The Rabbi and the Mule

Rabbi Felder went to his shul office on Monday morning and discovered a dead mule in the parking lot. He called the police. Since there did not appear to be any foul play, the police referred the rabbi to the health department. They said since there was no health threat that he should call the sanitation department.

The sanitation manager said he could not pick up the mule without authorization from the mayor.

Now Rabbi Felder knew the mayor and was not too eager to call him. The mayor had a bad temper and was generally hard to deal with, but the rabbi called him anyway. The mayor did not disappoint. He immediately began to rant and rave at the rabbi and finally said, "Why did you call me anyway? Isn't it your job to bury the dead?"

Rabbi Felder paused for a moment and said, "Yes, Mayor, it is my job to bury the dead, but I always like to notify the next of kin first!"