Eliyahu Mednek (1881-1904)
translated from Hebrew by Jerome Raymond Kraus 2007
Uri, the usher, a small man with tired eyes, while reciting the Midrash, lost his balance when he lit he candle in the ceiling minora while he was moving away from the table. He hastily approached the twelve young people, all dressed in the robes of the Midrash, and, totally exhausted, feeling heavy with fatigue, he pointed to the candle, saying.
"Rabbi Isaac's candle was doused by the pot water,"
The usher easily took the candle, and, well aware of the illness of Rabbi Isaac's wife, he tried to light the lamp on the table. And it was clear to Pinchas, the examiner, as he prayed, that Rabbi Isaac appeared weak and yellow in his concentration, and, as he passed behind his back to the prayer section of the building, to the east, he asked the usher,
"What's he doing?"
"Rabbi Isaac's preparing the wax," the usher replied, as he prepared the quorum for the supper prayers.
"Rabbi Isaac's preparing the wax ?" the examiner next asked, astonished. "Hasn't he gone to get the oil lamp?" he asked, shaking his head a the young man.
"It's his decision," said the young man, showing a bit of embarrassment on his face.
For the moment, the examiner could think of nothing to say, so he held his peace.
While waiting, he approached the small group of worshippers.
"Look, how could the wax get soaked in the pot?" the examiner asked the young man.
"How's your aunt?" someone else asked.
"She's working for Doctor Mak," the young man answered.
"When's she coming?"
"Tomorrow, an noon." replied the young man, paying no attention to the rumour than it was his mother who had asked Doctor Mak to pay for his aunt's ticket.
Pinchas had had more than enough of the usher's answers.
"It's always Rabbi Isaac who prepares the candle, but it's always you who performs the prayers, in his place."
"So, what's your problem?" the usher replied. "We must light the candle in order for God to hear our prayers."
"Everything he says is total nonsense!" charged Pinchas, who knew him very well.
The usher indicated his submission by shrugging his shoulders, in the middle of the crowd, "God alone judges us all." thus citing the Torah to chastise the examiner for his unpleasantness.
The usher left the Midrasha, the young man was in a hurry to get to his mother with the whole of his delegation. It was his mother who was responsible for the wax and the candle for Yom Kippur.
And she had measured the wick in the House of Souls that morning; according to Halacha, jewish law, prostrating herself before the tombs of her ancestors, relatives of Rabbi Isaac's wife, everything done to enrich the family; she sent the white candle in a pot of water, all according to the accepted procedure.
Uri spoke with Rabbi Isaac regarding the matter of the wax. Shortly before, there had been a bit of a battle between two married women. One had observed it would be appropriate to pay for the two days of mourning for the mother of the famous doctor. The mourning period was very expensive, so, money being so important to our people, there had been harsh words with Rabbi Isaac and, finally, it had been decided not to acquiesce to the advice of the older woman, and not to have the two days of mourning required. Uri spoke for a while, angrily, with rich Pinchas in front of the door of the Hadar, the little girls looking at them with eyes wide with wonder.
"Blessed evening," the usher said to the people coming to Hadar, and, holding the lamp in his hands, almost immediately getting to his knees.
Rabbi Isaac stood up in the murky light and asked angrily, "What is it?"
"What do we gain from having the examiner involved with the business of the candle?" asked the usher, standing up, and adding "better to dismiss him," looking timidly at Rabbi Isaac to make sure he understood him.
"What's the lamp go to do with him?" he grumbled angrily,"What's that leprous devil got to do with it?" he swore at the usher.
The usher drew back and withrew from the Hadar, returning to his seat at the front of the Midrasha. Now, he had no idea what to do about the matter of the candle, and what bothered him the most, was that if the candle hadn't been put out, everything would have been fine. The usher, who had to have an answer from the Rabbi, looked around the Midrasha, and called to a Mizrahi:
"So, what do you think Rabbi Isaac's going to do?"
"Rabbi Isaac," it wasn't the usher's intention to give a lecture, but the idea of having a kind of humorous vengence was twinkling in his brain, and he added the observation,"Rabbi Isaac says that, this evening, the candle wax is going to aid, by its light, the healing of the sick."
Many people who were listening showed great interest in these details of jewish law. But many among them showed great astonishment, looking at him with amazement, sitting beside each other on the east wall of the building, not far from the cupboards with its sacred relics, turning their heads to Rabbi Isaac for clarification, only Pinchas stayed on the floor busy with his butcher's tasks. The Rabbi himself was completely absorbed with the business of delousing the congregation, and didn't pay the slightest attention. Pinchas became very excited, responding to the threat of jewish law, opening his mouth, and, finally, crying to the usher "Everything as you wish," looking at the Rabbi, as he shouted to the worshippers. The usher kept himself under control, as he went into the passage the get water for the Talmud jug. Uri took care to ignore the hard, hostile stares of the men of the congregation.
Having finished his prayers, the usher took the jug to go to the evening meal at the end of the fast, and everyone suddenly becamse silent, because they were flattered by his early arrival, those who remained in the Midrasha, and they spoke of this unusal occurrence. As he passed in front of them he heard someone say,
"Look, he's come to eat his dinner here, and to light the candle that Rabbi Isaac put in the Minora, he's a teacher here."
Uri began to feel a bit nervous in the face of the great responsibility they were talking about, although he hadn't admitted it was just a joke. But his tongue caught in his throat when he saw Pinchas. He was leaving the building without saying a word to the usher.
Pinchas wasn't in the Midrasha for the evening lesson, there were very few people, Rabbi Isaac still being angry, and, despite his respect for him, he had not been invited. There were a few jews in the Midrasha, all warming themselves beside the fire, some young people and some mourners, and the lamp glowed, making shadows by the stove. When, finally, Pinchas got up the next morning, he complained of the arrogance of the usher, but Rabbi Isaac had already lighted the lamp, and was absorbed in reading the Talmud.
The next morning, at dawn, it was very warm in the Midrasha for the workers, the worshippers at their morning prayers, the people going to the market, particularly near the stove -- and Pinchas found Rabbi Isaac reading the Talmud and doing his chores. The Minora was not yet lit, the wax was lumpy, and the entire room was fouled with the stench of smoke. Pinchas looked around him and, immediately, returned to the Talmud.
Uri didn't get near the Midrasha and its elderly members, afraid of being too noticeable. When he approached its entrance, he heard a woman say, laughing,
"'tzpra taba'! Is that in the Torah?"
"'tzpra taba'! replied Pinchas, turning his head to look at her, and saying:"You don't think so? Of course it's there."
The usher was fully in agreement with this opinion. But he had to remain at the entrance in the sun, cursing the sun's temerity.
Now, the people in front of Uri, were all laughing in the corridor in their seats in the Midrasha, just a bunch of gossips and chatterboxes. They emptied and replaced the jugs, and after they had poured out the water, they arranged the holy books on the shelves. Finally, they opened the Midrasha, and began to enter, and he looked at Pinchas, totally absorbed in reading the Torah. Uri had approached the stove with difficulty, and he was sitting there with some people, discussing the sick, and, then, the cantor was sitting there too, looking at him with contempt.
The eyes of the cantor showed astonishment as he listened to the usher. But he didn't laugh at what Uri was saying. The cantor wanted to laugh for revenge. Obviously, there was nothing of significance there.
As they were listening to the words of the usher, the excitement of the listeners increased, and the face of the cantor showed his great desire to laugh, and, also, the Pinchas' attention was drawn to these points of jewish law...
Soudainement, could stand no more, and he shouted:
"Uri!"
Uri was terrified by the sudden attack of the old man, and he lowered his eyes submissively to the ground.
"Is it true that Rabbi Isaac's wife is ill?" the examiner first asked, significantly.
"Yes, she's sick." the usher answered, his voice very low.
"Tell Rabbi Isaac that I hope she feels better," in a tone of command, " and, also, that I'll visit them at his home."
Uri raised his eyes to the examiner.
"What are you up to?" Pinchas ask, astonished, looking at him suspiciously.
Beaten, the usher lowered his head, turned his back to Pinchas, and began to withdraw with heavy steps. The small group near the stove began to leave, laughing as they went.
The people sitting around the stove were looking at Pinchas, and, uncomfortable, they had had enough. He felt sorry for the usher, but had had enough of his strange behavior from the previous evening.
Pinchas was already wearing his prayer shawl, ready to count the worshippers for the quorum required -- the usher hadn't yet come back. People were talking about this. The assembly had prayed for "Happiness", and they saw that the usher was not in the corridor, but that he had left in a rush; and Pinchas was quite happy that the usher should have been made to look ridiculous for his strange ideas, improving his own standing at the same time. But he felt a little uncomfortable.
What is he doing? He seems embarrassed.
The prayers over, Pinchas was in a hurry to leave the Midrasha, and he was angry. He strolled back to his house. His wife was ahead of him, very interested in Rabbi Isaac's wife. Yesterday evening he gauranteed, that his wife would show great piety on the day of the Sabbath; his gauranty was, that according to the Kabbala and Rabbinical Law, all the butchery for the Sabbath was supposed to be paid for by the women! When he retourned to the Midrasha, he noted that Uri was wearing his prayer shawl and his phylacteries, and that he was totally absorbed in discussion, near the stove. Pinchas stared at him, amazed.
"You are most impertinant, Uri! You could be expelled from the Midrasha," Pinchas said, right in front of his astonished wife.
That attracted Uri's attention -- the tone was very familiar -- it was very clear that he was extremely angry at him and wanted to see him expelled from the Midrasha. Uri had failed to pay his tithes, and he stood up, terrified. And this had been going on for three days, right up to the day of the Sabbath.
The night of the Sabbath, the usher and the examiner met with Rabbi Isaac in the Midrasha. They discussed the information known to them. Rabbi Isaac was very arrogant in his opinions in the Midrasha, and they considered over and over that Sabbath in the Midrasha, what they would do to pay for the mother of the famous doctor. He got up and turned to the wall to give the "Call to God" from the prayer book; he needed help to get to the table because he was a little blind, and he encountered, with his hand, prayer 18, while the cantor "sang" with enthusiasm. Rabbi Isaac was sitting next to the cupboard, and the cantor began the prayers -- the normal routine.
Rabbi Isaac gave the blessing to the worshippers, the examiner and the cantor there with the neighbours of Rabbi Isaac, everyone showing respect for God, and everyone looking at the usher, hoping he would pay his tithes tomorrow.
"What is this? Are you trying to cheat the examiner?"
asked Rabbi Isaac as he publicly chastised his usher.
For Rabbi Isaac, this incident had the effect of making Pinchas look ridiculous. The embarrassment of Pinchas aside, his wife had been humiliated; his defeat was something Uri could have a good laugh about.
"He knew well enough what was going to happen this evening," as he looked at Pinchas, laughing inside at his predicament. "So, now, it's all over for Uri. His eyes are lowered to the ground, he's come back to earth."
"Things are coming to a head," Uri quickly announced to Rabbi Isaac, as he arranged the prayer books, with great care for their gold leaf embossment.
Pinchas returned to the Midrasha, walking to the doorstep, turned to his wife, his heart heavy within him, not at all on the right path:
"Listen! Rabbi Isaac is laughing!"
translated from Hebrew by Jerome Raymond Kraus 2007
translated from Hebrew by Jerome Raymond Kraus 2007
Uri, the usher, a small man with tired eyes, while reciting the Midrash, lost his balance when he lit he candle in the ceiling minora while he was moving away from the table. He hastily approached the twelve young people, all dressed in the robes of the Midrash, and, totally exhausted, feeling heavy with fatigue, he pointed to the candle, saying.
"Rabbi Isaac's candle was doused by the pot water,"
The usher easily took the candle, and, well aware of the illness of Rabbi Isaac's wife, he tried to light the lamp on the table. And it was clear to Pinchas, the examiner, as he prayed, that Rabbi Isaac appeared weak and yellow in his concentration, and, as he passed behind his back to the prayer section of the building, to the east, he asked the usher,
"What's he doing?"
"Rabbi Isaac's preparing the wax," the usher replied, as he prepared the quorum for the supper prayers.
"Rabbi Isaac's preparing the wax ?" the examiner next asked, astonished. "Hasn't he gone to get the oil lamp?" he asked, shaking his head a the young man.
"It's his decision," said the young man, showing a bit of embarrassment on his face.
For the moment, the examiner could think of nothing to say, so he held his peace.
While waiting, he approached the small group of worshippers.
"Look, how could the wax get soaked in the pot?" the examiner asked the young man.
"How's your aunt?" someone else asked.
"She's working for Doctor Mak," the young man answered.
"When's she coming?"
"Tomorrow, an noon." replied the young man, paying no attention to the rumour than it was his mother who had asked Doctor Mak to pay for his aunt's ticket.
Pinchas had had more than enough of the usher's answers.
"It's always Rabbi Isaac who prepares the candle, but it's always you who performs the prayers, in his place."
"So, what's your problem?" the usher replied. "We must light the candle in order for God to hear our prayers."
"Everything he says is total nonsense!" charged Pinchas, who knew him very well.
The usher indicated his submission by shrugging his shoulders, in the middle of the crowd, "God alone judges us all." thus citing the Torah to chastise the examiner for his unpleasantness.
The usher left the Midrasha, the young man was in a hurry to get to his mother with the whole of his delegation. It was his mother who was responsible for the wax and the candle for Yom Kippur.
And she had measured the wick in the House of Souls that morning; according to Halacha, jewish law, prostrating herself before the tombs of her ancestors, relatives of Rabbi Isaac's wife, everything done to enrich the family; she sent the white candle in a pot of water, all according to the accepted procedure.
Uri spoke with Rabbi Isaac regarding the matter of the wax. Shortly before, there had been a bit of a battle between two married women. One had observed it would be appropriate to pay for the two days of mourning for the mother of the famous doctor. The mourning period was very expensive, so, money being so important to our people, there had been harsh words with Rabbi Isaac and, finally, it had been decided not to acquiesce to the advice of the older woman, and not to have the two days of mourning required. Uri spoke for a while, angrily, with rich Pinchas in front of the door of the Hadar, the little girls looking at them with eyes wide with wonder.
"Blessed evening," the usher said to the people coming to Hadar, and, holding the lamp in his hands, almost immediately getting to his knees.
Rabbi Isaac stood up in the murky light and asked angrily, "What is it?"
"What do we gain from having the examiner involved with the business of the candle?" asked the usher, standing up, and adding "better to dismiss him," looking timidly at Rabbi Isaac to make sure he understood him.
"What's the lamp go to do with him?" he grumbled angrily,"What's that leprous devil got to do with it?" he swore at the usher.
The usher drew back and withrew from the Hadar, returning to his seat at the front of the Midrasha. Now, he had no idea what to do about the matter of the candle, and what bothered him the most, was that if the candle hadn't been put out, everything would have been fine. The usher, who had to have an answer from the Rabbi, looked around the Midrasha, and called to a Mizrahi:
"So, what do you think Rabbi Isaac's going to do?"
"Rabbi Isaac," it wasn't the usher's intention to give a lecture, but the idea of having a kind of humorous vengence was twinkling in his brain, and he added the observation,"Rabbi Isaac says that, this evening, the candle wax is going to aid, by its light, the healing of the sick."
Many people who were listening showed great interest in these details of jewish law. But many among them showed great astonishment, looking at him with amazement, sitting beside each other on the east wall of the building, not far from the cupboards with its sacred relics, turning their heads to Rabbi Isaac for clarification, only Pinchas stayed on the floor busy with his butcher's tasks. The Rabbi himself was completely absorbed with the business of delousing the congregation, and didn't pay the slightest attention. Pinchas became very excited, responding to the threat of jewish law, opening his mouth, and, finally, crying to the usher "Everything as you wish," looking at the Rabbi, as he shouted to the worshippers. The usher kept himself under control, as he went into the passage the get water for the Talmud jug. Uri took care to ignore the hard, hostile stares of the men of the congregation.
Having finished his prayers, the usher took the jug to go to the evening meal at the end of the fast, and everyone suddenly becamse silent, because they were flattered by his early arrival, those who remained in the Midrasha, and they spoke of this unusal occurrence. As he passed in front of them he heard someone say,
"Look, he's come to eat his dinner here, and to light the candle that Rabbi Isaac put in the Minora, he's a teacher here."
Uri began to feel a bit nervous in the face of the great responsibility they were talking about, although he hadn't admitted it was just a joke. But his tongue caught in his throat when he saw Pinchas. He was leaving the building without saying a word to the usher.
Pinchas wasn't in the Midrasha for the evening lesson, there were very few people, Rabbi Isaac still being angry, and, despite his respect for him, he had not been invited. There were a few jews in the Midrasha, all warming themselves beside the fire, some young people and some mourners, and the lamp glowed, making shadows by the stove. When, finally, Pinchas got up the next morning, he complained of the arrogance of the usher, but Rabbi Isaac had already lighted the lamp, and was absorbed in reading the Talmud.
The next morning, at dawn, it was very warm in the Midrasha for the workers, the worshippers at their morning prayers, the people going to the market, particularly near the stove -- and Pinchas found Rabbi Isaac reading the Talmud and doing his chores. The Minora was not yet lit, the wax was lumpy, and the entire room was fouled with the stench of smoke. Pinchas looked around him and, immediately, returned to the Talmud.
Uri didn't get near the Midrasha and its elderly members, afraid of being too noticeable. When he approached its entrance, he heard a woman say, laughing,
"'tzpra taba'! Is that in the Torah?"
"'tzpra taba'! replied Pinchas, turning his head to look at her, and saying:"You don't think so? Of course it's there."
The usher was fully in agreement with this opinion. But he had to remain at the entrance in the sun, cursing the sun's temerity.
Now, the people in front of Uri, were all laughing in the corridor in their seats in the Midrasha, just a bunch of gossips and chatterboxes. They emptied and replaced the jugs, and after they had poured out the water, they arranged the holy books on the shelves. Finally, they opened the Midrasha, and began to enter, and he looked at Pinchas, totally absorbed in reading the Torah. Uri had approached the stove with difficulty, and he was sitting there with some people, discussing the sick, and, then, the cantor was sitting there too, looking at him with contempt.
The eyes of the cantor showed astonishment as he listened to the usher. But he didn't laugh at what Uri was saying. The cantor wanted to laugh for revenge. Obviously, there was nothing of significance there.
As they were listening to the words of the usher, the excitement of the listeners increased, and the face of the cantor showed his great desire to laugh, and, also, the Pinchas' attention was drawn to these points of jewish law...
Soudainement, could stand no more, and he shouted:
"Uri!"
Uri was terrified by the sudden attack of the old man, and he lowered his eyes submissively to the ground.
"Is it true that Rabbi Isaac's wife is ill?" the examiner first asked, significantly.
"Yes, she's sick." the usher answered, his voice very low.
"Tell Rabbi Isaac that I hope she feels better," in a tone of command, " and, also, that I'll visit them at his home."
Uri raised his eyes to the examiner.
"What are you up to?" Pinchas ask, astonished, looking at him suspiciously.
Beaten, the usher lowered his head, turned his back to Pinchas, and began to withdraw with heavy steps. The small group near the stove began to leave, laughing as they went.
The people sitting around the stove were looking at Pinchas, and, uncomfortable, they had had enough. He felt sorry for the usher, but had had enough of his strange behavior from the previous evening.
Pinchas was already wearing his prayer shawl, ready to count the worshippers for the quorum required -- the usher hadn't yet come back. People were talking about this. The assembly had prayed for "Happiness", and they saw that the usher was not in the corridor, but that he had left in a rush; and Pinchas was quite happy that the usher should have been made to look ridiculous for his strange ideas, improving his own standing at the same time. But he felt a little uncomfortable.
What is he doing? He seems embarrassed.
The prayers over, Pinchas was in a hurry to leave the Midrasha, and he was angry. He strolled back to his house. His wife was ahead of him, very interested in Rabbi Isaac's wife. Yesterday evening he gauranteed, that his wife would show great piety on the day of the Sabbath; his gauranty was, that according to the Kabbala and Rabbinical Law, all the butchery for the Sabbath was supposed to be paid for by the women! When he retourned to the Midrasha, he noted that Uri was wearing his prayer shawl and his phylacteries, and that he was totally absorbed in discussion, near the stove. Pinchas stared at him, amazed.
"You are most impertinant, Uri! You could be expelled from the Midrasha," Pinchas said, right in front of his astonished wife.
That attracted Uri's attention -- the tone was very familiar -- it was very clear that he was extremely angry at him and wanted to see him expelled from the Midrasha. Uri had failed to pay his tithes, and he stood up, terrified. And this had been going on for three days, right up to the day of the Sabbath.
The night of the Sabbath, the usher and the examiner met with Rabbi Isaac in the Midrasha. They discussed the information known to them. Rabbi Isaac was very arrogant in his opinions in the Midrasha, and they considered over and over that Sabbath in the Midrasha, what they would do to pay for the mother of the famous doctor. He got up and turned to the wall to give the "Call to God" from the prayer book; he needed help to get to the table because he was a little blind, and he encountered, with his hand, prayer 18, while the cantor "sang" with enthusiasm. Rabbi Isaac was sitting next to the cupboard, and the cantor began the prayers -- the normal routine.
Rabbi Isaac gave the blessing to the worshippers, the examiner and the cantor there with the neighbours of Rabbi Isaac, everyone showing respect for God, and everyone looking at the usher, hoping he would pay his tithes tomorrow.
"What is this? Are you trying to cheat the examiner?"
asked Rabbi Isaac as he publicly chastised his usher.
For Rabbi Isaac, this incident had the effect of making Pinchas look ridiculous. The embarrassment of Pinchas aside, his wife had been humiliated; his defeat was something Uri could have a good laugh about.
"He knew well enough what was going to happen this evening," as he looked at Pinchas, laughing inside at his predicament. "So, now, it's all over for Uri. His eyes are lowered to the ground, he's come back to earth."
"Things are coming to a head," Uri quickly announced to Rabbi Isaac, as he arranged the prayer books, with great care for their gold leaf embossment.
Pinchas returned to the Midrasha, walking to the doorstep, turned to his wife, his heart heavy within him, not at all on the right path:
"Listen! Rabbi Isaac is laughing!"
translated from Hebrew by Jerome Raymond Kraus 2007
posted by Jerry Kraus at 8:46 AM
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