Against the Current Part 11

XXIII

THE SYNAGOGUE

"Beyond the hill there are also people" is a German proverb whose meaning is obvious, yet the people "beyond the hill" are strangers and foreigners; here home ends and the world begins. From the hilltop the whole valley lay in panoramic view--the town, the clinging villages, the winding river and the encircling mountains--this was home. I knew each path and roadway; knew, by the sound of the bell, the village and church from which it came; sheep and cattle were of a certain breed; horses were harnessed in a peculiar way; the peasants of each village had their own picturesque style of garment and I knew at a glance each man's habitat. n.o.body or nothing was strange to me. The whole valley was home and I felt the gripping sense of homesickness as I viewed it for the last time. I could have embraced it all--yet in only a small spot of that small valley had I moved with any sense of freedom.

Our street was plainly visible from the hilltop. The "_Porte_" or "_Forte_" as it became corrupted--was a gorge-like, bottle-shaped street, the narrow end of which was the gate of the Jews, now the toll-gate over which the _Kisbir_ presides. Through it came my ancestor, Reb Abraham Bolsover, with a bundle on his back containing sacred books and worldly goods. In the one was his _life_, in the other his _living_, and between barter and the study of G.o.d's law his life moved, never without a struggle. When they carried him out of that same street to the G.o.d's Acre, they said of him that he died poor in possessions but rich in good works.

Through that gate my father went out at the call of his Fatherland, and when they carried him to his resting-place they made great lamentation.

He left to his widow five children--one yet unborn, money enough to keep them from want and a name which always stood for self-sacrifice and devotion.

These ancestors of whom I know, harmed no man and must have done some good; yet they were regarded as aliens and could not move freely beyond a certain boundary. The _Porte_ was our home and this diminutive Ghetto shut us in--or shut us out. In later days I discovered that it did both.

I have looked down from many a hilltop since that morning; from the ruins of Athens, the hills of Rome, the mountains round about Jerusalem, the sky-sc.r.a.pers of the New World metropolis, and I have discovered that one's world, no matter how large or how small, is full of compartments.

Everywhere people shut themselves in and shut others out; they are moved by what they call cla.s.s-feeling, race-prejudice, religious intolerance; but it is all of a kind, only labelled differently according to the circ.u.mstances. The main lines of our divisions were visible from the little hilltop in that little corner of the world and were plowed into the consciousness of the people through hundreds and thousands of years of conflict--and alas! they bore sacred symbols.

The synagogue, with its oriental minarets, was crowded in among the encroaching houses of the Ghetto; the Roman Catholic church, with its severe b.u.t.tresses, bulbous steeple and s.h.i.+ning cross, occupied the centre of the town, dominating the landscape; the Protestant church, with its ugly, square tower, over which a rooster weather-vane indicated the s.h.i.+fting winds, stood at the edge of the town, close to green fields and pastures.

Once my brother by vaccination, wis.h.i.+ng to ingratiate himself, told me he believed the Jews were the trunk of the tree, the Catholics were the branches, and the Protestants were the leaves which the wind shook and carried away and scattered. That was good news to me and I rewarded him with a big piece of bread and b.u.t.ter. After it was safe in his grasp he said: "Yes, the Jews are the trunk, but it is old and decayed, and the Lord has grafted a new tree upon another trunk." Then he ran away as fast as he could, and I hoped that kind Providence would let him stumble and fall; but Providence seemed to be on his side. Nevertheless, that was good news to me--news which no doubt he had heard some time in church. It was a truth which expressed relations.h.i.+p, but it was one of which the synagogue seemed quite unconscious.

Our rabbi's chief function seemed to be, to determine for the housewives whether a pot in which meat had been cooked might still be used if a drop of milk fell into it; whether a goose whose fat leg showed a bruise must be sold to the Gentiles or whether it was _kosher_ for the Sabbath meal, and how the rigid rabbinic laws could be circ.u.mvented without transgression.

Thus, our Sabbath law forbade all manner of work for us and our servants; but the Gentile servants did light our fires, cook our meals, and sweep our rooms. "Of course," the rabbi said, "the servants have to live--they do it for themselves and not for us--we just eat with them."

On the Sabbath no burden must be carried; but one must have a handkerchief. "Then bind it about your loins and it is part of your apparel."

"Two thousand yards is the distance one may walk on the Sabbath, but if I have to walk four thousand--what then?" "Stop at the two-thousand yard line, put a piece of bread on the ground and say: 'This is where I live,' then walk two thousand yards more."

Such was the casuistry with which our rabbi's mind was filled. Poor man!

he had to spend his time with "annis and c.u.mmin," he had to glorify trifles and so minimize the real glory. He had so much to say about rabbi this and rabbi that, and so little of what G.o.d said to the seers and prophets.

This was my early quarrel with the synagogue, although at that time I could not express myself. First, it made the traditional ceremonials and observances a law of G.o.d. Secondly, it was intolerantly exclusive against those outside its own pale and those within, who saw the larger light. Yet memories crowd upon me whenever I see the synagogue from this hilltop.

The synagogue was at its best on the eve of the Sabbath. Through the rusty iron gate came its Israel, the fathers and sons; the women being busy with the evening meal, the best of the week. Israel looked outwardly renewed. The Sabbath scrubbing was a religious duty; each boy showed its effects in his clean and glowing face, and he was clothed in his best garments.

How unconventionally Israel approaches its G.o.d, and how democratically!

There is a ceremonial rigidly adhered to, but each man follows it as he pleases, without regard to harmony or order. There are noise and confusion; n.o.ble psalms are mumbled, pious pet.i.tions are repeated mechanically and only the Sabbath hymn has melody. It is sung by the reader, but his is no easy task with such an individualistic congregation. Some one cuts short his crescendo, another checks his flight as he approaches the high C, and when he imagines himself near Heaven's gate, a third pulls him to earth by a threefold Amen, five minutes ahead of schedule time.

No one thinks it out of place to discuss the affairs of the day, especially the affairs of some neighbour. Strangers who happen in are weighed in the balance and their moral avoirdupois discussed, as is their fas.h.i.+onable or unfas.h.i.+onable clothing. Business is transacted on Sabbath eve; but this, of course, _sub rosa_.

Our pew adjoined that of a grain dealer. Hardly had he thrashed his way through the Ninety-fifth Psalm--"Come let us sing unto the Lord"--than he said to his neighbour, who was just catching breath for the Ninety-sixth Psalm: "_Nu_, how was the grain market in Hodowin?" "G.o.d's enemies shall have grain to sell now!"--was the pious answer (business is never unqualifiedly good, to the Jew). Then both hastened through the Ninety-sixth Psalm, a few seconds behind the rest, yet setting a pace to bring them out far ahead, the grain dealer skipping the last lines.

"Will you sell?" he asked. "Sell on the Sabbath?" and then through the Ninety-seventh and Ninety-eighth Psalms without interruption. Here the Twenty-ninth Psalm is repeated. How did I know, how _could_ I know, that this is a Psalm in which some great soul saw the glory of Jehovah in nature?

"The voice of Jehovah is upon the waters: the G.o.d of Glory thundereth: the Lord _is_ upon many waters.

The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.

The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars; yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.

He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn.

The voice of the Lord divideth the flames of fire.

The voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness; the Lord shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh.

The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests; and in His temple doth every one speak of His glory."

Not a word did I understand. It went over their lips like grain through a thres.h.i.+ng-machine, and it was all straw to me. Far more interesting was the fact that, after the Sabbath hymn, six loads of grain changed hands, while the congregation repeated this injunction:

"And the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath throughout their generations, as an everlasting covenant. Between Me and the children of Israel is a sign forever; for in six days Jehovah made Heaven and Earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed."

The weary service ended, there was no time for gossip; each man and especially the boys hurried home to the Sabbath meal, which, more than its religion, keeps so many faithful to Israel.

Our best room was at its best; the whitest linen covered the table, the bra.s.s candlesticks were burnished, mother had blessed the candles and lighted them, and with her cheery face s.h.i.+ning brighter than they shone, she put her hands upon my head, blessing me.

"G.o.d make thee like Ephraim and Mana.s.seh;" and while I did not know just why, "like Ephraim and Mana.s.seh," it was a blessing just to feel her hands upon my head. Then with true unction, this High Priestess of Jehovah repeated:

"May the Lord bless thee and keep thee,

May He cause His face to s.h.i.+ne upon thee and be gracious unto thee,

May the Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace."

Still more sweetly she led us in saying: "For He will give His angels charge over thee, to guard thee in all thy ways. He will guard thy going out and thy coming in, from now and forevermore."

The thirty-first chapter of Proverbs, which then follows, she never repeated nor permitted us to read, for it is the praise of the virtuous woman by her husband, "who praiseth her in the gates." _Her_ husband no doubt praised _her_ in the Eternal City.

To have given the world the Sabbath is no small achievement for a race, and the Israel I knew kept its rigorous laws and was rewarded by its rich blessings.

The _Porte_ was solemnly quiet on Sabbath morning. Every store was closed, although in later days many a merchant could not resist receiving the Gentiles' money over his counter, and quiet business was done behind closed doors. The service of the day began at nine, and the women's gallery was crowded, while a constant chatter was kept up, much to the annoyance of the men, who were glad to be able to blame some one for the disorder.

I remember how indignantly the grain dealer looked up to the gallery and tried to hush the women into silence, on the very morning after he had bought six loads of grain between the repet.i.tions of the Ninety-fifth Psalm and the commandment to keep the Sabbath holy.

The younger men found the encircling gallery very attractive. From it the young girls looked down upon them; eyes met and there were sweet smiles and blushes. There the bride stood, the first Sabbath after the wedding, and if the bridegroom had brought her from abroad, she was viewed and criticized from all angles; the size of her dowry was commented upon, her looks, her family and her dress; although a large dowry "covered a mult.i.tude of sins."

From the gallery mothers watched their restless youngsters, and I can imagine my mother's dear face looking down upon me, often reprovingly.

From here they looked with pride upon their sons, called for the first time to read the law, on their thirteenth birthday. This gallery was the Jewish Women's Club; here they discussed in small or large groups the blessings and pains of motherhood, their own and others' griefs; here they pitied the orphan and the widow and comforted one another.

The younger boys were admitted to this gallery during the reading of the law, which seemed very uninteresting to them, for it was all in Hebrew and chanted in a most monotonous way. But that which preceded it was very absorbing indeed; it was the sale, practically an auction, of the privilege of carrying the _Torah_, of "undressing" it, reading small portions of the law, redressing it and returning it to the Ark. These privileges were bought and presented to visitors or any one whom one wished to honour. It was as exciting as any auction sale, only it was all done without a word's being spoken.

Upon a board with movable letters and figures was announced the peculiar part of the ceremony for sale. The price advanced at the raising of a hand or the nodding of a head, and when some rivalry entered into the sale, the whole congregation watched the proceedings with ill-suppressed excitement.

The rabbi, the reader and the dignitaries of the congregation approached the Ark, and that was the one, great, solemn moment. The rich, velvet curtain was drawn aside; the Ark was opened, and the scrolls of the law carried in solemn procession around the synagogue. We children left our pews and crowded close, to kiss the pa.s.sing scroll.

The white-bearded rabbi looked like one of the priests of old, and I could easily imagine myself in the Temple on Mount Moriah. This solemnity was but momentary; those who had the honour of performing the various ceremonies were called; they p.r.o.nounced the blessing, quickly and mechanically a portion of the law was read, and then the readers made offerings for various charitable purposes. There is no religious or social function in Israel at which an offering is not made, and grat.i.tude to Jehovah always expresses itself in gifts.

The sermon followed immediately and while old men listened to the expounding of the weighty things of the law, women gossiped, children in the yard played rather boisterously, and the young men talked about their _affaires d'amour_, much to the hurt of those of us who were old enough to listen and too young to fully understand.