Encounter on a Bus
Apropos of parshas Balak, I discovered today that while prophecy may have ceased amongst the Jews, it is apparently still extant among the non-Jews.
When I got on the bus this morning, I should have realized something was going on. The woman in front in the black bowler and yellow tee-shirt with the hand-written slogan "Jesus was such a nice Jewish boy" should have been a dead give-away. But I moved on to the back of the bus, as is my habit, and sat down at one end of one of the long lengthwise benches and pulled out my pocket Tehillim (Psalms) to say some on the ride into town.
Before long I've been poked on my arm. The nicely dressed woman at the other end of the bench has a question for me.
"Is that Hebrew?", she asks, pointing at the Tehillim.
"Yes", I reply.
"Are you Jewish?"
"Yes."
"Jesus Christ was Jewish," she informs me.
"Um," I respond politely.
A half-page later I get to hear the prophecy.
"You know what God told me at 8:30 this morning?"
"No."
"He said Jesus Christ is back, somewhere in the Middle East."
Mind you, he doesn't seem to brief them very well.
"What's that your reading?" she asks, a page or so later.
"Psalms", I reply.
"Is it true the Bible was originally written in Hebrew and Arabic?"
"Just Hebrew," I reply.
"Not Hebrew and Arabic?" she persists. It's possible she's gotten Arabic and Aramaic mixed up, but, for the sake of a few passages here and there, I'm not going to go into it.
"No, just Hebrew."
After another chapter, she informs me, "I like Jewish people. My husband was Jewish. He was so delicious." I don't think she meant that literally.
When I got on the bus this morning, I should have realized something was going on. The woman in front in the black bowler and yellow tee-shirt with the hand-written slogan "Jesus was such a nice Jewish boy" should have been a dead give-away. But I moved on to the back of the bus, as is my habit, and sat down at one end of one of the long lengthwise benches and pulled out my pocket Tehillim (Psalms) to say some on the ride into town.
Before long I've been poked on my arm. The nicely dressed woman at the other end of the bench has a question for me.
"Is that Hebrew?", she asks, pointing at the Tehillim.
"Yes", I reply.
"Are you Jewish?"
"Yes."
"Jesus Christ was Jewish," she informs me.
"Um," I respond politely.
A half-page later I get to hear the prophecy.
"You know what God told me at 8:30 this morning?"
"No."
"He said Jesus Christ is back, somewhere in the Middle East."
Mind you, he doesn't seem to brief them very well.
"What's that your reading?" she asks, a page or so later.
"Psalms", I reply.
"Is it true the Bible was originally written in Hebrew and Arabic?"
"Just Hebrew," I reply.
"Not Hebrew and Arabic?" she persists. It's possible she's gotten Arabic and Aramaic mixed up, but, for the sake of a few passages here and there, I'm not going to go into it.
"No, just Hebrew."
After another chapter, she informs me, "I like Jewish people. My husband was Jewish. He was so delicious." I don't think she meant that literally.
posted by The Observer | 15:21
5 Comments:
maybe she did mean it literally... :-P
maybe God told her to be a cannibal!
Well, it's been a well known fact that prophecy still exists among non-Jews. The most famous example that I can recall offhand was the threat that was made by the Creator to Oral Roberts, that if he didn't raise $8,000,000 for his school, that he would be "called home."
Glad to see that you're back to posting. You were missed.
The Wolf
Thanks, Wolf. It's nice to see that someone noticed.
I wonder if her name was Chanabelle Lector...
Guess you can't have your husband and eat him too...
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