Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel

The Mythology of Trolls

Trolls are interesting little creatures who were once believed to inhabit caves and hills. In German lands, they were considered to be excellent craftsmen and treasure guardians. In just about all the mythologies regarding them, trolls are especially known for their stupidity.  In addition, they are considered evil and dangerous because they have supernatural powers.

In many folktales, trolls make bargains with mortals. Typically, the humans must find a way to outwit the troll, or suffer a miserable fate. I recall as a child reading the famous Rumpelstiltskin story about a miller who lied to a king, claiming that his daughter could spin straw into gold. The girl is soon summoned by the king, shut in a tower with lots of straw and a spinning wheel. The king threatens to execute her if she fails to produce the gold. When she was about to give up all hope, a dwarfish creature (possibly a troll) appears and saves the day—on one condition: she must give the troll her firstborn child. Well, after marrying the king, she gets pregnant and delivers her firstborn child. Suddenly the troll appears to her and demands his payment.

The dwarf refused but finally agreed to give up his claim to the child if the queen could guess his name in three days. At first she failed, but before the final night, her messenger discovered the dwarf’s remote mountain cottage and, unseen, overhears the dwarf hopping about his fire and singing. While there are many variations in this song, the 1886 translation by Lucy Crane reads:

“To-day do I bake, to-morrow I brew,

The day after that the queen’s child comes in;

And oh! I am glad that nobody knew

That the name I am called is Rumpelstiltskin!”

A Rabbi Who Is in Touch with His “Inner Troll”

Well, trolls just made the news the other day, but instead of being of the Scandinavian or German variety, the troll of our story happens to have taken on the human appearance of a Kabbalist and Haredi Jew. If you do not believe that trolls really exist in real time, trust me, they exist in mythical time and this rabbi is definitely in touch with his “inner troll.”

On one lovely wintry day, Troll Inc.  decided to crash a party in the peaceful suburban city of  Great Neck, New York. The black-hatted rabbi, along with his four hasidim (Moe, Larry, Curly and Shemp),  crashes a family gathering that was celebrating their one-year-old child’s birthday.

Banging his siddur on the table, he cries out, “Shema Yisrael!” (“Hear O Israel!”). Imagining that he was like a modern day Pinchas, he excoriates the community for having mixed dancing–number 1 of the Haredi mortal sins–all in honor of a little girl’s first birthday. The troll of our story then curses all the participants with Hebrew curses that they be smitten with “illness, bankruptcy and tragedy for eternity.” According to a petition signed by some of those in attendance, “They started to curse everybody, saying — ‘You’re going to have tragedies, everyone who stays here . . . ’”

The parallels to our original story about a troll named Rumpelstiltskin gets even more interesting.

* Trolls have a talent for upsetting babies

* Trolls love curses and  possess supernatural powers

* Trolls are threatening beings

* Trolls are also very stupid and dim-witted.

Rabbi Aderet seems to mastered each of those traits, he is like a Haredi Rumpelstiltskin. Just as in the mythology of trolls, knowing a troll’s name gives a person power over it, the same holds true with our Haredi troll. Identifying this person, for whom he is, will alert others to keep a safe distance from them. This is one rabbi you should not invite to your home for dinner.

A Pinchas Wannabe

As mentioned earlier, trolls are believed to have mystical powers, and this particular rabbi, Rabbi Mordechai Aderet, has a wide following who swear by his mystical abilities to bless people with whatever they want. The local rabbinic councils refuse to chastise the rabbi. Could it be they are afraid of his dreaded powers?  Had this event occurred in Mea Sharim, we would probably not be surprised, for  Jerusalem is famous for its extremist Haredi behavior–but in suburbia? Really . . . After the party was over, Rabbi Aderet’s followers circulated a rumor that there were wild naked women at the party. The Freudian in me thinks the rabbi and his four guests were hoping for something much more entertaining.

And the hits keep on coming . . .

Some of the guests feared their business might suffer financial repercussions if they  publicly spoke out against the rabbi. According to one of the supporters, the Rabbi claimed to be on the guest list. Right . . . . Maybe Rabbi Aderet also thought he was a celebrity or a rock star. In any event, he crashes the party–both literally and figuratively. The guests at the party had no idea the rabbi was coming to their shindig.  It kind of reminds me of Sidney Poitier’s 1967 classical film, “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?” but this time it wasn’t Sidney, but Rabbi Mordechai!

Now, why was the rabbi so upset? Evidently, the party occurred on the Jewish fast day known as “The Tenth of Tevet,” which marks the siege of Jerusalem. Interestingly enough, it never occurs to our dimwitted friend that maybe the guests were even unaware of the Jewish fast day; it is quite possible that even if they were aware of the date, they still would have opted to ignore it because they are not frum. Jewish law teaches that if we know that a “sinner” is about to sin, and will ignore our plea for him to refrain from “sinning,” then it is much better to be silent and say nothing. This of course is prudent advice–it is the halacha as well.

Invasion of the Trolls

What is perhaps more troubling about this kind of story is the real possibility that Haredism is looking to expand its political and religious sphere of influence not only in Israel, but even in the peaceful suburban communities located thousands of miles away from its strongholds. Until they moderate their policies and promise to behave like civilized people, then it is best we keep them out of our communities.

Just as in the mythology of trolls, knowing a troll’s name, gives a person power over it, the same holds true with our Haredi troll. Identifying this rabbi as a menace, will alert others to keep a safe distance from them. It is a pity nobody called the police, for if they did, the rabbi would be with his fellow trolls in jail (remember, trolls love caves).  Let the Scandinavian and German communities keep their trolls, while we in the Jewish community will gladly send them ours.

Rabbi Aryeh Levin was a famous saintly man, beloved by everyone in Israel for his gentleness, wisdom, and humor. Someone once asked him to curse Abdul Nasser, who hated Israel with a passion and even threatened to push the Jews into the sea. He replied, “Cursing is not a Jewish quality anyone should want to emulate; it is the characteristic of the pagan soothsayer Balaam . . .” In other words, invoking curses is the sign of a truly disturbed person.

And now you know, the rest of the story . . .