A stone sample lay beside the model for the new hall. People still sat on the old hall’s stone ledge every evening.
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01
Story
Jin and Ara looked at the low stone ledge outside the old hall.
The stone ran along the front courtyard.
02
Jin
If we move these stones, there’ll be somewhere to sit outside the new hall too.
Jin put a small stone sample in front of the model for the new hall.
03
Story
Ara went back to the old hall in the evening.
People were arriving one by one along the path to the courtyard.
04
Story
The neighbors sat on the stone ledge as usual.
Some talked about their shopping. Others sat down for a short rest.
05
Ara
You still use the stones we were thinking of moving.
Jin and Ara listened to when and how the neighbors used the ledge.
06
Story
They went back to the model of the new hall.
They put a wood sample in the spot where the seating would go.
07
Story
The old hall’s stone ledge stayed where it was.
The next evening, neighbors sat there again.
08
Story
The new hall got wooden seating out front.
Both halls now had somewhere people could sit for a while.
A thought from the Talmud
The people of Bet Shean asked whether stones from one synagogue could be used to build another. Rabbi Immi forbade it, also pointing to what would be left of the original place.
The source idea in our own words · Not a direct quotation
Jin and Ara wanted somewhere to sit at the new hall. When they visited the old hall in the evening, neighbors were gathered on the stone ledge they had planned to move. After listening, they chose a different material for the new hall. When we build something new, we can first look at what the material we want to take is still doing where it is.
A modern interpretation for this story
A question to take with you
Who is still using the thing I’m thinking of moving to a new place?
Share the question together with a link to this story.
About the source and this adaptation
In Jerusalem Talmud Megillah 3:1:4, the people of Bet Shean ask whether they may use stones from one synagogue to build another. Rabbi Immi forbids it. In the same passage, he also forbids taking them from east to west, citing the ruin of the original place. The passage goes on to consider moving stones between towns and selling a synagogue, among other issues. The wisdom line paraphrases the discussion about moving the stones. The two neighborhood halls, the ledge, the seating, and the dialogue are modern fiction created with AI assistance.
