A LENIENT ILLITERATE

Levi Isaac of Berditchev asked an illiterate tailor what he did on Yom Kippur since he could not read the prescribed prayers.

The Jew reluctantly replied:

"I spoke to God and told Him that the sins for which I am expected to repent are minor ones. I also said to Him : 'My sins are inconsequential; I may have kept leftover cloth or occasionally forgotten to recite some prayers. But You have committed really grave sins. You have removed mothers from their children and children from their mothers. So let's reach an agreement. If You'll pardon me, I'm ready to pardon You:"

The Berditchever rabbi angrily rebuked the unlettered Jew: "You are not only illiterate but also foolish. You were too lenient with God. You should have insisted that He bring redemption to the entire Jewish people."

From "Hasidic Tales and Teachings" The Yom Kippur Anthology, ed. Philip Goodman (JPS, 1992)