A CNN journalist heard about a very old Jewish man who had been going to the Western Wall to pray, twice a day, every day, for a long, long time.:-) Thanks to susan s.
So she went to check it out. She went to the Western Wall and there he was, walking slowly up to the holy site.
She watched him pray and after about 45 minutes, when he turned to leave, using a cane and moving very slowly, she approached him for an interview.
"Pardon me, sir, I'm Rebecca Smith from CNN. What's your name?
"Morris Feinberg," he replied.
"Sir, how long have you been coming to the Western Wall and praying?"
"For about 60 years."
"60 years! That's amazing! What do you pray for?"
"I pray for peace between the Christians, Jews and the Muslims."
"I pray for all the wars and all the hatred to stop."
"I pray for all our children to grow up safely as responsible adults and to love their fellow man."
"I pray that politicians tell us the truth and put the interests of the people ahead of their own interests."
"How do you feel after doing this for 60 years?"
"Like I'm talking to a wall."
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
WISDOM FROM AN OLD JEWISH MAN
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That raised a chuckle from me. Sadly.
ReplyDeleteSad, but funny still. I laughed again.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I sent it to you. It was too good not to post somewhere, even if it is ironic(is that the correct term?).
ReplyDeletesusan, I'm glad you sent it, too. I can picture the old man...
ReplyDeleteBut is it irony? My greatest fear is that I have made a mistake!
ReplyDeletesusan, the humor seems quite Jewish to me. I'd like to say more, but I don't have the words.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, this joke led me to rather profound ruminations on the matter of prayer, persistence in prayer, and how God interacts with us in the world.
ReplyDeleteMimi, I would like to hear your profound ruminations on that subject.
ReplyDeleteCathy, I know this will sound like a cop-out, but I don't have words to describe my reaction. The experience is more about images and emotions...ineffable, if I may say.
ReplyDeleteThat's a shame, I was looking forward to the post on it.
ReplyDeleteI had a picture in my mind of a bent old man with a cane leaving the wall, which I thought was quite sad. But then, I thought he showed courage with his bit of ironic humor in his response to the reporter, and he seemed quite Jewish in answering as he did. From my reaction, you'd thing he was a real person. Sometimes I wish I could paint the vivid images in my head.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this- maybe I'm at that age where I can relate to this one !!
ReplyDeleteBlessings
Philowmena, I'm glad you liked the 'joke', which ended up leading me to a theological meditation.
ReplyDelete