The day the rabbi resigned by Kemelman Harry

Author:Kemelman, Harry
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Small, David (Fictitious character), Rabbis, Detective and mystery stories
Publisher: New York : Fawcett Columbine
Published: 1992-06-17T16:00:00+00:00

THE DAY THE RABBI RESIGNED

"So you daven, but how about the rest of it? Do you keep the Sabbath? The dietary laws?"

"Oh, I keep the dietary laws out of habit, I suppose, rather than out of conscious choice. It's not easy to change the food habits you've grown up with, you know. In general, I'm inclined to observe the Mosaic laws because they're sensible and modern."

"Modern?" asked Bergson doubtfully.

"Sure," said Simcha. "Moses established rules by which the individual could order his life and by which a humane society can be maintained, everything from rules of personal cleanliness to proper treatment of the lower animals. There were very modern rules for women; incompatibility was grounds for a divorce—"

"And the Ketubah," the rabbi pointed out, "was a prenuptial agreement."

"Right." Simcha went on. "And he established a very modern system of labor relations which gave the laborer the right to organize, and fixed his rate of pay so that the employer could not take advantage of his temporary need. And don't forget that the Sabbath gave him a day of rest every week. There were laws that gave aid and succor to the poor, and even laws governing the treatment of the lower animals, because he was aware of the relationship of all living things. He even had a sense of ecology, of the needs of the land itself, and ordered that it should not be planted every seventh year, but be permitted to lie fallow to renew itself.

"Some of the laws indicate a fastidiousness of mind and spirit, like the law forbidding the cooking of the flesh of the calf in the milk of its mother, which has led to our elaborate separation of meat and dairy foods and dishes. When you stop to think of it, it's a horrible thing to do. I suppose our special attitude toward the pig is due to the same fastidious sense, since the pig is the only domestic animal that serves no purpose except to be eaten. To raise an animal, to feed it so that it will grow big and fat just so you can eat it—ugh!" He gave a shudder of disgust.

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