The Talmud is tough because it assumes holistic knowledge of the whole Talmud, referencing texts and rulings that come much earlier or much later without stopping to really explain what the rabbis are talking about. The Talmud was not meant for beginners.”
— Dr. Sara Ronis
Prosatio Silban and the Ambitious Intern
ONE OF THE BEST WAYS to learn what you know is to teach it to someone else – and sometimes, to yourself.
Prosatio Silban swore under his breath and pondered what to do next. His latest intern convinced him that some people shouldn’t come near a kitchen, much less work in one.
That was the case with Vello Pirior, who had distinguished himself by spilling expensive ingredients, dropping fragile or injurious equipment, and almost burning down the cook-errant’s cozy galleywagon – comfortable for a party of one, but uninhabitable depending on the personality and habits of a second party.
The Cook For Any Price had gotten into this professional predicament through a good-faith request by his old friend and colleague, Crasso, the current Ranking Culinarian at Pormaris’ Archive of Gastronomic Artifice.
It is necessary,” answered Don Quixote, “to know everything in the profession I follow.”
— Miguel de Cervantes
Prosatio Silban and the First Principle
IN EVERY PROFESSIONAL’S LIFE, THERE comes a point where they must choose between correctness and accommodation.
Prosatio Silban heaved a deep sigh, one of many such that morning. The primary concern of every cook is to make the customers happy, he thought. But what if they’re, well … wrong?
Blaming others is the suicide of [national] liberty.”
— R’ Jonathan Sacks, zt”l (from https://aish.com/302413231/)
Prosatio Silban and the Good Death
“SO ANSWER ME THIS QUESTION: what exactly is a ‘good death?’”
That compelling query hung in the smoky air inside Pelvhi’s Chopping-House while the conversationalists – Prosatio Silban; Primea Ultar, private chef to a wealthy Pormaris wine-merchant; the famed waiter Agra Ochan; and Pelvhi herself – pondered its answer in brow-creased silence. The hour was late, but the spacious tavern was filled with roistering hospitality-workers, each shouting to be heard above the din of everyone else’s raised voices. The clink of glasses and tableware sounded a bright counterpoint to the genial hullabaloo.
At last, Pelvhi spoke.
Next (A Prosatio Silban Amuse Bouche)
“I’VE BEEN MEANING TO ASK you – what exactly is the Pure City of the Uulian afterlife?”
The question was posed to Prosatio Silban one day by an old friend hailing from the distant Pastori-lands. As the query was both genuine and innocent, the cook-errant took his respectful time before replying.