Preaching Goes Viral

Lessons for the Pandemic (and after the Pandemic) Rosh Hashanah 5781

Analogies to Mythic Narratives

“A king once told his prime minister, who was also his good friend, “I see in the stars that whoever eats any grain that grows this year will go mad. What is your advice?”  The prime minister replied, “We must put aside enough grain so that we will not have to eat from this year’s harvest.”  The king objected, “But then we will be the only ones who will be sane. Everyone else will be mad. Therefore, they will think that we are the mad ones!”  After thinking for a while, the king decided, “It is impossible for us to put aside enough grain for everyone. Therefore, we too must eat this year’s grain. But we will make a mark on our foreheads, so that at least we will know that we are mad. I will look at your forehead, and you will look at mine, and when we see this sign, we will know that we are both mad.” (Rabbi Nachman’s stories, Parable #21). 

2022-12-13

Yonatan Cohen

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