Page:A Jewish Interpretation of the Book of Genesis (Morgenstern, 1919, jewishinterpreta00morg).pdf/320

Rh The Book of G cues is

302

Once there were in a city two bHnd men, who used to beg- for bread. One had the habit of saying, "He is helped whom the king helps". Hut the other would gently correct him, "He is helped whom the Lord helpeth". One day the king himself passed by and heard the words of story of the rabbis.

When

the two blind men.

he reached his palace he ordered

that a loaf of bread be filled with gold pieces to

man

the blind

king

Imagine the

helps".

"He

wdio had said,

is

man's

blind

and be sent

helped surprise

found that help had indeed come from the king.

whom

the

when he But when

was opened, surprise gave way to disappointwas only a loaf of bread, and so heavy seemed hardly fit to eat. In his disappointment he to the other blind man for a few pennies, and then

the package

ment



that

it

sold

it

the king's help

The second

continued his begging.

Heavy

home.

as

it

man

blind

took the loaf

was, his poor family would

still

be glad

and would be thankful for the help God had sent. But wdien the loaf was cut, out rolled so many pieces of gold, that the blind man became rich and needed no longer beg for bread. Thereafter the first blind man continued to beg alone. One day the king passed by again, and to his surprise found the beggar still there. "How is this?" he exclaimed. "Did T not send thee a loaf of bread some time ago?" "Yes, your majesty", answered the beggar, "but it was so heavy, 1 thought it unfit to eat, so I sold it to my companion for a few pennies". "Fool that thou art", said to eat

it,

the king, "the loaf

thought

whom

to

hel])

the king

thou or

1.

was

thee,

hel])s'.

filled

since

Thy

Truly he alone

is

with gold pieces, wherewith

thou

didst

conij^anion

helped

say,

'He

is

I

helped

was wiser than either the Lord helpeth".

whom

'J^herefore,

Trust

And

One

little

in

lean

thing

the n«'t

Lord with aU thy ui)on

thine

in ])articular

own

heart.

understanding.

shows the change which had \n