ראש השנה כד

A Bishop once said to ר׳ יהונתן איבשיץ, “You say that there was no בן אלוקים.  But can so many people be mistaken?”  ר׳ יהונתן didn’t answer.  Instead, he said, “Let’s go out to the market.”  The two of them went to the center of town and ר׳ יהונתן stood staring at the sky.  When people saw this, a large crowd gathered and also turned their eyes skyward.  “Do you see the angels flying above us?” the רב asked the crowd.  One by one they said no.  Finally, one man said: “Yes. Yes. I see them. I see שרפים ואופנים וחיות הקודש.”  Immediately, others joined in and said “Yes, there they are.  We see them.”  Turning to the Bishop, ר׳ יהונתן said with a smile: “But I don’t see anything but a blue sky.  You ask how one person can mislead so many.”

05/10/2021