One of the more annoying parts of life is getting only the expurgated version of what obviously could be a much richer story. Some people consider such occasions reasons to dig and dig until chat or gossip gives them a more acceptable, if not a more true, version. While I�m not noble enough to throw away all the little tidbits that might flesh out a story, I�m sensible enough not to go looking for them most of the time. Nevertheless, I miss them.

Today�s mail brought such a story. Actually, the mail earlier in the week brought a bigger part of the story but I was too distracted by life to notice. I don�t even remember which day the synagogue newsletter came. I remember flipping through it for any important dates or information that I needed to put on the calendar or respond to in some way. I remember reading the senior rabbi�s column. Then Day-Hay needed something and I put the newsletter down intending to get back to it. It was buried under other clutter, as tends to happen in this house, and I forgot about it.

Today�s mail made me pull it out of the pile. Today brought a letter from the synagogue administrator that was supposed to �make [me] aware of an unusual article that appears under [the cantor�s] heading.� The letter noted that the column that appears in the newsletter was �NOT� (the administrator�s capitals) what she wrote. He called the appearance of the words there an ��interesting mishap.�� He then gave the text of the column she actually wrote.

The letter sent me scrambling to see what the �unusual article� was. Unusual did not begin to describe it. There, under the heading of one of the synagogue�s religious leaders, was a Christian bible commentary. A very Christian bible commentary on the Song of Solomon, complete with references to churches and Christ. The commentary exhorts us to �Let Christ afford his gracious presence to his church.� Except for the very end of the commentary where it somewhat disjointly suddenly asks us to welcome our new choir director, the commentary contains a long laundry list of things I never thought the cantor would say.

The administrator�s letter simply thanks us for our understanding. My guess is that the poor guy probably is praying for our understanding. I can picture the angry telephone calls now. I can picture the hysteria. I can picture the frantic goings-on in the synagogue office as they try to soothe the congregation.

What I can�t picture is how this happened. I assume that someone lays out the newsletter because the layout usually looks as though it is carefully done. I�d always assumed that someone proofreads the newsletter because there are rarely typos. I�m assuming someone didn�t proofread this one because that mistake is too big to miss, especially as the cantor is talking about the upcoming Jewish High Holy days in her real message and not about the Song of Solomon.

When I saw what had happened, I laughed. I laughed until my sides hurt.

Still, I�d like to know whose joke this one was.

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