Here's me telling the story of Honi and the Carob Tree at Temple Emanu-El last Friday night... a classic tale of miracles, transgenerational ethics, and chocolate substitutes. Enjoy!
(Full Transcript after the jump)
n.b. Unfortunate drumming noise was apparently caused by a steam pipe; while it was broadcast loudly on the livestream we couldn't hear it during the service itself.
(based on a midrash in the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Ta’anit 23a)
A
long, long time ago
back
in the days of the Maccabees
There
lived in the land of Israel
A
very wise man named Honi the Circle Maker
Honi
was famous in those days
Because
Honi knew special prayers
that
no one else knew
But…despite
being so wise
Honi
was also extraordinarily impatient
and
surprisingly selfish
One
time,
when
it was the time of the rainy season
No
rain fell.
The
ground was too hard for planting
The
crops began to dry out
All
of the people began to worry
So
they went to Honi the Circle Maker
and
said,
Please,
Mr. Circle-Maker,
Talk
to God,
Ask
God to make it rain
Why?
Said Honi the Circle Maker
The
people answered
If
there is no rain, how will we grow our food?
Ach,
Said Honi
I
have plenty of food in my cabinet
HONI!
They said
For
once think about someone else!
FINE!
Said Honi
So
Honi the circle maker
drew
a big circle on the ground
with
a piece of chalk
And
Honi stood in the middle of the circle
And
Honi shouted
God
I
will not move from this circle
until
you make it rain
And
nothing happened
So
Honi Said
God
Maybe
you didn’t hear me
It
is me
Honi
the Circle Maker
These
people need rain
a
rain of blessing
to
soften the earth
and
bring food to the hungry
I
know you are just and compassionate
And
I’m not moving from this circle
until
you make it rain
And
then there was thunder and lightning
And rain fell from the skies
in a tremendous downpour
And
all the people cheered
“Hurray
for Honi the circle maker”
And
they all ran off to tend to their crops
and
to plant their vegetables
And
Honi said, Ach
I’m
soaking wet
And
a big prayer like that
really
makes me hungry
And
he set off down the road
looking
for something to eat
And
Honi came upon an elderly woman
who
was planting a tree
Excuse
me
He
said
What
kind of tree are you planting?
It
is a carob tree, she said
Do
you know what carob is?
It
is supposed to taste like chocolate
But
it doesn’t
If
you’re staying for the family dinner tonight,
you
can try some
And
you’ll see for yourself
But,
they didn’t have any chocolate
in
ancient Israel
If
this were an ancient Aztec or Mayan story, maybe there would be chocolate in it
But
it’s a Jewish story,
so
you get carob
Anyway,
Honi said to the gardener
Carob
huh
How
long will it take the tree to bear fruit?
Well,
she said,
It
will take 70 years
70
YEARS! Cried Honi
I
mean, not to be rude or anything,
But
you’re not exactly a youngster
Are
you certain you will live
another
seventy years
to
eat the fruit of this tree?
Perhaps
not.
Said
the woman.
However,
when I was born into this world,
I
found many beautiful carob trees
planted
by those who came before me.
Just
as my ancestors planted trees for me,
I
am planting trees
for
my children and grandchildren
so
they will have carob to eat.
Seventy
years, Honi thought
Just
the thought of it makes me sleepy
And
Honi lay down on the ground
next
to the carob tree
And
Honi fell fast asleep
Into
a deep deep sleep
In
fact, Honi fell asleep for so long
Honi
slept for 70 years
And
when Honi awoke
He
had grown a big long beard
And
Honi looked up
and
saw an elderly woman
gathering
the fruit from the carob tree
Honi
asked her
Are
you the same woman
who
planted this tree?
No,
she replied, that was my grandmother.
And
Honi said, wow,
I
must have been asleep for 70 years
That
is some shluff
Here,
said the woman
Have
some carob.
And
for the rest of his days
Honi
the Circle Maker
Helped
to plant carob trees
So
all the children and grandchildren
would
have plenty to eat
And
if you go to the north of Israel
You
can still those carob trees today
And
parents and grandparents told this story
to
their children and grandchildren
And
now I’m telling this story to you
So
you can tell this story
to
your children and to your grandchildren
And remind them of what Honi learned
That the way we show we are thankful
to those who came before us
Is to make things better
for those who will come after us
And there’s a bunch of people here
tonight
who know exactly what I’m talking about
And I want to invite those people
onto the bimah for a blessing
So all of you here tonight who grew up
here at Temple Emanu-El
and attended religious school or nursery school
And now have children or grandchildren
in the religious school or nursery school
Come on up here
And inspire us all with your example
Shabbat Shalom
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