דילוג לתוכן המרכזי בעמוד

Bone Button Borscht

By: Aubrey Davis

What does a hungry beggar do when he arrives at a town and no one opens the door to him? Wisely and resourcefully, he manages not only to receive a meal, but also to change the way the townspeople act toward one another. This folktale has been told for centuries in different versions around the world. In this version, the tale is set in a typical Jewish town of the past.

“Let your brother live alongside you” (Ve’chaiachichaimcha)

Age Group: KINDERGARTEN

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The townspeople undergo a significant transformation in the course of the story. At first, the beggar finds all of the doors in town closed to him, and no one is willing to help him. The behavior of the townspeople conflicts with the fundamental Jewish value of helping one’s fellow man. The Torah instructs us time and again to help those in need. In Leviticus (Vayikra), for example, this commandment appears:

“When your brother [friend or neighbor] becomes impoverished… you must hold him [help him with all his needs]… and let your brother live alongside you [so that he can live with you].” (Leviticus 25, 35-36).

Over the years, Jewish scholars have set many rules pertaining to the commandment of charity. Maimonides wrote that even a beggar is commanded to give charity. In other words, everyone can find a way to help others.

“If I am not for myself who will be for me? Yet, if I am only for myself, what am I? “ (Imeinani li mi li? Ukshe’anile’atzmi, ma ani?)

In the Mishna (Avot, 1:14) Hillel says: “If I am not for myself who will be for me? Yet, if I am only for myself, what am I?”

The beggar understands that if he does not help himself, nobody will help him. This is the meaning of “If I am not for myself who will be for me.”

Cooperation and caring for others enrich and give meaning to our lives. This is what the second part of this verse refers to: “Yet, if I am only for myself, what am I?”

Creating a community is one way of helping yourself and others. At the beginning of the story, the community is not active: the synagogue is empty, and all the townspeople are sitting alone in their homes. With the help of a few buttons, the beggar succeeds in turning a group of lonely individuals into a real community. Community is central to Jewish tradition. Throughout the world, wherever a Jewish community existed, communal institutions were established (synagogues, schools, charities, and more), which ensured that no one would be left alone or without support. A carrot is just a carrot, an onion is only an onion, and a head of cabbage is simply a head of cabbage.  Yet when you take all these vegetables and cook them in one pot, you can create something new that is bigger than each ingredient alone. This is the beauty of community: Each individual contributes to the whole and helps in creating something larger than the parts.

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Copies Distributed:

120,000 | 3,000 | 60,000

Publishing:

כנרת

Year of Distribution:

תשע"ו 2015-2016, 1772 2011-2012, nine 2009-2010