Posted by Naomi Firestone-Teeter
JBC is very excited about the release of the newest volume in the Folktales of the Jews series (edited with commentary by Dan Ben-Amos), the first of which, Tales from the Sephardic Dispersion
Three Questions
Told by Flora Cohen to her daughter Ilana Cohen Zohar
In the palace of the king there lived a Jewish vizier and a Christianvizier. The king was very fond of the Jew and wanted to promote him.The Christian vizier was jealous and said to the king: “Why do you wantto promote him? “
The king said to him: “He is very wise.”
The Christian vizier said: “Ask him three questions, and if heanswers you, then he is truly wise and you can promote him; if he doesnot know the answers, kill him.”
The king agreed and sent for the Jewish vizier. He said to him: “Iwant to promote you, provided that you give me the answers to threequestions. If you do not know the answers to the questions I will cutoff your head. These are the questions: Who is before God? God faceswhich direction? Who is wealthier than I (the king)? Answer me in threedays.”
The Jew returned solemnly to his home, and the Christian was happy,for he thought that the vizier would not be able to answer thequestions. The Jewish vizier had an only daughter who was very wise. Thedaughter loved her father very much, and when she saw that he was sad,she asked him: “Father, why are you sad?”At first, the vizier did notwant to tell his daughter, but when she pleaded with him he told herabout the king’s three questions.
She said to him: “Is that all? That is why you are sad? Do not worry,go to the coffee house and there you will surely find a man who canhelp you.”
The man did as his daughter said and went to look in the coffeehouse. One of the people in the café saw him and asked: “What are youlooking for, sir?”
The vizier recounted the entire matter to him and told him what the three questions were.
The man said, “I will come with you to the king in three days time.”So it was. They met in three days time, the vizier and that man, who wastall, fat, and dressed in ragged clothes. The man brought a sack fullof nuts, a candle, a box of matches, and a piece of chalk with him tothe palace.
The king said: “Can you answer my questions?”
The Jewish vizier replied, “The questions are so simple that this simple Jew will answer in my place.”
The king asked the first question: “Who is before God?”
The man said to the king: “Before I answer your questions, I requestthe scarf of indemnity” (as a sign that he would not be punished forwhat he did).
The king said to him: “The scarf of indemnity is in your hands.” Theman gave the king the sack of nuts and said: “Spill the nuts onto thetable and count them.”
The king spilled the nuts that were in the sack onto the table and began to count: “One, two, three … ”
The man interrupted him: “Start counting!”
The king counted again: “One, two, three …”
Again the man interrupted the king’s counting and asked him to startagain. He did this three times. The man said: “You count from one but Iasked you to count from before one.”
The king said: “Nothing comes before one.”
The man replied: “Correct! So too, nothing comes before God for He is One and there is nothing before Him.”
The king said: “You answered my first question well. Now answer the second question: God faces which direction?”
The man lit the candle, placed it on the table and asked the king: “Where is the face of the candle?”
The king replied: “The candle has no face. It casts light in all directions.”
The man said: “So does God. He has no face for He casts light in all directions.”
The king said: “Good. Now tell me, who is wealthier than I?”
The man said: “I am.”
The king was astonished: “You are wealthier than I? How can that be? Iam wealthy; I have palaces and money. You don’t even have clothes andshoes.”
The man said, “Your Majesty, lie down on the floor!” The king lookedat him incredulously. The man signaled that he had received the scarf ofindemnity, and so the king lay down. The man took the piece of chalkand drew a line around the body of the king. Then he said to him:“Arise, and do to me exactly as I have done to you.” The man lay down onthe floor and the king drew a line around him. He was tall and wide,and when he stood up, the area where he had lain was larger than that ofthe king. He said to him: “You see, Your Majesty? Wealth is not a thingof this world but of the next world. When you die, you will not takeyour silver with you, nor your gold, but only the plot of land in whichyou lie. You will take up a small plot and I, the poor one, will take upa large plot. Therefore I am wealthier.”
The king was very happy. He promoted the Jew as he had wanted and hadthe jealous Christian vizier executed, as this vizier had wanted doneto the Jew.
Reprinted from Folktales of the Jews: Tales from Arab Lands, © 2011 by Dan Ben Amos, published by The Jewish Publication Society with the permission of the publisher.
