Israeli crowned world champion storyteller
Shachar Lavi recalls traumatic Bar Mitzvah to captivate jury in 24 Hour storytelling marathon at Edinburgh Festival
And to prove the point Shachar Lavi, a 28 year old music producer from Tel Aviv, won first prize at the Grant's True Tales 24 Hour Storytelling Marathon hosted by the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
The contest ,hosted by Grant's whiskey, pitted dozens of storytellers from all over the world against each other in a grueling contest to pick the best storyteller in the world.
Shachar says he was afraid the audience wouldn't go for a Jewish story especially 'an inhumane one' but at the end of the day Shachar won the contest and was awarded a 25 year old rare bottle of Grant's whiskey.
On Sunday he delivered a summarized version of the winning tale.
"It happened during my Bar Mitzvah which was celebrated on Mount Meron.
My grandfather, a licensed Shochet (one who is trained in the ritual slaughter of animals according to Jewish law) was in charge of the ritual. He brought Tsila, a lamb I had fed and played with whenever I visited him as a child. During the ceremony Tsila was slaughtered right before my eyes, in my honor. It was a traumatic, inhumane sight.
"I ran into the woods and my father came after me and hugged me. I explained that the slaughter was a bad deed. On that day I had my real rite of passage and became an adult who decided this ritual was inhumane. I decided to become a vegetarian. It was my first adult decision."
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