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Monday, August 22, 2011

Bread and Butter: A Joke

A destitute Polish peasant lives alone in a one-room hut with a dirt floor.  He has only a table, a scrap of bread, and a bit of butter.  He awakes in the morning not knowing how he'll get through the day.  Nonetheless, he spreads the little bit of butter on the scrap of bread.  He puts the bread on the table so he can get some water.  A noise outside startles him.  He jumps up and bumps against the table.  The bread falls to the floor.  It lands on the dirt floor butter side up and is still edible.  He can't believe his good fortune.  He can't understand why he should be so lucky.  He decides to try to find out why.  He goes to the local rabbi, but the rabbi can't explain it.  It makes no sense to him either.  After considering the problem for a while, the rabbi says they have to ask the big rabbi in the big town.  They travel together to the big town and ask the big rabbi.  But he too is stumped.  No explanation.  So they all go to the head rabbi in Warsaw.  They explain what happened to the head rabbi.  He strokes his beard and thinks for several minutes, then says "I understand what happened. Here's the explanation.  You put the butter on the wrong side of the bread."

Why is good fortune so hard to accept?

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