A whole new look
Aharon, Bracha and their son, Mordechai, have lived an extremely isolated life on a kibbutz without any modern conveniences. There is no TV, no radio, no computer. And not one of them has ever left the kibbutz since they were born. But when Aharon turns 90, they decide to take their first overseas trip to New York.
The family goes to a shopping mall, and while Aharon is inside an electronics shop being amazed by the variety of equipment on display, Bracha and Mordechai are outside the shop, fascinated by two shiny, silver walls that move apart by magic and then slide back together again. “What are those, mother?” asks Mordechai.
Bracha replies, “Son, I have never seen anything like them in my life. I just don’t know what they are.”
Suddenly, an elderly man with white hair and a walking stick hobbles over to the silver walls and presses a button. The walls open, he walks between the doors into a small room, and the walls close behind him. Bracha and Mordechai then see some small numbers above the walls light up and change sequentially from one to six. Then they notice the numbers start changing, this time from six down to one. The walls open up again and a very handsome young man steps out. Bracha watches him walk away and, not taking her eyes off him, says quietly to Mordechai, “Son, go get your father.”
That’s entertainment?
Moshe is always telling jokes and thinks he could make a great standup comedian. So he volunteers to entertain patients in one of the wards at a nearby hospital.
Moshe starts by telling the patients some jokes and finishes by singing some funny songs. Just before he leaves, he says to the patients, “I hope you all get better.”
One elderly man replies, “I hope you get better too.”
© david minkoff
CopyrightJ, the Jewish news weekly of Northern California