Judaism rules

I'm working on a story right now about a group of Jews who will be testifying before a congressional commission about their effort to reclaim sacred books and documents (12,000 books plus an additional 25,000 documents) that are currently being held by the Russian government.

These are good, honest people who are trying to get back something that was once stolen from them. I respect them, and I respect what they are doing.

But after an hour of phone interviews with three Rabbis involved with the action, I put down the phone and collapsed on my desk in a fit of horrible laughter.

One of the Rabbis was the father of another, and the third was at his granddaughter's wedding during the interview. Thus, the talk of business was interspersed with talk of family, of life, and plenty of humourous anecdotes that Reader's Digest would love to use if not for the accents, which were thicker than my hair is these days.

I wanted to laugh so badly during the interview, but I had to be professional and simply listen and knod my head with subtle interest while biting my lip, almost hard enough to draw blood.

I just lost it when that reciever hit its holder, and I couldn't lift my own head for a good few minutes as I guffawed hysterically. I wasn't laughing at the men, I was laughing at what they said. And what they said, was funny. Just... so... funny.

I can not wait to meet these guys.