Life was difficult for Jews in Eastern Europe during the 18th century. Condemned to live in a ghetto and prohibited from engaging in the majority of trades, the religious Jew turned to Torah for solace. But there were many who were not blessed with the intelligence or the patience to study Torah. These people would have found life intolerable were it not for the jester who appeared in nearly every town and hamlet, and by his antics and comments, made life a bit easier to bear. Chazal tell us (Shabbos 30b) that the Divine Spirit only dwells in a place where there is joy.
Rabi Yona said, “G-d chose Yonah to represent Him because he was the happiest man when the Jews visited Yerushalayim on Sukkos to celebrate the Simchas Beis Hashoeva. This teaches us that the Divine Spirit rests on a person who is happy” (Yalkut Yonah 550).
Hershele Ostropolier
One of the best-known jesters of the past two centuries was Hershele Ostropolier. None could compare to him in wit and intelligence. Hershele was endowed with an unusual capacity for irony, a rueful comicality in facing disaster, and a philosophy of disenchantment unmarred by defeatism. Wherever he went, he brought laughter and mirth, and people forgot their troubles.
Hershele was born in Ostropol, in the Ukraine, during the second half of the 18th century. He was condemned by poverty-stricken parents and by the lack of financial opportunity to a life without a trade or calling. Whatever he attempted usually failed, but because he was a dynamic person, blessed with intelligence and indestructible optimism, he and his family managed to survive.
Hershele was also a talmid chacham, a great scholar and pious person. Some say that he was sent by Heaven to lighten the burden of Reb Boruch who reigned as the hereditary chassidic tzaddik of Medzhibov, the dynastic successor of his grandfather, Reb Yisrael Baal Shem Tov, the founder of the Chassidic movement.
The Young Wit
Even in his young years, Hershele showed his genius and wit. Once, a traveler was invited to his home and noticing the handsome little boy of five years, decided to have some fun with him.
“What is your name, little boy?” asked the stranger.
“I am named after my grandfather, may his soul rest in peace,” replied the child.
“And what was your grandfather’s name?” asked the visitor.
“The same as my name,” replied the child.
Seeing that he couldn’t get a straight answer from the wily child, he decided to try another tactic.
“Tell me, child, when they call you to dinner, what name do they use to call you?” asked the man.
“They never have to call me to dinner,” replied the child. “I am usually at the table before dinner begins.”
Why He Prays So Fast
Once, after hurrying through his prayers, Hershele was asked, “Why do you pray so fast? It’s a disgrace! Why is it that it takes the rav nearly twice as long as you to pray?”
“What a comparison, ” replied Hershele. “The rav has a fine house, a beautiful carriage and horse, and money in the bank. It takes a lot of time to itemize them all to G-d and to beseech Him to preserve them for him. On the other hand, what do I have? A wife and eight children, who always need a fountain of money, and a flea-bitten goat. In my prayers to G-d all I have to say is, ‘Wife, children, goat! Help, help!’ and I am finished praying.”
Paying Him Back In Kind
One time Hershele needed money desperately, which was really nothing new for him. He decided to arrange a match for the only daughter of the town’s richest man. If he completed the deal, there would be a pretty kopek in it for him. But the rich man was an ignoramus and a boor, and the daughter had nothing to recommend her, except her father’s wealth. Whatever match was proposed, the father would turn down, as only the best was good enough for his daughter.