A Jewish folktale about gathering feathers teaches children not to lie.

Feathers in the Wind Story, A Jewish Folktale

There’s a Jewish folktale from Eastern Europe about gossip, pillows, and feathers. It goes like this.

Once upon a time, there was a man who went about spreading lies about his rabbi. He started to feel bad about it and asked for forgiveness. He even said he would do anything to made amends for the damage he had caused. The rabbi told him to cut open a feather pillow and scatter the feathers to the winds. And, so he did.

The small plumes blew far and wide. Under bridges and trees. Across water and rooftops.  Then the rabbi told him to go and gather up all the feathers.

But, really how could he? Like his careless words, it was impossible to recollect them all.

I shared the Jewish folktale, Gathering Feathers, with my kids. They got to see for themselves how hard it is to find all the feathers once the voice of the wind carries them away.

The tongue is dangerous a weapon. So dangerous that it must be controlled by two walls — the mouth and the teeth. More people are harmed by lies than cheating and stealing.  Lies are like arrows that fly through the air and cannot be returned to us midstream. Like the feathers, they go astray and where they land no one can predict.

Words are like feathers in the wind.

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