A large number of Jewish immigrants have moved into a pastoral Italian town. The locals, fearful that resources won't be able to accommodate this influx of people, complain to their local cardinal who agrees to settle the matter. He accepts a challenge to a theological debate with the wisest of the population's rabbis in order to decide whether the Jews will be allowed to set up a permanent encampment in the area. Since neither the cardinal nor the rabbi speak each others' language they agree to conduct the debate using sign language.
The two meet at dawn atop a large hill near the edge of town with their population waiting nearby to hear the results.
The cardinal begins by raising both hands in the air above his head and shaking them once, firmly, palms raised.
The rabbi responds by nodding once slowly and folding his arms in front of him.
Next, the cardinal holds up 3 fingers.
The rabbi replies by holding up a single finger.
The cardinal then produces the Eucharist and extends first the bread, then the cup before him.
The rabbi calmly pulls an apple from his tunic, takes a bite from it, and raises an eyebrow as he holds it up in the air.
After this, the cardinal smiles, shakes the rabbi's hand, and both men walk back to their people.
As the cardinal descends the hill, the local Catholics surround him and ask excitedly what happened.
"The Jewish people are very wise," he responds, "They are welcome in our town."
"First, I told him, 'Our God is an awesome God!' to which he responded, 'But we are his people.'"
"Next, I said, 'Our God is 3 Gods!' to which he replied, 'Are not the 3 part of the One True God?'"
"Finally, I presented the Eucharist and said, 'Our God is a God of forgiveness!', but he retaliated by presenting an apple and pointed out, 'Not one among us is without sin.'"
The Catholics nodded to one another and agreed that these were indeed wise remarks and accepted the cardinal's decision to let the Jews remain in their village.
On the other side of the hill, the rabbi was surrounded by his people who also wanted to know what happened.
"I'm not really sure," said the rabbi, "but I think they're going to let us stay."
"First, he started shaking his hands to say, 'Get out of my town!', so I told him, 'We're not leaving!'"
"Next, he says, 'You've got 3 days to get out of here!', so I replied, 'Not one of us is moving!'"
"Then, he took out his lunch, I took out my lunch, and it was all over."
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