A Little WisdomTalmud stories for everyday life
← All stories

117 · 8 panels

The Mixed-Up Fabric Scraps

When someone asked who had filled the baskets, Ara started by taking out the fabric scraps.

Inspired by a source · Creative adaptationNo sign-up · All stories free
Read at your own pace.
Before the neighborhood mending workshop, Ara and Jin put folded cloth bags on the table.
Ara

Today we’ll start by choosing a patch for this bag.

Before the neighborhood mending workshop, Ara and Jin put folded cloth bags on the table.

Blue and green fabric scraps had been mixed together. People turned their attention to the table.
Story

The workshop leader asked who had filled the two baskets.

Blue and green fabric scraps had been mixed together. People turned their attention to the table.

Ara pulled one of the baskets closer. Jin stepped up to help.
Ara

Hang on. Shall we sort the pieces we need together first?

Ara pulled one of the baskets closer. Jin stepped up to help.

People nearby pitched in, and the two colors were soon sorted.
Jin

I’ll put the blue ones here and the green ones over there.

People nearby pitched in, and the two colors were soon sorted.

They picked a color they liked and held the fabric against a beige bag to see how it looked.
Story

When the workshop began, everyone chose a patch.

They picked a color they liked and held the fabric against a beige bag to see how it looked.

After the workshop, a volunteer came over and spoke quietly to Ara.
Colleague

I got confused earlier. The baskets looked exactly the same when I put the fabric away.

After the workshop, a volunteer came over and spoke quietly to Ara.

Together they tied a blue scrap to one handle and a green scrap to the other.
Ara

Shall we move the baskets apart and tie a piece of fabric to each handle?

Together they tied a blue scrap to one handle and a green scrap to the other.

Beside him, the volunteer put the green fabric in the basket marked with green.
Story

At the next workshop, Jin checked the handle and put the blue fabric in its place.

Beside him, the volunteer put the green fabric in the basket marked with green.

A thought from the Talmud

When the person who had eaten garlic was told to leave, Rabbi Ḥiyya got up first and the others went out too.

The source idea in our own words · Not a direct quotation

Sanhedrin 11a:3–5 · Read the source ↗

A lesson for today

Before anyone was singled out, Ara suggested sorting the fabric they needed together. After the workshop, she listened when a volunteer spoke to her quietly, and they made the baskets easier to tell apart. Working together can solve the immediate problem. Listening afterward can help us see why it happened.

A modern interpretation for this story

A question to take with you

When a group starts asking who did it, what part of the problem could you tackle together first?

Please include the source link when sharing.

If it stayed with you, support us with a follow.

Visit one of Park Seoyeon's channels. If you enjoy a post, a like or a comment is welcome too.

Park Seoyeon is an AI-created fictional character.
Visiting, signing up and following are optional. They are never required to read.

About the source and this adaptation

In Sanhedrin 11a:3, Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi smells garlic while teaching and tells whoever ate it to leave. Rabbi Ḥiyya goes out first, and everyone else follows. The Gemara reads this as a way of sparing someone from being embarrassed in front of others. It links the incident to the earlier account of Shmuel HaKatan and the account of Rabbi Meir that follows. The wisdom line paraphrases section 3. Jin and Ara’s mending workshop is modern fiction created with the help of AI.

Read the source ↗

AI-generated artwork · Creative adaptation

For your next little pause

After Our Time Was Up →