Everyone has probably heard of Aesop’s fables. No doubt you’ve read a few of them when you were young. Written by a Greek slave who lived in the 6^th century BCE on the island of Samos, the fables taught valuable lessons about desirable moral and social behavior.[1]

Likewise, the ancient Jewish faith highly valued parables, moral behavior, and laws concerning how to live well personally, in harmony with God, and in community with others (halakhah). Judaism with its many “mitzvot” continues to cherish ethical behavior and encourages an action-oriented commitment to God and neighbor.[2]

In the first century when Jesus lived, Greek remained the lingua franca of the “modern” world. Jewish people, although deeply steeped in their Jewish faith, remained surrounded by Greek culture and its rich inte…