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Are Jews Different?
by DR. W. GUNTHER PLAUT
Rabbi, Mount Zion Temple
St. Paul. M'nn.
This distinguished writer will be the
principal speaker March 15 at the
Dedication Banquet of Temple Israel
in Columbus.
About a hundred years ago, the
great German writer, satirist and
analyst, Heinrich Heine, when ask
ed to define who the Jews were,
is reported to have said this: “The
Jews are just like everybody else
only more so.” Even a hundred
years ago there was this question
which Jews and non-Jews have
asked for many centuries indeed:
Are the Jews really different in
any way from anyone else, and if
so, why and how?
“Ye shall be unto Me,” God said
unto Moses, “a peculiar people.”
We are to be “a kingdom of priests
and a holy nation.” Now if you
look at the Jewish history, even
the most casual onlooker would
come to the conclusion that the
Jews are indeed different from
most other people. Our history
seems to be substantially and fund
amentally different from the history
of any other people. The very
fact that only for the smallest por
tion of our history did we Jews
have a land in which we could
develop as a nation would point up
this difference.
A people living without any land
of its own for 2,000 years, scattered
to the four corners of the earth,
nonetheless created a culture, a re
ligion, a distinct mode of life all
its own which set it apart. There is,
even in our own day, an indica
tion that something of this dif
ference, whatever it is, continues to
persist. For, whether by human or
divine design, it seems that in
these last generations the history
of the Jews has again been at the
very core of humanity’s destiny.
Somehow they were the medium
through whom much of the world’s
morality was being tested, some
times failingly so. And during
IN A LIGHTER VEIN
Worthy of llis Name
by JACOB RICHMAND
Nahum - Ish-Gamzu, that great
miracle man of the Talmud, de
rived his cognomen by virtue of his
supreme optimism and implicit
faith in Providence that whatever
happens to a person is intended
for his good.
One day the Judeans sent
through Nahum-Ish-Gam/.u a gift
of precious stones to the Roman
Emperor. On his way to Rome, the
saint stopped at an inn frequented
by thieves and highwaymen. From
an innocent remark passed by the
holy man, the bandits learned that
he was carring a very valuable par
cel.
That night, the robbers broke
into the chamber of the sage, stole
the precious gems, and, to add in
sult to injury, filled the box with
sand and rubbish.
When Nahum discovered, in the
morning, that the box had been
plundered, he was not at all dis
concerted. "Gam-zu-l’tovah,” he
said piously, lifting his eyes to the
heaven. “It is for the good,” and he
proceeded on his errand.
When the Emperor opened the
box and perceived the rubbish, he
became delirious with rage. “Take
this cursed Jew out and hang him,”
he raged.
As the emissary of the Jews was
being led to the gallows, the pro
phet-angel Elijah appeared in dis
guise as one of the monarch’s coun
selors.
“Your Majesty,” said the good
Elijah, "perhaps it is the same kind
of sand that Abraham used in his
war against the four kings, which,
when hurled, was turned into
swords and spears, and annihilated
the enemy.”
“Give it a fair trial, then,” ord
ered the potentate. “Stop the exe
cution.”
Forthwith the box of rubbish was
dispatched to a seditious province,
and by the employment of this
magic sand, the rebellious army was
totally wiped out.
Whereupon Nahum-Ish-Gamzu
was hailed by Rome as a great bene
factor, and the box which con
tained the mystic sand was refilled
with diamonds and priceless pearls,
and presented to Nahum as a token
of King’s gratitude.
On his way home, the miracle
man stopped at the same inn again,
and the freebooters, naturally, sur
rounded him with questions.
“Well," they queried, sneeringly,
"How did the King like your gift?”
“Immensely,” responded the won
der man. “Look what I received as
a present. The sand accomplished
more than a dozen armies could
hope to accomplish.”
The outcasts immediately filled
a huge trunk of the same kind of
sand, transported it to Rome, and
presented it to the Emperor.
When the autocrat glanced at the
contents of the trunk, he was much
pleased. But a test revealed that
it was nothing but common soil.
“String them up!” shouted the
Emperor, in fury. And in a few
minutes the robbers were dangling
from a gallows.
(From 373-page book, “Laughs
From Jewish Lore” — Hebrew
Publishing Company, 77 De-
lancey Street, New York).
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