The Beggar King and the Secret of Happiness by Joel ben Izzy

Author:Joel ben Izzy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Published: 2003-10-15T04:00:00+00:00

STORY ORIGIN: JEWISH, POLAND

The Wisdom of Chelm

Hidden away in the mountains of Poland, somewhere on the road from Warsaw to Chotzenplotz, is the tiny village known as Chelm. The people of Chelm are the greatest fools in the world, though they do not think of themselves as such. Rather, they consider themselves the wisest people in the world and their elders the wisest of the wise.

They spend their days in contemplation of the great questions of life, such as, “Which is more important—the sun or the moon?” A question like this can split the town for weeks, until the matter is taken up by the elders themselves, who ponder it carefully, stroking their beards and furrowing their brows. At long last, the question will finally be settled by Chaimyonkel, the very wisest of the elders, who will rule that, while the sun is indeed important, the moon is much more important, for it shines at night, when it is dark, and we most need the light.

Likewise, it was his wisdom that comforted Chelm when a tragedy struck the town—one night there was a terrible fire, and the people of Chelm fought the whole night through to extinguish the flames. In the morning, the Chelmites roundly cursed the fire except for Chaimyonkel, who disagreed.

“The fire was a blessing!” he said. “For it gave us light! And without this light, how could we have ever seen our way to put out the fire?”

Getting to Chelm is difficult, for the road is fraught with perils. In order to find it, you must first be lost. You start walking from Warsaw on a sunny day when suddenly, a storm comes up—a blizzard. Day turns to night as you struggle through the snow until you can no longer tell left from right, up from down. At that point, you make a left turn and walk until you see a man digging around in the snow, under a streetlamp.

“Did you lose something?” you ask.

“Yes, I lost my keys.”

So you bend down to help him look, with no success. “Where exactly did you lose them?” you finally ask.

“Down the street, by the temple.”

“Why are you looking here?”

“The light is better.”

Only then, when wisdom and foolishness trade places, do you know you have arrived in Chelm.

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