Rabbi and Priest

M >> Milton Goldsmith >> Rabbi and Priest

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"I expect you to come and report to me from time to time," said the
Governor, so far forgetting his dignity as to accompany the Jew to the
door.

Mendel bowed and left the apartment. In the ante-room, a number of
servants had collected, and no sooner did the young man appear than they
began to banter and annoy him. It was perfectly legitimate for the serfs
to derive as much amusement from the Jews as possible.

"Here comes the Jew," cried one, "and by the Holy St. Peter he is still
alive."

"Well, Jew," said another, seizing Mendel by the beard; "by what charms
did you force your way into the Governor's presence? Impudence is a
great characteristic of your race."

At that moment the door opened and Governor Pomeroff appeared at the
threshold.

He severely rebuked the astonished servants for their rude behavior,
apologized to Mendel for the indignities he had been obliged to endure,
and sent a guard with him to conduct him to his home.

The Rabbi returned to his people with a light and happy heart. He had
been more than successful, for he had gained a friend in the Governor,
and his mind lost itself in visions of the good this powerful ally would
enable him to effect.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 12: Herzberg-Fraenkel's "Polnische Juden" cites a similar
incident.]

CHAPTER XVIII.

THE GOVERNOR'S PROJECT.

Great were the energy and zeal which the Hebrew community of Kief
displayed in carrying out the plans of their young Rabbi. Mendel himself
led them on with an ardor that knew no abatement. He visited the most
dangerous pest-holes, helped to move the sick, brought relief and
consolation to the suffering and bereaved, while ever at his side was
his wife, Recha. Her devotion to the cause was only second to the love
she bore her husband. Undaunted by the awful fate that had befallen her
father, she followed Mendel into the thickest of the danger and like a
ministering angel brought comfort and relief. Their example was
contagious. Young and old, male and female, vied with one another in
doing good and in mitigating suffering. The superstitious dread with
which they had formerly regarded the disease had disappeared and with it
much of the danger which fear or an over-wrought imagination causes. A
large building was secured and fitted up as a hospital. Thither the sick
were conveyed and there kept in strict quarantine. It was not difficult
to find nurses among those who had already had the disease, when told
that they need not fear its recurrence.

Many of the miserable dwellings of the poor were demolished and the
ground cleansed and fumigated, their former inhabitants in the meanwhile
finding ample accommodations in the synagogues or in the houses of the
wealthy. There was not a family of well-to-do Jews that did not harbor a
number of those who were thus summarily deprived of shelter. Every well
which might have become contaminated was filled up with earth and stone,
and strict injunctions were issued to use no water that had not been
thoroughly boiled. The schools were temporarily closed to avoid the
danger of infection, exercise in the fields was recommended, and so well
were all these regulations observed that at the end of six weeks the
Jewish quarter was practically free from the disease, while the grim
monster still raged among the families of the less prudent gentiles.
Then the work of reconstructing what had been demolished was taken up.
Thanks to the offerings of Hirsch Bensef and his friends, money was not
lacking and willing hands were found to supply the necessary manual
labor. Where wretched huts and unpainted hovels had offended the eye,
unpretentious but clean and comfortable dwellings now were seen. The
lower portion of the town had been entirely remodelled and vied in point
of neatness with the more aristocratic quarter. As home after home was
completed, the former inmates took possession and great was the
rejoicing. It was impossible, however, to do away with all the poor
hovels that abounded in the Jewish quarter: such an undertaking would
have required a vast amount of money and years of labor. It was only
where the need was most pressing that the work of regeneration was
carried on.

The sad fact soon forced itself on Mendel that the portion of Kief
allotted to the Jews was entirely inadequate for the fifteen thousand
inhabitants who were condemned to dwell there. So overcrowded were some
of the houses that it seemed a miracle that the death-rate had not been
even greater; yet there seemed to be no remedy for the evil. The limits
had been fixed by the government and against its decree who dared
appeal? By _Rosh-Hashana_ (New Year's) there was not a single case of
cholera in the Jewish quarter. One morning, several days after the New
Year festival, Mendel sat in his snug parlor with his wife and her
mother, speaking hopefully of the coming time.

"How happy we would be," said Recha, "if father were alive to see all
the good that has been accomplished. His only ambition was to improve
the mental and physical condition of our people. He would have taken the
greatest interest in your undertaking, and would have been the most
zealous of your helpers."

Mendel sighed.

"I feel, Recha," he said, "that all this work was inspired by his death.
Had it not been for the grief it caused me, I doubt whether I should
have felt it my duty to open the eyes of our good people, but might have
allowed them to continue in their accustomed way. Troubles, dear Recha,
are frequently blessings in disguise, and under the rod of affliction we
may recognize the loving hand of God. Our hearts groan under the heavy
blows of misfortune, but in the end we will find ourselves the stronger,
the better, the more perfect for the tribulations we have undergone."

Recha felt the truth of her husband's words and dried her eyes.

"I look into the year just begun with great hopes," continued Mendel.
"Among our own people the greatest harmony prevails. The sorrows we have
suffered in common have served to knit our souls more closely together,
and the little quarrels and petty jealousies that formerly agitated our
community have ceased. All is bright and beautiful without. The Emperor
purposes to introduce various reforms and the Governor is favorably
disposed towards us. Let us trust that those who have suffered losses
through the merciless hand of death may find some consolation in the
greater happiness and prosperity of the community."

Mendel was interrupted by a knock at the door, and Recha upon opening it
gave admittance to a soldier, whose uniform proclaimed him one of the
Governor's body guard.

"I seek Mendel Winenki," said the man, with military precision.

Recha became pale as death; a terrible suspicion flashed through her
mind. Mendel, too, was ill at ease.

"What do you want of me?" he asked.

"His excellency, the Governor, has instructed me to conduct you into his
presence," answered the soldier.

"For what purpose?" asked the Rabbi, anxiously.

"I do not know. I am simply to take you with me."

The greatest consternation prevailed among the little group. For a Jew
to be summoned before the Governor betokened no good.

"You would arrest my husband!" cried Recha, placing herself between the
soldier and the Rabbi. "He has done no wrong. You shall not take him!"

"Calm yourself, Recha," said the Rabbi, gently. "There is no need of
borrowing trouble. The soldier has not intimated that I am to be
punished. The Governor was at one time very friendly to me; perhaps it
is upon a friendly matter that he now wishes to see me."

Kissing his wife and mother-in-law and bidding them be of good cheer,
Mendel accompanied the guide to the Governor's residence. It was a long
walk through a number of densely populated streets to the animated
_podol_, or business centre. Hundreds of shops lined the streets, but
they were empty and deserted. The cholera had deprived them of their
customers and in many cases of their proprietors. Business was
practically suspended during the continuance of the plague. On leaving
the _podol_, the road led up a steep incline to the Petcherskoi. This
was the official portion of the town. Here stood the vast Petcherskoi
convent, a mass of old buildings, formerly a fine specimen of Byzantine
architecture, but now gradually yielding to the ravages of time. Here,
too, were the barracks, and the martial tread of the exercising
regiments rang out clearly in the September air. Beyond the barracks,
and by its high position commanding a fine view of the city, stood the
Governor's palace, an imposing pile of Russian architecture, which, when
Kief was still the capital of the Empire, was the scene of regal
festivities and despotic cruelty.

The ante-room of the Governor was filled with a motley crowd of
petitioners. There were deputations from the provincial towns, haughty
noblemen attired in lace coats and bedecked with badges, officers,
soldiers and _gendarmes_ in gorgeous uniforms. Mendel's courage sank
when he saw the formidable group before him.

"Remain here," commanded the guard who had accompanied him, "and I will
announce your presence to his excellency."

A moment later he returned and, to the surprise of the waiting
petitioners, beckoned Mendel to follow him into the private cabinet.
That a Jew should be shown such favor was scarcely calculated to put the
rest in a good humor, and loud murmurs of discontent arose from all
parts of the room.

If Mendel had any fears of the reception which awaited him, they were at
once dispelled by the Governor's cordial greeting:

"Well, Rabbi," he exclaimed, smilingly, extending his hand, "I have
waited in vain for you to bring me the promised tidings and have sent
for you in sheer despair. Why did you not come to see me?"

"Your excellency," replied Mendel, "I have been busy day and night, but
had I thought that you took an interest in our work I would have
hastened to inform you of our progress. Thank God, the result has
exceeded our fondest expectations."

"I have heard of it," replied Pomeroff. "It has been the subject of a
hundred discussions at court and at the exchanges, and there is nought
but praise for the man who was the first to fight the cholera here in
Russia with the weapons science has furnished mankind."

Mendel blushed and said, modestly:

"That man is a Jew, your excellency. It is not usual for one of our race
to be the recipient of compliments at the hands of the gentiles."

The Governor's brow darkened and he remained silent for a moment.
Finally he replied:

"Such praise would be more plentiful if all Jews were like you."

"They are, your excellency," answered Mendel, warmly. "Oh, if you but
knew how brave, how noble a heart beats beneath the rough exterior of
the Jew; if you but knew how passionately he yearns for an opportunity
to show himself in his true character, you would pity him more and judge
him less harshly."

"It is upon that very topic that I wish to converse with you," said the
Governor, motioning Mendel to a seat, while he threw himself upon a
comfortable lounge. Lighting a cigarette, he settled himself for a long
conversation, apparently unmindful of the dignitaries who awaited an
audience without. "I would give the Jew an opportunity to become not
only a useful but a respected citizen."

"Your excellency is too good," said Mendel, joyously, as bright visions
of emancipation flashed through his brain.

"I am told that you have great influence with your people," continued
the Governor. "Am I correctly informed?"

"I am too young to influence them, but I believe I have their esteem and
respect."

"They, at all events, place confidence in you," answered Pomeroff. "Now
listen to me patiently. I have always been a friend of the Hebrews. As a
boy, I associated with Jews of my own age and found them congenial
companions. When I had arrived at the age of manhood I awoke one day to
find myself in grave financial difficulties. There is no need of going
into details. Suffice it to say that in my dilemma I went to one of the
companions of my youth, a Jew, who had in the meantime acquired a
fortune, and appealed to his generosity. My confidence was not misplaced
and his timely aid saved my reputation and my honor. I am therefore
favorably disposed toward your people and would help them if it were in
my power to do so."

"Your excellency can do much," exclaimed Mendel.

"Let me finish what I have to say before you indulge in vain hopes,"
answered the Governor. "Let us discuss the situation fearlessly and
without prejudice and try to find the root of the difficulty. Why are
your people despised? Firstly, because they are not Christians and the
gentile can never forget that it was your race that was directly
responsible for the death of our Saviour; secondly, were the gentile to
forget it, the religious and social observances of your race are so
thoroughly at variance with his own that he does not understand you and
therefore looks down upon you. Under usual conditions, however, the Jew
and the non-Jew live side by side in peace and harmony. It is only in
time of unusual religious or political excitement that race prejudice
comes into play and then the Hebrews suffer. Were your people to adopt
the Christian religion and change their oriental customs for our own,
race prejudice and persecution would cease, they would be placed
socially upon a footing of equality with the gentiles and the entire
human race would be benefited thereby. Do I make my meaning clear?"

"I do not quite grasp it," answered Mendel.

"Briefly, then, my idea is this: You have great influence over your
co-religionists. Use that influence to their lasting advantage. Persuade
them to accept the Christian faith. Induce them to be baptized and with
that solemn rite will end the unnumbered persecutions, the untold misery
which has unfortunately been the lot of Israel. His majesty Alexander is
most graciously disposed towards reform. Now, at the beginning of his
career, he is eager to accept any innovation which will reflect renown
upon his rule. He has already considered plans for freeing the serfs and
would gladly include in that emancipation the three million Jews that
reside in the Empire. I speak with his august authority when I say that
as soon as the Jews embrace the holy Catholic faith not only will their
troubles end, but they will find themselves raised to an enviable
condition and the fittest among them will fill positions of rank and
honor."

Mendel had arisen and with a pitying smile waited for the Governor to
conclude his remarks.

"Your excellency does me too much honor," he said, quietly. "The man was
never born, nor will he ever be, who can wean the Jews from their faith.
Your excellency would find it easier to turn the waters of the Dnieper
into the Arctic Ocean than to change the handful of Jews in Kief into
Christians."

"But there are many who have already deserted the ranks of Israel," said
the Governor.

"There are some renegades, it is true, but they do not in reality desert
the faith of their people. They merely seek to escape some of the
observances with which they are not in accord. Such people do not become
Christians--they remain Jews to the end of their days."

"But, consider," said the Governor, earnestly, for he had set his heart
upon this project. "At present you are despised and hated. You are
forced to vegetate, rather than live, within the narrow confines of an
uninviting and unhealthy quarter. Your natural capabilities are dwarfed.
Your property and even your lives are at the mercy of the ignorant
people that surround you. An acknowledgment of the faith that already
counts many millions of adherents, a mere profession of belief in the
great Saviour who came from heaven to save mankind, will change all this
and you will at once enter into a life of peace and honor and social
equality with the noblest of the land. Is it not worth considering?"

"No, your excellency," answered Mendel, boldly. "As I have already told
you, it is impossible."

"Your reasons, Rabbi," said the Governor, with a shade of irritation in
his voice. "Will not the new avenues for pleasure and happiness
compensate for your ancient ceremonials and superstitions? The theatre,
the lecture, the school will be opened to you. We will bid you enter and
partake of all those delights which are in store for the best of us. Is
that no inducement?"

Mendel sighed deeply, as he answered:

"Your excellency invites me to speak and I will do so frankly, even at
the risk of incurring your displeasure. Think you that the prejudice
which the Christian has felt against the Jew for over eighteen centuries
can be eradicated in a moment by the apostasy of our race? The Russian
nobility, accustomed to regard the Hebrews as accursed in the sight of
God, as a nation of usurers and ungodly fanatics, is not in a fit
condition of mind to forego its prejudices and welcome these same Jews
as equals. The lower classes of Russians who have at the the mother's
breast imbibed hatred and contempt for the despised and helpless Jew,
who have from time immemorial considered the Jews as their just and
legitimate prey, will scarcely condescend to offer the rejected race the
hand of brotherly love simply because the Governor or even the Emperor
commands it. It has been tried, your excellency, at various times;
notably in Spain. Terrified by threats of torture on the one hand or
seduced by promises of great reward on the other, many an Israelite
accepted the Catholic faith. Alas! how bitterly was the error regretted.
Instead of being admitted to that fellowship with which the gentiles had
tempted them, greater humiliations, greater persecutions followed, until
the horrors of the inquisition chamber and death at the stake were
welcomed by the poor wretches as a relief from mental torment still more
terrible."

So they talked, the mighty ruler and the humble Rabbi, while those in
the ante-room waited impatiently for an audience.

Finally the Governor arose.

"I will not exact a definite answer at present," he said. "Discuss the
matter with your friends and come to see me again in the course of a
week or two. Perhaps you will then think better of it."

Mendel shook his head.

"In a few days we shall have _Yom-Kipur_, our Day of Atonement," he
said. "If you would know how tenaciously the Israelites cling to their
faith and to their God, visit the synagogue on that day; behold them in
fasting and prayer, renewing their covenant with the Lord and relying
upon his divine protection and assistance. You will find it an
impressive sight, one that will speak more eloquently than my weak
words."

"I may come," answered the Governor, half in jest and half in earnest,
while Mendel bowed himself out through the crowd of angry people in the
waiting-room.

We shall not attempt to analyze the thoughts of the young Rabbi, as he
retraced his steps towards his dwelling. On his arrival there, he found
his wife and her mother greatly alarmed as to his safety. The strange
and sudden summons and his long absence had aroused terrible fears in
Recha's breast that he had been thrown into prison by the Governor, and
her eyes were red with weeping. It was with a bounding heart, therefore,
that she heard her husband's step on the threshold, and with a joyous
cry she rushed to embrace him.

"God be praised, my Mendel has returned," she exclaimed, and smiling
through her tears she led him into the house.

CHAPTER XIX.

YOM-KIPUR.

It is _Yom-Kipur_, the Day of Atonement.

Long before nightfall the shops and booths of the Israelites are closed.
The merchant has silenced his cravings for gain, the pedler and the
wanderer have returned to their families, travelling leagues upon
leagues to reach home in time for the holy day. The beggar has cast
aside his rags and attired himself in a manner more befitting the solemn
occasion. The God-fearing man has closed his heart to all but pious
thoughts, and, yielding to the holy influence, even the impious cannot
but think of God and of a future beyond the grave.

The holy night is approaching. A river of light streams through the
arched windows of the houses of prayer, flooding the streets and
penetrating into the hearts of the inhabitants. Young and old slowly
wend their way to the synagogues, there to bow down before the Lord who
delivered their ancestors from Egyptian bondage and who on this day will
sit in judgment upon their actions; will grant them mercy or pronounce
their doom; will inscribe them in the book of life or in that of
eternal death. The women are robed in white, the men wear shrouds over
their black _caftans_ and carry huge prayer-books. At the door of the
Lord's House, and before entering its sacred precincts, they ask pardon
of each other for any sins or shortcomings, for the envy, the malice,
the calumny of which they may have been guilty.

"Forgive me whatever wrong I may have done thee!"

The phrase is repeated from man to man, for none may enter the holy
temple unless he be at peace with mankind.

Let us enter the synagogue. Hundreds of candles fill the sacred hall
with their light and the whitened walls and ceiling appear to glow with
glory. Rows of men in ghastly attire, constant reminder of the
inevitable end of mundane greatness, stand with covered heads and with
their faces turned towards the orient, fervently praying. Screened by
the lattice-work of the galleries are the women, who, with their treble
voices, augment the solemn chant that vibrates on the air.

Repentance, fear, self-reproach have blanched the cheeks and dimmed the
eyes of the devotees. Fervent and sincere are the prayers that rise to
the throne of God; contrite and remorseful are the blows with which the
men beat their breasts and with which they seek to chasten their
sin-encrusted hearts.

Fearfully and tearfully they make the sorrowful avowal: "We have
sinned!" Down into the depths of his soul does each one search to render
to himself and to God a truthful account of the deeds and thoughts that
lie hidden there. And above the din, the voice of the reader is heard,
beseeching forgiveness for the repentant congregation, pleading for the
grace of the Lord and asking to be enrolled in the book of life and
happiness. It is a solemn, heart-stirring spectacle, moving the soul of
the sinner with a mighty force. An observer, who for the first time
attends the _Yom-Kipur_ services, can arrive at but one verdict
concerning the beauty of the religion which has instituted this holy
day.

The heathen is impressed with the fact that in doing wrong he has
offended a god whom, by means of sacrifice, he seeks to propitiate. The
Christian proclaims that he sins by compulsion in consequence of the
original fall of Adam, and, as he is not a free agent in the matter of
right or wrong, he can expect grace only through the mediation of his
Saviour. The Jew recognizes the fact that he is entirely free to sin or
to remain pure, and that, having erred, he can only hope for forgiveness
by acknowledging his error, by purifying himself from all that is vile
and by a sincere resolution to do better. Mere faith has never played
the important part in the Jewish religion that is assigned it in that of
the gentiles. The Israelite believes that if he has done wrong and
sincerely repents and by his subsequent actions seeks to repair the
injury, divine forgiveness will not be withheld; but the dogma that
belief independent of good deeds purifies the heart has never found
favor in his eyes.

The worshippers stayed until a late hour, and many of them remained in
the synagogue all night. Early dawn found the congregation again at its
post, as devout, as fervent as before. The candles were burning low in
their sockets, casting a fitful glare upon the pale faces of the
worshippers, reminding them of the flight of time, of the brevity of
life, of the inevitable moment when repentance will come too late, when
the account of one's good and evil deeds will be closed.

The synagogue was filled to overflowing with fasting men and women. Not
a morsel of food, not a drop of water was permitted to pass their lips
for twenty-four hours. "As the body can abstain from food," said the
wise rabbis, "so shall the soul abstain from sin."

The terrible plague that had left its sad impress upon the community
greatly increased the solemnity of the occasion. To the expressions of
repentance were added the prayers of gratitude of those who had escaped
its fatal breath and the lamentations of those whose hearts still
smarted under recent bereavement. It was Rabbi Mendel's custom to
combine instruction with devotion whenever an occasion presented itself,
and to do this in such homely logic as his congregation could easily
comprehend, taking especial pains to impress them with the spirit of the
rites they observed. Being a great favorite with them, they listened
attentively to his melodious voice and persuasive arguments, and found
themselves the better for his teaching. On the Day of Atonement he had
hardly begun to speak when his attention was attracted by a stranger who
had entered and quietly taken a seat in the rear of the synagogue. With
the exception of Mendel not one of the assembled worshippers recognized
the unpretentious looking man.

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