The Pope Vs. Moishe

[warfie]

About a century or two ago, the Pope decided that all the Jews had to
leave the Vatican. Naturally there was a big uproar from the Jewish
community.

So the Pope made a deal. He would have a religious debate with a
member of the Jewish community. If the Jew won, they could stay. If the
Pope won, the Jews would leave.

The Jews realized that they had no choice. So they picked a

middle aged man named Moishe to represent them. Moishe asked for one
addition to the debate. To make it more interesting, neither side would
be allowed to talk. The Pope agreed.

The day of the great debate came. Moishe and the Pope sat opposite
each other for a full minute before the Pope raised his hand and showed
three fingers. Moishe looked back at him and raised one finger. The Pope
waved his fingers in a circle around his head. Moishe pointed to the
ground where he sat. The Pope pulled out a wafer and a glass of wine.
Moishe pulled out an apple. The Pope stood up and said, "I give up. This
man is too good. The Jews can stay."

An hour later, the cardinals were all around the Pope asking him what
happened. The Pope said: "First I held up three fingers to represent
the Trinity. He responded by holding up one finger to remind me that
there was still one God common to both our religions. Then I waved my
finger around me to show him that God was all around us. He responded by
pointing to the ground and showing that God was also right here with
us. I pulled out the wine and the wafer to show that God absolves us
from our sins. He pulled out an apple to remind me of original sin. He
had an answer for everything. What could I do?"

Meanwhile, the Jewish community had crowded around Moishe.

"What happened?" they asked.

"Well," said Moishe, "First he said to me that the Jews had three
days to get out of here. I told him that not one of us was leaving. Then
he told me that this whole city would be cleared of Jews. I let him
know that we were staying right here."

"And then?" asked a woman.

"I don't know," said Moishe. "He took out his lunch and I took out mine."