Bobrka,Ukraine
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Page 69
Translated by Michael Kallay My uncle told me this. My grandfather Moshe Leib was a big merchant, and all his life he was on the road. There was no train in those days, and no airplines or cars. So how did people travel? They went in a carriage. My grandfather used to go with his regular driver, who was not one a Jew. There were numerous crucifixes and icons of the Holy Mother on every hill and under every shady tree. The driver, who was very religious, never failed to cross himself and say a prayer in front of these "holy" sites, while my grandfather would mutter "Shaktz teshaktzeno etc" [a quote from the Torah meaning "Thou shalt utterly reject it and utterly abhor it, for it is a curse." - Translator]. And this was their habit, one would cross himself and pray, while the other muttered "Shaketz". Once they went past a famous icon while Grandpa Moshe happened to be asleep. So the goy tapped him on the shoulder and said: Hey, Moshe Leib, "Shaketz"!
My grandmother Chaya Rochel used to say: Since the Angel of Death was born, no person can be certain about his life."
And she would also say "Your greatest enemy cannot harm you as much as you can harm yourself".
"When God wants to punish people, He momentarily takes away their intelligence".
"When God wants to punish the ignorant, He puts a "passuk" [quote from the Bible] in his mouth"
She used to say: "There is actually no difference between the wise and the fool. Every fool has a good deal of wisdom, and a wise person has a good deal of stupidity. The difference is only in the set up. The wise has the wisdom on top and the stupidity at the bottom. That is why if he talks too much he is bound to say something stupid. The fool has the wisdom hidden underneath his stupidity. That's why a fool who talks a lot may sometimes reach his wisdom, and say something smart."
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Updated 30 July 2005 by MGH