^/^ = l the SABBATH LAMP A. S .ISAACS QlotneU Hnioeraitg Siibratg FROM THE BENNO LOEWY LIBRARY COLLECTED BY BENNO LOEWY 1854-1919 BEQUEATHED TO CORNELL UNIVERSITY PS asiz-smus"""'"" '"'"^ ""''Sllllllllliiiumiiii IfiS'S -s'Of'es of our t 3 1924 022 488 716 Cornell University Library The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924022488716 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP STORIES OF OUR TIME FOR OLD AND YOUNG BY ABRAM S. ISAACS PHtLADBLPRIA THE Jewish Publication Society of America 1919 COPYKIGHT, 1919* BT Thb Jewish Publication Society op Abherica To FATHER AND MOTHER In Grateful Memory of Happy Years Under their Sabbath Lamp Reverently Dedicated PREFACE In the lack of what may be termed home literature for old and young, to supply which the Jewish Publication Society is doing admirable pioneer work, it has been thought that this collection of stories would furnish its share of entertaining reading to the average Jewish household. They are associated chiefly with the Sabbath and holiday atmosphere and with certain prob- lems of Jewish life in its American environ- ment, which is no more shifting to the pres- ent generation than it appeared years ago to those now of mature age. It may be helpful, then, to direct atten- tion, even in the guise of unpretentious fiction, to permanent elements in our social, domestic, and religious life, which are all-powerful in shaping the character of Israel and preserving Jewish ideals. , 7 PREFACE Some of the tales were originally written for a limited circle, but have been wholly revised and recast in their present form. A. S. I. New York UNivERsiTr, September, 1915. CONTENTS PAGE Introduction 1 1 The Old Shofar 23 Born Again 39 Before Dawn 53 The TrendelS 71 The Children's Gift 90 The Happy Family 109 A Voice for Freedom 124 From Land to Land 139 A Rabbi's Wife 157 How the Debt Was Paid 172 Only a Child 189 The Rabbi's Romance 205 Just from Jerusalem 220 The Children's Revolt 233 At Grandmother's School 246 INTRODUCTION A thousand fantasies Begin to throng into my memory. — Comuj. For many years it was the pleasant cus- tom of certain friends of Dr. Jacobson, one of the best-known physicians in a prominent American city, to gather at his home on a Friday evening and to hold a kind of informal conference about current topics. At first only a few intimates attended for no other purpose than to enjoy a social hour after the service at the synagogue; but, as the fame of the circle grew, their number gradually increased; so that the jAysician's commodious recep- tion room was not too large for the friends who assembled regularly, week after week, under the antique Sabbath lamp that hung in the centre of the apartment. 11 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP Both in character and activity Dr. Jacob- son was one of the many exceptions to the mediasval proverb that where there are two physicians you will find three atheists. Jewish to the core, broadly sympathetic to all human interests, a clever student of history, and deeply read in the lore and philosophy of his people, his whole life gained color and aim from his faith in the peculiar status of the Jew as standard- bearer of a divine message. He was a native of Courland, where he had imbibed the best German and Russian influences in his youth ; and after laying the foundation of rabbinical knowledge, he went to Ger- many to continue his studies for the rab- binate. By chance, one day at the univer- sity, he heard a lecture by a master of historical science, a gifted speaker and scholar. It fairly thrilled him, and he repeated the visit. Again and again he listened, and felt strangely moved. Little 12 INTRODUCTION by little his enthusiasm for theology cooled as his Interest In history increased. What could he do ? He knew that there was no possible future for him as a Jew In the field of history, and he loved his religion too well to sell his birthright for position or privilege, as was unhappily too common In his day. So he resolved to change his career and take up the science of medicine. It required some courage to tell his folks of his new decision, but they wrote that they were satisfied If he would only first complete his course for the min- istry — they had a faint Idea that he might ultimately abandon his fancy for medicine. He had willingly acceded to their desire, and It was only on the completion of his rabbinical studies that he devoted himself to medical research. After obtaining his doctorate, he came to America. Here he attended lectures at a leading university, supporting himself in the meanwhile by a 13 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP teaching and writing. His years of hard work had not deadened his zeal for Juda- ism, and, like so many physicians of his calibre, he was the centre of activity in religious and educational matters in his new home. The Friday evening gatherings were at his invitatien, and in the program, however informal, he was the enthusiastic leader. Who were included in this earnest circle week by week ? First was the rabbi, eager to encourage interest in Jewish education. He was never too tired after the sermon and service to take part in the discussion; nay, he seemed to find relaxation in the new points of view that were spiritedly pre- sented. Then came a few young lawyers, who were intensely interested in the field of communal work and ready to spend much of their leisure as visitors for the Federa- tion of Jewish Charities. Next was a school principal, an expert in pedagogy and 14 INTRODUCTION its latest theories, who, aided by several men and women public school teachers, gave a distinctly intellectual tone to the de- bates. Some young rabbinical students and a coterie of post-confirmants, not yet past their teens, furnished the youthful element. Add a number of thoughtful men and women from the congregation of a more sedate age, a few outsiders, and the young people of Dr. Jacobson's family and of friends who lived in the neighborhood, and the circle was complete. One evening the conversation turned upon the history of the Sabbath lamp and upon the part it played in the social and religious life of our people. " You know the saying, Dr. Jacobson," said the rabbi, " ' when the lamp is lit all sorrows flit.' We forget the week's burden in the blessing of the Sabbath." " But it was more than a matter of senti- ment," the physician rejoined. " For re- 15 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP call, rabbi, the talmudic discussion whether lighting the Sabbath lamp is an obligation, for the neglect of which one is punished in the world to come, or a meritorious act, a mitzzvah. An interesting point, too, in our day of women's rights is the fact that It was an obligation Incumbent upon women, and only when there was no house- wife was the duty performed by a man." Here one of the young students, fresh from the college atmosphere, thought that there was a fine subject for debate with regard to the material employed for the wick, as well as to the number of lights, two, seven, or eight. " It Is curious," added the rabbi, " that conforming to their literal interpretation of Scripture, the Karaites, at least the early followers of that sect, did not light the Sabbath light, in obedience to the command In the Torah: 'Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sab- bath day.' " 16 INTRODUCTION " A suggestion, Dr. Jacobson," suddenly exclaimed one of the ladies, who seemed rather indifferent to the technical debate that now sprang up as to why olive oil was preferred for feeding the wick. " A sug- gestion, doctor." " And pray, what is the suggestion, Mrs. Lewis? " asked Dr. Jacobson smilingly. Mrs. Lewis was a leader in the Council of Jewish Women. " Let these discussions be varied by an occasional less technical feature. It would be charming to listen now and then to some story that is more or less associated with the Sabbath, or festival, or some contem- porary problem. That would interest many of us who are less keen — as the say- ing is — on rabbinical subjects." " That is a capital idea, Mrs. Lewis," the doctor quickly rejoined, and promptly laid the subject before the gathering. There was little opposition to the proposal, 17 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP but much favorable comment. It was re- solved, however, to make only the first Friday evening of each month " story " night, so as not to draw too heavily upon the resources of the few who could write or tell such tales. And so it happened that the practice which began a few weeks thereafter con- tinued for some years with intervals each summer. There under the Sabbath lamp the tales were told, either in the form of a written narrative which was read to the gathering, or as an impromptu recital of an incident or episode which was later en- larged into approved story form. Each tale, too, at its conclusion was the sub- ject of animated discussion, in which char- acter and treatment were duly criticised. It was peculiarly appropriate that we all gathered under the Sabbath lamp,- which the rabbi had bought in Krotoschin on one of his trips abroad, and had given to the 18 INTRODUCTION doctor on his return. The lamp had come originally from Strassburg, and was of seventeenth century make — a silver lamp hanging from the ceiling, resembling a chandelier, with its seven branches ar- ranged both for candles as well as for oil. Its history was not known in detail, and there was no written memorial. The lamp itself was its own memorial — it had shone over Jewish households for many generations and in centuries when to retain it demanded courage of the highest order. It was often at the Jew's peril that he kept it lit; and how he idolized his Sabbath, sang sweet hymns in its honor, glorified its history and its aim when its observance implied hardship and sacrifice I Thus the lamp served to symbolize the spirit of Judaism which was at its brightest amid the burden and sorrow, aptly illustrating the words of the ancient text: " Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage." 19 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP On the first story evening, just before the tale was to be told, as an appropriate prelude, Dr. Jacobson asked one of his daughters to read some stanzas from Michael Henry's poem " The Sabbath Lamp," which, though too little known, gives in eloquent, graceful verse, without any exaggerated sentiment, the mission of one of our imperishable home symbols : Shine, Sabbath Lamp, oh, shine with tender ray! Pierce the soft wavelets of the fading light; Speed the faint footsteps of the waning day, And greet the shadows of the coming night! .... Ah, shine afar! and may thy waves of light Bring near the absent dear ones far away; Show us our loved ones in our dreams to-night, Our dead who rest in Heaven's bright Sabbath day ! Shine on the Past — and, as the raindrops gleam With rainbow tints where'er the sunbeams rest; So may our tears grow bright beneath thy beam, And every grief be sanctified and blest. Shine on the Present — ^may thy beacon light Beam on life's sea where mists and tempests reign; And may its radiance guide our course aright, And fling its silvery track across the main. 20 INTRODUCTION Shine on the Future — lead these hearts of ours Far beyond home and clime and native strand. Light up the East-gleam on yon ruined towers; And rend the gloom that veils our long-lost land. Shine, Sabbath Lamp, with ray of heavenly birth, Emblem of Faith and Hope in mercy given; Gleam on the rude, dark path we tread on earth, And light our souls to find the road to heaven. As the young girl's sweet voice died away, came the story. And regularly on the first Friday night of each month was heard a new tale. In the course of a few years these tales increased to such a goodly number that it was resolved to arrange them in book form. Of course it was im- perative to make some changes when the stories came to be read by the regularly appointed critic who was an outsider. There was a ruthless slashing here and there, a heartless scissoring now and then; some stories in fact were declared unsuit- able for a larger audience, and were very properly omitted. It was a wholesome 21 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP change in all directions ; and as the volume grew to completeness, all of us began to re- gard the Sabbath lamp with additional interest and affection. It was the inspirer of the tales, under its radiance they had their growth ; and were some of us too dar- ing to hope that a portion of its power, a share of its purpose, a ray, however faint, of its light, might have entered the book, to make it a divine blessing to old and young? 22 THE OLD SHOFAR I canDot tell how the truth may be; I say the tale as 'twas said to me. — Scott. It was told in cliff-crowned Seligstadt many years ago. Out there in the sum- mer garden we all had gathered to watch the moon rise far above the opposite hills ; but as the performance was indefinitely postponed for that evening, owing to the appearance of a whole fleet of darkening clouds, our genial host, Herr Doodlesack, volunteered the tale to pass the time away. The comments it evoked were by no means favorable. " The idea," exclaimed one, " that — " "And why not?" replied our host, smacking his lips, still thirsty after the fourth glass of beer. " Ich bitte Sie," asserted a second, " You surely do not mean to say that — " 23 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP " Why, surely," rejoined Herr Doodle- sack, just a little impatiently. His tales were wont to inspire enthusiasm, not to create doubt. " But, Herr Doodlesack," remonstrated a third, " you are certainly not serious In asserting that — " " Of course I am serious," the host an- swered, making a visible effort to regain his composure which was being sadly ruffled. He could endure to have his beer criticised, but not the gentle effervescence of his brain. " But to imagine," chimed in a fourth, " to imagine the possibility of — " " Why not? " dryly exclaimed our host, as he abruptly turned in his seat and left the garden. It was evident that the story had been rather sceptically received by my compan- ions; but it had somewhat pleased me, I confess, and I could not rest that night 24 THE OLD SHOFAR until I had jotted it briefly down. It ap- peared to me unconventional in tone and treatment and pitched in a different key from ordinary New Year's tales. There was no smoke of fagots, no masked inquisi- tors, no trembling victims, no sounds of lamentation, no shroud-clad forms chant- ing at a rapid rate the traditional melodies ; no little, grey-bearded man in a curious white cap trimmed with gold, which kept bobbing up and down over his head, as he tremulously blew his notes, while everybody looked awe-struck, except the little boys who were compelled to wait for breakfast until the shofar was blown. No, indeed; ah, no, indeed ! there was nothing like this. This story rang out an utterly different note, strains of — , but we need not antici- pate. The reader will find it all out for himself, if he be patient until the end. S5 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP I What Love Said to the Shofar Were the two seated beneath a lime- tree on a joyous afternoon in June, gazing raptly into each other's eyes, while a little bird upon a swaying bough poured forth its roundelay ? Or, perhaps, was it at early morn, whose fair dawn suggested the still fairer promise of love's sweet dream ? Was he an impetuous, plumed knight, in all the circumstance of war, and she a timid, dainty maid, listening to vows which are but uttered to be broken ? It was nothing of the kind. There was no lime-tree, bird, sun- rise, or plumed knight; but it was the twilight hour in September, and soft shad- ows, half prophetic of coming sorrows, were approaching the little dwelling of widow Heidenheim in quaint Dyrenfurth- on-the-Oder. For a time the sunbeams toyed with its overhangifag gables, as if 26 THE OLD SHOFAR reluctant to enter the home ; then gathering courage, they crept nearer and nearer, until with a bold leap they suddenly darted into the front room of the second story, where before the broad hearth filled with wild grasses stood a youth and a maiden engaged in eager converse. And neither knew that they had a curious listener — the old shofar which hung over the mantel, and missed not a tone, a glance, a whisper, or a sigh. " Next Thursday will be the New Year, Bona," said the young man, in as gloomy a tone as though he were uttering a death- sentence. " As if I did not know it, Heinrich I " she replied, just as gloomily. " Do you know, Bona ? I have not only lost my heart, wholly, irrecoverably, and that is bad enough ; but I have lost hope as well, and that is decidedly worse. I am in despair." And he took long strides up and down the room in his agitation. 27 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP She had no such cheerless confession to make, but looked as if she, too, were in the same unenviable condition. It was evident that they were partners in the establishment of Gloom, Despair, & Co., Unlimited. " I don't blame your mother for the condition she imposed, but how can I raise looo gulden before the New Year? I haven't one-tenth of the sum ; I am only a poor referendarius. If she could but wait another year! I am bound to get along, and my practice must increase. But it is vain to expect her to yield. I suppose I must face the inevitable and say farewell to you and every bright hope of the future. I cannot ask you to wait. I cannot bid you share my life of poverty. That would be cruel and unjust to you. So it is best to go. It is the old, old story, Bona. It is useless to say more. We could be so happy, but that is now impossible." " Heinrich, you are too hasty and pa&- 28 THE OLD SHOFAR sionate. Perhaps mother would not be so unyielding. Let us ask her once more. Come after service on Wednesday evening, and speak to her again." " I fear it is of no avail, Bona," said the timid youth, " but I shall come and see you then anyway, even though it may be for the last time." Was it not sad and dreadful to witness such young hearts in their agonizing pain? How the shofar felt for them, as their tale of love for the thousandth time entered its heart ! How it throbbed in sympathy when they clasped hands at parting! How agi- tated it became when a hot tear or two gathered in her eyes ! And was it a blush or a sunbeam that passed over its weather- beaten countenance when they kissed in the secluded doorway? His steps died away. She returned to the room, and stood before the hearth. It was dark now, very fortunately for the 3 29 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP shofar, otherwise Bona would have de- tected something strange in its appearance. It was shining like gold, old-fashioned gold, and was smiling in its glee ; it was chuckling as if it had a merry tale to tell. But Bona did not see it. The room was dark to her, and her life seemed darker still, although she did not stride up and down in her despair, but patiently stood near the hearth beneath the shofar. Now the shofar was centuries old before Heinrich's father on his death-bed be- queathed it to his son. It had been born in Egypt, carried to Spain, thence to Ger- many, and had at last found rest in peace- ful Dyrenfurth, where Heinrich had hung it over the hearth in the widow's home. During all these years, how varied had been its experiences, what sights it had seen, what sounds it had heard! The prayers, the aspirations of Heinrich's ances- tors had breathed through it. It had 30 THE OLD SHOFAR caught the echo of a thousand years, and what precious associations and memories were stored within its recesses! It had been treasured of old, when it had been active in its ministrations ; it was venerated now in its quiet household shrine. How it had charged the people on the New Year, how it had thrilled them on the Day of Atonement, how its reverberations marched on from year to year, instilling solemn thoughts and tear-bought recollections I It had been saved from fire and carnage; it had been rescued from shipwreck and storm. And yet, though its history was so remarkable, its experience so long and varied, it had never, never witnessed so sad a scene. Would you believe it? That shofar was in such good humor as fairly to shine like gold in the darkness, and yet Bona did not see its countenance. It was, however, soon to speak convincingly. 31 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP II How THE Shofar Replied It was New Year's eve in peaceful Dyrenfurth. The lowly synagogue was empty now, the lanes no longer alive with the tread and tramp of the worshippers. The old mediaeval town seemed hushed to sleep, while the stars kept ceaseless watch above. They have had long experience in that kind of work, and are experts in their line. If you had accompanied the spirit of the New Year on its wanderings that night, you would have found joy and contentment in every Jewish home ; for New Year was not regarded as a superstition, or treated with an exaggerated importance which forbade social diversion and good humor. The people did not condense all their piety into one annual festival ; nor did they wear awe- struck countenances for that occasion only. It was a joyous scene, a family reunion, a S2 THE OLD SHOFAR festival of light and gladness, which glowed the more radiantly because of the fervent religious feelings which gave it birth. It was a fine illustration of the saying of Rab Hama in the Talmud : When a man is summoned to court, he usually robes himself in black, and presents himself un- shorn, in his uncertainty as to the result. But the Israelites on their New Year, which is a day of divine judgment, don white garments, trim their beards, eat and drink, and are merry in spirit, in the full faith that God will work miracles for them. There were no two persons in the whole community who desired more fervently the appearance of a miracle that evening than Bona and Heinrich. A huge bag of gold from the sky would have given them satis- faction ; the softening of the widow's heart would have filled them with equal delight. And as they sat by the table, quieter than UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP » usual, after the evening meal, it was clear that they were pondering over the prob- ability of either miracle happening. That another miracle was going to happen — of this they had not the slightest inkling, as coming events do not always cast their shadows before. But the old shofar knew better. It could hardly restrain itself; it could with difficulty refrain from telling the lovers that for which they would have given everything to learn. It checked its heart's throbbings, it controlled its im- patience; it held its breath, and listened intently. " Well," said Heinrich at last, " New Year has come, and I have not the thou- sand gulden. What shall I do? " Bona wondered whether her mother caught the tone of despair in every syllable. " I thought I would be more successful, but I — I was mistaken, it seems." Could her mother fail to note the humili- 34 THE OLD SHOFAR atlon in every word? asked the maiden silently. " I have done my best, Frau Heiden- heim, I have done my best," he repeated. " I am the most unfortunate fellow in the world." Surely, thought Bona, mother's heart would break at such an outburst of grief. " Still we are both young, and she loves me. Can you not give me one more chance, one more New Year, Frau Heidenheim? " Bona's looks were downcast now. Her mother's answers were so slow In coming, while hers had long since been given. Why so obdurate? Why so cruel and unrelent- ing? It was unbearable. " Dear Heinrich," said the widow at last, " I imposed that condition for your own good and for Bona's happiness. A thousand gulden is not too much to start life with. But I do not wish to make you both unhappy. So if you like, let next New 35 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP Year decide, if Bona can wait so long and the thousand gulden are then forth- coming." ****** Of course the widow's answer was not given in such formal sentences, nor was it heard in sober silence. There was just a little hysterical sobbing on her part, for the good Jewess is easily moved to tears, and the lovers gave vent to a great deal of noisy exhilaration, in which Bona's little sisters and brothers joined. It was some minutes before the household regained Its usual calm. " I must blow the shofar," suddenly ex- claimed Helnrlch, " If only for luck next year." And he seized it boldly from its nook above the mantel. No one had used It since his father's death, and the children watched the preparation with considerable Interest, although the regularity of this act was not above suspicion. 36 THE OLD SHOFAR " How heavy it is, Bona," he exclaimed, as he drew it in approved style to his lips, and essayed to blow an exultant note. " Why, what's the matter with it? " he added, as not a sound was heard. Again he blew with all his might, as if he were about to demolish the walls of Jericho. But his efforts were in vain. The shofar remained obstinately silent. What was the matter? Heinrich held it up to the light, and peered through it. He again strove to blow a bugle blast, and again was dis- comfited. " Bother the shofar," he exclaimed, striking it on the table with such force that a great gap was made In its side, and .... Down they fell noisily on the ground, yel- low guineas of the English realm, which Heinrich's father had hoarded up for his son's sake. Down they fell in such quanti- ties that the little ones could not gather them fast enough. Down they fell in a 37 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP golden shower which bade glad hope live anew in youth and maid, and made their hearts gay and grateful for the sudden, unexpjected bounty. ****** This is how the shofar replied, and if the reader is inclined to disbelieve the mir- acle, how else can he account for the fact that Bona and Heinrich were married in the early spring, long, long before the next New Year? Perhaps you are sceptical. Well, if you ever go to Dyrenfurth and see the shofar hanging on its olden hook above the man- tel, how otherwise can you explain the gap in its side ? No, no, it was a miracle ; and I have not the slightest hesitation in adding that to have such a miracle happen for their sakes, many, many young people like Bona and Heinrich would endure with com- placency the hopeless fracture of every shofar in their immediate vicinity. 38 BORN AGAIN This is God's chosen Minister; this one Shall lead his people in the righteous way .... A dream of what a Minister must be. — Nina Davis, Songs of Exile. Most people would say that it was no new preacher at all; he had the same eyes, nose, mouth, and hair, was of the same height, and offered the same hands. But others who can read between the lines, and are thankful for the gift, declared it was a new preacher. He had gone through some experience. His soul had changed. He had been born again ! Born again? That is a strange notion for a Jewish minister to be born again. It has grown to be a bit uncanny, although there is nothing un-Jewish in the phrase. It implies to be trained anew, to be given a post-graduate course In the great school of life's experience, and to receive a new de- 89 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP gree — Doctor of Humility. And humility is a quality more necessary for the pulpit than philosophy, sociology, or pedagogy, which are so popular just now with their variegated hoods and insignia of scholar- ship. Yet the new birth is no twentieth-cen- tury idea, it goes back to the psalmist who asked the Lord to create in him a new and contrite spirit, which He would not despise. It was an afternoon, a few weeks before the Day of Atonement. There was no visible sign of the approaching solemnity, save in the somewhat shorter days and the longer shadows of evening. The air was a little cooler perhaps, the street somewhat more crowded, as the city dwellers were returning from their country haunts. Otherwise there was no outward evidence that Israel's hour of revival was swiftly nearing with its deep-toned message to old and young, rich and poor. 40 BORN AGAIN The preacher sat in his study. It was his " den " where he was likely to be secure from all unpleasant interruptions which jarred on his sensitive nerves, and rudely disturbed his golden moments of inspira- tion. It was furnished with rare taste and luxury: soft rugs upon the floor, hand- some vases on the low bookcases that encir- cled the walls, rare etchings upon the easel, costly engravings on every side, a cabinet of coins in one corner, and a poem in mar- ble in another. No wonder he felt a thrill of self-satisfaction as he glanced in every direction. His sense of comfort, too, was heightened by the roll of proof-sheets on his desk — his latest work almost ready for publication. There was a long row of vol- umes published by him since his occupancy of the pulpit, but this was to be his crown- ing effort and to increase his fame still further. There were the books, the creation of 41 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP his genius, on a long shelf all by them- selves. The critics spoke highly of them; the public bought them ; the learned world acknowledged their merit. History, biog- raphy, criticism, were his special fields. But his mind was so versatile that he could produce novels as well ; and his poems had a rapid sale. As a popular lecturer he always attracted a large audience. His travels to the East and his discovery of a missing fragment of the Apocrypha gained him the doctorate from two Old World universities. Yes, he had been singularly successful, and that, too, without stooping to any mean tricks. He was above sycophancy and self- advertising. He had made his career by hard pushing, by resolute work, by sheer stamina, he was wont to say. Not two decades in the pulpit, he had long out- stripped men of his class in the seminary, and left them and older graduates far be- 42 BORN AGAIN hind. He was known as the eminent, the distinguished, and he enjoyed the luxury of fame as only men of his character can. He had never done a low action; he had never driven over an adversary; but his talent and genius from the very start made a track for themselves. It must be confessed that the preacher who was never idle, but always a miracle of industry, had one solitary failing: he loved to dwell upon his success and go over, in memory, each step in his advancement. That afternoon he was just in such a mood, and his pride was attaining fever-heat. " Simeon I " It was the voice of his wife as she drew aside the heavy curtain that shut off the " den " from the hall. "Well?" came a querulous tone from the preacher, disturbed in his reverie. " The boy whom you wished to see is here." " What boy? " he asked in an impatient tone. 43 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP " Don't you remember? The boy for whom you were to secure a situation, — that poor Roumanian lad. You cannot, surely, have forgotten it." There was a shade of pain in her voice. "Oh, let him come to-morrow, Sarah; I cannot be bothered now. I have my thoughts busy enough with other matters. Let him come, say, this day next week." " But, Simeon," with gentle remon- strance in her tone, " Simeon, his mother is destitute ; she must have money." " I cannot help it. Why am I always troubled by that class of people ? It would tax the patience of a Job, or the purse of a Croesus. Let him come next week; do you hear? Tell him to be here next Wed- nesday. I'll attend to the matter then." The preacher's wife heard; she sighed, as she turned away, and bade the boy come the following week. Then seeing him to the door, she gave him a trifle for present needs. 44 BORN AGAIN The preacher resumed his reverie, but found it diiBcuIt to regain his self-satisfac- tion. His nature was keenly sensitive, and the slightest cause would often produce the intensest jar. And now what had snapped' asunder his pleasant fancies? What had vexed him at the moment of his exhilara- tion? It was his wife's sigh, low, tremulous, scarcely audible, which had penetrated his soul, and rankled there, as if endowed with physical potency. It was the sigh of his wife, gentle, patient, uncomplaining, that had stirred him from his dreams. He rose from his chair. He paced up and down the room. He never sighed. Why should his wife sigh? And why should that sigh produce such inward ill? Had he said aught unkind ? Was he not always gentle to her? His wife's sigh I She was not looking so young. There were streaks of gray in her 4 45 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP hair, and her cheeks were not so full and round. His wife's sigh I Was it not her wealth that gave him leisure and inde- pendence? Was it not her influence that had spread his fame ? Did her sigh imply regret at her choice, or her bitter disap- pointment ? Now a man who can still real- ize that he has a conscience is not likely to go long astray, and the preacher had a con- science, and it was making a sharp fight. Jacob's contest of old with the wrestling angel finds its parallel in many an inward struggle of the human soul. The preacher's few minutes of agony seemed as long as the hours to the patriarch, and he, too, pre- vailed. His heart was changed, like the name of his prototype. " I would like to see him so much I " The tones of a fresh, strong voice fell tipon his ear, as the curtain was drawn aside, and a young man entered. " Ah, doctor, I could not resist the de- 46 BORN AGAIN sire to see you. I have heard of you so often, and your books are so well thumbed at home. I have so much to say." His eagerness rang out in every word. " You know I have chosen the ministry for my vocation. O doctor, I feel so un- fitted for the task. My doubts are not of God, or religion, or the good Book, or the lovely traditions and associations that blend with the faith. No, no, my doubts are of myself, my unworthiness, my littleness, my poverty of the spirit. What can I do to cope with that task? How can I become a preacher to humanity? How shall I drive home our divine religion? How shall I impel men to follow the Almighty? The work is so sublime, and I so insignifi- cant. What can I do? " The preacher heard him. It seemed that his features were familiar, and his voice was not strange. " O doctor, I do not care for books, 47 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP when struggling men and weak women and tender children are to be uplifted. I do not wish for fame. I do not look for success, measured by a large congregation, a princely salary, and a growing reputation. I would have the prophet's ideal realized in my life. Let the spirit of God rest upon me, the spirit of wisdom and understand- ing, however lowly my portion. Let me not judge after the sight of my eyes, nor decide after the hearing of my ears. These words of Isaiah always occur to me, doctor. I made them the text of my graduation sermon at the seminary a few weeks ago, I — " " His graduation sermon! " thought the preacher. " Why it was my text when I graduated 1 " "O doctor, doctor I " the young man cried, as tears started in his eyes, " pardon my impulsiveness. I do not wish to be faithless to my ideal. So many start well 48 BORN AGAIN and fail. I want to translate that text into life. There is so much to be done and so few to do it. Don't you recall those lines from Lowell? The Lord wants reapers; oh, mount up Before night comes and says : ' Too late ! ' Stay not for taking scrip or cup, The Master hungers while ye wait " Those lines, those lines," said the preacher to himself ; " why do I always hear them now ? Have I waited for scrip or cup while some one has hungered? " " I know no greater curse, doctor," con- tinued the young man, with his cheeks all aflame with enthusiasm, " than to have my unfulfilled ideal rebuke me as I grow old. To have the spectre of the unrealized al- ways around me ; to hear the accusing voice of opportunity misspent and advantages misapplied; to feel that I have been dis- loyal and cowardly and bent only on my own advancement, while religion has hun- 49 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP gered — the thought would drive me wild. So I have come to you, good sir, for kindly counsel. Tell me what I shall do. You are a wise counsellor, you sympathize with me. You, too, once were young like myself." " You have come to me — to me — for counsel ! " the preacher exclaimed, slowly rising from his chair and advancing. " Do you know how faithless I have been to my youth's ideal? Oh, spare me, spare me." The preacher awoke. Was it but a rev- erie after all ? Had his youth come back to accuse him, like in Jean Paul Richter's dream ? " Sarah, Sarah! " he exclaimed, tearing aside the curtain, and folding her, as she came, in a passionate embrace. " Sarah, you shall never sigh again. It is still day for us. It is not too late, thank God I " " Why, Simeon I " was her startling ex- clamation, "What do you mean? " 50 BORN AGAIN He told her of his wrestling spirit and his victory. She listened contented. " I knew the awakening would come, my husband," she rejoined calmly. It was Kol Nidre night, when Israel throughout the world is a suppliant before the Almighty. He preached as he never had preached before. And in the morning and the afternoon of the great day there was something in his voice and manner which at once aroused surprise. From week to week the wonderment grew. He ceased to arraign, to denounce, to analyze the weaknesses and defects in the men and the women before him with a certain pride and an evident sense of superiority. He dwelt more and more on their lovable quali- ties, their patient endurance, their hopeful- ness amid crushing burdens, their helpful- ness and strength, the common round of 51 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP sorrows that make us brothers all. Soon the people who had been so long in awe of his genius marked the change, and drew nearer to him. He, too, felt this change consciously and gratefully. With the seed of humility planted anew in his soul, his work grew to lovelier and more enduring proportions. He had been bom again 1 52 BEFORE DAWN Until the day breathe, and the shadows flee away. — Song of Songs He had spent the greater part of the summer vacation In Switzerland, and then, being seized by a desire to see Poland, passed several weeks on its hospitable soil. He visited Cracow, saw its salt-mines, and was on his way back to Berlin. " I wonder," said he to himself while resting one evening in his room at Mylius' Hotel in Posen, " I wonder whether I have time to visit the professor's Jewish friend, Rabbi Kossman. Somewhat out of the way, it is true, but, as the semester does not begin before the first of November, I can spare a few days at any rate. Let me see. He lives at Ostrowo, which is not very far. I think I'll start to-morrow. I 53 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP would like to meet a real Jew. I have not met many, and it would certainly please the professor." Arthur Livingston was spending his last year in Europe as a student of law, and under the best auspices — health, youth, wealth, and good spirits. The only son of a New York banker, after graduating from Harvard, he went to Berlin to continue his studies and add to his fund of experience. He had the happy knack of making friends, for his genial nature shone in his open countenance, sparkled in his glances, and intensified each handclasp. He was full of high ambitions and generous resolves, and life was a rose-garden with birds of song on every bough. He drank in happi- ness with every breath, and having almost completed his work abroad, his heavens were unclouded and his enthusiasm un- bounded. * * * * :tf * 54 BEFORE DAWN It was early in the evening when Liv- ingston set out for the rabbi's dwelling, having arrived at the Ostrowo station an hour or two earlier. How his tall form towered above the diminutive men and women he met, while his happy, smiling countenance contrasted with the dark and sterner faces that passed him on the way. The old gable roofs frowned upon him, the narrow lanes looked threatening at his approach, the high walls of convent and cloister were almost forbidding, the streets wore an ominous look. The stars alone seemed to him to be in a friendly mood. They were his dearest friends in all his wanderings, reminding him of his loved ones at home, whose bright smiles shone in the darkness and were caught up by the skies. What seems distant is often nearer to us than what is close at our side. Yes, it was the rabbi's dwelling at last, but what a festive gathering in the open 55 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP air I Livingston entered the garden, when the servant had ushered him in, after he had presented his card and the professor's note of introduction. There, not ten feet distant, was a bower of leaves and branches ; within stood a table covered with a white cloth and sparkling with silver dishes. Fruit and colored lanterns hung from the roof. On the walls were pictures of bibli- cal scenes. At first he was inclined to withdraw, for he surely was trespassing upon some family festivity. Always self- possessed, Livingston felt here curiously embarrassed. But the white-haired rabbi soon relieved him of all timidity. " How do you do? " he exclaimed in the best English he knew. " You will take a seat and a few soup. Ah, don't laugh out my bad English." " All right, sir. Don't you laugh at my poor German," Livingston replied, " and I'll keep a straight countenance when you 56 BEFORE DAWN essay English; but I understand German very well, sir." "Ach so!" said the rabbi smiling, " well, we shall get along comfortably then." A seat next to the rabbi was quickly ar- ranged for the American, and after some inquiry as to the professor's health and Livingston's, travels and studies, the rabbi presented him to his wife and daughter and the assembled guests. " I fear I have disturbed you at a wed- ding," said the American, scarcely raising his eyes from the plate of soup, for the business of eating and drinking had already begun. "A wedding I My dear Mr. Livings- ton," the rabbi exclaimed amid the laughter of the company. " A wedding! Why, it is our Festival of Tabernacles to-night, and we have gathered in our Sukkah in memory of olden times." 57 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP " Oh, yes, yes, yes," hastily rejoined the American. " Of course, it was stupid of me, but I forgot all about it. I remember now that I did read in the Abendblatt that to-night was a Hebrew festival. I am so sorry that I am intruding. And yet — shall I confess it ? — I am glad to be with you ; for it reminds me of my own home in New York. I do not mean to say that we have boughs of leaves and flowers and all of that except at Easter ; but your kindly tones, Herr Doctor, remind me of my father, and the happy faces of your family recall those of my own." His voice faltered as he spoke. He bowed his head, but quickly regained his self-control, hoping that his emotion had escaped notice. " But, my dear friend," said the rabbi, moved by the warmth of feeling in the American's speech, " we must have no more talking. Let us eat first and talk after- wards." And turning to his daughter, he 58 BEFORE DAWN added : " Clara, my Herzenskind, fill Mr. Livingston's glass." The order was cheer- fully obeyed. " And now silence all. Or, if you like, I'll do the talking," said the rabbi with a roguish glance around. And he began to talk, without in the least impairing his digestion or that of his friends. What a medley of topics did he touch upon, one subject suggesting another in an endless variety ! There was kindness in every word, cheery wit in every sentence. His fat cheeks shook, as anecdote after anecdote fell from his lips, and the rippling of merry laughter formed as agreeable Tischmusik as Livingston had ever heard. To the American it was a scene from the Arabian Nights. Its novelty and charm wove an unaccountable spell. He had never before broken bread with a Jewish family. The meaning of Tabernacles was a mystery which he did not desire to have 59 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP explained. Some of the words employed by the rabbi were Hebrew, and therefore unintelligible to him. The lights, the fragrance, the silver goblets, the pictures on the wall, the embroidered tapestry, added to the quaintness of the scene. But he hazarded no questions, betrayed no uneasi- ness. " One of the golden half-hours which are flying about all over the world " had come to him, and he enjoyed it to the ut- most. The rabbi, whose goodness of heart beamed from his scintillating spectacles; his placidly-smiling wife, with her hair just silvering but her cheeks still rosy; the daughter, whose features shone with an unspeakable beauty as she raised her lumin- ous eyes for a moment to his own, and in whose looks one could read such trustful- ness and repose — all formed a family group to be forever photographed on his soul. At last the rabbi ceased his talk; there came a brief silence, and soon all 60 BEFORE DAWN joined in prayer. Livingston insisted upon covering his head, too, and his heart spolce in thankfulness to God, although no words came from his lips. How pleased will his people be when they receive his next letter with a full account of the evening at the rabbi's ! After prayer the guests, one by one, de- parted, and Arthur was also preparing to go; but the rabbi would not hear of it. " Stay a little longer, Mr. Livingston. You leave Ostrowo to-morrow morning, and I do want to ask you about America. Be- sides, you have not talked at all. Are you Americans tongue-tied?" " Tongue-tied? Just the reverse, I fancy," he responded with a light laugh. " I am very fond of talking, and often do not know when to stop. It was largely on this account that I have been so silent, but not inattentive," and he let his eyes uncon- sciously rest on the rabbi's daughter. " I 5 61 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP am rather glad to stay a little longer " — and now he thought he saw a grateful gleam on her countenance — " I assure you, for I never met a rabbi in all my wander- ings, and it is a pleasant experience, I con- fess, believe me." "Really though!" exclaimed the rabbi with twinkling glee. " Really though! But a truce to compliments, young man. Let me hear about America. We are all impatient. Come, begin." Mr. Livingston began. He told about America's greatness and vastness, its cities and plains, its mountains and seas. He spoke of its early struggles for freedom, its triumphs in the sciences and art, its superb record In philanthropy and educa- tion. He dwelt eloquently on the war of '61 and the matchless courage and enthusi- asm displayed on both sides. He referred to the wonderful progress of the country, the marvellous Inventiveness of- the people, 62 BEFORE DAWN the magnificent palaces of trade, asylums, churches, colleges. Institutions for the relief of every ill. " Not a stone's throw from our residence on Madison Avenue is Charity Square. There, facing each other as close neighbors, are the asylums and hospitals of many creeds. Your Jewish Hospital is one of the largest and best in the entire country, and its portals are open to all without distinc- tion of belief. When the church which my family attended was destroyed not so long ago, a synagogue was offered to the con- gregation for Sundays, which was grate- fully accepted. Yes, we are living in an heroic age, rabbi," continued the young man. " Ah, how proud I am to be an American, how I long to return and mingle in the joyous stir and life at home 1 And when I return," he exclaimed, while his voice deepened with emotion, " how much I hope to accomplish ! " 63 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP Then he told them of his dreams and as- pirations, and they listened in silence. With his father's wealth and his family's influ- ence he would enter political life after a few years' experience as a lawyer and de- vote his entire energies to a reform of par- ties and party principles. He felt confident that his motives were so unselfish and his aims so lofty that he would readily attain success ; and then, when an era of genuine political reform dawned, he would retire from the field and devote his wealth and activity to the social and religious better- ment of the poor. How Clara, stirred by his earnest and impassioned tones, drank in every word and glance I She, too, had longings, vague and unformulated as yet, which needed only propitious fate to transfer them from dreamland into reality. As she listened, she was confident that the noble, generous youth would succeed. Ah, she knew not — 64 BEFORE DAWN and how few recognize the fact I — that life to the great majority is but a rude torso: there may be wonderful beauty and pro- portion in its parts, but as a whole it is fragmentary and incomplete. When we are young, how real and substantial appears every aspiration! Happy those whose dreams do not vanish, even when the world's disillusions and disenchantments are encountered! " Heroic age ! You call it an heroic age I " exclaimed the rabbi after a brief pause. His brow was stern, and his voice lost its cheerfulness. " Why, it is an age of the furies here in Poland. But yester- day they threw stones at the synagogue, and violated the cemetery at Kalisch. To-day they may commit excesses still nearer, and to-morrow the red torch may wave over our heads." " What! " exclaimed Livingston. " You surely are jesting. The miscreants, the savages I " UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP " Jesting," replied the rabbi in a voice of scorn. " God forgive me this happy eve for touching on such scenes. But I cannot be deaf to the agony of my brethren. In Hungary they bring up again the blood ac- cusation; in Roumania they insolently repeat the cry ' Drown the Jews in the Danube ' ; In Berlin they crowd to hear Henrici utter his blasphemies ; and in Rus- sia, in Russia the cup of sorrow is filled to the brim. And you call the age heroic ! " " I mean in America the age is heroic," Livingston quickly interrupted. " My country is a land of hope; Germany, of despair. I have met more dwarfs and cripples in one day on German soil than during all my life in America. But is it really so. Rabbi Kossman? Have the anti- Semitic agitators entered Poland? " " Yes, and spread their subtle poison everywhere until the air is charged with the elements of strife. There is no safety for 66 BEFORE DAWN Israel until you Christians all the world over prove your gratitude to the mother- religion by becoming its active defenders from cruel calumny. The church which has done so much to persecute us must prove our protector from the superstitions which she herself has sown. She must excom- municate the so-called Christians who per- secute the followers of a religion in which Christianity's founder was born and reared. Then would the age become truly heroic, while now — " A heavy stone whirled through the air, and fell with crushing force on the Suk- kah's light roof. There came from with- out a cry of derision and the sound of re- treating footsteps. Arthur sprang forward to follow the dastardly miscreants, but the rabbi called him back. " It is our own fault," he said hurriedly. " We should not have remained in the garden until so late an hour. Why, it is 67 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP nearly midnight. Your hotel will be closed, I fear, unless you hurry, and I doubt whether you know the way." " They may follow him," whispered the rabbi's wife. " Can he not stay with us? There is Berthold's room, unoccupied since we closed our dear son's eyes forever." " My wife suggests, Mr. Livingston," said the rabbi, " that you remain with us over night. You may be followed, If you are seen leaving the garden, and may easily miss your way to the hotel. We have a spare room, and you put us to no incon- venience." " Thank you a thousand times, gracious madam," and Arthur bowed to the rabbi's wife. " I fear no danger." " Do stay, Herr Livingston," faltered Clara. " I'll stay, then, dear rabbi, not for my sake, but for your own," Arthur ex- BEFORE DAWN claimed after some hesitation. " Perhaps the scoundrels may return before dawn." They withdrew slowly from the garden. The rabbi seized the lamp from the Suk- kah table, which had not been injured by the falling stone, and led the way, his wife following him. " Dismiss your fears, liebes Fraulein," whispered Arthur to Clara. " The dawn will soon break; it is even now as bright as day." She gazed back at the Sukkah, upon which the moonbeam rested in one broad swath of splendor. "How beautiful! how beautiful! " she repeated with a sigh. " But why, ah, why must my people be continually persecuted ? " " Alas, poor child," he might have an- swered in the words of Hyperion, " Thou, too, must learn, like others, that the sub- lime mystery of Providence goes on in si- lence, and gives no explanation of itself. UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP no answer to our impatient questionings," But he answered not. He felt too pro- found a sadness. He could only clasp her hand and press it to his lips, as they passed within the silent threshold. ****** It was not long before Arthur slept. He had resolved to keep awake lest there should be an assault upon the house before dawn, and for a time his eyelids bravely resisted the first approaches of drowsiness. He quickly went over the scenes of the evening. He heard the rabbi's voice, he saw the maiden's plaintive countenance, the Hebrew hymns rang in his ears. He thought, too, of his own fireside, and breathed a prayer for the distant loved ones, being seized by a sudden inexplicable longing to be with them once more. Then, despite all his efforts, his eyelids closed, and he sank fast asleep, as he framed just as fervent a prayer for the rabbi and his per- secuted people. 70 THE TRENDELE I will a round, unvarnished tale deliver. —Othello. Winter in Moravia. One shivers at the thought. The beautiful garden at Kremsier shivered, too, as December ap- proached; and the trees, despoiled of their foliage, grew sad and discontented. The flowers grieved under their covering of straw; the birds had all their song frozen out of them. The clouds were leaden and sullen. The little rifts of blue were re- proachful in the heavens. Winter defiantly, clothed house and field in snow. The first flush of spring, the ripened beauty of sum- mer, the softened loveliness of autumn crowned Kremsier in such radiant colors that now the monotonous sighing of the December breeze made all hearts despond- ent, as good old-fashioned people strove to 71 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP attain a certain degree of warmth by hug- ging the high porcelain stove, which re- sembled a tombstone, and sipping coffee five times a day. The trees, the hills, the roofs, the clouds, the fences, the fields, were all white ; but in the Beth ha-Midrash there sat as rosy a student as ever learned the Talmud — such a rosy student that all the girls in town felt an irresistible desire to kiss his cheeks and ascertain whether the color was a nat- ural tint. Fortunately, the Kremsier maid- ens had hitherto not attempted to carry out such a high-handed proceeding, which would have only made those cheeks a thou- sand times rosier than ever. Yet, would you believe it? — such are the uncertain depths of a student's nature — the rosiness of his cheeks had but little influence on his moral character, whose hopelessness in one par- ticular bafiled the good rabbi, and puzzled all the Jews of the place, except his fellow- students. 72 THE TRENDELE His bump of mischievousness was ab- normally developed, and consequently he was always in a state of effervescence. He could not remain at rest, he must always plunge into some fresh excitement. It was he who was inexhaustible in witticisms, in odd surprises, in extemporaneous poeti- zing, in startling items from Berlin, Jerusa- lem, or Nicolsburg. It was he whose impulsiveness and roguishness were the admiration of a great many impressionable people in Kremsier, including Rosa, the rabbi's daughter. Now, if his heart had contained a single atom of malice, the stu- dent would not have been so universal a favorite. Had he been petty, selfish, covet- ous, lying, the maidens of Kremsier would never have bowed so gracefully to him, and the eyes of the rabbi's daughter would never have sparkled so brightly when he passed. But he was at heart a good, earn- est fellow of nineteen, and if from morn 73 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP till eve his spirits never lost their gayety and exuberance, nobody in the whole town — not the rabbi, not old Klaus the shoemaker, not Schmidt the tailor, not even Rosa, the rabbi's daughter — knew that many a night the pillow of the student was tear-stained, as he thought of his mother in a little village many hundred miles distant; nobody knew how fervently this merry student could pray for divine support. The same lips which were ready for a jest even in the little synagogue, and scoffed at the long chants and protracted reading-pieces in the prayer-book, in the quiet evening hours, in the solitude of his attic room, what devout prayers could those very lips frame ! What was the student doing in the dusk ? He was not studying. The folios were closed. He was not writing, not a sheet of paper was spread before him. What was he planning? What new mischief was 74 THE TRENDELE in process of evolution? And this day be- fore the happy feast of Hanukkah, when there was vacation for the students, why should he remain in the Beth ha-Midrash this of all afternoons in the world? The student was hard at work construct- ing a trendele, that was all. Such an inno- cent amusement, was it not? A little four- cornered top, nothing more. Could any- thing be simpler? In his hand he held a piece of hard box-wood, to which he was giving deft touches and sundry planings with the aid of a large, unpoetical knife; and he was working with such vehemence that his cheeks grew rosier each moment. He sang a little song, which did not quiet his nerves or steady the pulsations of his heart : I wish I were Rabbi Akiba, Or Rabbi Zakkai's brave son; I would merrily shoulder my knapsack, And buy my true sweetheart a bun. He repeated many times these expressive 75 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP words to a weird melody, when suddenly he ceased, and his cheeks grew pale. His knife fell to the floor, and it was with the utmost diiEculty that he held the trendele in his hand. A form had crossed the street, that was all. A little hand was knocking at the door — surely a trifling occurrence to make the student's knife fall. " David," said the maiden, " to-night is Hanukkah." She looked at him as she spoke. " Excuse me," replied the student. " Judaism is indeed in a state of decay, if a student needs to be informed when the Feast of Dedication makes its appear- ance." And he scowled at her, a kind of scowl made up for this time only. " Quite true, David," she quietly an- swered. " But I am the rabbi's daughter, sir." And she actually tossed her head in derision, a' kind of toss made up for this time only. 76 THE TRENDELE There was a short pause. " You are the dreadfuUest student," said the maiden, with all the power at her command ; " you arc the dreadfullest stu- dent that ever studied the Talmud." " And you," answered the student hotly, " you — there was never in the whole world such a rabbi's daughter as you are." David seemed much eased after this ebullition, for he leisurely stooped, and picked up the knife. " O David," said Rosa in a gentle voice, noticing the trendeU for the first time. " Papa would like you to come and spend the evening with us. We all know," she continued quickly, " we all know that you are alone here, and it would please us so much, were you to visit us to-night." And before the student had time to answer, she slipped out of the room, and was across the street. In a moment David comprehended the 6 77 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP situation, and quickly ran into the street, yelling : " I shall come with the trendele," in such alarming tones that the Shammash thought that the lad was bewitched. And for once the man was right. Then David quickly returned to the Beth ha-Midrash, and went to work with re- newed energy on the trendele, which gradu- ally, sad to relate, assumed an unorthodox appearance. A grayish-looking substance was inserted in one of the sides. Did the student intend to convert the trendele into a powder magazine ? Instead, too, of the ordinary Hebrew lettering upon its four sides, the student, in accordance with the spirit of the age, abolished the Hebrew as the language of the trendele, and wrote four German words, upon the elaboration of one of which, a simple word of five let- ters, he bestowed unusual care. Then he placed it tenderly in his pocket, and said the afternoon prayer with fervor. After which 78 THE TRENDELE David began to hum : " I wish I were Rabbi Akiba," to the tune of a quick polka, and sallied home with his cheeks so rosy that little Julka, the rabbi's niece, who passed the student on the street, was con- vinced that they were painted. For which opinion, rather loudly expressed, the ex- ultant Miss Julka received a severe repri- mand from her cousin Rosa. ****** When David entered the rabbi's home that evening, he found the sitting-room well occupied by a number of the rabbi's rela- tives and acquaintances. Most of them he knew, and he greeted them with a smile. But a few of the assembled guests were strangers to him, and the introductions were quickly made. " These are my cousins," said Rosa, turning to a troop of little ones in the cor- ner. " Julka, Selma, Jeannette, Nanna, Max, Berthold — what a troop of them I 79 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP And these, of course, you know," poinring to a troop in another corner. " I believe I have the honor of a pre- vious acquaintance with your innumerable brothers and sisters," he said, as he ad- vanced to the group, and shook hands with all. There was laughing Bona, and fair-haired Jetta, and black-eyed Schoen- del, and dimpled Esther, and pouting Ber- tha, and four very small boys with large, hanging cheeks, so fat and full. The boys were beginning to be very sleepy, when the entrance of David enlivened the quar- tette. And soon David was pounced upon by the whok company of children, im- prisoned in a corner, and condemned to tell stories and invent games, until the little ones were so uproarious that even the rabbi and his guests ceased their talk, and watched the scene. To-night the student excelled himself. In the short space of half an hour he fought SO THE TRENDELE all the batdes of the Maccabees, overthrew the Grasco-Syrian forces without the loss of a single man, entered Jerusalem, cleansed the temple, found the magic cruse of oil, lit the lights, sang the Hanukkah hymn, and ended with giving a caricature of Antiochus Epiphanes by binding a white handkerchief around his head and raising his eyebrows and sinking his jaws. He could never have achieved all his successes had he not been powerfully aided by the rabbi's four fat-cheeked sons, whom he addressed as brothers of Judas Macca- baeus. In his desire to hold fast to historic truth, he almost came to grief. He made cousin Max represent the elephant which was to crush the heroic Maccabee, aged two years, and Max played the crushing part so well that the Maccabee raised an unearthly yell, and the little girls almost shrieked in ecstasy. But luckily no bones were broken, and a piece of mohnkuchen 81 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP quieted the nerves of the little hero. Half an hour more passed, the little ones had been sent to bed, more guests had entered, for the most part light-hearted young people. A slight pause ensued, when the rabbi turned to David and said: " Come now, David, you have trifled enough. Let us have something earnest. Is that all you learn at the Beth ha-Midrash — children's games? " " My dear rabbi, it does appear so to me — the Talmud is in a large measure a children's game, and thank God for it. Thank God, rabbi, that our sages could enter into the discussion of the weightiest social and ethical questions with the light- heartedness, but not light-headedness, of children. Thank God that they had not yet become entirely men and women of the world, but retained a certain joyousness of childhood, which made them listen with 82 THE TRENDELE eagerness to a play on words, a parable, a legend, a soul-inspiring tale." " David is right, friends, I also say with him : Thank God," the rabbi said. " The Talmud is in a large measure a children's game. The old rabbis, despite troublous times, talked often like innocent children, and preserved a childlikeness of disposition which will prove more immortal than many law principles which they spun. Sometimes I wish that subtle element were to-day more prevalent. We Jews are losing — ^many have lost — the old birthright of our race — honest simplicity of life and worship. When the Holy One, blessed be He, summons us to His presence, we shall find how worthless are trifles of ritual to which most of us at- tach such importance, how absolutely insig- nificant is the length or shortness of the prayer, the color of the fresco, the position of the seat, in comparison with the exer- cise of the gender and lowlier virtues of honesty, simplicity, purity." 83 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP " Take the trendele, rabbi," said David, who could not be serious more than five minutes. " Consider the trendele," he con- tinued, "and be wise. Why, only the other day I found a curious book in the library. It was called ' Tractate Hanukkah.' I read it, and discovered that it was the long- missing fragment of the Talmud, whose loss caused our revered teachers, Rabbis Zera and Jeremiah, to shed copious tears. I think that I can give a short sermon on the third chapter, Perek trendele, if you would like to hear it." And without wait- ing for any invitation David began, using his outstretched arm and finger, and croon- ing the words in the traditional way. " All people are obliged to turn the trendele on Hanukkah, except babies, poor widows, and lovers. Now, asks the Ge- mara, we read in another Mishnah that all people are obliged to celebrate Hanukkah, except babies, poor widows, and lovers. I 84 THE TRENDELE mi^t have thought that this Mishnah was included in the other Mishnah. No, an- swers Rabbi UUa, for that very reason it is stated expressly in the Mishnah. Per- haps some one might say: That is all right so far as lighting the candles is con- cerned, but in regard to the trendele, how shall we know who are exempt from turn- ing it? For that very reason it is stated in our Mishnah. Rabbi Abba, in the name of Rabbi Johanan, in the name of Rabbi Hiyya, in the name of Rabbi Saul, says: About poor widows and lovers I can very well understand the Mishnah, but how about babies? There is no difficulty, says the Tanna Kamma. Once upon a time, at the house of Ben Bag Bag, a little baby, turning the trendele, swallowed it and died. Hence babies are exempt from turning the trendele. And poor widows? They are exempt because of EUsha and the poor 85 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP widow's cruse of oil. That is all right so far as lights are concerned, but the trendele, why? Because, says Rabbah bar bar Hana, because the trendele may remind her of the distaff by which she earns her bread. And lovers? Why are lovers exempt from turning the trendele? " David paused a moment to recover his breath, and, glancing around, saw that everybody was interested. " Why are they exempt? Lovers, says Rav, are the children of God. As God is exempt from turning the trendele, so are lovers exempt. The reasons which the Gemara gives are not very satisfactory. I find a better explanation in the Rosh* who relates the following story. It happened once on a Hanukkah eve that a number of young people were spinning the trendele, when the lights grew dim, and a Bath Kol *R. Asher b. Jehiel, a famous rabbi of the Middle Ages. 86 THE TRENDELE was heard to say: If the trendele falls on the same word twice, there will be a broken heart; if thrice, a funeral; If four times, a wedding. As our sages wished to discountenance all superstition, they sum- marily exempted lovers from turning the trendele. So far the Rosh. But, rabbi, as we are not superstitious In our day, I would like to make a Takkanah for the good of the universe. Let young people turn the trendele, and let us see what may happen." And suiting the action to the word, the company gathered around the table, and soon the rabbi's trendele with its four He- brew words, was set in motion. All the com- pany in turn tried their fate, but in no case had the trendele for two successive times fallen on the same lettered side. There remained now only Rosa and David. " Why, rabbi," said David, with a feigned look of surprise, " your trendele 87 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP is unlawful. See, the point is dull, and according to R. Moses Isserles in our rab- binical code, Orah Hayyim, page 992b, a trendele with a dull point is worse than un- lawful; it is unclean. Luckily I have brought another one with me," and he hastily threw the rabbi's trendele on the floor. " Now then," he continued with heightened color, while all gazed at him, except Rosa, whose look was downcast; " thus I trample on the authority of the Talmud." And he turned his trendele, which fell once, twice, three times, four times, on the same simple word, " Liebe." " Come, Rosa," said the youth, with a loud laugh, "it is your turn now." And the maiden timidly essayed her skill. The trendele for the first time fell on " Liebe." For the second time its fall was on the same word. " A broken heart, David," she whis- pered, while her cheek blanched. ss THE TRENDELE "No, dearest; make two more trials," he said in a very low voice, just low enough to be heard by her only. A third time, and it was " Liebe," and a fourth time the same word- ****** Many years have passed since that night. The huppah has often been called into requisition, but never did the red canopy clothe youth and maiden in a rosier glow than when David and Rosa stood to receive the rabbi's blessing as man and wife. Many years have passed since then, and the good old rabbi lies at rest in God's Acre, under the snow, in blessed peace. Rosa has had numerous opportunities to assure her cousin Julka that David's cheeks were not painted ; but David — the natural result of his talmudic erudition — has never told that the trendele was loaded. 89 THE CHILDREN'S GIFT Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast Thou founded strength. — Psalms. " I tell you, Rabbi Hopeful, you can say what you like, Judaism is dying out." " Is that your opinion, Mr. Blanket? " rejoined the rabbi, with a quiet twinkle in his eye. " Yes, sir. That is my opinion in sober earnest," and Mr. Blanket gazed solemnly into the rabbi's smiling countenance. " My dear fellow, you are mistaken, en- tirely mistaken," said the rabbi, with the least little tremor in his voice. " I don't want to contradict a man of your learning and experience, rabbi; but you don't know the current of public thought. You live in your library. You associate with the select few. You have 90 THE children's GIFT little idea of the immense change in Jewish sentiment. The spirit of the age is making gigantic progress, and neither you nor Mrs. Partington can check its onward flow 1 " " The spirit of the age, the spirit of the age," said the rabbi in a musing tone. " I have heard that phrase before. It is a com- mon expression, I rather think. But it doesn't terrify me at all. What is your spirit of the age, anyway? " " The spirit of the age," said Mr. Blanket, waving his hand wildly and gestic- ulating agonizingly, " the spirit of the age, sir, is — the Spirit of the Age." " Cant, Mr. Blanket, mere cant," Rabbi Hopeful exclaimed. " Not at all, sir. Not at all, my dear friend. Let me tell you, we are living in a different age and wrestling with different ccmditions." " Yes, yes, yes, that may be true, but you forget that the difference is largely exter- 91 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP nal. Love and faith and hope have not changed. The eternities of life vary not from one age to another." *' Come, rabbi, you are preaching, and have gone off the track. I hold that the Jews are fast degenerating, that Judaism has become a mere shell of customs, that our holiest laws are neglected and des[Hsed, and that within a few decades our religion will have disappeared from American He- brews of any culture at all. That is my opinion bluntly expressed." " So that is your opinion, is it? " re- peated the rabbi. " I always thought that you had more common sense. Why, it seems to me that just the reverse is true." " Why, rabbi, you must be dreaming! " " Dreaming? No. Wide awake, man. Because you have allowed Judaism to die out in your heart and life, you fancy your neighbor has the same disease. I find im- provement instead of degeneracy, activity 92 THE children's GIFT where was formerly stagnation, knowledge where ignorance prevailed. The community is doing more than it ever has done before. Our leaders are more energetic, our people more generous. A nobler and a higher im- pulse thrills us, we feel more keenly the need of union, and are more responsive to the claims of a common brotherhood. Only the other day, Mr. Blanket, a rabbi in one of our sister-cities became ill, and a number of his colleagues of other cities, many of whom do not hold the same views as the sufferer, volunteered to occupy his pulpit in rotation during his absence, to keep alive the Jewish spirit in his congregation. I call that genuine progress." " But do you really mean to say that there is improvement?" and Mr. Blanket's wide-open eyes shone. " Aye, that I do. On every side I note it. Restoration, reconstruction is marching on. The heart of the people is sound, and 7 93 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP they will range themselves under the old banner at last. Don't be impatient, that is all." " But, Rabbi Hopeful—" " Look here, Mr. Blanket. I am in a positive mood to-night. Sometimes, I con- fess, I have my doubts and misgivings. Our ancestors left us a good deal of litter, and to clear it away is a task of no little difficulty. There is much bungling in con- sequence. Some are a century behind the age, and some a century in advance. But now and then joy-bells sound unmistak- ably; — ^to change the metaphor — I see tiny birds fluttering about, and catch sight of a spar or piece of straw which points that land is nigh. Such a little bird is here this moment." " Where? " exclaimed Mr. Blanket, " I don't see any cage." " Oh, you should have more imagina- tion, man. Here is the bird," and the 94 THE children's GIFT rabbi opened the drawer in his book-case, and took out a small roll of manuscript. " Is that a poem, Rabbi Hopeful? " Mr. Blanket inquired in feeble, faint tones, and with the anxious air of a patient who is in doubt whether his illness is jaundice or yellow fever. " Yes, it is a poem in prose ; I am going to read it to you." " Is it original? " " Well, — ^yes. The facts have come under my own observation. Here goes." And the rabbi began to read. I The Sabbath afternoon service was over, and hundreds of boys and girls, with a sprinkling of older folks, issued from the synagogue. Some formed little groups along the avenue, and others walked quietly in the bright Sabbath sunshine, or chatted gaily about this, that, and everything. 05 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP What had the rabbi preached about that Sabbath afternoon? Yet he rarely preached: he generally talked. He used to say that God never exclaimed to Moses : " Preach to the children of Israel," but usually " speak to them," or " say to them " — that is talk to them — as if God rather feared that the Israelites then as now were not especially fond of preach- ments. And so the good rabbi spoke that afternoon of the ccMning of Hanukkah, its history and meaning to Young Israel, and the ever-continuing battle which the Jew must wage against influences which would make him forget and betray his religion. He spoke, too, of its sweet associations in the olden times, when Israel, a poor, de- spised people, used to warm itself by the light of so cheerful a feast, and when old and young would celebrate it in joyfulness, and love, and charity. " I often think," the rabbi said, " that 96 THE children's GIFT those to-day who give up so simple and in- spiring a festival, and those who gradually allow no Menorah, no Jewish custom or ceremony, to cheer and warm their feel- ings, act very much like a certain sage in the Talmud." " Won't you tell us about him? " came a shrill voice from his audience. They were in the habit of interrupting him now and then by such questions, and he rather liked it, as it showed their interest. " Why, of course I will," and the rabbi smiled in the pulpit. Do not be horrified at the idea of a rabbi smiling in the pulpit. Why not? Why should not a rabbi smile? Do you expect him to be impervious to sympathy? When the humor strikes him, let him laugh a cheery, hearty laugh; and if his ecclesias- tical robes and dignity interfere with the outburst, let him cast aside his ecclesiastical robes and dignity and preach as a man to 97 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP his peopk. They require the frank, simple, hearty utterance from the heart to the heart. When the rabbi smiled, the children smiled too. And the Sabbath angels who hovered near — if they knew their duty — must have smiled as well. The rabbi then told them the legend of Onias, the Rip Van Winkle of the Talmud, who used to avoid the society of his people, and court solitude. He would leave his town, and take long walks by himself, and never associate with his friends. And one day he slept, and did not wake up for sev- enty years. " But why didn't they send the police- man after him? " inquired a little girl, who had never taken off her gaze from the rabbi. And then he explained how a wall of stones arose around Onias as he slept, and no one could tell where he had gone to. And when he awoke, he knew no one, and 98 THE children's GIFT no one knew him: so many years had passed. If he had mingled more with his brethren, they would not have forgotten him. And so he prayed for death, and died at last of a broken heart. The rabbi went on to show that those who kept aloof from their religion and its observances gradually fell asleep and were forgotten. And when they awoke, it was too late; they found that their world had advanced without them. He closed with urging the children to display now their sympathies for whatever was good and pure and beautiful in their religion and the life of the day. " Say, girls," exclaimed Florrie Hart, as she and three of her friends were near- ing her home. " I have an idea." " Preserve it by all means in syrup," ex- claimed Maud Pinner. " Wrap it in wool," shouted Nellie Levy. " Let's hear it by all means," added Sophie Strauss. 99 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP " Did you ever go to a hospital, girls? " " No," was the answer. " Well, then," and Florrie's face flushed with pleasure, " let's all go to the Mount Sinai Hospital to-morrow afternoon, and visit the children's ward." The children were unanimous in favor- ing the proposal, and went home in high glee, to arrange the all-important details, including escorts, toys, pennies, and a few tiny bouquets, to gladden the hearts of the little sufferers and brighten their atmos- phere. II It was Sunday afternoon. A group of merry boys and girls entered the elevator of the hospital, but their mood soon changed, when they reached their destina- tion, the children's ward. George lost his roguish look at once. Frank actually walked on tiptoe. Florrie, Maud, Nellie, Sophie, and Esther dung together near the 100 THE children's GIFT threshold, while little David's eyes were fast filling. What influence checked their buoyant spirits ? It was the sight of suffering In its most heart-rending forms. A dozen beds or more were arranged along each side of the apartment. The faces of some of their little occupants were seen in various stages of emaciation. A strange stillness pre- vailed. The nurses moved noiselessly to and fro. The doctor was examining a wan and wasted babe. No wonder the children paused. But they quickly recovered, as a nurse advanced smilingly toward them, and as some of the little ones half arose from their beds in astonishment. Were they fairies, — so ran their thoughts — or princesses, perhaps, on a visit? What did it mean, the group of happy, well-dressed girls, and why were the little 101 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP boy's eyes filled with tears ? And what was in the bundle, anyway, which those big boys carried? Then began a regular visitation. In In- dian file, the visitors timidly approached the beds, talked with each occupant, if the child was at all sociable, and gradually made themselves at home. To each they gave a toy, a book, and a few pennies. Upon the tables they placed small bouquets. And when this duty was performed, they began to establish still more intimate rela- tions with the sufferers. It was pathetic to notice how quickly the little ones felt that the visitors were the best of friends, and how responsive they be- came. One lifted his wasted hand from the coverlet, another showed a club-foot, a third pointed to an abscess on the neck, and all seemed to regard it as their first duty to acquaint their visitors with their maladies in the best possible way. George was 102 THE CHILDREN'S GIFT especially amused at hearing a boy of twelve cry because he had so little to eat. He had just recovered from typhoid fever, and was not allowed much food. David, clinging to Sophie and Esther, was fascinated by a lovely girl of four, with spinal disease. Her face was flushed and her hands pink as a shell. She did not talk, but kept watching the group at her bed- side. Florrie was trying her best to talk to a square-faced urchin; but he shook his head, and then the nurse told her that he was a Russian, and did not understand English. " He understands pennies, though," ex- claimed Maud Levy. " Yes, and toys, too," added Nellie Pin- ner, putting a Noah's ark into his thin hand. They spent a pleasant hour. The ward grew more cheerful after a while. The little ones did not differ so very much from 103 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP other little ones. Their eyes were bright, their hands were soft : they looked so grate- ful. Some were inclined to romp upon the floor, and George and Frank were discus- sing the propriety of a wrestling contest for the general amusement, when the nurse told Florrie that it was getting late, and that they would be happy to see them again. And so the visitors left, with many a kiss, hand-clasp, and bright smile ; and the little ones for quite a time kept their eyes fixed upon the door through which Florrie and her friends made their departure, as if they expected to see them once more. -Then the twilight grew darker and darker, and the stars shone here and there before the chil- dren reached their homes. But in their lives new stars began to shine from that evening: new purposes, aspirations, re- solves. Their buoyancy was not chedced, nor did their cheerfulness suffer in the least. They were apparently the same children. 104 THE CHILDREN'S GIFT But imperceptibly finer shades of conscious- ness began to dawn ; and like buds opening into bloom in the joy and freshness of spring, their characters assumed a sweeter complexion. They seemed to realize how noble and sublime is life, what opportuni- ties it affords for the exercise of every vir- tue. Blessed are the influences which make a child earnest and resolute, without sacri- ficing the childlike; which teach the young that life is no gay promenade but an ever- lasting battle ; which chasten their thoughts, strengthen their powers, and consecrate them to the highest ideals. The rabbi paused. " Well, Rabbi Hopeful, I don't see any- thing wonderful in such a visit to a hospi- tal. What has that to do with our con- versation? I tell you, rabbi, Judaism is going to the dogs. There is no faith, no enthusiasm any more." And Mr. Blanket sighed prodigiously. 105 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP " Indeed, my friend! Is that your can- did opinion? Perhaps you will change your mind when I am through. There is one more page." And the rabbi continued to read. Ill Florrie to Rabbi Hopeful. I am sure it will please you to learn, dear Rabbi Hope- ful, that at a meeting of the children of the Religious Schools of the Central Synagogue it was unanimously resolved that weekly collections, beginning with this Hanukkah, be made to endow a bed in the children's ward at Mount Sinai Hospital. Dear rabbi, you will be glad, I know, to learn that the children who attend your Sabbath afternoon service do not propose to grow like Onias in the talmudic tale you so sweetly told us. We would rather be like Moses and Judith Montefiore, loving our people and living among them, and 106 THE children's GIFT none the less aiding all who suffer, what- ever their clime, or creed, or condition. My father helped me just a little with this letter, and I hope that you won't be angry. For I cannot begin to express how much we owe to you, and how fervently we pray that we may grow more and more attached to our religion. I enclose the re- sult of our collection, $137.25. " Well, Mr. Blanket, what do you think now? " asked the rabbi exultantly. " To tell you the real truth, Rabbi Hopeful, to tell you the truth," Mr. Blanket solemnly repeated, " I think there is hope after all." " I should think there was, my friend." " I'll send you my cheque to increase that fund." " Don't want it. The children will raise enough; and if the amount falls short, the other schools will be asked to assist, and we shall endow two beds." 107 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP " Oh, do let me send the money, won't you?" " I'll tell you what you can do, Mr. Blanket, you and your gloomy tribe. Give up doleful anticipations. Don't prepare any funeral sermons for the old faith. There's life, bountiful life, in Judaism yet. A newer impulse is thrilling our young. They will prove our best banner-bearers. Let their wants be studied, their cries heeded ; let their culture and training be the watchword of the hour. And now, Mr. Blanket, as a reward for having so patiently listened, you may light the Hanukkah candles with me." And Mr. Blanket did so with positive alacrity. 108 THE HAPPY FAMILY And if I give thee honour due, Mirth, admit me of thy crew. —L'AlUgro. Now I know all the ingredients of Purim tales which never happen. They are stories of mystery and romance. Papa says he will not go to the ball, as he has an engagement for that very evening in Wash- ington. Mamma says she is so glad to stay at home. But lol when the clock strikes twelve, and the maskers unmask, Don Januario finds his wife in the Italian flower girl who had clung to him so confidingly for half an hour. Or, perhaps, the scene is laid in some German town, and Mr. and Mrs. Blankberg are preparing to enjoy their evening repast of Dutch herring and potato salad, when a band of maskers enters the room; and among them is discovered their long-lost youngest son Alexander, 8 109 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP who had vanished twenty years before, leaving his agonized parents in doubt whether he had become a politician in America or a cobbler in China. Or pos- sibly the scene is shifted to the Academy boards. The fair Seraphina Strauss and the manly Augustus Applebaum, whom cruel fate, in the form of an odious mother- in-law on one side and a treacherous uncle on the other, relentlessly keeps apart, swear eternal constancy in the shadow of the rustic bridge. Ten minutes later, secure in the consciousness of mutual love, they almost choke over boned-turkey. These are wholly imaginary Purim tales. We live in other days, and will not tolerate deception, however skilfully worded. A real, genuine, matter-of-fact, unconven- tional, truly honest Purim tale is quite an- other affair, as the reader will find out, if a few minutes are devoted to the following simple sketch and veritable history. 110 THE HAPPY FAMILY " Well, George," said Mrs. Aguilar one evening to her eldest son, as he was reading the paper, occupying three chairs at the same time, although he was not over five feet eight inches. " Well, George, is there anything new this evening? " " Not this evening, miother," replied the Columbia junior. " But some other eve- ning, possibly," he replied, neither relax- ing a muscle of his face, nor changing his sprawling posture on three chairs. " O George," was his sister Irma's con- temptuous exclamation. " How can you talk slang? I declare you ought to be ashamed of yourself." The young lady, having just graduated from the Normal College, felt it her duty to maintain the dig- nity of the family at any cost. " I think I have the newest thing out," said Mr. Aguilar, rising from his easy chair. " I hope that it is not small-pox," said 111 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP George aside to his youngest brother, Augustus. " And I flatter myself, Sophia Angel- ica," said Mr. Aguilar to his wife, " that all of you will be gratified when I make it known." Such a long speech had rarely been heard from Alonzo Aguilar. He was a quiet, good-natured man, who never aspired to the presidency of the congregation. When the words fell upon his wife, and George, and Irma, and Augustus, and the children, they listened in speechless aston- ishment. " Now, then, what do you say to this? " and Mr. Alonzo raised aloft a Purim ball ticket. " Joe Schloss sent some around to the office this afternoon." The ticket passed around the family, all of whom indulged in varied criticism. " Why, pQp," said George, as he scanned the names at the back of the ticket. 112 THE HAPPY FAMILY " They have you down among the man- agers. You can't back out now. You must go." " And what is more, pa," said Augustus, " we must all go." " Really, though? " inquired the now startled parent. " Yes, love," chimed in his wife in her sweetest tones. " I think it would be a very nice thing for all of us to go. You can buy a box, you know, and the boys could enjoy themselves, while Irma, and I, and you, and the children could look quietly on." Mr. Aguilar's face was at this moment a study. A shadow was stealing over it, obliterating all of its attractiveness. He hemmed, coughed, frowned, toyed with his watch-chain, and looked at the ceiling. It would ruin him, so ran his thoughts. What ? A box I Add carriage, dresses, supper, gloves, and it would cost him $300. 113 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP He must try a little strategy, that was all. Perhaps he might succeed. " I don't know, my love," said he reflec- tively. " It strikes me that it is little pleasure sitting in a box. There are sure to be draughts," giving his shoulders a smart rubbing, as if he already felt a twinge of rheumatism. " No, no, love. It would be silly to take a box. Let's hit upon an- other plan." The family, with becoming reverence for the head of the house, at once went into executive session to solve every difficulty. " Father," George exclaimed. " You are right about the box. It would be a needless expense. There is a better plan. Drop the box idea, and let us form a party to go masked." " What, I go masked? " said his father with an injured look. " Why, of course. You would look jolly as an American Indian. And you, mother, 114 THE HAPPY FAMILY would be charming as a Maid of Athens. And you, Irma, would make a delightful Sairy Gamp. You, Augustus, might im- personate Og, king of Bashan. And I would go as — " " A weasel; you are so fond of boring," his brother finished the sentence for him. The clouds cleared, the sun shone out again. Mr. Aguilar brightened up. But there was a difficulty. What characters would they all assume? It was stuff and nonsense to talk of Indians, and Maids of Athens, and such trite people. They must appear in something novel and striking, for the credit of the family. They must cause a sensation. Nothing else would satisfy them. Again the thermometer sank to zero, and the sun vanished. George was in despair, for his brilliant scheme was about to be wrecked. At this moment the bell rang, and in walked uncle Adolph. 115 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP " Well, you are a happy family," he exclaimed, as he noticed the gloomy faces. A cry of triumph came from George. " Thanks, uncle, for the word. That's it. Happy family. We'll go as the happy family. Hurrah ! Kangaroos, tigers, lions, monkeys, and all of that. Birds, fish, and, and—" " Creeping things," added Augustus. At first Mr. Aguilar refused to see the point, but uncle Adolph gave his powerful support to George when the plans were duly made known to him. In the kindness of his heart he offered to go as an alligator. " No, uncle Adolph, you had better go as a dolphin," suggested Augustus in bet- ter humor. It did not take long, at this stage in the proceedings, to overrule the objections of the timorous father, and it was finally re- solved by a unanimous vote that the farce, or rather pantomime, entitled " A Happy 116 THE HAPPY FAMILY Family " should be played at the coming Purim ball with the following cast of char- acters, a couple of cousins and a friend be- ing added to give the necessary complete- ness: Tiger Alonzo Aguilar. Lioness Mrs. Aguilar. Fawn Irma Aguilar. Bear George Aguilar. Monkey Augustus Aguilar. Baby elephant Priscilla Aguilar. Baby polar bear. .Napoleon Aguilar. General showman. . . .Uncle Adolph. Squirrel, rabbit, chicken : obliging cousins and friend. It was after much debate that the cast was finally arranged. At first Augustus flatly refused to be a monkey, but being an ambitious youth he. consented when told that he might climb aloft. Irma assumed her role on condition that she might wear 117 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP her fawn-colored kids. George's was his first choice, and he determined to become as grizzly a bear as possible and hug every- body huggable at the ball. Mr. Aguilar would have preferred a gentler character, but yielded to the general request, refusing, however, to be a Bengal tiger under any consideration. " Well, pa, you needn't be a Bengal tiger. You can be a simple tiger, then," said George. Mr. Aguilar's prejudice against being a Bengal tiger was not explained. Mrs. Aguilar was satisfied with her role, and the children were delighted with theirs. It was a great stroke of genius on their uncle's part to think of them at all. To increase the general effect, the tiger was to carry the baby bear, and the lioness the baby ele- phant. At the last moment, Mr. Aguilar, gathering courage, faintly suggested that a giraffe was better adapted to his powers, 118 THE HAPPY FAMILY but was not disposed to press his claim in the face of hostile public opinion. " It is sure to be a failure, Sophia An- gelica," he exclaimed to his wife, as he went to bed, " there ought to be a giraffe." " Then there would be another donkey," was his wife's hastily uttered thought, which her husband could not understand at that time. The night approached. It was a clear, bright evening. It had been a week of ferment and fever. The shops had been ransacked. The costumiers visited. At last all had been arranged, and the Happy Family was collected in the spacious par- lor of Mr. Aguilar's mansion. The baby elephant had been threatened with measles, it is true, and the baby bear had had a dis- tressful toothache. But at that hour every- body was in the best condition. The car- riages were at the door to take them to the U9 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP ball. The steeds were prancing. There was a crowd of small boys gathering on the sidewalk. " Where's the cage, uncle ? " suddenly shouted George, nervously. " There's got to be a cage. Who ever heard of a happy family without a cage?" " O hang it, George," said his uncle, who was nervous, too. " You are thinking of a family of birds, not beasts." " O mamma," said the baby elephant, " it hurts my nose." " O papa," said the baby bear, " I'm so awful hot." " Come, Aguilar," said the uncle at this juncture, " let's be off. Come, children, go down quietly, and you, George, don't tease. Follow me." The door swung open, the family filed down the steps, amid the laughter and the shouts of the assembled urchins, and soon rolled away in two carriages. The hour of triumph had arrived I 120 THE HAPPY FAMILY In about two hours or so, there was a sound of returning wheels. Fortunately, for the peace of the family, there were no unruly gamins to witness their return from the ball. They walked up the stone steps wearily, an MMhappy family at last. They never told of their evening's sport, but I have nevertheless been informed of what happened. The baby elephant and baby bear were the innocent cause of the dis- aster. For when the happy family trod the Academy boards, they were separated by a sudden rush of people, and the chicken and the two baby animals were lost in the throng. The disappearance of the chicken did not worry anybody, but at the catas- trophe which overwhelmed Napoleon and Priscilla, the lioness and the fawn fainted outright, and the tiger was thrown into the utmost consternation. At this very moment unearthly yells issued from the baby ani- mals. In vain did stalwart committee-men 121 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP Strive to quiet them ; they wept and refused to be comforted. Fortunately, the keen eye of uncle Adolph wandering over the brilliant assembly at last discerned the miss- ing children. He darted into the midst of the throng, followed by the panting tiger and the disconsolate bear — the monkey was busy in the retiring-room assuring the lion- ess and the fawn that the children had been found. In a few minutes the party returned home, leaving George and his uncle, to- gether with the chicken, the rabbit, and the squirrel, in possession of the floor. The following Sabbath Mr. Aguilar, re- turning from synagogue, met his friend, Sam Mendoza. " Say, Aguilar, were you at the ball? " " No, I had to go to Boston that evening." " Well, you missed a heap of fun, I tell you." " Did I? " said Aguilar, reflectively. 122 THE HAPPY FAMILY " But the best of it all," added Mendoza, without glancing at the now pallid counte- nance of Aguilar, " the best of it all was at about eleven. A lot of fools entered dressed as animals, and they caused such confusion that they were hustled off the floor. Ha ! Ha ! " continued Mendoza. " It would have done you good to see them scamper out of the Academy." "Were they drunk?" asked Aguilar, with a faint quiver of the lower jaw. " Of course they were," replied his friend. " Straus, who was chairman of the reception committee, you know, assured me that two of the men were actually half- seas over. A fine state of things. You ought to have been there, Aggy, my boy ! " 123 A VOICE FOR FREEDOM Cry aloud, spare not, Lift up thy voice like a horn .... — Isaiah. He was not such a bad sort of fellow, but he was dreadfully in earnest, you know, and that was a grave defect. It is usually unwise to take oneself too seriously. If his congregation, too, had been in earnest, why, he would have got along capitally; but as they did not care much about any- thing, and were satisfied to let matters take their course, he felt himself in the wrong box. Why didn't he smother his con- science and glide with the stream? Why did he allow himself to worry if the con- gregation were only Jews in name ? Why did he get thin and pale, because a few hundred persistently stayed away from public worship, as if it was his fault, — ^he 124 A VOICE FOR FREEDOM whose heart beat so warmly for his breth- ren and whose hand was ever open to re- lieve the poor? Why not pocket his salary without murmuring, and wait for better days? Well, he was of a different calibre — that is all. He was a rabbi with an idea, a fixed idea, which he felt it his duty to realize at once in order to save his people from the Gehenna of their apathy, at what- ever personal sacrifice. " Now, David, dear," said a rather short, florid, pleasant-faced woman, one evening in April, as they sat together, the rabbi and his wife, in their cosy flat, not ten miles distant from 199th Street, " now, David, I am sure that you have something that worries you. Do let me make you a little tea. You had no supper, you know." 9 125 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP " For heaven's sake, Sdina, let me be, and don't bother." " Well, David, I don't want to bother you," she replied in a gentle voice. " But if you go on in this way, you will become a skeleton." " The sooner the better," he added grimly, with a heavy sigh, which smote poor Mrs. Gomez's heart — and it was such a tender little heart that any sudden blow, no matter how light, would have crushed it at once. " David, do tell me what it is. Have you lost your sermon for Passover? Or have you a headache again ? " Mr. Gomez could not repress a smile at his wife's rapid volley of questions, and she was so reassured that her eyes grew moist. " Why, Selina, darling, what a silly child you are ! There's nothing at all the matter with me, I assure you." 126 A VOICE FOR FREEDOM "Then, then," sobbed Mrs. Gomez, " why do you go on so ? I thought you had lost your sermon, or had a head — " "There, there, that will do," he quickly rejoined. " Try to be less hysterical in the future, love. And now, if you will make me a nice cup of tea, I will tell you all about it." And he kissed her affec- tionately. Considerably mollified, Mrs. Gomez, with a rapidity marvellous to the uninitiated, set a cup of tea and a plate of toast before her husband. " The fact is, Selina," said Mr. Gomez, with his mouth half filled with buttered toast, " the fact Is, I am sick of the people, and if they were only sick of me, I would be satisfied. It's horrible, my dear, how they violate the sacred laws of Judaism. What will be the end of it all, God only knows." " Ah, David, what is the use of worry- ing? Let them do as they please. Did you order the prelates? "* * A kind of cake made for Passover. 127 UNDER THE SABBATH 'LAMP " There are the Montezumas, love, and not one attends the temple since they started their office in Broad Street. There's the—" " Here's another cup of tea. It will warm you, dear." " Oh, bother the tea, Mrs. G. When will you show a little sympathy for Judaism? " " Now, David," said the lady, " I care more for you than for Judaism, and you ought to care more for me than Judaism. But you don't, you don't. It's always the congregation, and — and — you haven't told me if you've ordered the prelatos yet? " And she began to weep. "Selina, don't be such a ninny. I love you more than the congregation, you know I do, and you might display a little, just a little more regard for my interests. Now, attention, while I tell you something. I know I worry a good deal more than is 123 A VOICE FOR FREEDOM necessary, but there is one topic, my dear (was it prelates? ran her thoughts), one topic which I cannot worry too much about (she was sure now it was prelatos), and that is — that is — " " Well, prelatos, I know it is, David," she said, with a rippling laugh. " Bother your prelatos. I mean the Sab- bath, our holy Sabbath. I will not consent to be contaminated further by the example of my congregation. If they prefer to vio- late the Sabbath, why, I will resign at once. That's my idea. What do you think of it?" Mrs. Gomez was somewhat dazed. She had set her heart upon prelatos, and the disappointment was keen. Still, like a brave women, she looked up, and answered : " Yes, dear." " Do you understand the idea, Selina? " " Well, David," she replied, collecting her scattered thoughts, " don't do any- 129 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP thing rash. Remember that they are not worth all the trouble. I wouldn't exert myself too much, dear. O David," and here a great wave of common sense swept over her. " Do give it up. Leave the con- gregation. You are wasting your life among people who don't understand what you say. You are killing yourself by inches, and when you are gone, what is to become of me? " " There, there, Selina," said Mr. Gomez, " don't give way so, I shall do nothing rash, but I can't be paid to preach to hypocrites and cowards until I become like them. The world is wide, and if every pulpit is closed against me, why, my love, there are thousands of the poor who never heard a preacher, and there are thousands of poor children, too, whom one can train in right living and thinking." " But we may starve, David, and there are the children," and Mrs. Gomez thought 130 A VOICE FOR FREEDOM of Rosie and May and Bertie in their little cribs in the other room. " Well, Selina, you do not forget those lines of Lowell, do you ? God is not dumb that He should speak no more; If thou hast wanderings in the wilderness And find'st not Sinai, 'tis thy soul is poor; There towers the mountain of the Voice no less, Which whoso seeks shall find, but he who bends, Intent on manna still and mortal ends. Sees it not, neither hears its thundered lore." Mrs. Gomez had forgotten all about the prelatos, and was stirred by her husband's earnestness. " Dear David, do what God bids you do. He giveth to the young birds that for which they cry." II It was Passover morn, such a bright, clear, joyous day with the fragrance of June about it, that Mr. Gomez was in the best of humor at the breakfast-table, and his pleasantry was a relief to his wife, who 131 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP was beginning to dread the possibility of his resignation. She hoped that he had forgotten all about his " idea." " I fancy, Sclina, you had better not take the children to the temple to-day. It will be very crowded. Fine weather and spring bonnets, you know. Here, you little rogue, you are glad to stay at home, I am sure." " Yes, mc not like to go," replied Master Bertie, making miniature forts of matzo- fragments, to the unconcealed delight of the Misses May and Rosie, as they sat on their high chairs. "And why not, Bertie?" asked his papa. " Betause 1 " he said in a decided tone. " Because why? " " Oh, betause, betause, betause," added the child, in a quick way, to stop further inquiry. " He will become a great leader one of these days," said Mr. Gomez. " Now, 132 A VOICE FOR FREEDOM Selina, my love, I'm off. Don't come too late, dear, just before the sermon. It makes the people talk, and what's the good? And besides, you know it is the last — " He left the sentence incomplete, and was soon on his way to the synagogue, while Mrs. Gomez had all her anxieties painfully reawakened. She was so alarmed that she resolved to make an effort, and took her seat in the temple half an hour before the sermon. But all the time she could not say a single prayer. On her husband's face there sat a strange cold look : his eyes were deep-set, his lips compressed. He seemed to have aged in the short course of an hour. She was sure it was not the prelatos this time. Mr. Gomez never ascended the pulpit with the slow, measured step of an under- taker, but always with a cheerful, happy look, and buoyant tread. To-day, how- ever, he seemed to totter, and he dragged 133 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP himself forward with painful hesitation, and stood clinging to the pulpit for sup- port. He gazed around half vacantly, then closed his eyes, as if for divine help in a mo- ment of agony and weakness. But it was only for a moment, then the clouds cleared. " Well, dear friends," said he, " under God's providence we have Passover again. It is a good old festival. There are many here this morning who recollect the joyful hearts with which they, as children, wel- comed its incoming, and how they looked with awe at the preparation for the feast. Why, its commonest features had for them a wonderful interest, and probably each of you followed your parents with toddling steps, and listened, with eyes and ears wide- open, to the busy household hum. And when evening came, and you went to syna- gogue, holding fast your father's hand, how you tripped along without a shadow of care 1 And when the service was over, ' 134 A VOICE FOR FREEDOM in whose prayers you loudly joined, you tripped home again more joyously, for you were eager for the raisin wine which you had helped to make. How swiftly that evening passed ! With what happy voices you sang the songs which praised God for His loving favor ! and then you drank and ate, with hearts so light that God's angels seemed to be there hovering over your happy household. The other day some one said to me : * I do not feel any more like I used to, Mr. Gomez. The old holiday atmosphere is gone.' Yes, no doubt of it. It was gone for him. He did not feel like he used to, because once his heart was trustful as a child's, while now he yawned at what In his youth was full of inspiration. If you are blind, you cannot see the stars; they are shining all the same; it is your light that has vanished. You do not often consider that point of view. Now here is Passover; 135 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP if the old atmosphere is absent, you are to blame, not the festival. Don't talk about the degeneracy of the age, when we our- selves are degenerate. It is the spectre of the time, not its spirit, which bids us de- spise what has preserved our race from decay." Then Mr. Gomez took up his text " Let My people go, that "they may serve Me," and, after a brief historical retrospect, showed that this was the voice which Israel heard in every era, as an exhortation to free themselves from spiritual slavery, mere worship of the letter, while the spirit eluded their grasp. He followed this thought for some time, and then suddenly branched off to the function of the Sabbath in keeping alive the Jewish spirit and freeing it from the shackles of every-day life and tempta- tions. He paused for a moment, then breathed deeply, and began anew : " Here you have my position exactly. 136 A VOICE FOR FREEDOM The members of this congregation, with but few exceptions, habitually violate the Sabbath. It appears that most of you think it sufficient to repeat prayers for the Sab- bath> although it is not your purpose to rest on that day. You all know the Law, and yet you disobey it. Yes, there are difficul- ties in the way of its observance, I admit that without hesitation, but they are not greater than those which our fathers over- came. Had they yielded to every obstacle, there would not have survived a single synagogue to-day. Frankly, I am tired of referring to this matter. It Is not from choice, but from a sense of duty. If you go to a physician, he will prescribe a remedy for your disease ; and if you refusehis medi- cine, any doctor with self-respect would dismiss you as a patient. The Sabbath is the old-fashioned remedy to revive Juda- ism's flagging energies. Yet you deliber- ately reject it: I cannot justify your neglect. 137 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP I hate to scold. I confess ray inability to preach to you further, and resign from this hour. Perhaps another rabbi might exert more influence and arouse you from your indifference. Perhaps you want me to justify your disloyalty." Mr. Gomez rounded his address with a few more sentences, expressive of the hope that they might find a more congenial preacher, and he a more congenial congre- gation; and then he closed with a brief prayer. 138 FROM LAND TO LAND Kind messages that pass from land to land; Kind letters that betray the heart's deep history, In which we feel the pressure of a hand — One touch of fire, — and all the rest is mystery. — Longfellow. I David to Eugene Now don't scold me, mein Lieber, be- cause I have allowed months and months to elapse before writing to you. I remem- ber perfectly well the promise I made, un- der the shade of that lime-tree, upon whose bough a tiny bird was carolling, and whose leaves were bright with the radiance of the setting sun ; but truly honest, I have not had the heart to talk to you, and I feared that my letter would be so lugubriously blue as to terrify your mild Teutonic nature. How can I describe to you the homesickness which 139 UNDER THE SABBATH LA MP has tortured me since I last wrung your hand at Heidelberg? — homesick at homcl An odd feeling. Don't grow conceited, however, and think that I am homesick for you or the Fraulein with curls, or little blue- eyed Lisa, or German Leherwurst. Not a bit of it. Come, Eugene, listen, and I will tell you how it is. I am sick of the atmosphere here. One can do nothing in the face of organized Philistinism. America has changed visibly. I think it is Hawthorne who observes that after a stay abroad one loses two homes : our foreign home is lost to us, and we find our native country en- tirely changed. Why, bless me, there is no one to talk to, no one with whom to share one's aspirations, no one to give kindly counsel; alone, alone, everlastingly alone, one walks along the busiest streets. But when I reach my bachelor quarters, I am alone no longer. The room is filled 140 FROM LAND TO LAND with the forms of absent friends, who, four thousand miles away, are nearer to me than the acquaintances close at hand. What have I done ? What am I doing? Well, it is pretty difficult work for a young physician in a city like this, and particularly if he have peculiar ideas about his pro- fession. I am not making a fortune, but am getting along slowly. I struggle stub- bornly, but am not confident of success. It is work without hope, I fear. Humanity is diseased, there is no doubt of it ; and the aggregate of evil increases with each new birth. I am not surprised that God once destroyed the earth; it is, however, a mat- ter of wonder to me that He has not re- peated the act an indefinite number of times. The great mass of us are simply so much bone and flesh, purely animals after all, in whom exist certain arrested moral tenden- cies that we term religious feelings, which have come down from primitive times when we were savages. Bah ! lo 141 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP Now, dear Eugene, I'll write no more, or you will think I am a barbarian. And you would be right in your diagnosis. Probe me deeply enough, and you will find that I am suffering from barbarism of the heart, which the empty jingles of the syna- gogue cannot cure. I want a truer melody, and I must ring it out somehow. With hearty greetings to your dear ones and all loving friends, Y°"«' David. II Caroline to Julka I really cannot understand, dearest Julka, how you can write in such a dissatisfied strain. Is the world arrayed against you? How dreadful, to be surel And is there no friendship in the universe? That is a perfect shame, and I blush for the universe. And you write such atrocious sentiments under a German sky ! Why, I thought you U2 FROM LAND TO LAND German young ladies were too practical to indulge in such reveries. Are you in love, dearest Julka? You err in demanding so much from peo- ple. The world exacts from us more than we can exact from it, and our duty is not to indulge in pleasant dreams of impossible ideals, which soon become moody and sickly visions, but to settle ourselves to useful work of some kind, however humble. Don't fancy that I am above reproach — I am too conscious of my shortcomings — but, believe me, it is a matter of the profoundest regret to see so many Jewesses entirely at a loss what to do. Their sole aim seems to be marriage, and when that is unattainable they drift into open sea and display an irresolution and vacuousness which are pitiable. I fancy the training of most of us is to be blamed for it all. I am afraid that our edu- cation is showy and superficial: mere ac- 143 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP complishments but no accomplishment. Is this an exaggeration? Now I do not want to preach as if I were a rabbi's daughter, so I'll change the topic for a more pleasing theme. We organized last week a sewing society, from which, of course, all gossip is to be excluded, but about which gossip will be busy, if we are enabled to carry out our plans. We pro- pose to do a great many things, and hope to succeed. I shall not gratify your curi- osity any more on this topic just at present, but as soon as we are fairly at work shall write at greater length. I have just finished Heyse's In Paradise. It does not please me — possibly the English translation is to blame. But it seems so unreal, and the characters are imaginary. Then the tale is morally unsatisfying, and does not brace one for real life, but fills the reader with vague, restless thoughts. Of course, you are scandalized by my esti- 144 FROM LAND TO LAND mate of your Heyse, but I cannot help it. With kind remembrances to your parents, and trusting to hear from you soon, Your friend, Caroline. P. S. I passed a charming summer at Richfield Springs, and made many pleasant friends. Prince Right was not among them, but I am not at all anxious. Ill David to Eugene Spare your reproaches. Sei artig, old fellow, and don't scold. I have joined the Society for Ethical Culture. Its philos- ophy is of no moment to me; its practical work, however, fires my soul. I think I have found what I yearned for, and have already enrolled myself as visiting physi- cian. I visit families of the Catholic chil- dren who attend our kindergarten and school, learn their ailments, physic them, 145 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP report cases of destitution to the relief committee, and so the work goes on. Of course, it is not all hard work: we have talks, conversations, lectures, receptions. You remember Schiller's dictum: Wenn gute Reden sie begleiten, Dann fliesst die Arbeit munter fort. By the step I have taken I have cut my- self off from the synagogue. But what care I for ten thousand synagogues? They do nothing but pray, pray, pray, until they weary God out of countenance. I know how strict you are, Eugene, but if you were living here, and saw how petrified Judaism has become, you would not blame my course. Then they talk such rot in the pul- pits, mere echoes, boy, mere echoes, while the clear, emphatic utterance is wanting. There is no effort made to ameliorate the lower classes, no organized attempt to raise them to a higher plane. What are the lectures about? Well, 146 FROM LAND TO LAND well, the lecturer is a noble fellow, though he does not sometimes seem to know his own mind. It is not new to me, his whole repertoire. It is simply a kind of Ameri- canized philosophy of Fichte the elder, idealized ethics joined to practical char- itable work. He bows out the Creator, it is true, as a personal, intelligent Being, and deifies the Moral Order, but is an agnostic, rather than an atheist. He does not believe in the efficacy of prayer, but in the efficacy of effort. I think he rather shoots over the heads of the people, and rarely touches their hearts. But — ^but anyway It is pleas- ant to listen to a superb intellectual address from a cultured man, a present-day stoic. Ah, old fellow, what would der Papa say if he saw me among the advance guard of culture, which has left the synagogue a way behind? Would he not be scandalized? But if he met me among the hovels and tenements, he would say that hurnanity is 147 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP above and beyond Judaism. I am not cer- tain, however, that I would have joined, if I saw similar philanthropic zeal and less ecclesiastical old clothes among the syna- gogues. Do form a branch in Kempcn among the red-hot Hasidim. I will send you circulars, etc., together with the photograph of David. IV Caroline to Julka I am rather tired this morning, dearest Julka, for I had a very busy day yesterday. In the afternoon our industrial school held its annual exhibition. There were about two hundred little Jewesses, who are gratui- tously taught sewing and light handiwork. It was a lovely sight to see them, the chil- dren of the poorest immigrants, given thus an opportunity to learn useful employment. Many of the girls of our sewing society 148 FROM LAND TO LAND attend these schools — there are several of them — regularly, and do their utmost to refine the children. And when the affair was over, my brother hurried me to the Hebrew Free School to see the classes there. If I tell you that there are twelve hundred boys and girls attending these schools in different parts of the city, and, besides in- struction in Hebrew and our holy religion, receive clothing, and are spurred on by valuable money prizes, you may have a faint conception of the amount of good accom- plished, because otherwise these children would fall a prey to the missionaries. But that is not all. To give you a just idea of how charitable our people are, I would take you to the splendid new orphan asylum, which cost $400,000, and maintains four hundred orphans. I would have you accompany me to two homes for the aged and infirm, to our hospital, open to all creeds, to our societies for protecting Jewish Ud UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP children, to our down-town Sabbath schools for poor children, which are suported, in part, by pupils of a synagogue school. I would have you enter the office of our charities, and learn therefrom how carefully and systematically the needs of our poor are supplied. I would ask you to follow the district visitors on their rounds and learn how they strive to relieve suffering and desti- tution. I am feeling more and more proud of being a Jewess. Of course, much more re- mains to be done, and the constant stream of foreign immigration is taxing our ener- gies. When you reflect on the fact that the poor, the weak, the destitute, the unfortu- nate ever seek our shores, you will under- stand how laudable are the efforts of our synagogues to aid the suffering. We do not advertise our charity, like some creeds and vendors of moral nostrums ; we deem it simply our duty, and this is our reward. 150 FROM LAND TO LAND You ought to have heard the sermon in our synagogue last Sabbath. It was really grand. It was an exhortation to the people to stand still and have faith in God. The rabbi told us to hold our peace and let God work out divine issues, and not worry if matters appear gloomy. He claimed that soon religion will be as much a fashion as charity is, and that Israel will again take pride in its distinctive rites, which, " hoary with the snows of a thousand years," are not to be criticised by boys " fresh from school, and people who ought to go there again." He said that — Well, I'll not bore you any longer, but close with the kindest remembrances. „ Caroline. P. S. We are going to have an early winter, I fear. Have you begun to cover your pumps and rose-bushes with straw ? 151 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP David to Eugene Write me down as an ass, old fellow, a most insatiate ass. I am in the lowest valley of humiliation. I could fast even if it were Purim. That I could have been such a mon- strous fool I How art thou fallen, Lucifer, son of the morning I Cover me with sack- cloth, strew me with ashes, for I am a con- summate dolt. You see, last Wednesday afternoon I went to visit a Mrs. McCafferty, whose youngest son was suffering from stomach- ache. I was told of the fact by Patricic Mc- Cafferty, his brother, aged five, who attends our — not mine any longer — kindergarten. I found the babe yelling like an infidel. I quieted it soon enough, and was going down the stairs, when I heard a loud cry. I turned, and rapidly ran up the stairs. When I reached the top floor, the cries grew 152 FROM LAND TO LAND fainter. Through a partly open door I saw a group of girls by a bedside. I knocked at the door, and it yielded to my pressure. I saw a dying woman on the bed. She was repeating the Shema', while the tears of the girls were falling fast. I told them that I was a physician, and tried to ease her, but she died in a few minutes. One of the girls, who was richly, though plainly, dressed, went into the inner room, and asked me to follow her. There, upon the sofa, another young lady whom they called Charlotte, I think, or Caroline, was telling stories to a couple of children. When they told her of the mother's death, her bright eyes became filled with tears, and then they began to talk together. At last they turned to me, that is, Carrie did, and told me how matters stood. They were members of a sewing society, and visited the poor of their faith. And now listen. I gave them my card, 153 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP and said I was connected with the Society for Ethical Culture. You should have seen Carrie flash up, while the others looked daggers at me, as if I was a monster. Then Caroline softened somewhat, and told me that they were sorry that they had given me any annoyance, and bowed me to the door. Troubles come in squadrons. I called that evening on my aunt Sarah, and told her the circumstances. Scarcely had I ended, when the bell rang, and in walked that identical Caroline with her father, Rosenthal, the banker. She started, and I started, and my aunt laughed, while old Rosenthal looked grim. The old fellow is the image of your grandfather, pimples on the nose and all, and that made me feel at home at once. I think I created a favor- able impression. After an hour's talk, I became convinced of one fact — that the Jews are doing their duty, and that the syna- gogue is alive after all. I never listened to 164 FROM LAND TO LAND a more eloquent advocate than Miss Caro- line, and it truly surprised me to hear of the vastness of organized charity in the Jewish community. The old fellow did not rail at ethical culture, but predicted that it would die in a few years, when the novelty had worn off. He thought it had some good elements, but more bad ones. Say, old fellow, after accompanying the two in the moonlight to their home — it was on my way, of course — I don't sympa- thize with Job or Lamentations any more, but echo Solomon's words : " Stay me with dainties, refresh me with apples, for I am love-sick." T-k David. VI Caroline to Julka I must apologize, dearest Julka, for hav- ing neglected to write you for so long a time, but I know that when I tell you I am engaged it will satisfy you. He is a physi- 155 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP cian, of fair practice, and a noble fellow — Dr. David Brand. He studied in Germany, loves the Germans, and certainly would have lost his heart had he met you. Fondly yours, Caroline. P. S. David is really a " brand from the burning." I have already reclaimed him from lots of " isms." Indeed, I made my marriage conditional upon his abandon- ing what I term the Society for Mythical Culture. " I congratulate," I hear you say. Surely, you do not think me unjust In my demand. 156 A RABBI'S WIFE She openeth her mouth with wisdom. — Proverbs. " I can't Stir an inch — not an inch. Botheration I Here's a pretty state for a man to be in! What shall I do? " The young rabbi almost cried in his despair on as lovely a Sabbath morning as ever dawned. All gold and sparkling were the sunbeams without; the cool, bracing air invited a jaunt. Upon the hanging vine the merry blackbirds were sporting at ease. Yet he of all men was cruelly tied down to his couch — a victim of enthusiasm and rheumatism, both dangerous to young min- isters. He would go out in the damp, de- spite the protestations of his wife, to at- tend the funeral of a poor woman who did not belong to his congregation. He would read the services unabridged at the open II 157 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP grave amid falling rain. He would catch a villainous cold, which defied the skill and patience of the good Dr. Dosem and was to stretch him on his back for three long, weary weeks. " I did so want to preach to-day. Am afraid the people will think me lazy. It is certainly not fair to them to stay away in this fashion. Perhaps I can get up after all — it is only a question of will-power. How bright it is in the sun 1 " he reflected as he gazed wistfully at the sky. " All right, Mr. Sunbeam, I am bound to catch you out there, if you wait a moment or two. So here goes. Up 1 " There was no up for him, despite the most persistent effort, but a decided down, down, down! " Trying to get up again, you dreadful, dreadful man," exclaimed a rather diminu- tive woman with a wealth of curls about her head and a sparkling glow in her eyes. 158 A rabbi's wife " Why will you not obey orders, sir, and keep to your couch, sir, and not shock your nerves by absurdly tumbling on the floor, sir? And in such an undignified posi- tion, too! There, there. Now you are comfortable again. " The process of put- ting him right once more could not have been more rapid. " But it is Saturday, Esther. Just think of that ! " And he groaned. " Well, suppose it is Saturday. What of it?" " But my sermon, my sermon 1 " " Well, what is the matter with your sermon? " " Why, I can't go to the temple to preach," he rejoined complainingly, " That is the trouble, my child. Could anything be more distressing? " " Daniel, you certainly are a funny man. Suppose you do not preach. Surely they will excuse you. Perhaps they will be glad." 159 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP And she smiled at him with enough roguish- ness to drive away any ordinary case of despair. " But, I can't excuse myself, Esther. Here it is three long weeks since I preached, just think of it." And again he groaned louder and more dolefully than before. He was in bad shape undoubtedly. " Come, come, Daniel, be sensible. The world goes on all the same, does it not? The temple has not closed. The sun still shines as brightly as ever. Come, be a good boy, and forget all about the sermon. There, read the morning paper. It is full of news. Just look at that first page article about woman's rights in Turkey." And she smothered his forehead with kisses, driving away the ugly frowns that had gathered. " It is very easy for you, madam, to jest," said the Rev. Daniel Hart, refusing to be comforted. " You are only a rabbi's wife. You don't have to preach. It is no 160 A rabbi's wife trouble to you to consider the situation coolly." Only a rabbi's wife! The hour had come. Don't have to preach ! Could any opportunity be better? The golden mo- ment for which she had patiently waited and for whose responsibilities she was amply prepared was now at hand. There was to be no more delay. " Dear husband," she said without any tremor in her voice that might betray her plan, " am I not a sensible woman? " " Why, of course, you are." " And have I not brains? " " What a ridiculous question? Who could doubt it? " " And have I not a heart and sensi- bility?" " Yes, yes, yes I But why these questions, you foolish, foolish child?" " And have I not studied with you and learned from you, and am I not proud of 161 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP my religion and glad to do my share to aid and to cheer? " " Esther, why have you grown so very serious? What are you planning?" And he gazed wonderingly at his wife. It was a new role she was assuming. "Why have I grown so serious?" she repeated with just a little scorn in her voice. " Do you think that I am a child? Or a doll, forsooth? Must not a rabbi's wife be serious? Come, let me preach to-day, dearest. I promise you that I shall do my duty, and you will never regret it. Let me preach in your stead I " "yo« preach?" " Daniel, it is high time that I should try to realize the ideal which you have al- ways held before me. If Miriam, the lead- er's sister, led her women in song at an era of national danger three or four thousand years ago, why shall not the rabbi's wife to-day lead her people in speech, when our 162 A rabbi's wife religion has reached a critical period, and women's aid may not be spurned? Dear husband, I entreat you, give your consent. Do not hesitate. Let not the opportunity pass by." " But the president," he interrupted. " There's the difficulty. You know he is not so easily managed. Will you see him and gain his consent ? That would clear the situation." " I shall see his wife at once," the triumphant little woman replied, " and get her consent. That will answer, I warrant you." " All right, Esther, have your own way as usual. Only do not blame me, if it turns out a failure. You understand that." " It shall turn out no failure, but a suc- cess in every way," was her answer, as she smiled and left the room so rapidly that her good man had no time to consider the matter. ****** 163 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP An hour or two later, during a pause In the service, the congregation was astounded to see a prim little figure mount the pulpit. " It is Mrs. Hart, Mrs. Hart I " ran from mouth to mouth, and there was a wild straining of necks to catch a good look at her audaciousness. What could it all mean ? What was the matter? Is she crazy? was the thought uppermost in their minds. Crazy? No, dear, good ladies, and dear, kind gentlemen. Not crazy at all — don't you believe It? — but a sane Jewess with her head and her heart in the right place. Sane from top to toe. Sane from ringlet to sandals. Sane from the sparkle of her eye to the flounce of her dress. Never a saner woman In all Jewry from the day of the gentle Beruria to the time of Judith Monte- fiore. But hush, hush! — she is speaking. Are there any reporters here ? Is the editor of Israel's Trump at hand? Yes, In- deed — there he sits in all his dignity. He 164 A rabbi's wife is evidently surprised, but not disconcerted, for he is ready for any emergency. Hush, no whispering, please. What is she saying ? Silence, good people, silence 1 Do not dis- turb the service. How radiant she is ! What a charming preacher I Just listen to her. Was such a sermon ever heard in Jerusalem or Squedunk? " I know you are all surprised, dear friends, to see me in this pulpit, are you not ? But my husband is still unable to preach to you, I regret to say, and as I am his wife and helpmate, I deemed it my duty, with his consent, to come. That is the secret of my presence. There is no further mystery. But, even if I were no rabbi's wife, that I am a Jewess is enough to justify me in thus addressing you. I need no other badge of authority, I assure you. If the merit of Jewish women redeemed our fathers, so runs the old tradition, from their captivity, tell me, O women of Israel to-day, 165 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP you mothers and daughters, shall we not do our share to redeem our people from cap- tivity in our era? For It is a captivity, be- lieve me, as crushing as any in the past. Let those who will be silent. Some of us can and must speak." The congregation was awed by her spirited manner and words, which came clear-coined from the mint of her soul. The awe continued until the close. There was no break in the rapt attention. Evi- dently, the people rather liked it, and would have applauded energetically under other conditions. Now, perhaps you expect me to report that address in full, every word, every tone, every gesture. Well, I would if I could, but Mrs. Hart was unable to give me her copy, for she had none. She had made no notes. It was a purely extemporaneous effort. Yet I remember some of it which made too vivid an impression to be forgot- 166 A rabbi's wife ten. The subject was the need of spirituali- ty in Judaism. She thought that there was much truth in current criticism of our reli- gion, as it is in the average individual, a reli- gion of mere forms, whose inner spirit is not always insisted upon. But as one breath of life is worth a million fossils, even so are the spiritual elements most important. She regarded as failures all religious services which did not appeal to the heart and the intelligence and did not impel to right liv- ing. God did not need to be reminded of our wants, as if He were a kind of useful machine, but we ought to be reminded of our obligations. It was Judaism which was adapted to be- come a universal religion of simple good- ness and kindness to all as members of one family with one Father. No leaders should be tolerated who preached clannishness and exclusiveness. This clannishness was a fre- quent cause of prejudice against us, and 167 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP was utterly out of touch with a liberal and fair-minded creed, such as we claim Judaism to be. But most impressive were her thoughts in reference to women in the synagogue. She claimed that the exclusive sovereignty of men has led to a certain hardness and harsh- ness which can no longer be endured. The synagogue needed women's influence for its grandest development, and no refinement was possible when women were thrust aside as dolls or inferior beings. To-day our Jewish girls, as a class, are receiving a better education than our boys ; they remain longer at school and college ; hence they are their intellectual superiors. " You women are to blame. Yes, you are. You cannot deny it," so ran a para- graph which I distinctly remember. " You, who are idly content to be fashion-plates, must not wonder that you are crushed be- neath the load of your weakness and indo- les A rabbi's wife lence. You must cease to give over your children to hirelings to influence them in their early years. It Is easy to transfer your responsibilities ; but it is at a terrible cost to the children's souls. You must enter more Into their lives, and watch the tell-tale mood, even if you fail to catch the latest gossip or miss a Saturday matinee. You must be more than lazy Orientals in the stir and inspiration of American life." " The portion from the Pentateuch read this week," she continued, "tells of the equipment of the Mosaic tabernacle. It is not your province In our time to contribute yarn and thread, silver and gold, linen and silk, chains and bells, rings and precious stones, as did your ancestors, newly eman- cipated slaves, in their deep gratitude to the Almighty. Let yours be a holler task, you with your culture, refinement, and wealth, to enter the temple with trustfulness, with pride, with reverence, with gratitude, with 169 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP loyalty. * As the woman is, so is the man,' is wonderfully true of Judaism. Be priest- esses in the household, and all will yet be well." •1* •!* "I* •!* •!* T Mrs. Hart went home that Sabbath day in the best of humor. How she escaped the crowd of admirers after the service, she never could tell; but she managed it satis- factorily, and the people were very con- siderate, much to their credit, and did not delay her. They were stirred to their very soul, and the lesson would not be so quickly lost. Their complacency had received a severe jolt, it is true. No mere man would dare scold them as she did, but they felt the better for the castigation. There is a sense of justice deeply rooted in most of us, and the women in particular were grateful for having seen themselves as the preacher saw them. When Mrs. Hart reached home, she 170 A rabbi's wife found her husband wildly impatient. What did she say? How did they like it? She lost no time in satisfying his masculine curi- osity on these points, and told him the gen- eral gist of her remarks, much to his admira- tion and self-satisfaction, for, man-fashion, he claimed full credit for the entire affair. It was his rheumatism that was to be con- gratulated, as without that she never would have spoken from the pulpit. "And how do you feel now,Daniel?" she asked. " O, decidedly better, Esther. But I hope I shall have the ailment next week also." " I certainly don't. Why, you cannot imagine how uncomfortable I felt facing that congregation. Once is enough," and she laughed at her husband. " Hurrah for you! We have begun a reformation ! " and he laughed with her. 171 HOW THE DEBT WAS PAID 'Tis strange, but true ; for truth is always strange ; Stranger than fiction. — Byron. The young preacher sat at the open win- dow, allowing the cool breeze free play over his face and head, when the bell rang. The door opened, and in came four smiling gentlemen. " Ah, my friends," the preacher ex- claimed, " I am pleased to see you. Pray be seated, Mr. Bluster. Mr. Fluster, pray take this chair. You will find the sofa more comfortable, gentlemen," said he, as he noticed Mr. Spink and Mr. Spank settling themselves nimbly upon two piano stools. " Now, friends, what is your pleasure ? " and the preacher resumed his seat. " Well, Mr. Frank," said Mr. Bluster, " we have the honor of appearing before 172 HOW THE DEBT WAS PAID you as a committee, of which I am chair- man." " Quite an honor, I am sure," observed the preacher, glancing carelessly at the com- mittee. " Will you oblige me by stating the object of your visit? " " The matter is simply this : we are all business men, and we don't propose to waste your time or ours. To come to the point at once, the synagogue don't pay. All our efforts to popularize it have been in vain. Who is to blame, we don't know. We have empty benches and an empty treasury. Now, then, we must remedy the matter, or the synagogue must cease to exist." At these words Mr. Bluster looked at the committee, and the committee looked admiringly at Mr. Bluster. " The synagogue must cease to exist, if we don't remedy matters," continued Mr. Bluster, " and to think of such a result is heart-rending, gentlemen. Our holy syna- 12 173 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP gogue, In which our fathers worshipped, is sacred and dear to us, because it is bound up with the most tender memories. Here many of us were joined in wedlock, here we lisped our prayers in Infancy, here we heard our children joining their prayers with ours. Youth and age, boy and maid, man and woman, rich and poor, weak and strong, all — er — have an interest in our shrine — er — which shall never fail to thrill our souls — er — till time doth cease — er — and empires decay — er — ." It was not surprising that, at this elo- quent peroration, Spink drew out his hand- kerchief, and Spank raised his eyes devoutly to the ceiling. Mr. Bluster's manner was truly affecting, and he spoke with warm feeling and emphasis. It was not unknown to the preacher that the four gentlemen before him always took a deep interest in the synagogue and re- ceived the full legal interest for any loans 174 HOW THE DEBt WAS PAID they had made to clear off its indebtedness, presenting their coupons quite regularly for payment. It was also not unknown to the preacher that these four gentlemen were partially responsible for the extravagant outlay in the erection of the synagogue three years before. Bluster's brother-in-law was the architect. Spink's partner's cousin was the carpenter. Fluster's particular friend was the mason. Spank's son was the lawyer, who saw that the purchase was legally made and paid for. Of course, these four gentlemen were actuated by the holiest and purest motives in making the shrine as gorgeous as possible. How could it be otherwise ? The preacher, too, seemed affected by Mr. Bluster's eloquence. It was fully two minutes before he made reply. " Too well, my friends, I know the state of things, and I am glad, heartily glad, that you have so frankly come to me to discuss 175 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP the matter. I have long noticed the lethargy in our midst. I have tried, earn- estly tried, to awaken the proper spirit, and grieve to say that all my efforts have been fruitless. I would gladly hear any sugges- tion you have to make on this topic, and cordially bid you be as open as you please. I am not at all thin-skinned, and am not dis- posed to shirk any blame which I justly have to bear." These few words awakened the admira- tion of the committee. Spink whispered to Spank that the preacher was a good fellow. Spank said to Spink that he had never doubted it. Bluster affirmed, in a few ex- pressive glances, that he was the preacher's best friend. Fluster indignantly wanted to know whether anybody had any right to find fault with anybody else. Nobody seemed disposed to excite the ire of Fluster, who pathetically grasped the preacher's hand, and ejaculated: 176 HOW THE DEBT WAS PAID " You are a noble fellow." " The pride of the congregation," said Bluster. " Our minister and our guide," added Spink. " We shall always revere you, sir," said Spank. The preacher seemed to receive these ex- pressions with an indifferent air; he well knew how little reliance was to be placed upon fulsome admiration ; so he said, rather coldly: " Well, Mr. Bluster, please let mc hear you further on this matter; but be careful to speak as frankly as possible." " Well, Mr. Frank," said Mr. Bluster, " to tell you the honest truth, sir, we are not satisfied with your sermons." " I am truly sorry," said the preacher. " Please tell me why you are dissatisfied with me." " With you we are not dissatisfied," 177 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP quickly replied Bluster, with a smile which was meant to express the utmost good humor. " We are delighted with you, sir. We esteem you, we love you, we admire you, we — " " But — " interrupted the preacher. Mr. Bluster paused. " But — " repeated the preacher. " But — but, we are not satisfied with your sermons, sir. They are cast too much in the old mould, sir. We live in a modern age, sir. The air reeks with progress. Steam-boats, steam-ploughs, railroads — " " Explosions and collisions, Mr. Blus- ter," interrupted the preacher once more. " We must have in our pulpit the same law of progress at work," continued Bluster, not noticing the interruption. " Law and progress, progress and law," he repeated, briskly rubbing his hands. " It is an age of progress. Away with the old coach and six. We hear the snort of the iron horse. New 178 HOW THE DEBT WAS PAID ideas, currents, movements. The air is full of revolutions. I can't wear my father's old clothes; why should I, as a thinking man, adopt his views? I can't — " " Excuse me, Mr. Bluster," said the preacher, " but I have often heard such thoughts expressed before. There Is a great deal of froth said to-day about progress and new ideas. The snort of the iron horse, however, doesn't make a man more honest or more dutiful. Steam hasn't exorcised selfishness. The demons of envy, malice, and uncleanness still devastate the hearts of men, even if progress raises costly shrines to God, and seeks loans on second mort- gages. No, sir. I always get angry when I hear my friends using such cant terms. Science, you know, has its cant as well as religion." " You may be right, Mr. Frank, You may be right, sir," repeated Bluster, with an air of exceeding candor. 179 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP " More than that, sir. I am right!" re- plied the preacher with emphasis. " Did you hear what he said about sec- ond mortgages?" whispered Fluster to Spink. " Yes, and I thought it rather pers®nal," retorted Spink. " Mr. Preacher," said Bluster in rather harsh tones, as if he were speaking to his office boy. " We have drifted from the subject." " Well, then, please drift to it again as soon as possible," said the preacher, smiling. Mr. Spink smiled, too; but he caught Spank's gaze, which was sternly fixed upon him, and Spink's smile vanished. As for Fluster, there was a look of contempt on his face. " We object to your method of preach- ing, your manner of preaching, and your style of preaching," said Bluster in a loud voice, 180 HOW THE DEBT WAS PAID The preacher was going to ask the differ- ence between method, manner, and style, but Bluster continued: " You dwell too much on the past. Your pictures are taken from the East. You quote Hebrew. You give us the Bible, the Bible, the Bible, till we are sick of it. We want ethics to-day, pure, genuine ethics, not the Bible with its crude ideas of moral- ity, its narrow views of God, its — " " As a servant of God, Mr. Bluster, I can't allow you to talk in that strain in my presence." " I have the floor, Mr. Preacher, so please don't interrupt. We must have livelier topics in the pulpit, sir. The burning questions of the day must be an- alyzed there. The tariff, reconstruction, society — " " The emancipation of woman," said Fluster, who had lately lost his mother- in-law. 181 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP " Our commercial relations," said Spink. " The Eastern question," ventured Spank. " But, above all, Mr. Preacher, ethics. Everything must be touched from the ethi- cal standpoint. All questions must be lighted up from the ethical side. All — " " By heaven, gentlemen, I will endure this no longer," exclaimed Mr. Frank, ris- ing from his seat. " What do you mean, sir? " inquired Bluster, in his blandest tones. " What do I mean, sir! " repeated the preacher, looking fiercely at the quartette. " I'll not tell you what I mean. Who are you, anyhow? " " I am Samuel Bluster, sir," exclaimed that gentleman in a defiant tone, " and I'll let you know that I am not to be insulted. Who pays the highest for his seat in the synagogue? Samuel Bluster. Who has secured the most members ? Samuel Blus- 182 HOW THE DEBT WAS PAID ter. Who has loaned the most for the building fund? Samuel Bluster. I don't want to boast, sir. I don't want to blow my trumpet, like other people who shall be nameless. I don't want to run down any- body. But if modesty didn't prevent me, if a due sense of decorum didn't bind me, I'd let the world know something," and Mr. Bluster slapped his breast with his broad hand. " I don't care if you are Mr. Samuel Bluster, and I don't care what your crowd of friends and retainers say," retorted the preacher, " I mean just to preach the Bible, the Bible, the Bible, as long as I live, and for your twaddle about ethics I don't care a snap. Shall I preach to you ethics, culled from a German professor's note-book, when my duty is to preach to you religion from the Bible of the Al- mighty God? For ethics, friends, is only the fruit, but religion is the root. Where 183 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP you fail to plant religion, you'll never se- cure ethics. When I find that the La!w and the Prophets are obsolete, I'll ransack among my note-books for Steinthal's lec- tures on ethics, and give you that gentle- man's idea of Revelation In the most flow- ery style, with all the accessories of fash- ionable perfume and aristocratic assem- blages. But until that time, gentlemen, until I am convinced that the ethics of the Bible and the Talmud are unsuitable for our age, I shall take my text from the Bible and my inspiration from the daily needs of men. I am no man's slave, much less the tool or the lackey of a congrega- tion. I shall preach what I think proper to preach, and have no idea to allow the views of others to be rammed down my throat. In the pulpit I am master, or rather teacher, and you are pupils. I do the talking, you the listening, or you can go to sleep, if you choose. If you see Incon- • 184 HOW THE DEBT WAS PAID sistencies in my belief and practice, criti- cise freely, and expel me from your midst. But to come here, four ordinary men like you, who know well enough the mysteries of Wall Street and the counting-house, but who are at sea in religious matters; for you, mere landlubbers, who pay me as steersman, to ceme here and tell me how to steer, is too much, too much, gentlemen, I assure you." Mr. Frank paused. His impetuous de- livery had had a marked effect. No con- version could have been more rapid. "Mr. Bluster," said Mr. Spink, "I think we can let Mr. Frank steer us a little longer." "A little longer I Spink," exclaimed Spank; " always, sir! " " I was opposed to coming here frgm the start," said Fluster. Bluster alone was obdurate. He would have gladly yielded to the rest, but Samuel 185 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP Bluster was proud, Samuel Bluster was obstinate. *' But how clear away the debt, gentle- men? " he inquired. " Before you talk of dollars and cents, there is a far holier debt to be paid," the preacher earnestly said. " It is a debt reaching centuries back. Throughout the long ages never-failing love was showered upon us; despite persecution, taunt, and outrage, we are alive and strong to-day. The centuries are musical with the songs of our ancestors, songs of faith and cour- age and devotion. We need not sing all of the songs they sang, for we suffer not as they suffered, we are not despised as they were despised. But one song, one univer- sal paean of loyalty we can sing, we shall sing, and let the resounding harmonies ascend to God on high. He demands noth- ing more from us : only loyalty in His serv- ice. Like loyal soldiers, who forget the 186 HOW THE DEBT WAS PAID weary bivouac, the hard blsaiit, the tramp in the morass, when the sounds of battle are heard, so should we Jews, in the crisis of to-day, forget the trifles of custom and ritual, forget the jarring rivalries, the di- versities and prejudices of sects, all ab- sorbed, as we should be, in the struggle for the realization on earth of those aspira- tions and yearnings, of which all the creeds are full, but which have found in Judaism their truest and healthiest expression." " And the debt of dollars and cents, Mr. Preacher? " said Bluster, inquiringly. " Put your hands in your pockets, and pay it," said Mr. Frank curtly. " Ethics won't pay it, certainly. The synagogue deserves either to live or to die. If it de- serves to live, keep it alive. If not, don't expect your preacher to prescribe sugar- coated ethics as a refrigerant, or to dance to the fiddle of even such good-hearted fel- lows as you are. I know you have all come 187 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP to me for the best : s© take my answer. If any sacrifice is to be made, you can sacrifice me at the saving to you of so many dollars yearly; but don't expect me to sacrifice my convictions at the cost of my conscience." And the young preacher, having seen his visitors to the door, returned calmly to his seat at the open window. ONLY A CHILD Who, rowing hard against the stream, Saw distant gates of Eden gleam. And did not dream it was a dream. — Tennyson. A dismal January morning. A thaw had set in, and made the streets almost impassable. Yesterday's snow was to-day's slush. On Fifth Avenue the reign of dirt prevailed; what fit epithet might be ap- plied to Hester Street as It sluggishly approaches Baxter? A girl of ten, carrying a jug of milk, went singing along the street in the early morning, carefully wending her way amid wind and soft ice. Her features were irregular, her form slightly bent, her countenance pale and sunken. Her eyes alone had expressive beauty, and being set in such an attenuated frame, they were doubly lustrous. Her hands were thin, and 13 189 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP now and then a cough escaped her colorless lips. She stopped before a lofty tenement, and opening the door, ran quickly up three flights of stairs. " Here's the milk, mamma. I'll take care of the baby, while you get breakfast ready. Come, Benny, come," and the child soon had the babe in her arms, singing to it and letting it play with her hair, which fell profusely on her shoulders. An uncarpeted floor, two beds, a pine table, a chest of drawers, walls, whose bareness was relieved by an illuminated picture and a few photographs, constituted the main apartment in which the Goldsteins lived. There was a small side-room, occh- picd by a lad of twelve. The father had died of consumption a few months before. The mother earned her livelihood as a laundress and by plain sewing when she had a little leisure. The boy received a few dollars a week, and this sum, together with 190 ONLY A CHILD her own earnings and the interest of a small amount left by her husband, who had been a member of the Lodge of the Free Sons of Israel, was barely sufficient to make both ends meet. They were from Bavaria, and had emigrated to New York in 1867. For a time fortune smiled upon them, but the husband's ill health soon incapacitated him from active work, and gradually re- duced their means, so they were forced to live in a Hester Street tenement-house, where at last the husband died, leaving his wife and children almost penniless. Kind friends, as poor as themselves, did all in their power to cheer the widow, and she, a devout Jewess, rarely repined, but strove to be satisfied with her lot, and worked for the children's sake. Without any de- lay, Samuel was taken from school and secured a position as cash boy in a depart- ment store. Fannie, the daughter, wanted very much to go to work, too, but as the 191 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP child seemed delicate, it was thought best to keep her at school for a year longer. " O mamma," said Fannie, " won't you hurry please. It's half past eight already, and I don't want to be late at school." Mrs. Goldstein laughed at her daughter's impatience, while Sam, who had just en- tered the room, joined in her request. " Come, children," at last Mrs. Gold- stein said. "Come, sit right down." And soon the frugal breakfast was eaten, and Sam and Fannie were off. The . day — it was Friday — quickly passed. For some unaccountable reason, Mrs. Goldstein felt much worried. It was not the baby's fault, for Ben was in his best mood, and sat quietly on the bed blinking at the wall, or when he was put on the floor he unconcernedly began crawling about. At times he attempted to rise on his feet, but finding it impossible to execute any such movement, he purred and murmured, full of satisfaction, on all fours. 192 ONLY A CHILD " I wish I could send Fannie away," said Mrs. Goldstein to herself. " She is always talking of the green fields. I found a rose under her pillow a little while ago. It made her have such a beautiful dream, so she told me. She coughs dreadfully at night, too, and looks so bad. I think I'll write a note to the kind lady who came here after my husband died, and see whether she can do anything for Fannie. I'll send Sam with the letter on Sunday. He's a strong fellow, and that's some comfort. O God," sobbed the widow in a revulsion of feeling, " what hope have I in this bitter, bitter world? If I had died with Morris, how much better would it have been I " Bubble, bubble from the floor. Ben, the irrepressible, was clapping his hands, think- ing it was a special performance for his benefit. A glance at him made her forget her troubles, and she clasped him in her arms. 193 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP " I am wicked to have such thoughts," she exclaimed, lavishing kisses on Benny, who seemed to enjoy them. " God is good. Didn't Morris say it all his life, and when he died did he not tell me not to lose hope and always to believe that there are good people in the world? God, forgive me, if I for a moment forgot Thee." " I came home early to-day, mamma," said Fannie, suddenly opening the door. " I have such a headache that Miss Moore let me go. She told me that I ought to wear thick flannels and not go out in the wet." " Yes, yes, my child," said the mother, kissing her hot forehead and smoothing her hair. " Yes, yes, your teacher was right. I will get you flannels on Monday. Come now, draw your chair to the table, and I will make you some broth." " I don't feel sick, but so tired, mother, and I could sleep if it was only night-time." 194 ONLY A CHILD Her words were followed by a violent paroxysm of coughing, which alarmed Mrs. Goldstein. " Lie down now, Fannie, do; there's a darling. Lie down, and then you'll be nice and warm." " Yes, mamma, but you will wake me in time for the children's synagogue to- morrow, won't you? I haven't missed a Sabbath yet, and it's nearly two years. I am in the choir, mamma, and I can sing everything. Only when I want to sing, something chokes me, so that my voice breaks. Do girls' voices break like boys'?" " Why, of course they do, Fannie. Now let me undress you, even if you are a big girl, and then you can sleep." " If I only had a rose," said the child, softly, " or a leaf in my hand or under my pillow, mamma, I think I could sleep, and then I would have such a beautiful dream J95 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP again. Let baby kiss me, mamma, his red lips are like a rosebud, anyway. I guess I'll take him next year with me to synagogue. Sarah Levy took her brother last week, and he is only four years old, and he behaved as nicely as anything. Mamma, let me have a glass of water, and don't leave the room, and when you light the Sabbath lights, wake me, mamma, and then we'll all sing together. Don't leave me, mamma," she added, piteously. " Let me feel your hand. So, so," she said, in a drowsy tone, and was soon fast asleep, while Ben, on the floor, tried to imprison the noon-day sunbeams, which shone through the high, narrow win- dow. Like every other grand feat which that ambitious babe attempted, this, too, was a lamentable failure, and the sunbeams refused to be caught by his small fingers. He looked inquiringly at his mamma, but the problem could not be solved by her. She was perhaps thinking of the sunbeam 196 ONLY A CHILD loaned by God for a time, which perchance was just then slipping from her grasp! " Mother, mother, O what a beautiful dream I have had," and Fannie half rose from her pillow, her cheeks all flushed and her eyes brighter than ever. It was Sabbath morn, and Mrs. Gold- stein sat by the child's bedside, clasping the thin hand. " A dream ! " she replied, smoothing Fannie's forehead and kissing her again and again, as she noticed the marked change in her appearance. " A dream 1 O Fannie, I am sure it was about — well, I won't say what," added the widow, trying to smile. " No, no, mamma, you don't know any- thing about it. O, such a dream," and Fannie folded her hands under her head, and looked up yearningly at the ceiling, as if she discerned again the vision of the night. 197 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP " Well, Fannie, you will tell me, surely. But wait now until you have had your breakfast. I don't want you to talk too much ; you know it is not good for you." " O mamma, I don't feel sick any more. I am ever so much better. I guess I'll get up right away," and she strove to rise. But the effort was beyond her strength, and she sank back again exhausted. " You see, darling, I told you to be quiet and not exert yourself. Come, let me soften the pillow, and brush your hair, and wipe your hands, and you will be more comfortable. A little tea will do you good, Fannie, and then, after you have taken something, you can tell me all about the wonderful dream." " Now, mamma, truly honest it was a really nice dream, and you must not make fun of it, either." And the child quickly swallowed the tea, but refused the roll which her mother brought her. 198 ONLY A CHILD Meanwhile Ben, whose slumbers had been disturbed by the conversation, haa managed to slide down from his nest in a perfectly placid way, and crawling on all fours to his sister's bed, looked at her with an unmistakable air. Mrs. Goldstein quickly lifted the babe, and placed him in Fannie's arms, from which shelter he blinked calmly at his audience, and seizing the uneaten roll, clasped it with both fists, and then listened with apparent eagerness to what was coming : he knew that he would not be scolded. " Yes, Ben, you shall heai- all about it," said Fannie. " O mamma, it was such a beautiful synagogue far away, somewhere in the country, I guess. And there were roses growing outside and climbing into the windows." " Roses, darling? " " Yes, mamma, June roses. And I sat in the choir with Sarah Levy, and Sophie 199 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP Schlamowitz, and Georgie Abrahams, and the others, and we could see the lovely green grass outside the window. Now, mamma, when we look for a moment out of the window, there is nothing to see but a stable and a woman hanging out the wash, and this makes the boys laugh sometimes. But in the dream, mamma, the synagogue was all white inside, with small chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. And the Ark was real marble, and there was only one Sefer in it, the same little Sefer for which we always paid three dollars a year. But it was dressed beautifully, and it had lovely bells, too. And the window behind the Ark was all red, and when it was opened, the window seemed on fire. And — and — " " Have you not talked long enough, Fannie? You can tell me the rest this afternoon." There was an anxious look on the mother's face, as if she feared the child was wandering in her mind. 200 ONLY A CHILD " What an idea, mother! I'll tell you it all now. The seats were all filled with children, the boys on one side and the girls on the other, and behind there were grown people. And they all sang together, and above them all you could hear the choir. And then, after Georgia Abrahams read the Sefer and the Haftorah — I guess he must have been Bar-Mitzwah — , the teacher talked to us, and told us a story. He said that once upon a time all the He- brew letters came together, and God gave them each a certain value. The Beth was two, the Gimel three, the Daleth four, and so on. Now the next day the Alef came to God crying, and God said : ' What ails thee, my poor little child? ' And then the Alef said : ' Dear God, all the letters are worth so much more than I am, and they are proud and won't play with me, because I am so poor.' And then the Alef cried bitterly, until God said: ' Do not weep; with thee 201 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP I have begun the ten commandments.' (You know, mamma, Alef is the first letter of Anoki.) And when the Alef heard the words, it dried its tears, and felt glad, although it was poor. So, the teacher said, God will begin with us, poor as we are, something grand and great. He is as near to our little synagogue as to the largest temple, and our prayers are heard by Him gladly, when they come right from our hearts." " Yes, my child, this is God's truth," interrupted the mother. " And then he told us that the true syna- gogue was our home^ no matter how small ; that we should try to be gentle and patient and loving there ; that God didn't care for the number of our prayers, but for the feel- ing with which we prayed — and for the acts of our lives. He told us that when an artist is about to make a picture, he closes his eyes and imagines what he is 202 ONLY A CHILD going to paint. So, too, he said, we chil- dren should have before us pictures of our future, what we would like to become when we grow older. And he said the clearer the picture now, the more chance that It will be real in the future: for it will be some- thing to lead us on. Every child has its own angel close beside it in its youth, and sweet are the songs it sings. And when a child dies, mamma, the teacher said that the angel doesn't die, but remains behind, and is ever near to those whom the child loved in its life-time. And, and, — I have for- gotten what he said about David's dream when he was watching his father's sheep. O dear, how stupid to forget itl I'll ask him next week, mamma, and you'll come with me and sing with us, too. O mamma, my throat is so dry," and Fannie quickly swallowed the fresh drink her mother had prepared. " Do you know, mamma, what was fun- 203 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP niest about the dream?" she said after a slight pause. " When I listened to the story and smelt the flowers, I said to my- self: What if it is only a dream? And I cried just then, and could not sleep any 204 THE RABBI'S ROMANCE For aught that ever I could read, Could ever hear by tale or history, The course of true love never did run smooth. — A Midsummer Night's Dream. " The idea ! " " What do you mean, madam? " " The idea of a rabbi having a ro- mance." " And why not, madam? " " Why, how could a rabbi have a ro- mance ? He is a man who dons a skull cap day and night, has a long, white beard, wears phylacteries even in a ball room, and talks nothing but Hebrew." " Indeed ! A curious idea of a rabbi you seem to possess. And are all rabbis clerical Dryasdusts? The Talmud has a different tale to tell: ' Descend a step in choosing a wife, that thou mayest bend and 14 205 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP whisper in her ear.' ' When the wife dies, the heavens are darkened.' ' God's altar weeps, when one forsakes the wife of his youth.' Evidently the rabbinical sages, even before our days of progress, had ro- mantic ideas of their own — for which they receive too little credit. They were gradu- ates of a good old school which produced the love-idyls of the patriarchs, the ex- quisite story of Ruth, the valiant woman of Proverbs, and the text of the Song of Songs: ' Set me as a seal upon thy heart, as a seal upon thine arm; for love is strong as death.' " I In Hirschberg again! I have not seen a glimpse of its tall trees for ten years, nor caught a view of its surrounding hills — they call them mountains — for the same lapse of time. But it has all come back to me like a flash — the merry, joyous life of 206 THE rabbi's romance old; its unpleasant privations are forgotten, its happy memories alone survive. The lime-trees, as soldierly as old Fritz's grena- diers, are familiar once more ; the red roofs are friendly; the very dogs, cats, and market-women smile at me. And as I walk through the narrow streets, peep into the shop windows, or, gaining the heights, see the placid town at my feet — why, I feel a Bahur, a real, veritable Bahur, going the rounds of Stunden, and taking part in the Shiur.* Now, Edward, seated comfortably in your London club house, I suppose that you'll laugh when you learn that I was once a Talmud student. Most assuredly I was, and spent six years at a famous semi- nary in this place. In fact, I was almost elected rabbi of the Troppau community — a capital depot for beer. I had very nearly resolved to apply for the position, and be- *TaImudic lesson. 207 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP ing backed by the director and staff of pro- fessors, my chances were exceedingly favor- able. But one day I had a quiet " think " all by myself: " Ignatz, my boy, if you become a rabbi in Troppau, Poodlewitz, or Delicatessenberg, your position is likely to be secure for life. You will grow fat and rosy, provided your wife cooks Leberwurst acceptably. As years roll by — a great deal faster than even a German lightning ex- press — ^you will be living in Troppau all the time, you will think Troppau and drink Troppau and become at last a Troppauer, not a citizen of the world. No, Ignatz, this will never do for you. Such a prospect is not cheering to a man of your physique and temperament." While I was thus de- liberating, there came the postman's ring and the loud barking of my landlady's dog, soured, perhaps, because the postman per- sistently failed to bring a letter for him. It was a brief note from my dearly beloved 208 THE RABBI'S ROMANCE aunt in Liegnitz, with whom I had lived from childhood — my parents both died in my early years — telling me that my re- spected uncle was not expected to live. To cut a long story short, I left the semi- nary, took charge of his thriving business, went on the road, pushed trade, opened branches in Paris and London. And now, as a wealthy merchant, I am revisiting the scenes of my student days. Ignatz, thou hast well decided. I promised, I fancy, to send you a letter now and then. I am not much of a hand at writing, save when the old spirit comes over me. I am sure I would not have spent more than an hour in Hirschberg, despite its pleasant associations, if I had not found out that an old friend of mine was rabbi here. He was a rare old chap in those days when we studied together, and helped me amazingly. He was seminary poet and preacher, and the German expressions 209 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP rolled like velvet from his lips. He was such a clever man, too, tall and vigorous, who could outwalk and outrun the whole seminary. When he hurried along with the Talmud folio in hand, you could note his pride in the pose of his head and cut of his lip. How ambitious he was in those days I What plans and aspirations possessed him ! He was going to do this, and going to do that. Life was fairer for him than for the rest of us. His betrothed came to Hirsch- berg the very week I left, and I recollected what a pretty face she had — too pretty for a rabbi's wife. Ah, Klein, old fellow, I am half ashamed to see you again, with your ideas before which all of ours faded into nothingness. So good-hearted and unself- ish, too. So gentle and sympathetic, with a poet's sensitiveness, responsive to every influence. He had a tremendous will — had he been anybody else, I would have called his a powdery temper, and didn't it blaze sometimes? But the gust was soon 210 THE RABBI'S ROMANCE over, and he was gentle then and as passive as a child. How his sermons rang out in the old seminary synagogue ! What dread- ful stuff all the rest of us preached, but how superb were his addresses ! He im- agined he was speaking to a million people, with a million wrongs to be righted. And how characteristic were his ideas of Juda- ism I It was a religion of discipline, renun- ciation, and self-sacrifice. He got quite beyond the range of his audience when he touched upon these themes. But he was terribly in earnest, and his sparkling eye and clenched fist told the story. Well, I shall muster courage to see him this eve- ning. I wonder whether he will recognize me, or I recognize him. II I returned from visiting Klein a few hours ago. Poor fellow, they told me that he was very ill and could not be seen. But when I gave my name and spoke of him as 211 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP an old class-mate, the physician became more communicative, and invited me to call again. I begged for one look at Klein, but he thought it best to wait until the morning. He regards the case as very serious. There is no special disease, except a general pros- tration of the vital powers, and it is difficult for him to rally with his exhausted strength. The doctor thinks that his trouble is more mental than physical. He may have a spell of consciousness during the day, but the physician is not hopeful. Judging from the house he lives in — his room is in the second story rear — he must be in a wretched plight. I wanted to have him moved to more comfortable quarters, but the physician said that it was too late. Nothing can save him, I fear. Klein on his death-bed — the life, the pride of the sem- inary! On my way back to the hotel I fell in with some acquaintances, and learnt from 212 THE rabbi's romance them the story of Klein's life. It is not a very cheerful recital, and I shall re- serve the most of it for another time ; but the chief facts are these : Klein's betrothed left him when he became rabbi of Hirsch- berg. She had high notions, it would seem, about her beauty. She had conscientious objections, forsooth, to becoming a rabbi's wife. If he would go to Berlin and be- come a sportive banker, or a pretentious merchant, she would condescend to marry him. But to be cooped up in Hirschberg, was not to her ladylike taste. And besides, she had imbibed new ideas; she looked upon the Bible as old-fashioned and behind the age, and secretly despised the quiet, lowly ways to which she had been accustomed. There was a pretty lively scene when they parted. But he was firm, and she was firm ; and, kurz und gut, he came to Hirschberg, and she went to Weissnichtwo. Thus the romance was abruptly ended. 213 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP They gave me brief details of his life here. When he first came he was all fire. After a few years he grew less and less im- pulsive, as he found that all the glow and enthusiasm in the world would not make rocks blossom or transform the average worshipper into a Judah ha-Levi or an Ezra the scribe. He concealed his sore disappointment by working all the harder and opening new fields of activity, ignor- ing the necessary chasm between the ideal and the actual Jew. In his sermons he laid the greatest stress on psalmist and prophet ; It was his fancy to choose neglected texts — the wild flowers or forget-me-nots of Scripture, so he called them — which were not peculiar to Israel, but were scattered with lavish hand throughout the Scriptures of other creeds. These he would Impress with especial force on the children, that they might grow less clannish and prejudiced, and might appreciate the beauty and 214 THE rabbi's romance Strength of other religions as well as their own. He was the first to apply the kinder- garten Idea to Jewish instruction, and the little ones thus imbibed in their impression- able years the most distinctive yet tolerant Jewish teachings, and were early trained to observe the rites and traditions of their race. It was a lovely sight — so they told me — to watch these kindergarten exercises, which inculcated many a helpful lesson in Bible and Jewish history. All this and more they told me ; but why coldly repeat it? I am sick at heart, dear Edward. I looked forward to such a hap- py meeting, and now — III A week has passed since I wrote you. We buried Klein yesterday. I was with him to the last, but he did not recognize me, although more than once I seemed to 215 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP feel his hand grasp mine, and to catch an appealing glance from his sunken eyes. What a funeral it was! The entire town turned out, the people tramping through snow and ice to the cemetery, a distance of over three miles. Old and young sobbed as his coffin sank into the earth, and the psalm they sang in the frosty air was often interrupted by their weeping. They seemed to realize the truth of Jean Paul's saying as to unavailing grief after death, when a little sympathy, a little tenderness, a little hearty encouragement in one's life-time could have done so much to lighten the human burden. Upon his face, when the sad end came, there was a tender smile, as if in that moment the life-long hunger of his heart had been appeased. Poor Klein ! His idealism had suffered rude shocks, but it had proved triumphant at the last — he was both victor and victim. A roll of manuscript, a few old letters, 216 THE rabbi's romance the fragments of a rose — these I dropped into the grave, and the quick-falling sod covered them and him. His friends were obliging enough to appoint me his literary executor, and thus I fulfilled the trust. The memorials were too sacred to be preserved. Let them fade away with the genial soul and noble heart that they commemorated. The manuscript, written in a bold, clear hand, was entitled " A Rabbi's Romance." It told the story of his life, less of her to whom he had been betrothed than of the ideal of Judaism to which he had sought to be faithful. And the letters were from her, in a different clime, acknowledging money which he had sent her in her poverty from his own scant earnings. And the fragments of the rose? Of what history did they breathe? What was their utterance? Rose fragments have a subtle language of their own. Old fellow, have they ever been eloquent to you? Who of us never 217 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP treasured a rose? I am cold, frozen, ob- durate, passionless, If you like; but I re- member the time when such a rose — . And the sight of Klein's silent keepsake made the poet's lines surge in my memory : The heart hath its own memory, like the mind, And in it are enshrined The precious keepsakes, into which is wrought The giver's loving thought. I tell you what, Edward; Klein's fate has confirmed me in my scepticism. It is the biggest fist, the largest stomach, the toughest fiber which win the day. The world is no home for those of tender mood and gentle mind. Nerves of steel and a heart perfectly callous, man, are the things that are requisite. Look at us both ! Here am I, a huge, healthy ox, without sentiment and sensibility, only eager to drive a bar- gain and to make money, without aspira- tions and inspirations. I never had an ideal, except ideal beefsteaks. And Klein, the poet, the preacher, the ardent enthusi- 218 THE rabbi's romance ast, the uncomplaining worker, living up to his faith with a martyr's courage, dies in early manhood of a broken heart. Who wouldn't be a sceptic now? A sceptic! No. As I write, a voice seems to ceme from that snow-clad grave, an influence makes itself felt. His life, with all its stinging incompleteness, is a rebuke to my harsher mood and a refutal of my unbelief. The religion that impelled him must be divine and true. He was the stronger, and the strongest survives. I have cut short my trip. All Germany seems a graveyard. I shall meet you in London at the end of the week. Till then, adieu! Do pardon all abruptness. You ^"°^ ^^y- IGNATZ. 219 JUST FROM JERUSALEM And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee — Deuteronomy. The mails had arrived from America, and Isaiah, seated in the garden of his modest home in Jerusalem, indulged in a choice Havana, watching the wreaths of lazy smoke as they rose in soft clouds and disappeared slowly above his head. The latest copy of The Jewish Eagle was in his hands, and after glancing hastily at its varied contents, which included information financial, hymeneal, musical, culinary, eco- nomical, sociological, and theological, he turned to the leading editorial. It was entitled " Ritual Reform," and the word " we " occurred nineteen times in one column. "If those fellows had to do with the 220 JUST FROM JERUSALEM making of the Ten Commandments," said Isaiah with a slight chuckle, " they would give us a revised version of the first com- mandment to read : ' We are the Lord thy God, etc. Thou shalt have no other gods before Us ','' and he could not repress a laugh. " Ritual reform ? " he continued, " is that what they want? Of course, in one way they are not to be blamed. Obedience, not sacrifice, was Samuel's slogan several centuries ago. They want to simplify mat- ters, to have more prayer and less jingle, more harmony and less vociferation. But — but it is really a pity that they go to work like a flock of sheep. They forget that reforming the worshippers is more im- portant than reforming the worship. A man suffering from fatty degeneration of the heart would not worry about the color of his kid gloves, would he ? " He impetuously lit another cigar, and puffed vigorously for a few moments, as he IS 221 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP walked up and down the garden. " It is sick- ening — their lack of spirituality," he again spoke to himself, " their amazing ignorance and self-satisfaction. But they open their hand to the widow, make $20,000 at a Purim Ball for the hospital, give -$30,000 to the United Hebrew Charities, subscribe $400,000 to a Hebrew Orphan Asylum. They feed the hungry, nurse the sick, teach the deaf and dumb to hear and speak, train the young emigrant to help himself and be strong; and if they don't sacrifice bleating sheep, well, they might be a great deal worse, and that is some comfort. But what is this? " he asked as he scanned the adver- tisements. " What is this? ' Wanted a rabbi-preacher for the Congregation Men of Uprightness. Applicants will forward their certificates as to character etc. to the secretary, etc., etc' Why, I have a good mind to apply for the position. A change in climate would do me no harm. I should 222 JUST FROM JERUSALEM like very much to go to America where such a blissful harmony prevails, there being no Jcbusites, Perizzites, or Amorltes to vex the Jews, only an occasional hotel-keeper or an obstinate missionary. It is true, I have precious little theological knowledge. I never went to a seminary, and never studied the Talmud. But I know something, and have had an experience dating from the time of Uzziah, Ahaz, Jotham, and Heze- kiah." It was no sooner thought than done. He cabled to the secretary of the congregation : " I apply for the position. Isaiah the prophet. Expect me before the next New Moon." The cablegram caused quite an embar- rassment, and a special meeting of the trustees was immediately held. Many of them, including the president who dared not confess his ignorance, seemed to know nothing at all about the man. 223 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP " Who is Isaiah? " went from mouth to mouth. " Do you know, Mr. Secretary? " the vice-president asked with the fond hope that authentic information would be given, for secretaries of congregations are walk- ing and talking encyclopaedias. " I only know of one Isaiah," responded the scholarly secretary, " and he was sawed to pieces by order of king Manasseh." " Dreadful, dreadful," muttered the vice-president. " It can't be he." " It can't be he," the trustee repeated with a worried air. " It can't be he," echoed the president in the utmost perplexity. However, the public did not remain in suspense very long, for just before the New Moon Isaiah arrived. He had no letters of introduction; but that did not disturb him, for he managed to meet people any- how. With some he became quite friendly, 224 JUST FROM JERUSALEM but was rather reserved on the whole. His attitude was that of a calm observer. He said nothing as to the religious atmosphere. He saw, heard, reflected, and was silent. But when he visited the Homes for the Aged, and the Hospitals, and the Orphan Asylums, and the Industrial and Technical Schools, and the new edifice of the Y. M. H. A., and the Hebrew schools, and when he learned of the widespread private and public benevolence, his admiration was un- bounded. " Why, sir," said he to his best friend, Pumpernickle, " I am inclined to think that in some respects your city is ahead of Jeru- salem at its prime." Pumpernickle lost no time in telling this to Moses, and Moses did not hesitate to repeat it to Jacobs, who hastened to inform Levy, who faithfully enlightened his wife. The whole community thus heard in a few days the flattering remarks of Isaiah, which 225 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP were duly reported and enlarged upon in the press. The day set for the trial drew near. The entire congregation was agitated. To the vast majority of the members the man was absolutely unknown ; a very few had heard of the name. The children knew little about him; they had not come so far in their Bible history. Day and night they harass- ed their parents with the question : " Who is Isaiah? " It was told them by those to whom the name Isaiah was known : " He was a prophet, and he wrote many prophe- cies." But no parent could tell the story of Isaiah's immortality, no one knew that the aim and purpose of Isaiah's life was proph- etism, none could conceive that a few sen- tences, a few sermons, spoken more than two thousand years ago, were charged with such electric earnestness and conviction that for ever and ever, while nations last, they were to form for men an eternal text and warning and hope. 226 JUST FROM JERUSALEM Isaiah came into the crowded synagogue. The organ played exquisitely the soul- stirring march from The Prophet. The deep-chested cantor allowed his magnifi- cent voice full scope in the opening selec- tions from the prayer-book. And then Isaiah advanced to the pulpit. There was " slow music " by the organ. " Stop I " shouted the prophet in a voice of thunder. " When I have finished, you can play your slow music." These words, so entirely unexpected, caused a tittering throughout the place of worship. The secretary was Indignant, the trustees raved in secret, and the president in his helpless wrath burst his vest button. But the tittering ceased when the prophet, looking the congregation straight in the face, began impressively. " Hear, O heaven, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord hath spoken : .Children I have reared, and brought up, and they have re- belled against Me." 227 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP As he spoke, he thought of the time when he had last uttered these words. It was in Jerusalem, before an infuriated populace and priesthood, who called him a heretic and an atheist, because he declaimed against the degeneracy of his race and the mongrel Judaism which was so fashionable. And then the old days returned. He fancied himself again in Jerusalem, with the old stiff-neckedness to lash, the abject slavish- ness to revile, the gross corruption to expose. And he spoke out fiercely and fearlessly. " Your sweet-voiced singers, your oper- atic marches displease me. When I sum- mon you to the house of the Eternal, who hath required this at your hands, to turn His tabernacle into a theatre? When you repeat, with swelling voices, your hymns, I shall shut my ears against you ; when you extend your kid-gloved hands, I shall re- fuse to see. Your foreign ballads, your transcendental prayers my soul hateth. 228 JUST FROM JERUSALEM Your soaring domes, your glaring lights, your gilt pillars are vexation to me. Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean. Obe- dience, I require, not sacrifice. The higher life, the purer heart, the nobler hand, the finer brain, moral strength and character — these the Eternal requireth; and no choral outburst, no exquisitely set prayer, no elab- orate ritual can compensate for their ab- sence. O Israel, my people, what is the religion which I ask of you ? Is it to change your prayers like a garment? Is it to array the synagogue in splendor and let the light of religion die out in your homes? Is it to assemble for an hour on Sabbath and forget Me the entire week? Is it to pay a large rent for a pew, which you occupy once a year on fast-day? Nay, this is the reform which I require of you, that you be Jews in your homes, Jews in your lives, Jews in your synagogues, Jews above and Tjefore 229 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP everything else, spurning all deceits and flatteries, and finding comfort and inspira- tion in the faith and traditions which have preserved us intact for thousands of years. These were good enough for your fathers ; they are good enough for ourselves." But I am not going to tell you all that Isaiah said on that memorable Sabbath morning. You can read it for yourself in our Bible, the oldest Jewish daily in exist- ence throughout the world. It still pub- lishes good tidings from the rising of the sun unto its setting. The election was to be held the following Sunday week, which gave ample time for calm deliberation. During the interval the sermon aroused much dispute, while the personality of the preacher evoked no less comment. It must frankly be stated that the criticism of the congregation was al- most unanimously unfavorable. " The idea," said one of the enlightened 230 JUST FROM JERUSALEM members, " the idea of preaching to us in that sophomoric style. Does he take us for children ? Why, I don't believe that he has the doctor's degree." " I am positive that he never attended a Jewish seminary," said a second critic. " He talks like a school-boy, sir," said a third emphatically, " like a school-boy. He never once quoted from the Talmud." " I think," exclaimed a fourth snapping voice, " that he is perfectly odious. He didn't once refer to the women of Israel." " Yes, and he was vulgar, too," cried another. " Just think of it ! He told us to wash ourselves ! " " The impertinence of criticising our choir," said the chairman of the choir com- mittee. " And of telling the organ to stop play- ing," the organist's mother observed raspingly. " He is very satirical. I hate a satirical 231 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP speaker," observed another. " That is for the platform, not for the pulpit." " Sound common-sense, divine fire, a man who can uplift and guide, a man who will give new power and direction to Judaism," was an old gentleman's comment, but he was held to be approaching his dotage, and his opinion carried little weight. Why dwell upon further views of Isaiah and his sermon, why repeat the caustic opinions, the harsh reproaches, the bitter taunts ? The general idea seemed to be that he had scandalized the community, and in- sulted the very people whom he desired to teach, while his doctrines were a libel on their Judaism. All this criticism naturally affected his popularity and eligibility, and at the meet- ing he received just five votes out of two hundred. The congregation was hardly ready for a prophet. 233 THE CHILDREN'S REVOLT Come, ye children, hearken unto me; And I will teach you the fear of the Lord. — Psalms. All have heard of the heroic lads of Bos- ton in the early days of the American Revo- lution, who, when the British soldiers inso- lently interfered with their winter pastime, boldly sent a deputation to General Gage to complain. At once the general ordered his men to cease annoying the boys, who loved liberty with their fathers' devotion. He might truly have expressed his doubt of ever conquering the sires when the sons were so full of courage. It is idle to imagine what might have happened had General Gage refused their request. What could they have done ? A hundred school-boys were so powerless. They could not have headed a revolt. At 233 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP best they would have clenched fists with a sentinel or two, and after a few hours in the guard-house would have emerged calmer, less defiant, and with tear-stained cheeks. But they could not have gained their point. Then fathers would have had to enter the conflict in their behalf. It is a real children's revolt that is now to be considered, and it occurred in a small community far distant from Boston, but at a period not so very remote. Perhaps some are living to-day who took part in the dis- turbance or at least heard of it from the best authority. It was such a quiet, old-fashioned town where all this happened. Any excitement in that place was, indeed, a novelty. Noth- ing was ever known to disturb its calm, and life ran as placidly as the river which skirted the place. Yet now the people were at fever heat. Such wildly beating hearts had rarely existed. Such madly throbbing 234 THE children's REVOLT brains had never been known. What was the trouble ? A great deal was the trouble, if the facts of the case are to be depended upon. They could stand it no longer. They had borne It uncomplainingly for years. They wished to be peaceful, but their patience was ex- hausted. They felt that it was impossible to remain silent. As loyal Jews, they de- termined to have recourse to sterner meas- ures. They did not hoist the flag of reform : they hoisted the banner of revolu- tion. And, indeed, revolution is often much better at a crisis than reform. It goes to the root of things, and will remedy matters far more expeditiously. War to the knife, not words and resolutions. De- fiant cannonade of shot and shell, not pleas- ant interchange of views and complaints. Now who were the revolutionists? Gray- bearded men, with wrongs to redress? Lofty patriots, with homes to defend from 235 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP the tyrant? No, decidedly not! They were rosy-cheeked boys and girls, children still in pinafores, who, at one blow, at one resolve, became men and women. They were gathered together in the school-room one afternoon when the teachers were away, and then and there they determined to re- volt. It was no use mincing matters : com- promise was ineffectual and undesirable at that juncture; sharp, decisive steps were necessary, and these the bright-eyed chil- dren, sanctified by the dew of innocence, determined to take. How earnest the skies seemed to the children when the meeting was over, how different the aspect of the trees and meadows ! The very cows had a more subdued look, the defiant butterflies appeared more sedated And the children themselves were changed. The most un- ruly became, for the time, models of pro- priety, and the lightest-hearted little maidens were superlatively sober. What 236 THE children's REVOLT changed in an Instant these merry boys and girls? The following pages will tell the whole story; so be as attentive as possible, readers, old and young. •P "p 'f * 'P 'F It was an ordinary Sabbath morning, and the neat little synagogue was crowded. There was nothing remarkable in the at- mosphere. It was neither feast-day nor fast-day. Nor was it any memorial day: it was the anniversary neither of triumph nor of sorrow. The curtain before the Ark wore its accustomed maroon shade, with small lions of Judah artistically embroid- ered in gold, looking far from ferocious, though resolute. Why then was the syna- gogue so crowded that morning ? And why were there present so many children of all ages from four to thirteen? There must have been some weighty reason below the surface to cause them to assemble in such numbers. And there was — although the 1 6 237 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP rabbi, a saint in his way, seemed utterly unconscious of impending trouble. He sat on his historic seat, an heirloom from an earlier century, at the head of the synagogue. A middle-aged man, his look was rather severe, and he frowned while praying, as if something was disturbing his serenity. It could not have been the chil- dren's faces beaming before him, nor the occasionally tossing curls of the little maidens. Of course, he was too much en- grossed in his meditations to think of such trifles. If he only knew that — Well, he had just ended his sermon. It was rather a lengthy effort, and it was all about the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. He explained how each embodied one great characteristic of Israel. He dis- played great erudition, and aroused the ad- miration of the learned few. As for the unlearned many, why, they were perhaps of the same opinion as the very good man in 238 THE children's REVOLT Hamburg, years and years ago, who, being asked one Sabbath after service what the rabbi's sermon had been about, replied with just scorn : " What, do you think that I have the hutzpah to understand what the rabbi says? " The sermon was over, the rabbi was about to take his seat, when up sprang one of the boys, an eleven-year old, Jacob by name, who went straight to the pulpit. Quick as a flash Sam and Ezra, ten and twelve, respectively, posted themselves one at each side. At the same time little Rose and Sarah ran from their seats in the gal- lery, fairly jumped down the narrow stairs, and came, flushed and breathless, into the main synagogue. At the door stood the old Shammash ; but he, though horrified at first, did not dare to interpose; for Rose who was one of his many favorites kissed him as she rushed by. Then he opened his astonished eyes, and blew his nose fu- 289 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP riously. Not faltering in the least, Rose and Sarah went to where Sam and Ezra stood. Then, without giving time for the thunder storm which was gathering around them to burst, the little preacher began his sermon. Jacob had always passed for a clever lad, and he was not going to lose his reputation on this occasion. " Dear rabbi, good friends, loving par- ents, and all my play-fellows. Once upon a time in a far distant country a rabbi was engaged in explaining the Law, and he came upon the text : ' Assemble the men, women, and the children.' Why were the men told to come to the synagogue? Just to learn. And the women? To hear. And the children? Why, my friends, were the children told to come? To give a reward to those who bring them, says the Talmud. Very well; but I think that the reward would be more, if, when they bring us to the synagogue, we understand what we are here 240 THE children's REVOLT for and the meaning of many things about which we are so ignorant. I think it would be better if now and then the rabbi would preach to us and consider us and talk to us and tell us what we ought to know about our holy religion. Of course, some people might say we go to school to learn such things, but school is school, and synagogue is synagogue. We are not always happy in school — " Here one of the children looked at his fat hand — it had tasted the rod yesterday, and still bore a suspicious red mark. " We come to synagogue for some- thing which we do not get at school. Am I not right, children? " " Yes, yes ! " exclaimed the children with much enthusiasm, while four-year old Ruth, unabashed, shouted: " Yeth! " as loudly as she could, when all the rest had finished. And the little preacher could with diffi- culty restrain himself from laughing, 241 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP which would have been a serious mistake on his part just at that moment. " You see," he resumed quickly, " we are all unanimous. We want to have some- thing to interest us in the synagogue and to add to our happiness. Give us a chil- dren's service with a children's sermon which we all may understand and profit by. Let us know in simple language about the children of our Bible, the childhood of the sages, the children's sayings and doings in Jewish history. Surely, that is a very small request to make; it will not cause much trouble ; but if you do not give us what we need, if you do not grant our wish, why we shall—" The word was fortunately drowned in the loud applause which the children gave him. The threat, for it must have been a threat, was not heard in the tumult which followed. Above in the gallery the mothers were weeping copiously. Jewish mothers 242 THE children's REVOLT of the older generation liked to cry: their emotions were easily aroused. At a funeral or a wedding the tears were shed without restraint. On the main floor, however, the fathers seemed perplexed. They could not understand the situation. It was the rabbi who saved the day, for having kissed Ja- cob and bidden the children resume their seats, he mounted the pulpit once more, and said: " Years and years ago there was a great drought in the land — no rain had fallen for many weeks. How dry were the fields, and how empty the wells! The trees and flowers were dying for want of water. Dis- tress was in every home, and all knew what would be their fate if no rain came. Now in times of trouble Israel always prays, and so all the great men came together and prayed. The learned rabbis, the mighty rulers, the holy prophets, all prayed, but no cloud appeared in the heavens, not a rain- drop fell. 243 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP Then one day came a plain, simple man; no one knew him or where he hailed from. And he offered a prayer. No sooner was his feeble voice heard in tones of earnest entreaty than the clouds began to gather, and as he continued to pray, the rain fell in refreshing showers. The people in their gratitude asked him who he was and what his occupation was, and he replied : ' I am only a teacher of little children.' But the child's teacher was answered, when rabbis, rulers, and prophets pleaded in vain. So to-day, dear friends, if the pulpit be- comes the children's teacher, its voice may be more quickly heard, its influence in- creased, and knowledge be spread in ample showers to refresh and restore our parched souls. The experiment may well be made. If only all revolts could be as innocent as that which our dear children have so clev- erly begun and ended ! " And here the rabbi closed his remarks. 244 THE children's REVOLT Well, Jacob had preached his little ser- mon, and it had a good effect; for children's sermons were regularly instituted in that synagogue, and they became so popular that the rod grew mouldy from disuse. The boys and girls found real pleasure in coming to service, and the rabbi, who was the friend and comforter of all, never had more atten- tive and enthusiastic audiences than when he spoke to the children. He took pride in his rosy-cheeked congregation, and how they worshipped him ! And they grew so familiar with the old story of Israel, the customs and symbols of synagogue and home, that there was never a drought in that community, but such knowledge of the Law and pride in its precepts, such love of religion and zeal in its practice, that it be- came a centre of a living Judaism which maintained its prestige for many a gen- eration. 245 AT GRANDMOTHER'S SCHOOL She openeth her mouth with wisdom; And the law of Icindness is on her tongue. — Proverbs. A few years ago an old lady arrived at our shores, a dear old lady with bright smiles and rosy cheeks, eager to meet her children and grandchildren and see the wondrous panorama of American life, about which she had heard with ever- increasing curiosity. She came from a thriving little Bohemian town, and belonged to one of its worthiest Jewish families, which had lived for over a century in the same place, whose simple synagogue and unadorned cemetery were of a still more venerable age. The town which hardly varied from decade to decade had pro- duced its share of rabbis and scholars, some of whom won European fame as princes of learning. 246 AT grandmother's SCHOOL It was a very conservative community, and is so still, despite the wide gaps in the population caused by that insatiable Wan- derlust which drives the young people to America. Long before Friday's sunset, a holiday calm hovers over the Jewish home, the children gather around the mother who, her work over for the week, lights the Sab- bath lamp, while father and the boys go to- gether to synagogue without any urging. And the mystic angels of the Sabbath ac- company the worshippers after prayers, and linger in the shadows outside the dwelling. Within the house other angels abide : Faith. Love, Contentment, Peace. Is it not rather unfashionable nowadays to talk of angels? But out there in that Bohemian town they still believe In angels to a certain degree, and at night time the little children are taught to say before they go to sleep : " May Michael be at my right hand, Gabriel at my left, before me Uriel, behind me Raphael, 247 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP and above my head the divine Presence ! " Ah, shadowy cradle-songs of the past, which familiarized the people from early child- hood with the power and nearness of the Almighty who had not yet become a phil- osophical abstraction or a set phrase ! In such a quiet atmosphere the old lady flourished and grew stout. Her increasing weight gave her no uneasiness ; it only made her laughter the more irresistible as she went her daily rounds. But she had one anxious thought, which grew more perplex- ing with years. Would she ever see her dear ones again? Was it well with them and their households? Then came one morning a wild desire to cross sea and sky and to kiss them once again before her eyes closed forever. It was a red-letter day when she set out for Hamburg. The entire town, with a number of its surrounding villages, turned out in her honor, and business was practi- 248 AT grandmother's SCHOOL cally suspended for several hours. " Travel thou with God ! " was the fervent cry that followed her on her journey from the meadows of Bohemia to the smoke of Chi- cago. " Travel thou with God! " Could any phrase be more expressive ? Did I say she was an old lady? Well, she was not so very old, at least not too old to read her Hebrew prayers and to remember the Sidrah of the week. Not too old to bless God before and after meals, or when she saw the flash of lightning and heard the thunder. Not too old for God to bless her in return by giving her a cheerful tempera- ment, a loving disposition, a trustful heart which was a rock of defence to all In sorrow and In trial. Not too old to awaken and retain the love of little children, who would cling to her whenever she walked with rapid, bustling steps along the spotless side- walk. Not too old to be the first at the home of mourners and help to array the 249 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP rich and poor in the last white robe. Not too old to be the merriest under the huppah, as she whispered words that made the bride's eyes shine with tender love light. She stayed some months in Chicago with her relatives, who idolized her with all her peculiarities. The story of her new life and environment, with its lights and shadows, is naturally a private record, known only to a very limited few. During her Chicago visit, however, she wrote many a long letter to an old friend abroad, Fraulein Manschettel, who kept a small Hebrew book-store, called " At the Sign of the Tallis," and also pro- vided a lunch counter, beloved by old and young for its delicious rolls and cheese. This correspondence was zealously guarded as the Fraulein's most precious possession. By mere chance, while strolling one day past the shop during a brief visit to the town, I was shown a couple of these letters. Their style was so fascinating, their character so exceptional, that I begged 250 AT GRANDMOTHER'S SCHOOL permission to translate them. After an apparently hard struggle, consent was given, and I set to work. I had no idea, however, that the process of translation was to be so difficult. The old lady's thoughts ran in a zigzag fashion, and to coin a simple, coherent phrase for the arabesques of her fancy was a task of some magnitude. Hebrew terms and German-Jewish sayings abounded, and they lost much of their " point " in our cold English. It was like transferring dew-drops and tear-drops, smiles and prayers, the lightest gossamer, to find that the sentiment and the beauty were likely to vanish in the change. Despite all misgivings, I completed the task, although I resolved to omit, rather than mangle, many of the offending words. I tried to modernize the whole and give the picture without the dust or cobweb. But the result hardly satisfies me. It seems almost a profanation. ****** 251 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP My first Sabbath in America. — Hannah did not light the Sabbath candles : she said her husband objected to the custom which was out of date. "Mother dear!" she remarked, " in your room are two electric lights, the girl will turn them on for you, and then you will have splendid Sabbath lights. Dost thou understand? " I did not argue with her — I am a stranger and a sojourner in the land — but made re- ply: " I do not need your electric lights, my daughter. I have brought my own Sabbath candlesticks, Hannah," and went up the stairs to my room. There, in the fast- fading twilight, I took the little candles from my trunk, and lit them. I looked out of the window, and saw in fancy the host of Israel, as Balaam had seen the shining tents, and exclaimed: " There is no enchantment with Jacob." It is only the magic of the Sabbath that has kept us alive amid the trials and sorrows of thousands of years. 959 AT grandmother's SCHOOL Tap, tap, on the door of my room. Who is knocking, I wonder. Come in ! Why, it is the child of my heart, Ruth. She is my youngest granddaughter, just eight years old, with large eyes, and wonderfully sweet and sunny. Dear little Ruth, thou lovable child, how thou resemblest thy grandfather I And thy tender voice comes whispering to me of years, long years, which are shadowed in care and yet none the less joy-illumined. " What dost thou wish, sunny angel? " I ask. " Grandma, tell me, why dost thou light two candles and all by thyself ? Tell me, please." " Kiss me, precious ! I shall tell thee. Only first sit upon my old knee and hold my wrinkled hand, and lay thy soft cheek against my wrinkled one. And now, Ruth, look at me with thy big, sweet eyes, and listen, listen. In olden days — understand, my little 17 253 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP dove — ^when our fathers wandered in the wilderness — and that wandering shall never cease until the Messiah comes to teach the nations to make the wilderness a garden — they used to gather their food daily, but on the day before Sabbath they gathered a double portion, and then rested on Sabbath. The double light is the double joy of life which the faithful receive on that day. It is with double welcome we greet our queen Sabbath. And it prefigures or gives us an advance picture of the two lives, this world and the world to come." " But, grandma," she pouted, as she clung closer, " I never learned that in our Sunday School." " Is that so, sweetest? But it is not strange, not so very strange. Perhaps thou didst never hear the story of Moses and the lamb?" " Do tell me, please. I never heard that either." 254 AT grandmother's SCHOOL " Once upon a time, dear Ruth, when Moses, our teacher, was shepherd for the priest of Midian, he missed a tiny lambkin, while gathering the sheep to return to the fold. So back he went to seek the lost one. The night was falling; the hill-sides grew dark, but guided by its faint cries, he soon discovered the lamb that had strayed from the flock. ' What aileth thee, little one ? ' asked the good man. ' Thy poor foot is wounded and bleeding, cut by some sharp stone. Come, let me carry thee.' So he bore the lamb in his bosom safe to the fold. And when God saw this, he said : ' Moses shall be shepherd of my flock; he shall lead Israel from Egypt to freedom, because his heart Is tender and strong.' O Ruth, Ruth, how I wept when my father told me the old story, how I wept and refused to be comforted I " " Grandma dear," she said, edging still closer, " how I wish thou couldst be our 255 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP teacher in Sunday School! How I wish it!" " Nay, nay, my lambkin. I am too old and out of date. Thou needest the dazzling electric light, not the poor Sabbath candle." " But, grandma dear, I love thee, and I do not love my Sunday School teacher. I feel so safe in thy arms. Wilt thou not teach me in the quiet hour just between, just between — ? " " Between Minha and Maariv," I added softly, and as she failed to understand the words, for she looked wonderingly at me, I told her that they were two sentinels who kept silent watch in the afternoon and early evening each blessed day, when Israel sum- moned them. Then, as I noticed that she seemed a bit incredulous, I said to her: " Ruth, if thou wilt bring me my prayer- book, I will give thee a Hebrew lesson. Will that please thee ? " She sprang from my lap, secured the 256 AT grandmother's SCHOOL faded volume, and handed it to me. Then opening it at Psalm 145, I pointed to the first letters of each line, which were printed in somewhat larger type. " Look, Ruth. This is king David's song of praise, read in church and syna- gogue all the world over. A glorious song of praise, each line a golden text, each thought undying. ' The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him in truth ' — what a magnificent tribute to our old-fashioned religion! ' Thou openest Thy hand, and satisfiest every living thing with favour ' — could any modern thought surpass that old He- brew utterance? Notice that one Hebrew letter is missing, and that is the line begin- ning with the letter Nun, which means ' fish.' Our rabbis of old have said that in the next world the pious ones will enjoy their meal of fish. Perhaps their fanciful explanation is only to show us that what is 257 UNDER THE SABBATH LAMP missing here will be supplied there. That, too, thou dost not understand, my child. Many older people do not. But now the lesson. Give heed. There is the first letter, Aleph, and it means ' ox,' a rather headstrong animal, as is the Israelite, whom our Torah calls ' stiff-necked.' But then It also means ' one,' the one God, Creator of heaven and earth, whom Israel was first to reveal as such to mankind. That was a great advance. Now comes Beth, which signifies ' house ' ; but it also means ' two,' the two houses, this life and the life to come. Next appears the third letter, Gimel. See, it has a kind of hump, and it means 'camel.' Alas, the Is- raelite is also a kind of camel, a patient, long-suffering creature, and his hump is called Golus, or the burden of captivity. His history is the history of constant serf- dom : he has always had his hump to carry. And the fourth letter is Daleth, which is ' a 258 AT grandmother's SCHOOL door.' God will at last show His people a door to freedom. And then, why, Ruth, my dear, it is growing late, and thy fond mother will be worried at thy absence. So good-night, good-night. No more school just now. Good-night. Do not forget thy old grandmother's lesson." And she kissed me, ah, so fervently, that I called her my little daughter. I thought of my first-born, who passed away half a century ago. 259 Z^t Boti l§Attimott ipttea ■ALTIUOBB, UD., u. a. A,