From the inspiration of Christmas...

We knew him gentle and mild... his heart overflowing with love... the lights of peace radiating from his eyes.

And we knew him great in everything... in his soul... his spirit... and his heart, whose innermost folds widened to hold every human being.

And we touched in him a harmonious beauty... a captivating splendor... a consummate sweetness...

And we saw on his shoulder a cross... and in his right hand a green olive branch.

And we heard him speak words which, had we taken them to heart, we would have grasped the secrets of divinity!

That was in olden times...

Then he vanished from our earth... and left us to interpret his sayings as we pleased... and as our wise men fancied...

And we were told: Your Christ has returned—rejoice!

And we turned, and we saw him and heard him... and bewilderment and astonishment seized us...

We saw him a giant colossus... black, grim of feature... yellow of fang... huge of hand... his voice like the roaring of the sea, his laugh like the cackling of devils, and his speech with the taste of evil...

And we saw around him followers and partisans rubbing themselves against his garments... seeking blessing from his hems, and memorizing his sermons for their great trumpets to broadcast...

And behold, he is now among us... never ceasing to circle and roam... he knocks at the palaces and sits enthroned at their tables... he repairs to the haunts of pleasure and abides there in revelry and play...

Yesterday we heard him say, as he preached on a mount:

Whoever strikes you on your right cheek—storm through his life... and whoever takes your cloak, take his soul...

And yesterday we saw him, when the sinning woman fled to him for refuge, begging his protection from that raging crowd chasing after her and pelting her with stones... take up a great stone to crack her head open...

And we heard him say to that broken, abject man who implored him to have pity on him and heal his sick boy: And what of it, you fool, if your boy should die?!

And we heard him in the temple whispering in the ear of the usurers and the money-changers: If you give me a share of your profits, I shall never brandish my whip in your faces...

Crisco, the Pure Vegetable Shortening

With Crisco, the pure vegetable shortening,

you can eat these foods without upsetting your stomach:

Kibbeh in all its varieties, stuffed lamb, fluffy rice, fried potatoes and fried eggplant, greens, and other dishes.

Use Crisco for these foods, for its lightness and its ease of digestion. And if the flavor of Hama ghee is indispensable, mix a little of it with Crisco vegetable shortening.

For kibbeh, stuffed dishes, and sweets — Crisco, the best vegetable shortening

1 lb. Crisco for cakes, pastry, frying