In a word, that was an afternoon prayer to remember!
Having finished praying and removed his makeshift belt, the mourner sat himself down opposite our tenth man and, with the same gaily tragic expression as before, commenced his promised story. He stroked his round little beard as he told it, speaking slowly like a man who has time.
“The story I’m going to tell you, young man, is actually not one story but three. Three little stories in one.
“The first story happened to an innkeeper in a village. Once, that is, an innkeeper lived with his wife in quite a large village. There were many Russians in it but no other Jews; they were the only ones. Not that it troubled them; far from it, it meant they could earn a good living without fear of competition. Better rich among Christians, as they say, than poor among Jews … In fact, they lacked only one thing: children. For years they had prayed for them in vain, and this made their life sorrowful. Finally, when they were nearly past childbearing age, God had mercy; the innkeeper’s wife conceived and gave birth to a healthy child. And a male child, too — what happiness! Of course, it was necessary to circumcise the boy. And so, on the eighth day, the innkeeper gladly harnessed his horse to his wagon, drove off to town, and came back with the rabbi, the circumciser, the beadle, and five other Jews. Naturally, his wife had a magnificent banquet ready for them when they arrived. Everything was just fine until the time came for the circumcision — at which point, it was discovered that they were missing a Jew. There were only nine of them. What had happened? Leave it to a country innkeeper: in counting to ten he had made the mistake of including his own wife! You can imagine what a good laugh the guests had. Meanwhile, though, the time was passing; what were they supposed to do now? It was a big village full of goyim, but there was nary another Jew. What a predicament!.. Just then, however, someone looked out the window — and what did he see but a coach heading straight for the inn. In it was sitting a coachman. Well, let it be even a coachman as long as it was a Jew … ‘Welcome, stranger!’ ‘Sholem aleykhemi’ ‘A Jew! You’re just in time, we need a tenth for a minyan …’ No words can describe the joy there was! Tell me now, don’t we have a great God in heaven? A whole village of goyim couldn’t save the day — along comes a single Jew and sets everything right!
“The second story, my dear fellow, took place not in a village but in a town, and in a solidly Jewish one, too. It happened on the Sabbath, that is, on a Friday night, after the candles had been lit. A father came home from the synagogue, blessed the wine, washed his hands — and just as he was sitting down to eat with his family, a candle had the bright notion of breaking in two. They tried propping it up with the hallah to keep it from toppling over — to no avail; the burning candle fell on the tablecloth and threatened to set it afire. In a minute the whole house would be in flames. What were they supposed to do now? Put it out? But it was the holy Sabbath! By now the neighbors had come running, the whole street was gathered there; a great hue and cry broke out. ‘Jews, we’ll be ruined!’ … Just then, however, someone glanced up the street — and who should be coming down it but Chvedka the goy! ‘Chvedka, serdtse,’ they cried, being careful not to overstep the Law, ‘did you ever see such a queerly burning candle?’ And Chvedka, dumb goy though he was, got the hint at once, spat on his hands, grabbed the burning candlewick between two callused Christian fingers, gave it a pinch — and the fire was out. I ask you: don’t we still live in an age of miracles? A town full of Jews couldn’t save the day — along comes one goy and rescues them all!
“And now I have to tell you my third story. This one concerns none other than a famous rabbi. This rabbi had an only son, an exceptionally capable youngster who was all a rabbi’s son should be. He was married off when still young, given a handsome dowry, and encouraged to study Torah all day long at his father-in-law’s expense. Indeed, that’s just what he did, and everything would have been perfect if there hadn’t been such a thing as the draft. On the face of it, of course, the boy had nothing to worry about: to begin with, he was an only son — and secondly, if it was a problem of money, money was no problem in this case. But the times, the times were bitter! Even only sons were being taken to the army, and ten thousand rubles couldn’t buy a boy’s way out of it. The authorities were ruthless, the doctor had a heart of stone; I tell you, it was a bad lookout. Just imagine, my dear young fellow, the rabbi’s son was stripped to the bone and brought before the draft board — why, never before in his whole life had he been without a hat on his head! And that’s what saved him, because he happened to have a canker there, a real running sore; there was nothing make-believe about it. He must have had it since childhood without knowing it — he had been so stubborn as a boy that he had refused to have his hair washed even once … Well, I needn’t tell you that the draft board sent him packing in a hurry!
“And now tell me, my dear young friend, do you understand your true worth? You were born a Jew, you’ll soon be a goy, and you’re quite a running sore already. Don’t you think you deserve a gold medal?”
At the very next station our tenth man slipped away.
(1910)
THIRD CLASS
This is not so much a story as a little chat, a few words of admonition and farewell from a good friend.
As we are about to part, dear reader, I would like to show my gratitude for your having borne with me for so long by giving you some useful advice, the fond counsel of a practical man. Listen carefully.
If you must go somewhere by train, especially if the trip is a long one, and you wish to have the feeling of traveling, that is, of having enjoyed the experience, avoid going first or second class.
First class, of course, is out of the question anyway. God protect you from it! Naturally, I’m not referring to the ride itself. The ride in first class is far from unpleasant — indeed, it’s sumptuous, comfortable, roomy, and with every possible convenience. It’s not that I’m talking about; it’s the people, the passengers. What can be the point, I ask you, of a Jew traveling in total solitude without a living soul to speak to? By the time you’ve reached your destination, you can have forgotten how to use your voice! And even if once in a blue moon you happen to run into another passenger, it’s either some vulgar country squire with crimson jowls like a trombonist’s, or some stuck-up lady who’s as sniffy as a mother-in-law, or some foreign tourist in checked pants whose eyes are glued so tightly to the window that not even a fire in the car could tear him away from it. When you travel with such types, you begin to have the most depressing thoughts — why, you may even find yourself ruminating about death. Who needs it?
Do you think second class is any better, though? There you are, surrounded by all sorts of people who are obviously no different from yourself, with the identical human passions. They would like nothing better than to talk to you; in fact, they’re dying of curiosity to know where you’re going, where you’re from, and who you are; but they sit there like so many tailor’s dummies and so do you, and all that happens is one big exchange of stares. The whole car has taken a vow of silence — shhh, watch out you don’t break it!
For example: across from you is a young dandy with manicured nails and a smart mustache whom you could swear you know from someplace, you just can’t remember where. Indeed, he shows every sign of stemming from Mosaic lineage, that is, of being a fellow tribesman of yours. What good does that do you, though, when you can’t get a word out of him? He’s finished twirling the ends of his mustache, and now all he wants is to look out the window and whistle.