Rabbi Stephen Wise was engaged to speak at a community well
outside New York.
When it came time for him to go, he called ahead to tell them
that he was ill. He said, “Let me
recommend an associate who is a real gentleman and a scholar.”
They responded by saying, “Thank you Rabbi Wise but we don’t
want a gentleman or a scholar. We want
you.” -Rabbi Harold Kushner
Of course, it is humorous but underlying it is a truth. We worship personalities, figures of power
when perhaps we ought to be paying attention to piety and wisdom.
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