Gimpel the Wise

"Gimpel the Fool" was definitely a unique read based on the norm that is the short story. To make a short story shorter, it basically involved a man named Gimpel, a pacifist who believed everything that everyone said, knowing full well that he'd be "tricked" by the townspeople. Instead of making it an argument, he just always falls into a trap of getting fooled, even though he knew what was going on. After the first time reading, the story almost seemed atypical for the norm of sending a positive message, whereas instead it basically portrays that ignoring bullies and being afraid to stand up for yourself will only lead to bad news. We are all always brought up to be the bigger person because it will work out in the long run, but in this story Gimpel never really gets his the ends that would justify the means.
However, when I read it again, I noticed a certain passage that contradicts this. When he visits the Rabbi, he says "It is written, better to be a fool all your days than for one hour to be evil. You are not a fool. They are the fools. For he who causes his neighbor to feel shame loses Paradise himself." These words by the Rabbi send an extremely inspirational message. This stood out to me, and kind of hit home that topic that is taught to us from both our teachers and parents. That bullies are the real fools, regardless of their so-called "power" over their victims. I was wondering why author Isaac Bashevis Singer would convey this message, until i read a mini-bio about him and found that he is from Warsaw, Poland and emigrated to the United States just a few short years before they were invaded by Nazi-Germany. This story must've been used as a medium to say that bullying gives no real gratification, a proverb that he himself has already realized through past experiences.
The fact that Gimpel repeatedly plays along into the traps of the townspeople, must be a metaphor for the fact that the Jews during the time had no choice of whether they were bullied/terrorized or not. These hidden messages encased in almost every short story we read, are what makes each one different yet similar, but still interesting and enjoyable. Gimpel the Fool was one of my favorites, so it was nice to kinda dive deeper into researching what's behind the writing of the story, even more in-depth than our awesome class discussions. (: