THE MONKS AND THE RABBI
Prior to the 18th century, the church had a great influence
over Europe, especially the catholic monasteries where the monks performed
austerities. But the monasteries dwindled as time went on, and gradually
they became historic sites. One such monastery was inhabited by an
order of monks who had previously consisted of many branches, but now only
one monastery remained, with only five monks living there, and all of them
were over seventy years old. The abbot was worried that the order
would be lost, so he was trying to make recruits, but all his efforts were
going in vain.
The monastery was situated on the edge of a forest, and
people used to come there to picnic. In the forest was a hut which
was visited by a rabbi. They all knew the rabbi, and also they knew
the times when he visited the hut. So one time when the abbot came,
the abbot thought to go and visit him. "Maybe he can give me some
advice about how to save the order." So the abbot went there and
when he arrived he and the rabbi embraced. They were glad to see
each other, and they began to discuss deep spiritual topics. So he
was just about to leave when he remembered the purpose of his visit.
"Can you give me any advice about how to save the order?" So the
rabbi said, "Well to tell the truth, I also have the same problem.
No one is interested in coming to the synagogue. I can't really help
you." So the abbot was just about to leave when the rabbi said to
him, "I do know one thing, however. One of you is the new messiah."
This cryptic answer confused the rabbi and he returned
to the monastery. He related his meeting with the rabbi to all the
other monks, and told them of the cryptic answer he had received.
From then on, all of the monks began to think, "I wonder which one of us
is the new messiah? Maybe it's Brother Frederick, he's so strong
willed. Or maybe it's Brother Peter, he's very shy and humble, always
willing to lend a hand." And then they began to think. "It
couldn't be me, could it? I mean, God, would have to be pretty hard
up to pick me as the new messiah." So, thinking like this, the monks
all began to act very nicely towards one another, as they didn't want to
commit any offence if one of their Godbrothers might be the new messiah.
And they also began to act in a very dignified way themselves, just in
case they themselves were the new messiah. And the people who came
and picnicked by the monastery at the edge of the forest also began to
come and pray in the monastery. They noticed a change of mood in
the monastery, that the monks were acting very reverentially towards their
Godbrothers, and that they seemed to have a very nice relationship.
The people also noticed that the monks themselves also appeared very dignified,
and seemed to be emanating an aura. The people noticed this distinct
change, and sometimes they would talk with the monks. One man decided
that he wanted to experience what the monks were experiencing, so he joined
up . His friend came along to see what he was up to, and he also
joined. In this way the monastery built up again.
MORAL: If we can act nicely toward each other and behave nicely ourselves, then people will become attracted.
YoungFOLK
