In this week’s Torah portion Vayeshev we begin the tale of Joseph. At the beginning of the story, Joseph has a dream featuring “the sun, the moon, and eleven stars bowing down” (Genesis 37:9) to him. In honor of Joseph’s dream, I would like to share a story from Chelm involving the love of the town for the moon and the lengths they go to try to capture it. Instead of sharing my own version, I would like to excerpt one I found on-line by Amy Friedman. The complete version can be found here: https://www.recordonline.com/story/entertainment/2015/02/02/how-to-capture-moon/35305605007/
“One night, when the moon had vanished, a wise man named Shlomo finally lost his patience. “We love our moon!” he cried. “It’s lovely up there. Why does it do this to us every month? Why does it go away?” The other wise men of Chelm stood beside him, and when Shlomo said these words, the others began to nod. They each had been thinking the same thing.
“We’ve always been kind to the moon; why does it hurt us so?” Morris complained.
At last, the wisest of the wise began to smile. “I have an idea,” Shlomo said softly. “I think I know how we can fix this problem.”
They gathered close to hear. “We’ll capture the moon,” he said. “And once we have captured it, we shall have it forever – full and radiant every night of the month. Month after month.”
The men had noticed a phenomenon. Each month, on the clearest night, the wise men had noticed the moon in the town well. They understood this must be the moon’s favorite spot to visit. This month, they decided, on the night the moon visited the well, they would gather round and clamp a great cement cover over the well. Thus, they would capture the moon!
And so, on the night when the moon was at its fullest, they hurried to the well, and there it was. They quietly gathered round, and the strongest among them, a fellow named Berek, lifted the cement cover and clamped it atop the well.
The next morning, the wise men gathered at the well to visit their dear friend, the moon. “We have captured the moon, but we need to tell it we wish it only joy,” Morris said. So, together, they lifted the lid and looked inside. The moon was gone!
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Alex