A maggid – a preacher – came to a small Jewish village. After delivering a series of public lectures, he visited the town’s rav – the rabbi who helped the villagers interpret the laws of the Torah.
“I have decided not to continue my wanderings,” said the maggid. “I will settle in this town.”
The rav was startled. “How can you expect to earn a living here, when the townspeople pay their rav so little? How could there be enough for both of us?”
The maggid said, “Let me tell you a story. There was once a farmer who kept a goose in a coop. The farmer often forgot to feed it, so the goose suffered from hunger.
“One day, the farmer bought a rooster and put it in the same coop. The goose said, ‘I will starve! It’s not possible for two of us to live on the small amount of food I get!’
“The rooster replied, ‘Don’t worry. When I’m hungry, I can crow. This will remind the farmer. Then we’ll both be fed!’”
{ 32 comments… read them below or add one }
A timely reminder that in times of hardship, while strangers are by definition unknown, outsiders often bring talents and gifts we would otherwise never have access to. In Europe especially this is an issue, as a headline in a British newspaper asked this morning; “when will xenophobia go mainstream.” I prefer the saying that a stranger is just a friend I haven’t met yet.
Have a great weekend folks.
I like your take on it, Simon. Thank you.
Thanks Simon
Thanks Simon!
Good way of looking at it, Simon.
Simon,
I join the others in thanking you for your take on this story.
Paul
If you have a candle, the light won’t glow any dimmer if I light yours off of mine. – Steven Tyler
Enjoy the weekend, there is plenty to go around…
Tim,
Except that, if you are klutzy as I am, you might snuff out the flame entirely!
Paul
Love that!
Happy Friday and have a good weekend everyone. Thanks for this great story to send us off!
Fran,
As always, my pleasure, Madame!
Paul
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Hebrews 13:2
Lynda,
Excellent!
Paul
Sorry but the rooster sounds a bit like a coxcomb to me.
Yes we must welcome the stranger, but when we are the “stranger” shouldn’t we occasionally have some humility?
Maura,
I had never come across that usage of “coxcomb” before – I’d only ever thought of it as the protuberance on the head of poultry. Thanks for broadening my education!
Paul
Did I ever tell you I was an English Lit Major? It explains so much… and not necessarily in a good way.
( In spite of the fact that they say puns are the lowest form of humor I really couldn’t resist because it was just so perfect. )
Maura, I love puns so what does that say about my sense of humour???
I think I’m going to try and be a rouster this wekend — seeing where I can raise my voice for the hungry, and help them find their own voice.
Have a good weeekend everyone!
Denise,
I applaud you – loudly!
Paul
Er — “rooster,” not “rouster.” I really need to check more carefully for typos!
Totally off-topic, but the Words of Wisdom quote I’m looking at right now is brilliant:
“Going to church no more makes you a Christian than standing in a garage makes you a car.” — Garrison Keillor
Jim,
Yes, I like that one very much.
Paul
Yes!! And to take that one step further: we are not our bodies! no more than when we’re driving in our cars, we’re the car. Our bodies are instruments given to us for our use. They come in all makes and models and years and colors, but they are not us.
Happy weekend and Happy Father’s Day to all you dads!!!!
That is so true Emma! My first car was an AMC Spirit and I used to say that the “Spirit was moving all over this land!”
Is this a followup from the 10 Questions post where many of us struggled with #7, talking too much?? Are you suggesting that sometimes it is a good thing to be the loud mouth?? If so, very kind.
Annette,
Jamais de la vie!
Paul
LOVELY! There is a rooster nearby who crows in the early morning and again in the afternoon and evening…I will never think of him as annoying after reading the story. Lord, help me use my rooster voice for my marginalized sisters and brothers, even when it is annoying!
Reenie,
I am glad that you got so much out of this little story.
Paul
My question for this maggi is: what is the goose contributing to its own well-being? The goose sits waiting to be fed, starving, until the rooster comes along, makes some noise, draws attention to the situation. The outcome: the rooster is viewed as the annoying factor in the peace of the land, gets his head chopped off, thrown in the pot. Peace then reigns once again on the “farm”. The goose, having seen what became of the rooster, sits once again in silence, waiting for another rooster to come along. The other roosters after seeing what happenned to the first, no longer crow.
Emma,
Wow! I didn’t see that coming…
Paul
Neither did the rooster!