A slice of bread and butter

I came across a Jewish story the other day. A man was down on his luck, everything had gone wrong for him, and he was now down to his last ounce of tea, his last slice of bread and a pat of butter. So he thought, ‘I might as well make myself a last cup of tea and have a slice of toast.’ As he buttered the toast it fell onto the floor. But it fell with the buttered side up. ‘That must be an omen!’ he cried. ‘It must mean things are going to change for the better!’

He raced through the village and knocked on the door of the Rabbi’s house and told him the story. ‘It’s a sign, don’t you agree?’ he exclaimed. The Rabbi told him he must deliberate on the matter and that in the meantime the man should go home and come back the next morning.

Very early the next day the man was back. ‘I have deliberated all night with the other Rabbis,’ said the Rabbi, ‘and we have come to the conclusion that you buttered the toast on the wrong side.’

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3 thoughts on “A slice of bread and butter”

  1. Aah, yes! It is just the sort of reply the poor man might have heard from that joker, Mulla Nasrudin.
    The man seems to have had a positive attitude to that “omen” so he might have responded positively to the Rabbi, “Well, right or wrong side, at least I was lucky to have had some butter!”

  2. Dear James,
    It made me chuckle!
    We humans, need to let go and trust God. At least this one does!
    With Love
    Diana

    1. Dear James
      I love that! It made me laugh! And also ponder – Diana Blackburn’s reply is spot on. The tale reminded me of the Romanian pastor Richard Wurmbrand, who relished and retold many Jewish stories like this.

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