-For Openers...
A sale this big only happens twice a year!
For A Blessing
Or A Curse
Y MANELLO
Editorial Assistant
ome people pray religiously
(oy!), so what's funny about
that? The act of prayer?
Nothing. But the fact that we
let our foibles as humans dictate our
prayers — or curses — is another mat-
ter.
Remember the child who under-
stood the Lord's Prayer to state, "Lead
us not into Penn Station."
Do you recall the rabbi from Fiddler
an the Roof who; when asked if there
was a blessing for the czar, intoned,
"May the Lord bless and keep the czar
— far away from us!"
And from that same era we get:
* Dear, God, help me get up; I can
fall down by myself.
* Thou hast chosen us from among
all nations — but why did you have to
ick on the Jews?
When it comes to prayer; consider
the wisdom of this child:
Davey put away all his toys for the
evening and, as usual, began his bed-
time prayers in a low monotone.
--'Honey," said his mother, "I can't hear
you." Said Davey, "I wasn't talking to
you."
According to Leo Rosten in his
Treasury of Jewish Quotations, "Among
—laws, swearing is rare but cursing is
common. By swearing I mean venting
anger or frustration in obscene phrases
,
at no one in particular. By cursing I
mean invocation of calamity upon
someone — hoping that God, though
not directly asked to do so, will direct
His wrath on the one cursed and in the
form requested. The elaboration of
Jewish curses reaches heights of pic-
turesqueness and ingenuity" Consider
the following:
* May he get sick — and remember
it.
* May all his teeth fall out except
one so that he may have a toothache.
* May cramps parade through his
bowels.
* I would like to treat him like a
treasure: bury hiin with care and affec-
tion.
* May he own five ships of gold —
all wrecked.
* Like a beet he should grow — with
his head in the earth.
* May he need a prescription.
* May he be seized by a nine-year
convulsion.
To keep all this in perspective, we
should keep in mind the old Yiddish
proverb: "Man thinks and God laughs."
And it can't hurt, we should laugh at
ourselves once in a while. ❑
SEMI ANNUAL
d
torevin e
Save
up to
2 5
Saleprices already
o h
OFF
40% below retail!
This is it... the sale of the season.
Right now, you can save hundreds, even
thousands on Hagopian quality rugs,
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accessories. With our entire
selection on sale, this is an
exceptional time to make
your home look exceptiona
i t/kJ I FF" THAT WAS 136AOTIFUL.
NONE I'M TOST GOING TO
MAKE A CALL, 0,K .?
I'M SORR W, MR. FRUITAIMQ,
BUT TO Mg KNOWLE2G6
THERE 15 N llo-ekns- H KIP
OF THE- BEAR" AWARD
The Original Since 1939
HAGOPIAN
WORLD OF RUGS®
Birmingham: 850 S. Old Woodward • (248) 646-RUGS
Showroom Hours: Mon. & Thurs. 10-9 Tues.,\Ved., Fri., Sat. 10-6 • Sun. 12-5
Handmade items are one-of-o-kind and subject to prior sale. Rug sites are approximate. Illustrations may vary slightly from actual design. Sole prices do nal apply to previous sales. ©1997 Hagopian
10/31
1997
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