MENDEL THINKS FOR HIMSELF.
Mendel's fondness for study determined his future career. Nowhere were
there such opportunities for learning the Talmud as in Kief. Its
numerous synagogues, its eminent rabbis, its large Hebrew population,
made it the centre of Judaism in Southern Russia. In its schools some of
the most learned rabbis of the Empire had studied.
Throughout the whole of Russia there were, at the time of which we
speak, but few universities, and these scarcely deserved to rank above
second-rate colleges. Education was within the reach of very few. At the
present day, "the merchants do not even possess the rudiments of an
education. Many of them can neither read nor write and are forced to
keep their accounts in their memory, or by means of ingenious
hieroglyphics, intelligible only to their inventors. Others can decipher
the calendar and the lives of the saints, and can sign their name with
tolerable facility. They can make the simpler arithmetical calculations
with the help of a little calculating machine, called _stchety_."[6]
In the days of Nicholas it was infinitely worse. Learning of any kind
was considered detrimental to the State; schools were practically
unknown. "The most stringent regulations were made concerning tutors and
governesses. It was forbidden to send young men to study in western
colleges and every obstacle was thrown in the way of foreign travel and
residence. Philosophy could not be taught in the universities."[7]
Contrast with this enforced lethargy the intellectual activity that we
meet with everywhere in Jewish quarters. No settlement in which we find
a _minyan_ (ten men necessary for divine worship), but there we will
also find a _cheder_, a school in which the Bible and the Talmud are
taught. Indeed, study is the first duty of the Jew; it is the
quintessence of his religion. The unravelling of God's Word has been
from time immemorial regarded as the greatest need, the most ennobling
occupation of man--a work commanded by God. The Talmud teems with
precepts concerning this all-important subject.
"Study by day and by night, for it is written: 'Thou shalt meditate
therein day and night.'"
"The study of the Law may be compared to a huge heap that is to be
cleared away. The foolish man will say: 'It is impossible for me to
remove this immense pile, I will not attempt it.' But the wise man says:
'I will remove a little to-day, and more to-morrow, and thus in time I
shall have removed it all.' It is the same in studying the Law."[8]
It was to this incessant study of the Scriptures that Israel owed its
patience, its courage, its fortitude during centuries of persecution. It
was this constant delving for truth which produced that bright, acute
Jewish mind, which in days of fanaticism and intolerance, protected the
despised people from stupefying mental decay. It was this incessant
yearning after the word of God, which moulded the moral and religious
life of the Jews and preserved them from the fanatical excesses of the
surrounding peoples.
That this study often degenerated into a mere useless cramming of
unintelligible ideas is easily understood, and its effects were in many
cases the reverse of ennobling. At the age of five, the Jewish lad was
sent to _cheder_ and his young years devoted to the study of the Bible.
Every other occupation of mind and body was interdicted, the very plays
of happy childhood were abolished. The Pentateuch must henceforth form
the sole mental nourishment of the boy. Later on he is led through the
labyrinth of Talmudic lore, to wander through the dark and dreary
catacombs of the past, analyze the mouldering corpses of a by-gone
philosophy, drink into his very blood the wisdom, superstitions,
morality and prejudices of preceding ages. He must digest problems which
the greatest minds have failed to solve. Either the pupil is spurred on
to preternatural acuteness and becomes a credit to his parents and his
teachers, or he succumbs entirely to the benumbing influence of an
over-wrought intellect and is rendered unfit for the great physical
struggle for existence.
What is the Talmud, this sacred literature of Israel? It is a collection
of discussions and comments of biblical subjects, by generations of
rabbis and teachers who devoted their time and intellects to an analysis
of the Scriptures. It is a curious store-house of literary gems, at
times carefully, at times carelessly compiled by writers living in
different lands and different ages; a museum of curiosities, into which
are thrown in strange confusion beautiful legends, historical facts,
metaphysical discussions, sanitary regulations and records of scientific
research. In it are preserved the wise decisions, stirring sermons and
religious maxims of Israel's philosophers.
Although a huge work, consisting of twelve folios, it bears no
resemblance to a single literary production. On first acquaintance it
appears a wilderness, a meaningless tangle of heterogeneous ideas, of
scientific absurdities, of hair-splitting arguments, of profound
aphorisms, of ancient traditions, of falsehood and of truth. It is a
work of broadest humanity, of most fanatical bigotry.
It is not surprising, therefore, that the Talmud contains a great number
of trivial subjects, which it treats with great seriousness. It
contains, for example, dissertations upon sorcery and witchcraft as well
as powerful religious precepts, and presents along-side of its wise and
charitable maxims many utterances of an opposite nature. "For these
faults the whole Talmud had often been held responsible, as a work of
trifles, as a source of trickery, without taking into consideration that
it is not the work of a single author. Over six centuries are
crystallized in the Talmud with animated distinctness. It is, therefore,
no wonder if in this work, sublime and mean, serious and ridiculous,
Jewish and heathen elements, the altar and the ashes are found in motley
mixture."[9]
To the _jeschiva_, or Talmud school, Mendel was immediately sent after
his phenomenal recovery. The great Rabbi Jeiteles himself became the
lad's instructor. Let us accompany Mendel on this beautiful autumn day
to his school.
The house of Rabbi Jeiteles was hemmed in on three sides by decaying and
overcrowded dwellings, facing on the fourth a narrow, neglected lane.
There was nothing in its appearance to attract a passer-by. The
interior, however, was neatly and tastefully, if not luxuriously,
furnished. On entering, one found himself in a comfortably arranged
reception-room. On the eastern wall there hung a _misrach_, a scriptural
picture bearing the inscription, "From the rising of the sun to its
setting shall the name of the Lord be praised." Prints of biblical
subjects adorned the remaining walls, the Sabbath lamp hung from the
ceiling and thrift and comfort seemed to be thoroughly at home. Rebecca,
the Rabbi's wife, a pleasant-faced, mild-tempered little woman, was busy
arranging the table for the evening meal. There is not much to be said
about her and absolutely nothing against her. To a profound admiration
for her husband's ability, she added charity and benevolence and shared
with him the respect of the congregation. It had pleased the Lord to
deprive her of her three sons and the mother's love and devotion was now
lavished upon her sole remaining child, her daughter Recha.
"My sons would be a great comfort to me," she often sighed, and then
added, with resignation: "the Lord's will be done."
To the right of the entrance lay the staircase leading to the bed-rooms
on the second floor, and to the left a door opened into the
school-rooms, a recent addition to the dwelling, and in which the
Rabbi's fifty-odd pupils were daily instructed in their important
studies.
In the first of these rooms, the elementary department, sat the younger
boys, whose spiritual and mental welfare were entrusted to an assistant,
a young pedagogue, who did not believe in sparing the rod at the expense
of the child, but, mindful of the unmerciful whippings he had received
in his youth, endeavored on his part to inculcate the precepts of the
Pentateuch by means of sound thrashings. The progress of his pupils was
not phenomenal, but their training was eminently useful in aiding them
to bear the blows and trials which the gentile world had in store for
them. The Rabbi occasionally looked in upon the class and added his
instructions to those of the assistant, who in the presence of his
superior concealed his rod and assumed an air of unspeakable tenderness
and loving solicitude towards his charges.
The second school-room was for the more advanced pupils, who had for the
most part passed their _bar-mitzvah_ and now revelled in the mystic lore
of the Talmud. On rough wooden desks, whose surfaces had been engraved
by unskilled hands, huge folios lay open. At the upper end of the room
sat the Rabbi, on whose head the frosts of sixty winters had left their
traces. His snow-white beard covered his breast and his hair hung in
silver locks over his temples. His pale and finely-cut features stamped
him as a man of education and refinement. The venerable patriarch had
for more than thirty years filled the position of Chief Rabbi of Kief,
and his reputation as a Talmudist and a man of great mental acumen was
not confined to his native town.
The rattan which the Rabbi held in his hand, the better to guide his
pupils, was never used for corporal punishment, for a glance or a
whispered admonition from the beloved teacher was more potent than were
blows from another. At his side sat his little daughter Recha, scarcely
nine years of age, whose features gave promise of great oriental beauty.
Her dark eyes and darker hair, her rosy lips and merry smile, formed a
veritable symphony of childish loveliness. Recha deemed it a great favor
to be allowed in the room with her father during school-hours, and as
her presence exercised a refining influence over the boys, each one of
whom loved the girl in his own juvenile way, the Rabbi offered no
objections.
The boys were being instructed in a difficult passage of the Talmud.
Following the movements of the Rabbi's head and body they recited their
appropriate lines. Like a mighty _crescendo_ swelled the chorus, for the
greater the pupil's zeal the louder rose his voice, and ever and anon
they were inspired to quicker time, to greater enthusiasm, until the
lesson came to an end.
Alas, poor boys! Taken from the cheerful sunlight to pass the days of
happy boyhood in wading through heaps of useless learning, tutored in a
philosophy which demands age and experience for its perfect
comprehension; of what use can all this Talmud delving be to you, when
once life summons you to more practical duties? And yet how much better
this training, confusing and bewildering though it be, than the absolute
ignorance, the unchecked illiteracy of the Russian Christians.
Rabbi Jeiteles interrupted his class to amplify upon the passage just
read. He had been a great traveller in his youth, had wandered through
Austria and Germany, and had picked up disconnected scraps of worldly
information, to which, in a measure, his superiority in Kief was due.
There were envious calumniators who did not hesitate to assert that the
Rabbi was a _meshumed_ (a renegade), that his mind had become polluted
with ideas and thoughts at variance with Judaism, that he had in his
possession--_O mirabile dictu!_--a copy of the Mendelssohnian
translation of the Pentateuch, against which a ban had been hurled.
These were but rumors, however, and the better class of Hebrews paid no
attention to them.
The passage under consideration was the beautiful legend concerning the
necessity of understanding the Law, and the Rabbi undertook to elucidate
its somewhat difficult construction. According to the wise scribes of
the Talmud, each soul after death enters into the presence of its maker,
and is asked to give a reason for not having studied the _Torah_. If
poverty is offered as an excuse, he is reminded of Hillel, who though
poor deprived himself of life's comforts that he might enjoy God's word.
If the burdens and cares of wealth are advanced in palliation, he is
reminded of Eleazer, who abandoned his lands and possessions to seek the
consolation of knowledge. If a man pleads temptations and weakness to
excuse a life of evil, he is told of Joseph's constancy. In short, it is
incumbent on all to understand God's commandments and to obey them, for
"the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord."
Silence reigned in the class-room, while the Rabbi, in explanation of
his subject, related incidents that had occurred to him during his
eventful career. The interest was intense, numerous questions were asked
and graciously answered, and the _mishna_ was again taken up.
At length the lesson came to an end and the school was dismissed. The
pupils, glad to be released from their duties, bade their teacher
good-by and tripped out into the inviting sunlight. Mendel alone
remained.
"Well, my boy, what is it?" asked the Rabbi, as Mendel gazed wistfully
at him.
"Rabbi, are you going out for your walk?" he asked, timidly.
"Yes," answered the other, surprised at the question.
"May I accompany you? I have so much to ask of you."
The Rabbi gladly acquiesced. Although Mendel had been but six months
under his tuition, he had already become his favorite pupil. His quick
perception and wonderful originality of thought attracted the teacher.
The teacher and pupil walked through the miserable streets of the
quarter until they reached the open fields. Here the Rabbi stopped and
drew a long breath.
"How different this is," he said, "from the contaminated air one
breathes in the narrow lanes of our quarter."
"You have travelled much, Rabbi," said the boy. "Tell me, are the Jews
treated as cruelly all over the world as they are in Russia?"
"Unfortunately they are, in some other countries. Why do you ask?"
"Because I think--Rabbi, are we not ourselves to blame for our wretched
existence?"
Jeiteles looked at the boy in surprise.
"That is a very grave question for a boy of your age," he said. "What
gave you such an idea?"
"I have been thinking very much of late that if we were more like other
people we might be made to suffer less."
"God forbid that we should become like them," answered the Rabbi,
hastily. "Israel's greatest calamities have been caused by aping the
fashions of other nations. Our only salvation lies in clinging to our
customs and faith. Do not attempt to judge your elders until you are
more conversant with your own religion. Obey the Law and do not trouble
yourself concerning the religious observances of your people."
The boy took the rebuke meekly and the two walked on in silent
meditation. After a pause, Mendel again took up the conversation.
"In to-day's lesson," he said, "we learned that the fear of God is the
beginning of wisdom; that study is God's special command. A wise Rabbi
furthermore said upon this subject: 'He gains wisdom who is willing to
receive from all sources.' Am I right?"
"You have quoted correctly. Go on!"
"Is there any passage in the Talmud which forbids the learning of a
foreign language or the reading of a book not written in Hebrew?"
The Rabbi gazed thoughtfully upon the ground but could not recollect
such a passage.
"Last week," continued Mendel, "while in the city, I saw a book in
Russian characters. I bought it and took it home to study. My uncle tore
the book from my hands and threw it into the fire, all the time
bewailing that anything so impure had been brought into the house. Then
I was obliged to run to the house of worship and pray until sunset for
forgiveness. Was there anything so very wrong in trying to learn
something beside the Talmud?"
The worthy Rabbi was sorely puzzled for a reply. His knowledge of the
world had long ago opened his eyes to the narrow-minded bigotry which
swayed the Russian Jewish people in their prejudices against anything
foreign. He, too, deplored the fact that intellects so bright and alert
should be content to linger in these musty catacombs. Full well he knew
that the constant searching for hidden meanings in the Scriptures was
the direct cause of many of the superstitions which had crept into
Judaism. He, too, had in his youth yearned for more extended knowledge
than that derived from the Talmud's folios, and had in secret studied
the Russian and German languages at the risk of being discovered and
branded as a heretic. He understood the boy's craving and sympathized
with him; but could he conscientiously advise him to brave the
opposition and prejudices of his people and pursue that knowledge to
which he aspired?
"Well, Rabbi," said the boy, eagerly, "you do not answer. Have I
violated any law by asking such a question?"
Rabbi Jeiteles wiping his perspiring brow with a large red handkerchief,
sat down upon a moss-grown log and bade the boy sit at his side.
"My dear Mendel," he began, "you are scarcely old or experienced enough
to comprehend the gravity of your question. It is important for Israel
the world over to remain unpolluted by the influence of gentile customs.
The Messiah will surely come, nor can his arrival be far off, and a new
kingdom, a united power will reward us for our past sufferings and
present faith. Were Israel to become tainted with foreign ideas, she
would in each country develop different propensities, learn different
languages and her religion would become contaminated by all that is most
obnoxious in other faiths. It is to preserve the unity of Israel, the
similarity of thought, the purity of our religion, that we look with
horror upon any foreign learning. Now, compare our mental condition with
that of the Russian _moujiks_, or even nobles. What do they know? What
have they studied? Very little, indeed! They know nothing of the great
deeds of the past that are revealed to us through the Scriptures; they
cannot enjoy the grand and majestic philosophy of our God-inspired
rabbis. Brought up in utter ignorance, their life may be likened to a
desert, barren of all that pleases the eye and elevates the mind."
"But," interrupted the boy, "might we not hold on to our own, even while
we are learning from the gentiles? Our language, for example, is, as I
have heard you say, a terrible jargon. We have forgotten much of our
Hebrew and use many strange words instead. We have but to open our
mouths to be recognized at once as Jews and to be treated with contempt.
If we were but to learn the Russian language, it might save us from many
a cruel humiliation and the Hebrew tongue might still be preserved in
our own circle."
"You mistake, my boy; our humiliations do not proceed from any one
fact, such as jargon or customs, but from a variety of circumstances
combined, principal among which are envy of our domestic happiness,
fanaticism because of our rejection of the Christian religion, and a
cruel prejudice which has been handed down through generations from
father to son. No amount of learning on our side can change this.
Persecutions will continue, the gentiles will never learn that the Jew
is made of flesh and blood and has sentiments and feelings the same as
they. Our right to humane treatment will not be recognized any more than
at present, and harder, unspeakably harder, will be the sting and pain
of our degradation, if by deep study we rise mentally above our sphere.
The ignorant man suffers less than the person with elevated
susceptibilities. Learning, therefore, while it would not improve our
treatment at the hands of the gentiles, would but serve to make us the
more discontented with our own unfortunate condition."
The Rabbi was right; he spoke from bitter experience, and Mendel slipped
his hand into that of his teacher and gazed thoughtfully before him.
"A great head," muttered the old man, looking fondly at the boy. "If his
energies are directed into the proper channels, he will become a shining
light in Israel."
"Come, Mendel, let us go home," he said aloud, and they started silently
for the town, both too much engrossed in thought to speak. Only once,
Mendel asked:
"Rabbi, you are not offended by my questions?" and the Rabbi replied:
"No, my boy. On the contrary, I am glad that you are beginning to think
for yourself. The world is but a group of thinkers and the best heads
among them are usually leaders. This has been an agreeable walk to me.
Let us repeat it soon."
"Nothing would give me greater pleasure," cried Mendel, with undisguised
delight. "And if you will be so kind, I should like to hear all about
your travels."
The Rabbi promised, and, having reached the Jewish quarter, pupil and
teacher parted for their respective homes.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 6: Wallace, p. 179.]
[Footnote 7: Foulke, "Slav or Saxon," p. 91.]
[Footnote 8: Rabbi Chonan.]
[Footnote 9: "Graetz's History of the Jews," vol. 4, p. 309.]