Friend: I was hanging out with Ari, the guy down the hall, this Saturday. We ordered Chinese food and when it came he said, "I can't pay for it today. I'm not allowed to handle money on the Sabbath. Can you take care of it?" Then when I was getting ready to leave he asked me to turn off all the lights for him.
Russ: I see. Sounds like you're his "shabbos goy". Orthodox Jews will sometimes arrange for a gentile to take care of their incidentals on the Sabbath.
Friend: I'm glad to do it, I guess. But, it kind of snuck up on me. Do midgets invite people over to visit when they need stuff on the top shelf?
Russ: If I was you, I'd think of yourself as a ringer he's called in against the Torah. Everyone likes a ringer, except the other team, which in this case is 2000 years of rabbinical tradition.
