Three neighborhoods nominated the same number of people, but the printmaking workshop had only ten places. Jin and Ara didn’t remove people from any one neighborhood. Before the draw, they told everyone what the ten places and two waiting spots meant. When we can’t change how many places are available, we can tell everyone how the places will be assigned before we begin.
A modern interpretation for this story
A question to take with you
When we can’t make room for everyone, what should we tell people before the result is known?
Share the question together with a link to this story.
About the source and this adaptation
In the Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 17a:4–6, one tradition interprets the selection of the elders in Numbers 11. Moses reasons that six from each of the twelve tribes would make seventy-two, two too many, while taking different numbers would stir up resentment. He mixes seventy slips marked ‘Elder’ with two blanks for the draw. Section 9 gives another reading in which Eldad and Medad chose not to come forward. The wisdom line paraphrases the draw in sections 5–6. The printmaking workshop, numbers of participants, and waiting list are modern fiction created with AI assistance.
