Beautiful Love and Other Stories
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Beautiful Love and Other Stories
Beautiful Love
A Clergyman told an Indian he should love his enemies."I do," said the latter, "for I love rum and cider."
Sacred Truths as Jests
The well-known rabbi This-and-that of There-and-then got a son who was turned into one of the rabbis who had many ardent followers. On every Sabbath this rabbi did not expound the law of Moses or the Torah in the midst of followers. He cracked jokes, and diverted them with merry tales, and everybody, even the greybeards, laughed heartily.A visitor got surprised. "How can a holy teacher and his followers behave in such an outrageous way? Celebrating the Saturday with nonsense, funny stories and jest! Rabbi, be ashamed: read the Torah!"
"Torah," exclaimed the rabbi. "What do you suppose I have been expounding here?" Sacred truth is found in all stories and jests!" [Ato 264].
Swedenborg's Great Experience
Emmanuel Swedenborg travelled a lot, and spent a good deal of time abroad.He began to record his dreams and to speculate on the guidance they offered. His big happening came one Easter in a London inn where he was having dinner, a shadowy figure in the corner told him emphatically, "Don't eat so much." [Cf. Fa]
This came as a revelation to him - and afterwards Swedenborg had almost daily "waking visions", and published a very slender work on the inhabitants of the planets. And he remained a member of the Swedish Parliament to the end of his life.
The pianist survived
THE POLISH pianist and composer Ignace Jan Paderewski (1860-1941) was
famous for virtuosity of playing. He became prime minister of Poland in
1919 and attended the 1919 Paris Peace Conference as the new premier of
Poland. The French premier, Georges Clemenceau, was introduced to the
great musician."Are you a cousin of the famous pianist Paderewski?" he asked mischievously.
"I am the famous pianist," replied Paderewski.
"And you have become prime minister?" exclaimed Clemenceau. "What a comedown!"
PS: Failing to bring about national unity, Paderewski resigned.
Literature
Ato: Ausubel, Nathan. A Treasury of Jewish Folklore: The Stories, Traditions, Legends, Humor, Wisdom and Folk Songs. New York: Crown, 1948.
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