The Simpleton Debates the Priest

What if a story could reveal profound lessons about Jewish history and faith?”

Hi, I’m Rabbi Bentzion Kravitz, founder of Jews for Judaism, speaking from Jerusalem.

During the Middle Ages, there were times when the Church compelled Jewish communities to engage in public debates with Christian priests. Regardless of the arguments presented, the ruling authorities almost always sided with the Christians.

To cope with the pain and injustice of these events, Jews sometimes created comical stories that highlighted the strength and truth of their beliefs.

Once upon a time, a priest approached the king and said, “It’s time for me to debate the Jews. Let them send a representative, and we’ll take turns asking questions. The first person who cannot answer will be executed, and if the Jews lose, they will be exiled from your land.” The king agreed.

Seeing that the odds were stacked against them, no one volunteered to represent the Jewish community—until the town simpleton stepped forward and said, “I’ll debate the priest!” He figured that, at the very least, he would get the chance to see the inside of the king’s palace.

With no other choice, the rabbis sent the simpleton to the debate. The king looked at him and said, “Is this a joke? They’ve sent us the town simpleton?”

The priest replied, “It doesn’t matter—this is who they chose. Let’s proceed.”

The priest went first, thinking he would ask a question the simpleton couldn’t answer, and the debate would end with the simpleton’s death. He asked, “Everyone knows that the first words of the Book of Genesis are, ‘In the beginning, God created…’? The word for God used there is Elohim, which has the suffix, ‘-im, making Elohim/God plural.” Doesn’t that prove the Trinity?”

The simpleton thought for a moment and then answered, “Water, in Hebrew, is mayim, which is also plural. Just as water can be found in both heaven and on earth, so too is God everywhere.”

Hearing this, the king chuckled and said, “Not a bad answer, especially coming from a simpleton!”

Now it was the simpleton’s turn. He asked the priest to translate the Hebrew words Ani Lo Yodaya, which mean, “I don’t know.”

The priest responded loudly, “I don’t know!”

Hearing this, the king demanded that the priest translate the words again. Once more, he said, “I don’t know!”

Concluding that the priest did not know the answer to this question, the king had him executed and declared the simpleton the winner of the debate.

When the simpleton returned to his village, the rabbis asked how he came up with such a brilliant question.

The simpleton replied, “What are you talking about. I simply asked the priest a question my Hebrew teacher couldn’t answer. When I asked my teacher what Ani Lo Yodaya means, he said “I don’t know,” so I figured if my Hebrew teacher didn’t know the answer, the priest wouldn’t either.”

Although fictitious, this story demonstrates the importance of understanding the correct translation of Bible passages and their context, starting from the very beginning of the Bible, as seen in this week’s Torah portion, Genesis.

Beyond the simpleton’s explanation that the plural name of God, Elohim, teaches that God is everywhere, the term Elohim is also sometimes used to mean a “judge,” as in Exodus 21:6.

Being a judge inherently involves two parties: the judge and the one being judged. Similarly, when God created the world, He established Himself as judge over all creation, including mankind, as Psalms 82:8 states: “Arise, O God, judge the earth.”

I wish you a peaceful Shabbat Shalom.

Rabbi Bentzion Kravitz

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