happy? - April 23

Subject: happy? - April 23
From: Abby Sale
Date: 23 Apr 05 - 08:12 AM

Passover begins at sunset April 23 in 2005 (1st Seder is tonight)

        The Queen in a small European principality was bestowing knighthood upon men who had in some way helped her or her country. The men all knelt before her, and participated in a ceremony so old that its words had degenerated into meaningless syllables. The Queen would touch her sword to the shoulder of a man, say "I knight thee Sir William Thomp-son; Holla Rolla Wolla Bolla!" Sir William would answer "Holla Rolla Wolla Bolla," and the Queen moved on to the next kneeling man.

        When she came to one man, new to the country and unaccustomed to its traditions, she said "I knight thee Sir Moses Ginsberg, Holla Rolla Wolla Bolla." The new knight in his stage fright could not remember the nonsense words, and blurted out the first ritual words that came to his mind: "Ma nishtana halailah hazeh michol hallelos?"

        The Queen turned to a courtier, and pointing to this new nobleman, said "Why is this knight different from all other knights?"

                                                                     [thanx Sam Hinton]
Copyright © 2005, Abby Sale - all rights reserved