ittive
Announcing Tool
By MARC GELLMAN
Here is a holiday story for the
whole family to share: Read it to
each other or to yourselves. Watch
for more details about how your
family will be able to join a special
Sefer Safari Club and enjoy special
Jewish book adventures.
A long time ago when all
people lived in one place, getting
the news was easy. They had
yellers who would walk around town
and after no more than a morning
of yelling everyone knew that
something special had happened.
But when people began living all
over the place, even the yellers
couldn't get the news across.
Mostly, people just didn't get the
news, but some special events just
had to be announced, and the
arrival of a new year was the most
special event of all. So a man
named Enoch asked God what to
do to get the news of the new year
around the world.
God said to Enoch, "You need
a special announcing tool — go find
one!" The next day Enoch returned
with two rocks. "Listen to my fine
announcing tool," he said and
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banged the two rocks together
making a loud rock-banging noise.
God said to Enoch, "What kind of
announcing tool is this to tell of the
arrival of the new year? Rocks do
not make music, they only make
noise. The new year is a time for
music and singing, not banging and
yelling."; God frowned at Enoch
who scurried off to find a new
announcing tool.
The next day Enoch returned with a
gong. "Listen to my fine
announcing tool which makes a
beautiful sound," he said, and he
hit the gong which made a gong-
ringing noise. God said to Enoch,
"What kind of announcing tool is
this to tell of the arrival of the new
year? The gong does make a
beautiful sound, but it is made of
iron, and iron is used to make
weapons of war. The new year is a
time of peace not war."; God
frowned at Enoch who scurried off
to find a new announcing tool.
The next day Enoch returned with a
harp. "Listen to my fine announcing
tool which makes a beautiful sound
and is not made of iron!" Then
Enogh strummed a tune on the
harp. God said to Enoch, "The harp
does make beautiful sounds and it
is not a weapon of war, but the harp
is too soft a sound to announce the
new year. The new year is a time of
rejoicing, and a loud announcing
tool is needed, a tool that will carry
the news of the new year from
hilltop to hilltop around the world."
God frowned at Enoch who scurried
off to find a new announcing tool.
The next day Enoch returned with a
golden trumpet. "Listen to my fine
announcing tool which makes a
beautiful sound, is not made of iron,
and is loud enough to carry the
news from hilltop to hilltop." Then
Enoch blew a loud note on the
golden horn.
God said to Enoch, "The
golden horn is a good announcing
tool, but not good enough for the
new year. True, the golden horn
makes beautiful sounds, is not
made of iron, and is loud enough;
but the horn is not a natural
instrument. It is made by man and
not by me. It is hollow, but it is not
naturally hollow. It is made hollow
by human hands. It makes a
beautiful sound only after it has
been pounded and shaped by
human hands. The new year is not
a time to glorify human creations.
The new year is for all creatures,
the animals and people as well.
Find something to celebrate the new
year which is for all my creatures."
God frowned at Enoch who scurried
off to find a new announcing tool.
The next day Enoch was a little
late in coming, but he finally arrived
a little out of breath. "I am
embarrassed to present my new
announcing tool. It is only a ram's
horn — not nearly as beautiful as
the golden horn, or as sweet and
delicate as the harp — but it does
make fine sounds, and it is not a
weapon of war, and it is loud
enough to get the news from hilltop
to hilltop. I have done nothing to the
horn, it is naturally hollow, and it
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comes from one of your creatures.
But there is just one thing. All the
other instruments were easy to
make a sound with, but this ram's
horn is impossible to play. I blow
and blow, and then a toot comes
out, and then nothing, and then
maybe another toot. I wish it were
easier."
God smiled the biggest smile at
Enoch and taught him how to blow
the ram's horn for the big
celebration of the new year which
was soon to begin.
Copyright 1979 Marc Gellman. All rights
reserved. Reprinted with permission
from the author and "Moment
Magazine." "The Announcing Tool" will
be included in a collection of Rabbi
Gellman's stories about stories in the
Bible, to be published in spring 1988 by
Harper and Row.
Finding Answers
While we are sitting around the
Shabbat table let's ask each other a
few questions.
— Do we know why we
celebrate Shabbat?
— Do we know why we have
two Challot and why we
cover them?
— What is the significance of
the cup of wine?
— What other Shabbat laws
and customs can we
mention?
Does this seem overwhelming?
Are the questions too hard?
Do some of these customs
seem magical or full of "hokus
pokus"?
Let's look at this week's
Parashah "Nitzavim - Vayelech",
Deuteronomy 30: 11-14. That should
tell us about our ability to find these
answers. We all know people who
don't do anything without reading
their horoscope each day or who
say that in America, unlike Israel or
Europe, it's not important to be an
observant Jew. What do our verses
that we just looked up have to say
about those kinds of thoughts?
— These questions
were submitted by
Rabbi Efry Spectre
of Adat Shalom
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
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