Someone posted this recently, but since it had "made the email rounds", it was botched up. I searched my archives and now offer the original version:
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About a century or two ago, the Pope decided that all the Jews had to leave Rome.
Naturally there was a big uproar from the Jewish community. So the Pope made a deal. He would have a religious debate with a member of the Jewish community. If the Jews won, the Jews could stay. If the Pope won, the Jews would leave.
The Jews realized that they had no choice. They looked around for a champion who could defend their faith, but no one wanted to volunteer. All the scholars thought it was personally too risky.
So they finally approached an old man named Moishe who spent his life sweeping up after people. He agreed to represent them. He fisured that since he was old and poor, he had less to lose. With the Jewish champion chosen, only the terms of the debate were left to discuss with the Pope.
Not being used to saying very much as he cleaned up around the settlement, Moishe proposed that neither side be allowed to talk and the debate would be non-verbal. The Pope agreed.
The day of the great debate came. Moishe and the Pope sat opposite each other for a full minute.
In the first gesture, the Pope raised his hand and showed three fingers.
Moishe looked back at him and raised one finger.
The Pope quickly responded and waved his fingers in a circle around his head.
Moishe pointed to the ground where he sat.
Back on the attack, the Pope pulled out a wafer and a glass of wine.
Moishe pulled out an apple.
The Pope stood up and said, "I give up. This man is too good. The Jews can stay".
An hour later, the cardinals were all around the Pope asking him what happened. The Pope said: "First I held up three fingers to represent the Trinity. As you saw, he responded by holding up one finger to remind me that there was still one God common to both our religions. It was a good reply. My next strategy was to wave my finger around me to show him that God was all around us. He responded by pointing to the ground, showing that God was also right here with us. My last ideas was to pull some wine and wafers to show that God absolves us from our sins. In a brilliant comeback on Moishe's part, he pulled out an apple to remind me of the original sin.
He had an answer for everything!! What could I do?"
Meanwhile, the Jewish community had crowded around Moishe, amazed that this old, almost feeble-minded man had done what all their scholars had insisted was impossible!
"What happened?" they asked.
Well, said Moishe, "First he said to me that the Jews had three days to get out of here. I told him that not one of us was leaving.
Then he told me that this whole city would be cleared of Jews. I let him know that we were staying right here.
"And then what happened?" asked a woman.
'I don't know,' said Moishe. 'He stopped and took out his lunch, so I took out mine.' |
