Post by alon on Feb 23, 2023 5:53:45 GMT -8
Two Jewish couples, wanting to escape the hardships of the schtetl bribe their way to a town far from there. But as their daughters approach puberty they realize there are no marriageable suitors. So they write the head of the yeshiva in Lublin and ask him to send their top two students to marry the girls. They promise to support the young men until they are 21, then bring them into the family business.
The rabbi calls in two of his best boys, one 12 and the other 13. He tells them they've fallen into a shmaltzgrub (a tub of fat). He pins the address to their coats and puts them on a train. But the 12 yr old couldn't do it and got off the other side. Upon arrival the 13 yr old was met by the dual entourage of prospective in-laws. But when they see only one boy get off the train, both mothers rush to his side and begin pulling him in different directions. The local itenerant rabbi then grabs the boy and takes him to his study, telling the women he will adjudicate the case.
But days go by and no decision. So the women accost the rebbe and demand he make up his mind. He thereby hangs his head and says "I've studied Torah, and indeed the entier Tenach. I've consulted Talmud and many other sacred writings, and in all I can find only one reference that might apply. We'll do as that wisest of men, Solomon did in a similar situation. We'll cut the boy in two and you each get half.
One woman said "Rabbi, don't you dare harm that boy!"
The other woman said "It's the only fair thing to do. Cut the boy and give each of us our half."
The Rabbi looks at the second woman and says:
"YOU ...
are the real mother-inlaw!"
The rabbi calls in two of his best boys, one 12 and the other 13. He tells them they've fallen into a shmaltzgrub (a tub of fat). He pins the address to their coats and puts them on a train. But the 12 yr old couldn't do it and got off the other side. Upon arrival the 13 yr old was met by the dual entourage of prospective in-laws. But when they see only one boy get off the train, both mothers rush to his side and begin pulling him in different directions. The local itenerant rabbi then grabs the boy and takes him to his study, telling the women he will adjudicate the case.
But days go by and no decision. So the women accost the rebbe and demand he make up his mind. He thereby hangs his head and says "I've studied Torah, and indeed the entier Tenach. I've consulted Talmud and many other sacred writings, and in all I can find only one reference that might apply. We'll do as that wisest of men, Solomon did in a similar situation. We'll cut the boy in two and you each get half.
One woman said "Rabbi, don't you dare harm that boy!"
The other woman said "It's the only fair thing to do. Cut the boy and give each of us our half."
The Rabbi looks at the second woman and says:
"YOU ...
are the real mother-inlaw!"