Hebrew Lessons



Young Sammy, not very bright but a loving son, spoke to his father. "Dad," he said, "it's Father's Day, and you have enough ties. What would YOU like as a gift?"

The father thought for a moment, then said, "Sammy, my greatest joy would be for you to continue the tradition of our people and learn to speak Hebrew."

The boy shuddered. "That would be so much work and let's face it; I'm a slow learner."

"You'll do fine, Sammy. I learned that language to please my father as he did for HIS father. It would please me so very much!"

"Okay, Dad, I'll give it a shot."

The next day, they looked up the local synagogue in the yellow pages and went to see the rabbi. Hebrew lessons were arranged, and the boy went faithfully and studied hard.

A few months later the father dropped in during a lesson and discovered that the boy, while obviously doing his best, could stumble through just a few words of Hebrew. Then, to his horror, he realized that what he was hearing was the beginning of the Kaddish, the prayer for the dead, the words that every son is expected to intone at regular intervals after the father's death.

"What IS this?" he cried. "I'm just in my 50s, a young man, in good health. Do I look so aged and frail that my son has to learn the Kaddish before anything else?"

"Mister!" said the rabbi. "You should only LIVE so long that this boy will be able to say the whole Kaddish over you!"



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