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128 · 12 panels

The First Stroke on the Test Board

Everyone paused in front of the wall. Ara pointed to a small board.

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They still had to choose their colors. The brushes lay untouched on the worktable.
Story

On the day they were preparing the neighborhood mural, everyone paused.

They still had to choose their colors. The brushes lay untouched on the worktable.

Jin looked at the small brushes still lying on the table.
Jin

We need to pick the colors first. Where should we start?

Jin looked at the small brushes still lying on the table.

Ara spotted a white board under the table.
Ara

There’s a test board here.

Ara spotted a white board under the table.

Ara pointed it out to the organizer waiting by the wall.
Ara

Shall we try one stroke of each color on this board first?

Ara pointed it out to the organizer waiting by the wall.

Everyone could stand around the table and see it.
Story

The organizer set the test board in the middle of the table.

Everyone could stand around the table and see it.

Ara picked up a small flat brush and dipped it in a little paint.
Ara

I’ll try apricot first.

Ara picked up a small flat brush and dipped it in a little paint.

When Jin saw Ara’s first stroke, he came over to the table.
Story

A short apricot stroke appeared on the white board.

When Jin saw Ara’s first stroke, he came over to the table.

Jin painted the second stroke, leaving a little space between it and the apricot.
Jin

I’ll try teal next to it.

Jin painted the second stroke, leaving a little space between it and the apricot.

The three colors lay side by side on the board.
Story

Another volunteer tried soft navy blue on the blank space to the right.

The three colors lay side by side on the board.

The three each pointed to a color that caught their eye.
Jin

Now that they’re on one board, we can look at all three together.

The three each pointed to a color that caught their eye.

Ara and the organizer held the board at either end and compared the colors near the wall.
Story

Once the board was dry, they held it up near the wall to see the colors there.

Ara and the organizer held the board at either end and compared the colors near the wall.

The wall was still blank. Now there were three colors on the table to talk about together.
Story

Everyone gathered at the table to talk about the next step.

The wall was still blank. Now there were three colors on the table to talk about together.

A thought from the Talmud

In Rabbi Yehuda’s account, the tribes held back from entering the sea first, and Nahshon ben Amminadab was the first to go in.

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

Sotah 37a:1–5 · Read the source ↗

A lesson for today

While the group hesitated over which colors to use, Ara painted one stroke on a test board. Jin and another volunteer added their colors, and everyone could discuss the samples side by side. When it’s hard to start, we can choose one small preparation that others can check and that we can easily change.

A modern interpretation for this story

A question to take with you

When a shared project stalls, what is one small preparation you could safely try now?

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About the source and this adaptation

Sotah 37a:1–5 puts two religious accounts of the crossing of the sea during the Exodus side by side. In Rabbi Meir’s account, which begins at the end of the previous page, the tribes each want to go first, and the tribe of Benjamin goes in first. In Rabbi Yehuda’s account, the tribes hold back, and Nahshon ben Amminadab of the tribe of Judah goes in first. The text then reads a psalm as Nahshon’s prayer and brings in God’s words to Moses in Exodus, telling him to have the people go forward. The wisdom line paraphrases section 3 of Rabbi Yehuda’s account. Jin and Ara’s mural preparation is modern fiction created with the help of AI.

Read the source ↗

AI-generated artwork · Creative adaptation

For your next little pause

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