The Rabbi of Worms. M. K. Hammond
his teachers?” asked Josef.
“They’ve already died. But I knew one of them, the one whose granddaughter is getting married. His name was Rabbi Isaak haLevi.”
“When Rabbi Scholomo is here again, will he study at the Jeschiba? Do you think he can learn anything from the new teachers?”
“It’s more likely the other way around—the new teachers will learn something from him. Even when he was young as I am, Rabbi Scholomo asked really hard questions, and he told the teachers if he thought their answers were wrong. That made them mad! They asked if he thought he was smarter than they were. In the end he did become wiser than most of his teachers, except maybe Rabbi Jakov ben Yakar.”
“Who’s he?”
“He was Rabbi Scholomo’s first teacher in Worms, the one he came to study with. Even after Scholomo had studied with many other great scholars, he still called Rabbi Jakov his ‘master’.”
“He must have been a really good teacher,” said Josef.
“He was. But he never wanted anyone to praise him for his work. He said only the Lord deserves to be praised. Rabbi Jakov loved the Lord so much, he swept the floor in front of the altar with his beard. That’s what the old people say, the ones who remember him.”
“I wish we could have met Rabbi Jakov.”
“Me, too. But at least we’ll get to see his greatest student. There will be other scholars coming to the wedding, too. In fact, lots of guests will be coming from all different places.” He paused. “You know, they’re all going to need places to stay.”
On his way home, Josef thought how wonderful it was that such an important event would take place only a few blocks from his house. He had never seen a wedding before, and this one promised to be festive and grand. People would be coming from faraway places, wearing strange clothes and speaking languages he’d never heard. Suddenly Josef remembered what Mosche had said, that the guests would need places to stay. Did Mosche mean to imply that visiting Jews might stay with him and his mother? Were there not enough empty rooms in the Jewish quarter? Would his mother be willing to take in a Jewish boarder, maybe a poor one who could not afford a larger place? He would talk it over with Mosche. There was still plenty of time to raise the subject with his mother—the wedding was four months away. It would be hard to contain his excitement that long, but he would study more and try to be ready when the scholars came to town, in case he had a chance to talk with a man of great learning.
Chapter 4
Josef rose early one Saturday morning and left the house before dawn, without waking his mother. He didn’t want her to know where he was going. She might not raise objections, but on the other hand she might, so it was better not to tell her.
It was still cool outside, but the damp, motionless air portended another hot August day. Josef walked quickly to the meeting place. His heart beat rapidly from the exertion, or perhaps from excitement. He was finally going to attend a Sabbath service at the synagogue! Mosche had told him what to expect and had explained some of the customs to him; nevertheless he felt he was entering an unknown world, full of mystery. Well, at least his friend would be sitting beside him.
Mosche was waiting for him outside the gate of the courtyard. In the dim light Josef could see only an outline of the building—the warm pink stones now looked dark grey. As the boys approached the synagogue, Mosche whispered, “We have to wipe our feet before we go in.” He scraped his shoes on an iron rod near the door, removing the dirt. Josef did likewise. They went in.
“Men are supposed to cover their heads for prayer,” said Mosche quietly as the heavy door closed behind them. He pulled out two small cloth caps from inside his shirt and handed one to Josef. “Put this on,” he said.
The boys found seats in a rear corner and settled back to wait for the service to begin. After about half an hour, men and boys began to arrive. Most of the men wore long tunics hanging loosely around their bodies and wooden sandals on their feet, and all wore head coverings. Women and girls came in, too. They made their way to the rear corner opposite the two boys and disappeared behind a curtain. A few of the men carried small scrolls with them. After finding a place to sit on the bare, wooden benches, the men bowed their heads and began to recite. Mosche told Josef to listen carefully—he might recognize some of the prayers he had learned by heart. Watching and hearing the men’s quiet droning, Josef felt as if he were in a dream.
Suddenly he was startled by three loud knocks. The doors of the synagogue swung open and the Sabbath procession began. Leading the way were several older boys. Behind them came scroll-bearers holding great, large rolls of sheepskin. Following the scroll-bearers were several dignified-looking men with long beards. They must be rabbis, thought Josef. Little boys scampered along at the end of the procession, trying to keep up. A few of their fathers entered behind them and found seats.
When the procession reached the front of the room, the little boys ran back to sit with their fathers. The older boys at the head of the line peeled off to the right and left and stood beside the reading desk. One of the worshippers was called forward. He gently took the assigned scroll from the man who was holding it, cradled it in his arms, and kissed it. He carried it around to the older boys standing near the desk and allowed each of them to kiss it. Then these boys, too, joined their fathers in the congregation.
A cantor came forward and began to sing the opening prayers. The tune he sang was plain and repetitive, rising and falling by only a few tones. His loud, rough voice was not agreeable to the ear—in fact few seemed to be listening. Many in the congregation continued reciting prayers out loud. Others were speaking to friends seated near them.
When the cantor stopped singing, the man who had kissed the scroll took it to the reading desk and unrolled it. One of the bearded men, who Mosche said was the officiating reader, walked up and stood beside him at the desk. The first man read the selected passage, while the second leaned toward the scroll and followed along word by word, nodding to indicate his agreement. Even while the man read from the scroll, some of the men in the pews went on reciting their private prayers. Josef strained to hear what the reader was saying. In church, he thought, no one would dare talk out loud while the priest was reading Scripture! At least the men were speaking quietly—Josef was able to understand most of what was read. He didn’t want to miss anything. The passage was from the second book of Moses. Josef had studied it with Mosche and so he knew most of the Hebrew words.
“And Moses said unto the Lord, Pardon, O Lord, I am not a man of words, neither yesterday, nor the day before, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant; for I am heavy of speech and heavy of tongue. And the Lord said unto him, Who has given a mouth to man? or who maketh him dumb, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? is it not I the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and I will teach thee what thou shalt speak. And he said, Pardon, O Lord, I pray thee send some other person. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is there not Aaron, thy brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well; and also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee; and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart. And thou shalt speak unto him, and put the words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and I will teach you what ye shall do. And he shall speak for thee unto the people; and he shall be, yea he shall be to thee as a mouth, and thou shalt be to him as a god.”
When the reading ended, many fathers in the congregation turned to their sons, touched their heads, and recited a blessing. Meanwhile, the reader rolled up the scroll and handed it to the bearded man beside him, who placed it on the altar beside the other scrolls. Now a younger man strode forward, said a brief blessing in Hebrew, and began to speak with an animated voice in ordinary, everyday language. Josef was glad for that—he would understand it better than Hebrew. Men in the congregation paid more attention now. The only distractions were occasional noises made by little boys.
“If we look for the literal or plain meaning in this passage, it is clear,” said the speaker. “The Lord supplies exactly what we need in proportion to our need for it. Moses didn’t speak well. The Lord said, ‘I will be with your mouth and teach you what to say.’ Moses