him: “There he is at work already, and he doesn’t need to! I certainly won’t let a fellow like that get ahead of me!” On the following night he got up before the Yehudi. But the young rabbi took up the challenge and won the race. In later years he used to say: “Whatever I have attained I owe first and foremost to a smith.”

That story provoked substantial responses from hevurta (breakout) groups. By the end of the hour a new story had evolved – one based on the topic of teshuvah, for the Yehudi needed to repent for his hutzpadik thought that his level was higher than that of the blacksmith. (See the summary for Session #9.)

During the week we received a new and substantially different story from Daniel Portnoy, our technician, who is not present tonight. Rabbi Adam read Daniel’s story.

Charlie and the other students were excited to hear from the renowned rabbi who was visiting their school. After the assembly, when the other students and teachers left for the reception, Charlie took the opportunity to speak with the rabbi. Charlie thanked the rabbi for his visit and told him how much he wanted to be a rabbi and how he was studying and trying to learn about their habits. Things like how often they went to shul and prayed and how often and how many hours they studied so he could emulate their behavior. He then asked if the rabbi could let him know his habits so he could incorporate them into his daily routine. "Knowing what you do and following your steps would be a surefire way to become a successful rabbi,” said Charlie. Hearing Charlie's request, the rabbi called the boy closer and told him about when he was young and just starting his journey.

I was recently wed and was living with my wife's family. One night, I was awakened early in the morning, before sunrise, by a thundering and repeating noise. I could tell it was coming from the neighbor. I learned, from asking my father-in-law, that the neighbor was the town blacksmith, a well-respected and skillful craftsman. I thought that if such a man could get up so early instead of sleeping for the pursuit of common work and profit, then I, a person dedicated to the pursuit of Torah study and the work of God, should be getting up earlier to start my work. So the next morning, I did.

The following morning, the noise began and woke me again from my sleep. What is this, I thought. The blacksmith is up even earlier. I will not allow this and I will get up earlier tomorrow. So this competition continued for a few more mornings until several mornings (technically morning but we had pushed the waking time to a couple of hours after midnight) in a row I was no longer being awakened by the blacksmith's hammering and had successfully managed to be up before him and at my studies.

Several weeks later I was so involved in my studies, I had forgotten about the competition with the blacksmith. Eventually, my wife and I left her parent's house and moved to another town and I became more renowned as a scholar.

Several years later, when visiting my wife's parents, I happened to encounter the blacksmith. I greeted him and thanked him. The blacksmith looked confused and asked why the thank you. I said for the morning challenge of being first at work or in my case study.

Still confused, the blacksmith said, I have to get up early to start the furnace which needs time to get to the right temperature and prepare the horseshoes for the morning shoeing. My work starts the work of others. If I am late, then deliveries are late, and things domino from there. However, I remember some mornings I would notice you were already up and studying. I was upset by this because I should not be in bed sleeping, I am the first one that should be up early. After a few mornings getting up earlier and earlier, I noticed that I was spending more on fuel to keep the furnace burning longer and that I had finished my morning jobs so soon I had to wait several hours before my customers would arrive with new work and I had to wait with nothing to do.

Also, I was tired later in the day and was not doing as good of a job because I could not focus my energy on the quality from the lack of sleep. I realized that my pride in being the first one up and industrious was costing me money and diminished my ability to do the work God enables me to do. Usually, when I get up, the first thing on my mind is my thankfulness to the Lord for allowing me to rest and removing the sleep from my eyelids. Then I can focus on my tasks. During the several days of trying to be up before you, the only thing on my mind was you and trying to be up first. You are a rabbi and a scholar. You must have been compelled by God to be up and studying. I was trying to beat God. I should be thanking you for helping me realize my mistake.

Hearing this, the only thing I could do was apologize and ask for forgiveness for all of my success and renown, I owe to a blacksmith.

So Charlie, if you want to learn the habits to being a rabbi, study the habits of a blacksmith.

So the never-ending story continued to evolve during the week. This is the latest iteration, original to Daniel, based on Buber but influenced by our community. We now have three stories – Buber’s story, then the story we evolved here last week, and now Daniel’s story. The process is never-ending.

We divided into breakout groups to ponder the three stories and the process. We returned with the chant of Shal-ohm, with the accent on the Ohm.

“Charlie and the Rabbi Factory” is the title one of the participants suggested for Daniel’s story. The focus was on waking and approaching the work of the day with a grateful heart.

Another report: In Daniel’s story there was an extra layer through time, and as a result it was a deeper story.

When a young person hears a story, then revisits it when older, the story might be the same, but now may be viewed like new.

Perhaps in our time as we near a post-rabbinic age Charlie might learn better to be a blacksmith. Or perhaps the rabbinate is returning to prior times when rabbis did not earn their livelihood as rabbis. The great rabbis of old for the most part had separate professions, blacksmith among them.

A participant thought such rabbis would have the opportunity to engage others where they were. How does one do that? One learns to listen.

We continued with a new story: Volume I, page 224 of Buber’s Tales of the Hasidim. The story selected was “The Wisdom of Solomon,” a story of Rabbi Levi Yitzhak of Berditchev (1740-1809).

They asked Rabbi Levi Yitzhak of Berditchev: “With regard to that passage in the Scriptures which states that King Solomon was wiser than all other men, it has been observed: ‘Even wiser than fools.’ What meaning can there be in these apparently meaningless words?”

The Rabbi of Berditchev explained: “One characteristic of a fool is that he considers himself wiser than anyone else, and no one can convince him that he is a fool and that what he does is folly. But Solomon’s wisdom was so great that it could assume many different guises, including the guise of a fool. That was why he could hold true converse with fools, and impress their hearts until they recognized and professed that sort of people they were.”

The word “guise” may need some clarification. It might be disguise, or madrega, the Hebrew word for level.

A question: Is fool a madrega? Does it have more than one characteristic?

Response: Yes, a fool is a madrega. The story itself says that he cannot be convinced he is a fool is but that is one characteristic of being a fool.

A question: Is the fool in a guise, that is pretending to be a fool?

Response: The story indicates the fool is truly a fool, and not pretending to be a fool.

With that we broke into hevruta groups to see what new stories might emerge.

We returned with a chant – Shal-ohm. The vowel ohm resonates and produces a sense of awe. In Jewish tradition a chant (or mantra) is often repeated a particular number of times. How might one count and remain within a meditative states? The answer is by creating a visual pattern. If one is to repeat a word 64 times, four groups of four becomes a square of 16, and four such squares become 64. One is left with a complete pattern while remaining in a meditative state.

Responses: The story left us wanting to know more about Solomon. We learn of only one characteristic of Solomon.

Adam noted that it was not Solomon himself in the story, but the unique quality of Solomon’s wisdom.

Question: How did Solomon descend to the level of the fool?

Response: Perhaps by active listening. If one could “just” listen, put one’s ego aside. Mitch pointed out that “just” often indicates something exceedingly difficult to do, bordering on the miraculous.

Response: The wisdom of Solomon was that he was able to induce the fool to want to change. NLP or Motivational Listening are therapeutic techniques that do this.

Response: There is a sadness concerning how elusive the wisdom of Solomon is now that it is needed, reminding us of the midterm elections the next day.

Mitch introduced another participant at the table – Reb Nachman of Braslav, a younger contemporary of Rabbi Levi Yitzhak. It was as if Reb Nachman was sitting with us, considering how to extend the story, and he did. Reb Nachman’s story became known ultimately as the rooster under the table, or the turkey under the table, or, as Adam told it, the chicken under the table.

Adam told a long version of the story. Here it is in a shorter form from breslov.org, right from the source:

A prince once became mad and thought that he was a turkey. He felt compelled to sit naked under the table, pecking at bones and pieces of bread, like a turkey. All the royal physicians gave up hope of curing him of this madness. The king grieved tremendously.

A sage arrived and said, “I will undertake to cure him.” The sage undressed and sat naked under the table, next to the prince, picking crumbs and bones. “Who are you?” asked the prince. “What are you doing here?” “And you?” replied the sage. “What are you doing here?”“I am a turkey,” said the prince. “I’m also a turkey,” answered the sage.

They sat together like this for some time, until they became good friends. One day, the sage signaled the king’s servants to throw him shirts. He said to the prince, “What makes you think that a turkey can’t wear a shirt? You can wear a shirt and still be a turkey.” With that, the two of them put on shirts.

After a while, the sage again signaled and they threw him pants. As before, he asked, “What makes you think that you can’t be a turkey if you wear pants?”

The sage continued in this manner until they were both completely dressed. Then he signaled for regular food, from the table. The sage then asked the prince, “What makes you think that you will stop being a turkey if you eat good food? You can eat whatever you want and still be a turkey!” They both ate the food.

Finally, the sage said, “What makes you think a turkey must sit under the table? Even a turkey can sit at the table.” The sage continued in this manner until the prince was completely cured.

That was the story Reb Nachman developed likely after hearing the story of Levi Yitzhak.

Or we might talk about the midterm elections and the polarization of our country. How might one side approach the other? Perhaps by assuming the guise of the other. Rather than reason, create a story in which one takes the matter to the extreme.

One neutral neighbor approaches a neighbor polarized to the right and begins:

“I’ve been listening to FOX news and social media, and we need to do something. It isn’t enough to just watch.” “What do you suggest?” the neighbor asks. “We have to do something. We have to take up arms. I have two semi-automatic weapons. Let’s take them and go down to where the pedophiles are and shoot up the place?” “Shoot up the place? Are you nuts?” “Why am I nuts? Isn’t that what others have the courage to do? Let’s leave our families behind and get this job done!”

And so the neutral neighbor in the guise of a polarized Q-Anon devotee speaks in a more and more extreme fashion until the neighbor protests and says, “Are you crazy?”

“Am I crazy? What am I saying that sounds crazy to you? That all democratic leaders are pedophiles? That they eat their children? They’re all transvestites? Does that sound crazy to you?”

And so bit by bit the neutral neighbor draws his Q-Anon neighbor back from the brink of craziness.

Now, is this a story? Or is it a prayer as we face the midterms tomorrow?