Three years ago, a chassidic fishmonger in New Square, NY claimed that just before one of his workers was about to kill a carp, it started talking to him (in Hebrew, noch!), and was the reincarnated soul of a local man. Fishy story? Perhaps, but the charedi world was in an uproar, and the tale got enormous coverage, including (somewhat hilariously) in the New York Times and even the BBC (my favourite quote: the fishmonger telling the Beeb, "Ah, enough already about the fish, I wish I never said anything about it." Seriously). The miracle fish, incidentally, ended up as gefilte. (Seriously.)
Now the charedi world is abuzz again -- this time, with a reincarnated dog in Meah Shearim, Jerusalem. Yes, yes, apparently after the funeral of one Nahman David Dovinski, a dog took up residence in his home, and wouldn't budge. According to YNet (which has pictures and everything),
During the attempts at convincing the dog to leave, a neighborhood rabbi arrived at the house and instructed that the dog be served a Shabbat meal, in hopes that this would convince the dog to leave.
Only after the dog was told, “you are forgiven, you are forgiven, you are forgiven,” did it agree to taste the food it was served.
Residents and neighbors began wondering what the meaning of this strange event was, and turned to Rabbi Meir Brandsdorfer, who is considered one of the senior rabbis in the haredi congregation, for answers.
Rabbi Brandsdorfer recommended reciting Psalms and Mishnas. The rabbi himself left the home of the deceased at around 5 a.m. Sunday and headed towards the Mount of Olives in order to say Kaddish on Dovinski’s grave.
Neighborhood residents and family members report that the dog willingly left the house during the Kaddish.
A crew from Jerusalem municipality’s veterinary services arrived at the scene and picked up the dog, as hundreds of residents from Meah Shearim and other neighborhoods watched and escorted the vehicle that evacuated the dog.
Unfortunately we'll never hear the dog's side of the story, because unlike the New Square fish, he didn't talk. Bummer.
This post was written by Miriam Shaviv
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