An Athenian came to Jerusalem and encountered a certain child. He gave him coins and said to him: ‘Go and bring me eggs and cheese.’ When [the child] returned, [the Athenian] said to him: ‘Show me which is the cheese from a white goat and which is from a black goat.’ [The child] said to him: ‘You are an elderly man. You show me which is an egg from a white chicken and which is from a black one.’27Rabbi David Luria interprets this allegorically: The Athenian argued that although the Jews used to be distinct from the gentiles due to their religious beliefs and conducts, they had become indistinguishable, just as cheeses from a black goat and a white goat are indistinguishable. The child answered that the correct metaphor is the eggs from a black chicken and a white chicken. Even if they look the same, their potential is vastly different, and when their chicks hatch, that difference will become evident to all.
An Athenian came to Jerusalem and encountered a certain child - Eikhah Rabbah 1 — 9
Curated by The Jewish Mythology Team
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