A Little WisdomTalmud stories for everyday life
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110 · 8 panels

The Clothes We Already Have

While preparing for the choir performance, Ara set the sample jacket aside and rewrote the instructions.

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Ara, who ran the choir, showed Jin a sample of the brick-red jacket.
Ara

I was thinking we could all wear this jacket for the performance.

Ara, who ran the choir, showed Jin a sample of the brick-red jacket.

Jin glanced at the order sheet beside the jacket and asked quietly.
Jin

Would everyone have to buy one to go onstage?

Jin glanced at the order sheet beside the jacket and asked quietly.

Ara looked down at her sleeve. At rehearsal they always wore their own clothes.
Ara

Come to think of it, we can sing together in the clothes we already wear.

Ara looked down at her sleeve. At rehearsal they always wore their own clothes.

She set the sample on a chair and started writing new instructions for everyone.
Story

Ara took the matching jackets off the list.

She set the sample on a chair and started writing new instructions for everyone.

Ara told Jin and the other choir members about the change herself.
Ara

We’re dropping the matching jackets. Wear something you already own on the day.

Ara told Jin and the other choir members about the change herself.

Ara raised her hand. In four different colors, they all came in on the same beat.
Ara

All right, let’s start the first line together.

Ara raised her hand. In four different colors, they all came in on the same beat.

On the day of the performance, a choir member arrived in a teal sweater. Ara greeted them in her usual mustard top.
Ara

Yes, you can stand right here in what you’re wearing.

On the day of the performance, a choir member arrived in a teal sweater. Ara greeted them in her usual mustard top.

Ara raised her hand to give the first beat. Four voices came in together.
Story

The four sang their first song in their everyday clothes.

Ara raised her hand to give the first beat. Four voices came in together.

A thought from the Talmud

Rabban Gamliel chose a simple linen shroud for his own burial, and others followed his example.

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

Moed Katan 27b:4 · Read the source ↗

A lesson for today

Ara looked again at what the choir needed and dropped the requirement to buy a new jacket. She wore clothes she already owned to rehearsal and to the performance. When we organize a group, we can cut costs that people don’t need to bear before anyone has to explain what they can afford.

A modern interpretation for this story

A question to take with you

When you set the rules for a group, which expenses could people do without and still take part?

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About the source and this adaptation

Moed Katan 27b:4 describes the burden that costly burial shrouds placed on bereaved families. Rabban Gamliel chose a simple linen shroud for his own burial, and others followed his example. Rav Pappa adds that people later used even cheaper hemp shrouds. The wisdom line paraphrases Gamliel’s choice and the change that followed. The choir outfits and Jin and Ara’s story are modern fiction created with the help of AI.

Read the source ↗

AI-generated artwork · Creative adaptation

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