- Bread?..
- Yes bread.
- Why would I buy bread from you?
- Well, you see, tonight is the start of the Jewish holiday, Passover. On this holiday, Jews are not allowed to eat any bread, just those funny crackers.
- Matzos? I think they had them in the cafeteria today.
- Yes, those. Anyway, the Jewish religion forbids the eating of bread. But you also can't own any. So the Jews throw out all the bread in their houses, and what they can't find, they sell to non-Jews.
- But I thought you didn't follow these traditions... Aren't you an atheist?
- Yes, well, it's not exactly for me. You see, I was visiting a friend last night, who keeps much of the traditions. He gave me some bread that he was going to throw out, but now he's worried that this was a sin.
- Giving you bread is a sin?
- Well, he believes that since I am Jewish, it's a sin for me to eat bread during Passover. So by giving me bread, he is making me commit a sin. And in Judaism, making another Jew commit a sin is one of the biggest sins you can commit.
- Are you saying that if he didn't give you that bread you wouldn't have eaten any?
- Of course not. I would have bought it on my own. But that's not the point. He's still concerned that now I'll be sinning with his bread. So I want to sell it to you.
- Did you bring it to work with you?!
- No, it's at my house. But you can still buy it.
- Is it expensive?
- Don't worry. I'll let you have it cheap. What's the smallest money you have on you? Do you have a dollar?
- The smallest is a twenty, but...
- Twenty is too much. Way too much. Here, I've got a dollar. I'll lend it to you.
- Without interest?
- Of course!
- It's just that my religion doesn't allow me to borrow with interest...
- Yeah, no problem. Here's a dollar, now you can buy bread from me.
- OK. I'd like to buy some bread from you. For this dollar.
- Great! It's a deal! You won't regret it - it's really good bread. Speaking of which, you don't mind if I have some? While it's at my house and all.
- No, no, go ahead. You don't mind if I keep it there for a while, do you?
- Not at all. I'll be happy to keep an eye on it for you.
- So does that mean I now owe you a dollar?
- You don't have to pay it back. I'll forgive you the debt - you're letting me have some of that bread of yours after all.
- Thanks! That's very generous of you!