Member-only story
What You Can Learn from a Scene in Fiddler on the Roof
HINT: It has something to do with going beyond right and wrong
There is a scene from “Fiddler on the Roof” that has taught me more about life than most holy books I’ve read.
In the movie, two men are having a heated argument in the town square. When they see Tevye, the town milkman/sagevwalking by, they begin passionately pleading their case.
“Tevye!” blurts the first, “I’ve been cheated! Last month I bought a so-called horse from this sorry excuse for a man. But it turns out it WASN’T a horse. It was a mule!”
Tevye listens carefully, strokes his beard, nods his head, and smiles. “You’re right!” he says.
“WHAT!” screams the second. “No way! Not true! The animal I sold him most definitely was a horse and I have the paperwork to prove it!”
Again, Tevye listens, strokes his beard, nods his head, and smiles. “You’re right!” he says.
A third man, who’d been watching the argument from the beginning, boldly steps forward.
