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Sumud Story House
Moral Stories
The following stories are from:
MORAL STORIES FROM PALESTINE, Culture and
Palestine series, Arab Educational Institute,
Bethlehem, 1999.
The Good Brothers
Once two brothers who were very close and always
working together tended a field in Jerusalem.
During the threshing season they would divide
the corn among themselves by making two heaps of
equal height. Afterwards they would stay the
night at the place in order to guard the fields
against robbery.
On one such occasion, one of the brothers woke
up during the night and mumbled: “It is not
really right that I receive the same amount of
corn as my brother does. He raises a family and
has many more expenses than I do.” He stood up,
removed seven measures from his own pile and put
it on that of his brother. Then he went back to
sleep. Shortly afterwards his brother also woke
up and thought by himself: “It is not right that
I receive the same amount of corn as my brother.
He is alone and misses the joys of life that I
experience.” He too stood up and removed seven
measures from his pile and put it on top of his
brother’s.
When both of them woke up in the morning, they
were astonished to see that the piles had
remained the same. God blessed their deeds and
declared the threshing floor to be holy forever.
[According to legend, the threshing floor is
located in the southeastern corner of the old
city of Jerusalem].
See: Taufiq Canaan, Plantlore in Palestinian
Superstition, Journal of the Palestine Oriental
Society VIII (1928), 129-168.
Lot’s Dilemma
Before dying, Abraham summoned his cousin Lot
and gave him three tiny cuttings to plant in a
spot near Jerusalem. Not wishing to deny his
brother so simple a request, Lot went out and
planted the cuttings at the place pointed out to
him. After a while the plants opened up and
became green; however, from then on they neither
grew nor wither.
After Lot left Sodom he fell prone to sin. When
after a time he came to regret his disobedience
and sought for a way to repent, God’s Angel
approached him and said: “Lot, you will only
receive God’s forgiveness if you sprinkle
Abraham’s plants with water from the Jordan.”
Lot was happy to perform this seemingly simple
deed that would give him entrance to Paradise.
In good mood he departed for the Jordan river
where he filled his water bag.
On the way back to Jerusalem he met a thirsty
pilgrim who asked him for water. Lot did not
hesitate giving him the bag; wasn’t there enough
water for the both of them? However, the pilgrim
drank the bag until it was completely dry. Lot
did not have any other choice but to return to
the Jordan to fill his bag again. His disbelief
grew when another pilgrim crossed his way and
asked him for water. Again the bag ran empty.
The same coincidence happened a third time and
Lot went desperate.
The Angel appeared before him. Lot, sweating
profusely, asked: “What do you want me to do,
Angel? If I deny those thirsty travelers I do a
wrong, but when I give them a drink, I am not
able to water the plants which you said would
save my life. I am fainting, please let me die.”
The Angel told him: “Don’t worry. Each time you
gave those thirsty travelers your water, I
personally took care to put some water on the
plants and now they grow.”
After hearing this, Lot died in peace.
[According to tradition, the place in Jerusalem
where the cutlings were planted is presently
occupied by the Monastery of the Cross]
See: Grace Crowfoot and Louise Baldensperger,
From Cedar to Hyssop: A Study in Plant Folk
Lore, London, The Sheldon Press, 1932. Or also:
J.E. Hanauer, Folklore of the Holy Land, The
Sheldon Press, London 1907 (republished by
Senate, London, 1996 under the title “The Holy
Land: Myths and Legends”).
Family Quarrel
As happened more than once during the time of
the (first) Intifada, Israeli soldiers were
beating up a man in a crowded street. From all
sides people rushed to the scene. Suddenly a
woman with a baby came forward to the man and
shouted: “Why is it always you who makes
problems and goes to demonstrations! I am fed
up! Take this baby of yours! I don’t want to see
you ever again.” She laid the baby in the hands
of the man, and ran away. The soldiers left the
scene in confusion. When quiet came, the man
returned the baby to the woman. They had never
seen each other before.
Described by Mounir Fasheh (1998).
Stranger in the House
One time, there were troubles in the streets of
the Old City of Nablus. One young man ran into a
nearby house, which had only a young woman and
her daughter living in it. The girl was, at the
time, sleeping in her own room. The woman closed
the door behind the young man, but the soldiers
were chasing him and started pounding at the
door. She said to the young man, “Go into that
room, change your clothes, put on this pair of
pyjamas and get in bed next to my daughter.
Please hurry up and don’t hesitate.” The young
man did what the woman told him to do, while she
went and opened the door for the soldiers. They
said, “We believe that a young man just ran into
the house, where is he?” She answered, “There is
no one in the house except me and my daughter
and her husband. You can go in and see for
yourselves.” They went in and there was no one
except a man sleeping with his wife. So they
left.
[a story collected from a 20-year old woman from
Nablus in April 1989].
See: Sharif Kanaana, “The role of women in
Intifada legends,” in: Annelies Moors, Toine van
Teeffelen, Sharif Kanaana, and Ilham Abu
Ghazaleh (eds.), Discourse and Palestine: Power,
Text and Context. Het Spinhuis, Amsterdam, 1995,
pp.153-163.
Tax Revolt in Beit Sahour
During the Intifada the inhabitants of Beit
Sahour refused to pay taxes to the occupation
authorities. They did not want to help the
occupation financially while not receiving
adequate services. “No taxation without
representation” was their slogan. In many cases
the army entered the houses to take away the
belongings of those who refused to pay. One
woman saw all her furniture and household
equipments carried away. At last she stood alone
in the house. When the room was almost empty and
the soldiers on the verge of leaving, she called
them back: “Please don’t go away. You forgot
something. Take my curtains too!”
See: Mitri Raheb, I Am a Palestinian Christian ,
Augsburg Fortress Publishers 1995.
A Reconciliation
Once upon a time during the Intifada a car
accident happened near the crossroads
Bethlehem-Hebron-Beit Jala. The driver was a
Christian young man from Bethlehem. The child
who was knocked down and killed was a Moslem
from Abu Dis village near Jerusalem. The Arab
custom on such occasions is to send some
dignitaries who know the tribal traditional laws
(Al ‘Urf) well and know how to make a truce (Al
Athwa) so as to avoid any revenge or bloodshed
instigated by the family of the victim.
So some elderly men of Bethlehem area went to
Jerusalem. There they met the old people of the
victim. The Bethlehem spokesman and his
companions started to make apologies for what
happened and requested a truce on behalf of the
Bethlehem people. The spokesman who represented
the family of the child stood up and told them
that he would not make any truce unless the
driver who caused the fatal accident would
appear in front of all the people.
The Bethlehem notables became worried and could
not understand the motive behind the highly
unusual demand. After consultations, the
spokesman of the Bethlehemites stood up and,
hesitatingly, accepted the demand, asking for
guarantees to secure the safety of the driver.
The Jerusalem spokesman stood up and said:
“After God, the sole guaranteer of all, I am the
one who can secure his life. No one will touch
him or inflict any harm on him. However, please
bring him here in front of all.”
Then a group of elderly people went back to
Bethlehem and brought the driver. All people on
both sides were worried and afraid. The old
spokesman ordered for coffee to be served. Now
according to tradition, coffee is served only
after the truce has been agreed upon. Some
people who were ignorant about the custom drank
the coffee, but most wanted to wait until the
announcement came.
The old man noticed that many of the Bethlehem
people did not drink their coffee. He stood up,
and insisted that everybody should drink it.
After they did so, he said: “God had given us
this child and God has taken him. We are all
sorry. This young driver did not intend to kill
him. May God forgive him and forgive us all. Go
back, you people of Bethlehem. This is life and
we are all people of the same God of the same
country. We neither want Athwa nor any
compensation. May God pardon you and have mercy
on our son and all the dead...”
Tale told by Fuad Giacaman, Bethlehem, July
1999.
The Lost Boys
At one day during the time of the Intifada two
young Jewish boys from Jerusalem ran to catch
the last bus. Panting profusely, and relieved
that they had caught the bus, they did not
realize that they took the wrong direction. At
the end of the route, they left the bus and
looked around them. Where were they? The bus
driver wanted to go home and did not bother to
help them. Not knowing where to go, they chose a
road which they thought would lead them back
home. However, the road led them only further
astray.
They walked away from Jerusalem into Bethlehem.
While walking for hours in the dark, they saw
the dim houses along the road becoming stranger
and poorer. Leaving Bethlehem they walked
towards Dheisha refugee camp.
There, finally, was a man at a gas station who
stopped them. They did not know what to do. The
man was Arab, could they trust him? He was
friendly and suggested the kids to call their
home.
The kids’ parents were terribly worried. Hearing
that the boys were in a Palestinian refugee camp
did not lessen their worries. They knew there
had been regular clashes between Palestinian
refugees and Israeli soldiers. The kids could
have been kidnapped! But nothing dramatic
happened. The man at the gas station simply put
on a fire in the cold night and kept the boys
warm until their parents came to pick them up.
After the parents had thanked him and made ready
to leave homewards, the man asked them to stay
one minute more. He told the boys’ parents about
the fate of his family. Some of his brothers
were in prison and another had died of Israeli
bullets. However, he said that he was glad to do
the parents a favor. He did not feel hatred
towards the Jews.
See: Mitri Raheb, I Am a Palestinian Christian,
Augsburg Fortress Publishers 1995.
A Palestinian Woman and an Israeli Child
During one of the Intifada days, a young
Palestinian woman was trapped between two groups
of Israeli soldiers and Palestinian stone
throwers. Gas grenades were thrown and the woman
had to close the windows of her car. She was
four months pregnant. She felt about to
suffocate but managed to go home. However, her
pains increased and at night she was admitted to
the hospital. Next day she had an abortion and
saw her four months old’ baby boy dead. She was
terribly depressed since it was the second
abortion she suffered during the last three
years.
A week later she visited a medical doctor in
Jerusalem for a check up. When coming out of the
doctor’s clinic, she saw nearby on top of an
electric staircase an Israeli child who was
recklessly playing and about to fall down.
Thoughts rushed through her mind. Should she
leave him and let him die the way the Israeli
soldiers let her boy die a week ago, or should
she make a desperate attempt to grab him? All of
a sudden, she felt an impulse that made her
hurry forwards. Throwing herself in front of the
boy she prevented his fall...
Experienced by Sylvana Giacaman from Bethlehem,
story told July 1999.
The rose
I walked alone on an empty road. I was searching
without purpose. I was holding a seed of a
plant. It gave me courage and a strong will to
reach a safe place. I still had a long way to go
and nothing except my companion gave me security
and inner peace. He lightened my way and
motivated me to reach my goal. After a long way,
I found what I was looking for. God gave me a
beautiful garden to plant the seed in. It
struggled and waited to be safe.
The same happened to me. I gave my life to
become safe. I didn't give up before I found a
place. I believed in God's mercy. I sowed the
seed in the soil and watered it. I kept waiting
and my faith got stronger while the seed was
struggling to find its way out through this soil
towards the light.
The seed became a beautiful red rose. It was
really beautiful and it was a special symbol of
hope, love and faith. The wind attacked it but
it failed to break it. Many people even tried to
uproot it but they failed. It is a hope from
God. He gives people the will to go on in their
lives striving for a better future with faith.
Hope is in everything God created. We have to
search deep inside our hearts to find it because
it is the source of life.
Sanar Jubran, Bethlehem (registered by Anaele
Hermans) |
