The Rabbi and the Pebbles

Ross Woods, 2019

I was walking down the road near the synagogue and saw the rabbi with a handful of pebbles throwing them one by one at a flock of birds. As he was obviously not enjoying the experience, I asked him why he was doing it.

He answered: It is against Jewish law to work on the Sabbath. But then we had this discussion.

It’s against the law to pick up a rock on the Sabbath isn't it?
Yes, of course.
Is it against the law to pick up a child on the Sabbath?
No. That’s a normal part of caring for a child.
But what if the child is holding a rock? We’d indirectly be picking up the rock.
Then it’s against the law.
But what if the child had been playing in the sand and was holding a pebble. How big does the pebble have to be to be classed as a rock?
Big enough to throw at a bird.

So that’s what I’m doing. I'm finding out the smallest size pebble that I can throw at a bird.

Moral of the story: It is easy to create extra laws as fences around the laws. However, those fences are new creations and not part of the original law.

Based on a traditional story of unknown origin.