While passing through Mestrych,
A small town in present-day Poland,
The Rabbi of Kolbischow saw,
One morning,
An old man arriving at the house of Rabbi Dovber,
Who was going to ask him for penance.
The Rabbi Dovber,
Also known as the Magid,
Which refers to a Jewish itinerant preacher,
Told him,
Go back to your house,
Write a list of all your sins and bring it to me tomorrow morning.
The old man,
Aware of the relevance of such encounter,
Spent the rest of the day and part of the night writing down sins of all kinds,
Venial,
Mortal,
Of thought,
Of omission,
Even some transgressions committed during his teen years.
The next day,
The Magid took a look at the list and said,
For the moment everything is in order,
Return home in peace.
When the man had passed through the door,
The Rabbi of Kolbischow watched in amazement as the Magid carefully read the confession and laughed out loud after each line.
How is it that this renowned teacher makes fun of the difficulties of his parishioners like this?
The Rabbi said to himself,
Filled with indignation.
For many years,
The Rabbi of Kolbischow recalled this event with some bitterness and still certain bewilderment,
Until one fine Sunday morning he fortuitously heard this quote from the Baal Shem Tov,
The father of Hasidism.
It is a well-known thing that no person would commit anything unless he had let himself be carried away by madness.
And what does the wise man do when faced with a madman?
Laugh.
Laugh at the inconsistencies and nonsense that he expresses.
With that laughter,
A breath of soft mercy spreads,
Which softens the severe rigor of justice.
That which weighed so much becomes light and insignificant.
With great joy,
The Rabbi exclaimed,
Now I understand the laughter of the great Magid.
