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Rabbi for a day (a Jewish tale)
Once upon a time there lived a man named Jacob Kranz who was known as
the Preacher of Dubno, famed far and wide for his wisdom and his parables
He traveled from town to town teaching. One year, on the fifth night of
Hanukkah, the rabbi told the people a tale of Hanukkah.
"Our Jewish month is one lunar cycle," said the preacher, "beginning with
the new moon. In the Jewish calendar, during the first half of the month, each
night grows a little lighter, but after the full moon, until the 29th or 30th,
each night grows a little bit darker." The people nodded, for they knew that
the first night of Hanukkah falls on 25 Kislev, and so, for each of the first five
nights of the holiday, the sky grows a little darker.
"So," said the preacher, "the fifth night of Hanukkah is the darkest night of
the whole year, but when we light our candles, we symbolically call forth a
new cycle, and give new light to the year."
"And tomorrow, the first of Tevet, the new moon will appear, and each night
will grow a little brighter. Tomorrow, I will be moving on to a new town."
That evening, as the coachman drove the wise rabbi to his lodgings, he
wondered what it would be like to be as respected as the Preacher of Dubno.
The coachman turned to the Preacher of Dubno and said, "I wish I knew
what being revered feels like. Would you consider exchanging your robes for
my clothes 一 just for a day? I'd like to pretend to be you."
The Preacher of Dubno smiled, for he liked his coachman. Still, the rabbi was
wise enough to know that such a ruse could cause trouble.
"My friend," he said, "you know it is not my clothing that makes me a rabbi.
What if someone asks you to explain a difficult passage in the law? If you
answered foolishly, people would believe the Preacher of Dubno was no
longer helpful."
But the coachman had thought of this, and so he convinced the wise man to
exchange clothes with him.
The next morning when they rode into a village, all the people ran out to
greet the great preacher. They hailed his entry into town, never knowing that