JOSEPH WHO LOVED THE SABBATH

A Jewish folk tale based on the Talmud saying, ""He who lends to the Sabbath, the Sabbath repays him. ""Joseph sacrifices his own needs all week long in hard farm labor for the rich and greedy Sorab. But for the Sabbath, Joseph imposes no self-limits, spending his every last cent on the plumpest chicken, purest oil, best wine. One night Sorab's nightmare foretells Joseph will get all his land and riches. In panic, he trades his property for a giant ruby and runs off to sea, only to be swept overboard. When Joseph buys a giant fish for the following Sabbath, in it is the ruby. Postage-stamp designer Grebu's lavenders and earth tones are spiced with Middle Eastern climate and flavor, appropriate to a tale also found in A Thousand and One Nights as ""The Devout Israelite."" Likewise, Hirsh's account of Joseph's Sabbath preparations is sweetened by familiar, spiritually enhancing rituals such as housecleaning, challah baking, and Torah reading.