Call to Heaven

While on my last vacation we stopped in Rome for a few days,
I noticed a marble column in St. Peter's with a golden telephone on it.
As a young priest passed by, I asked who the telephone was for.
The priest told me it was a direct line to heaven, and if I'd like to call,
it would be a thousand dollars. I was amazed, but declined the offer.

Throughout Italy, in all the cathedrals, I kept seeing the same golden telephone
on a marble column. At each I asked about it and the answer was always the same:
It was a direct line to heaven and I could call for a thousand dollars.

Then we continued our tour and arrived in Israel. While visiting the Western Wall
I noticed the golden telephone. Underneath it was a sign stating:
“ DIRECT LINE TO HEAVEN: 25 cents."

I asked a rabbi about it. "Rabbi," I said, "I have been all over Italy and in all the
cathedrals I visited, I've seen telephones exactly like this one. But the price is
always a thousand dollars. Why is it that this one is only 25 cents?"

The rabbi smiled and said, "You're in Israel now. It's a local call."