_The Mendele Review_: Yiddish Literature and Language (A Companion to _MENDELE_) ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 03.011 18 June 1999 Readers are reminded that the story in this issue of _The Mendele Review_ can be read in Yiddish letters. It is available in the TMR Archive in both PDF and UNICODE formats. http://www2.trincoll.edu/~mendele/tmrtoc03.htm 1) Yiddish Matters: On I.J. Singer's "A Fremder" (ed.) 2) "a fremder" (Yisroel-Yehoyshue Zinger) [I.J. Singer] 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 18 June 1999 From: Leonard Prager Subject: On I.J. Singer's "A Fremder" (ed.) Nobel Prize winner Isaac Bashevis Singer's less famous older brother Israel Joshua deserves to be known in his own right. A generation ago, readers of _Di brider Ashkenazi_, _Di mishpokhe Karnovski_, and _Yoshe Kalb_, and theater-goers who saw dramatized versions of _Di brider Ashkenazi_ and _Yoshe Kalb_ were more aware of him than of his younger sibling.(1) IBS's _Mayn tatns bezdn shtub_ is a minor classic of Yiddish memoiristic prose and IJS's _Fun a velt vos iz nishto mer_ rivals it. While IJS's hallmark is the large canvass of his "family novels," he is no less skillful in his shorter fiction (see _Perl_, 1923; _Oyf fremde erd_, 1925; _Friling_ 1937; and _Dertseylungen_, 1949). Many of his short stories are long short stories, almost short novels, but for this issue of _The Mendele Review_, we have selected a true short story, a narrative focused on a single character's dilemma in the wake of a single event, and communicated in relatively concentrated form. "a fremder" ['A Stranger'], the briefest of the eight stories in the 1949 volume _dertseylungen_, is a chronicle of moral conflict as well as a realistic tale of rural Jewish life among peasants in the Eastern Europe of a century or more ago. I do not know the date of composition or of first publication, but it is well known that in his last years its author expressed the view that coexistence of Jews and Gentiles was an historical error. He could write: "... zint yidn zaynen yidn un goyem zaynen goyem, kenen zey beyde zikh nit aynlebn eyner mitn andern, un s'zet oys, az zey veln es keyn mol nit kenen vi lang es vet zey oyskumen tsu lebn tsuzamen." ['... as long as Jews have been Jews and Gentiles Gentiles, the two have not been able to live together amicably, and it looks as though they never will be able to as long they have to live together.'(z. 597)] (see "a tsvey toyznt yoriker toes" ['A Two-Thousand-Year-Old Mistake'], _tsukunft_ 49:9 (okt. 1942, zz' 596-602). It is all too easy to read "a fremder" as a parable of this view of Jewish history, one which understandably gained force in the late 1930s and the 1940s. IJS may well have viewed his story as confirmation of the imagined yet realistic history he was recounting in "a fremder." Readers, however, will let the story tell itself. The miller Refoyl and his wife Beyle are the sole Jewish inhabitants of the peasant village of Lyeshnovke. Refoyl's horses have been stolen, his dog has been killed, and largely out of their sense of solidarity with him, his peasant neighbors decide to "attend to" the suspected thief, the one-eyed outsider Tsegelek. Refoyl is paralyzed by the expectation that he join the posse. The full force of the peasants' xenophobia is directed at Tsegelek; by hesitating to join them Refoyl makes himself an outsider -- their code does not countenance deviation. The issue for Refoyl is not principally justice, for together with the peasants he too believes that Tsegelek is guilty of the crimes attributed to him. We do not know if Tsegelek is guilty for certain, but he is a convicted criminal and at the end of the story is referred to by the teller as "dem ganef tsegelek." The manner in which he is described predisposes us to doubt that it is he who has stolen Refoyl's horses. He is fiercely independent, a non-conformist who is unwilling to adjust to the community's long-established ways; his attitude towards his accusers is defiant, but this stance does not look like subterfuge. In any event, the circumstantial evidence pointing to his guilt is exceedingly thin. The brutal fact is that a mob has found him guilty without trial. But even before an explicit ethical issue enters Refoyl's conscious mind, his very being rebels against the idea of shedding blood (an abhorrence echoed frequently in IBS's work as well). The official Jewish rationale which consecrates _shekhita_ and transforms it from gross murder to justified slaughter for human and natural ends is tacitly, if not feelingly, accepted by Refoyl. Shedding of blood is more than mere squeamishess to him, especially when human blood is in question. But Refoyl does not stand up to his neighbors turned lynch-mob and refuse to participate in their violent plan -- for religious, ethical or any other reasons. Shaken with anxiety, the powerful miller busies himself burying his murdered dog, burial being a consecrative and civilizing act; and then he escapes into deep sleep. But he cannot escape the rendezvous with his revengeful neighbors. They come to collect him for their dire action and find him in bed faking illness. Seeing her husband reduced to helplessness, Refoyl's wife Beyle had improvised a strategem of survival through deception rather than confrontation. She instructed him to groan but his true groans are those of a proud man undergoing acute humiliation. The peasant leader, Yan, says: "gleybt im nisht mentshn... dos vil er zikh oysdreyen fun mitgeyn, der yid...opteyln zikh fun dorf vi a fremder." [Don't believe him, people, the Jew just wants to avoid coming along with us... he is separating himself from the village like a stranger.'] And the omniscient author at the story's end writes: "in der shtiler oysgeshternter nakht hobn di poyerem fun lyeshnovke tsvey mishpotem aroysgegebn iber mentshn, vos kenen nit zayn mit der eyde: dem ganef tsegelek hot men der|harg|et.... Refoyl dem milner hot men mit shteyner di shoybn fun shtub oysgeshlogn." ['In the silent starry night the Lyeshnovke peasants passed judgement twice on persons who could not adhere to the group: they killed the thief Tsegelek.... They broke all the windows of Refoyl's home.'] Refoyl's retreat from violence alienates him from his neighbors. He has no recourse but to to sell his possessions and move. The story concludes with his words: "kh'vil ariber tsu yidn in shtot" ['I want to go live with Jews in town.'] Despite living together in the same small village for several generations, sharing a common vernacular, and enjoying a long history of mutual respect and trust, a single event channels a deep chasm. We might say, of course, that Refoyl's integration in the peasant community was never complete, that the Jew-Gentile divide was somehow always there. Moreover, Refoyl was a miller, and albeit an honest one, his earnings stemmed from the peasants' more arduous work in the fields and might have been resented. Stereotypic categories remain in place even when disused: Refoyl's pacifism is attributed to Jewish separatism rather than individual disposition. The reader, too, while not proud of Refoyl's behavior, knows that it was very Jewish and is probably ready to join him in moving to where one can be among people like oneself. The point is not that Jews can only live among other Jews -- this is obviously not so historically and actually -- but that Jews (or any other group with a highly defined moral code of its own) cannot be integrated in societies whose mores and manners conflict sharply with their own. Traditional Jewish religious and communal life requires a certain concentration of Jews in a circumscribed area to fulfil ritual needs, but the hero of our story is a yishuvnik who davens but obviously can not maintain the higher degrees of observance. Yet it is not because of difficulties in observance -- one reason that yishuvniks left their farms for city or town -- that Refoyl must leave Lyeshnovke. Following his property loss, his humiliating effort to dissemble, and the ostracism imaged in the breaking of all his windows, he felt he must abandon his native village. Ironically, in the town or city to which this yishuvnik will move, he is more than likely to remain always a rustic outsider, "a fremder." ------------------------- Notes 1. Sol Liptzin -- mistakenly -- wrote of IBS vis-a-vis his brother: "Though his fame in the 1960s and 1970s exceeded that of any Jewish novelist since Sholem Asch, it was not likely to be as enduring as that of his older brother, I.J. Singer, whose novels presented a sounder insight into Polish-Jewish reality before its extinction." (_A History of Yiddish Literature_, Middle Village, New York: Jonathan David, 1985, [1972], p. 272). 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 18 June 1999 From: Craig Abernethy Subject: "a fremder" (Yisroel-Yehoyshue Zinger) [Israel Joshua Singer] \spell Yisroel yQr#l \spell Yehoyshue yhushe \spell kelev KlB \spell tkhiles WHylT \spell taynen tenhn \spell galekh glH \spell mezumonem mzumnim \spell menukhe mnuHh \spell gneyve gnBh \spell ganeyves gniBuT \spell lamdn lmdn \spell pule peulh \spell agmesnefesh egmT-nfsh \spell minkhe minHh \spell moreshkhoyre mrh-shHurh \spell kaas Kes \spell hamoyn hmun \spell mishpotem mshptim \spell mekekh mkH "a fremder" fun Yisroel-Yehoyshue zinger (1893-1944) [z. 99] az di poyerem in dorf lyeshnovke hobn zikh in der fri dervust, az m'hot bay zeyer shokhn Refoyl dem milner aroysgefirt baynakht beyde ferd zayne fun shtal aroys, hobn ale gelozt shteyn di arbet in feld un avek tsu der mil. oyfn groysn farmeliktn hoyf, iber velkhn hiner hobn gepikt kerner, iz di shtal geshtanen oyfgepralt. di ayzerne shtabe oyf der tir fun shtal iz geven ibergeshnitn oyf der helft. Refoyl der milner, a breyt-beyniker yid mit a shvartser bord, vos iz farvayst fun mel un mit getsoygene pleytses fun shlepn zek tvue, hot gekukt mit umetike shvartse oygn fun zayn farmelt ponem aroys un batrakht di tsvey geshpanen, vos hobn iberike gehangen oyf der vant. beyle, zayn vayb, a yidene mit a hoykhn buzem, vos iz bashtekt mit shpilkes un nodl-fodem, hot gebrokhn di hent un ge|yomert mit a nign fun a baveynerke: aza por likhtike ferd -- hot zi nokhgezogt shvokhem un geveynt in fartekh arayn -- aza por tayere leybn. Refoyl|s hunt "burek", a groyser broyn-hoytiker kelev, vos az er flegt arayn in tsorn, flegt er iberraysn di keyt mit velkher er iz geven tsugebundn, iz gelegn in mitn hoyf, a dershtikter, mit a langer bloyer tsung aroysgeshtekt. flign hobn gezhumet un gedreyt zikh in karahodn arum der hintisher tsung. di poyerem hobn mit di shpits-shtivl tsugeglet di dershrokene oyfgeshtelte hor iber dem hunt|s rukn un geshoklt mit di kep: -- oy, rafal, rafal, a shvere avle iz dir geshen -- hobn zey im badoyert. Refoyl iz gegangen ibern hoyf un gezukht simonem fun di ferdishe podkoves. ober keyn shum shpurn zaynen nisht geven. [z. 100] saydn mit kishef zey aroysgefirt -- hobn di goyes gemurmlt. -- keyn simen fun keyn trit nishto. vos far a kishef? -- hot yan der shmid avekgemakht mit der farkasherter un oysgeshmirter hant -- zey hobn di fis mit zek arumgebundn, di hintishe zin, un s'iz keyn simen nishto... fun dorf zaynen alts naye poyerem ongekumen. di ibergeshnitene ayzerne shtabe, der ge|harg|eter hunt oyfn hoyf hobn gevekt tsorn un moyre tsuzamen in di poyerishe hertser: -- shnaydn lebedike pasn darf men fun di ganovem -- hobn roye koyles zikh gehert. un dernokh bashitn mit zalts -- hobn andere tsugegebn. zey zaynen geven oyser zikh fun tsorn, Refoyl dem milners shkheynem. ershtns, iz Refoyl geven an eygener in dorf. nit nor er aleyn, nor afile der foter zayner iz geborn gevorn in lyeshnovke. alte poyerem hobn nokh afile zayn zeydn gedenkt, ven er iz geven a pakhter baym porets in hoyf. oykh hot er zikh gefirt vi di poyerem in dorf, Refoyl, gor vi keyn yid nisht. nisht er hot a kreml gehaltn, nisht er hot zakhn oyfgekoyft. tsuglaykh mit ale lyeshnovker balebatem hot er aleyn baarbet di erd zayne, hot holts fun vald gefirt, beheymes gehodevet. tsuglaykh mit di poyertes in dorf hot beyle zayn vayb gegrobn kartofl, gemolkn di ki, un oyf yedn yarid in shtetl geforn tsu farkoyfn gendz, hiner un eyer. in der alter vint-mil zayner, hobn ale poyerem fun arum gemoln zeyer korn. Refoyl|s vog, hot men gevust, iz a pinktlekhe, men ken zikh oyf ir farlozn. akhuts dem vos er hot nit dermont in redn di heylike muter, yezus-kristus un zayne heylike vundn, hot er geredt poylish mit ale poyerem glaykh. un afile in koykhes iz er nit opgeshtanen fun di shtarkste balebatem in dorf. zeyer gring iz er mit a "korts" tvue gegangen iber di shmole trep fun zayn mil. zey hobn im derfar far an eygenem gehaltn, far a lyeshnovker, un zey hobn zayn avle gefilt vi zeyers an eygene. tsveytns, zaynen zey umruik geven far zikh aleyn. der eyntsiker [z. 101] in dorf, vos hot gehat an ayzerne shtabe iber der tir fun zayn shtal, iz geven Refoyl der milner. oykh a hunt hot er gehat a gresern un beyzern fun ale andere shkheynem in dorf. oyb men hot fun zayn shtal gekont di ferd aroysfirn, iz shoyn dos dorf hefker, iz keyner mit zayn ferdl nisht zikher. tkhiles hobn poyerem genumen taynen, az dos hobn tsigayner geton. zey ganv|enen shtendik ferd, di shvartse getsndiner, un nor bay zey darf men zukhn. ober yan der shmid, der khokhem fun dorf, vos ken leyenen un shraybn, hot avekgemakht mit der farkasherter oysgeshmirter hant: nareshkaytn redt ir, mentshn -- hot er gezogt mit virde, vi tomed, ven er, der gelernter, redt tsum prostn hamoyn -- ershtns, hobn shoyn tsigayner lang do zeyere getseltn nisht farleygt. tsveytns, hobn tsigayner lib tsu geyn oyf a laykhter gneyve. shnaydn ayzerne shtabes kenen zey nit, un dos iz nisht zeyer arbet. -- oyb azoy, hot es Yoyne der shinder geton -- hot an alt poyerl gepruvt trefn -- er iz a shtotisher un er veyst vi azoy tsu maysterevn bay ayzn. yan hot nokh a mol ernst batrakht di ibergeshnitene shtabe un dem gedank vegn Yoyne dem shinder oykh opgevorfn: Yoyne ken opdreyen a shlos -- hot er gezogt -- ober shnaydn a shtabe ken er nisht. dertsu volt Yoyne zikh nisht ongehoybn mit keyn hunt. a yid hot far a hunt moyre. bakant... di poyerem hobn zikh gekratst di kep: ver den hot es gekont ton? -- hobn zey gefregt baym shmid -- zog du, yan ... yan hot gelasn oysgeglet mit di oysgeshmirte finger beyde blonde vontses oyf rekhts un oyf links un geredt gelasn: -- dos iz dem blindn tsegeleks arbet. er iz a mol a shmid geven. dertsu iz er gezesn in kriminal mit shtotishe ganovem un zey hobn im oysgelernt shnaydn ayzn. -- rikhtik, yan -- hobn di poyerem zikh derfreyt -- dos iz es take. un mit hint ken er oykh umgeyn, tsegelek, nokh fun di [z. 102] tsaytn ven er iz a hunt-shleger geven. azelkhe kenen dem grestn hunt baykumen... fun veg iz der eltster fun dorf ongekumen, der "voyt". er iz gegangen mit gelasene trit, vi far an eltstn past. dos blekhl fun zayn amt iz geven tsugetshepet tsu der brust. di poyerem hobn zikh fanandergerukt un gemakht im a veg tsu der shtal. er hot batrakht di leydike shtal un gelozt hern zayn ofitsyel vort: -- aroysgefirt di ferd -- hot er gezogt fayerlekh, vi er volt a nays antdekt -- un keyn tseykhns zaynen nishto. mir zaynen nisht zikher mit di ferd in di shtaln. men darf zukhn bay tsegelekn. m'darf tsegelekn aynzetsn. s'gantse dorf laydt fun dem ganef! lomir geyn tsu tsegelekn! lomir geyn tsu tsegelekn -- hot der "voyt" gezogt. er iz gegangen fri eroys. lebn im, yan der shmid un Refoyl der milner. nokh zey di poyerem, tsu letst di vayber un di kinder. fun a zayt fun dorf, opgerukt fun ale hayzer, oyf a bergl iz geshtanen tsegeleks hayzl, ofn tsu ale vintn, on eyn shtikl ployt, on eyn beyml. far der tir iz geshtanen tsegelek un gehakt a krumen vortsl fun a boym, vos er hot oysgegrobn fun der erd. khotsh er hot gezen di mentshn derneentern zikh tsu zayn hoyz, hot er nisht umgekukt zikh oyf zey un vayter gehakt holts. ersht ven der hunt zayner hot genumen raysn zikh oyf dem keytl un mit vilder retsikhe biln oyf di onkumendike, hot er gelozt shtekn di hak in holts un ayngeshtilt dem hunt. -- tshikho, psha yukha! (shvayg, hintish blut) -- hot er ongeshrign oyf dem hunt un im gevorfn a shtikl holts. di poyerem hobn zikh derneentert, ober nit bagrist im mit dem geveynlekhn "zol zayn geloybt yezus khristus". tsegelek, a kurts-gevuksiker, a shtark-geboyter, vi a dembn-kletsl, mit a groyser glater tshuprine, vos falt im in di oygn arayn, hot mit [z. 103] feste fis ongeshpart zikh in der erd un batrakht di mentshn mit eyn oyg, a sharfs, a durkhdringlekhs un a klugs. dos tsveyte oyg iz geven bay im an oysgerunens, a royt shpeltl bloyz. der oylem hot gevart, er zol onheybn redn, ober tsegelek hot geshvign. der "voyt" hot zikh oysgehust, khotsh er hot es nisht gedarft, un ongehoybn redn: -- tsegelek, men hot di nakht bay Refoyl, dem milner aroysgefirt di ferd fun shtal. nu? - - hot tsegelek a brum geton. nu, zogt men, az dos iz dayn arbet, tsegelek. onshtot gebn an entfer, hot tsegelek gelasn aroysgenumen fun a khazersher bloz abisl makhorke, er hot fardreyt a papiros, ongeklapt tsvey tsind-shteyndlekh un farroykhert. ersht nokhn fartsien a hipsh bisl roykh un aroyslozndik es tsurik durkh dem moyl un der noz, hot er etlekhe getseylte verter aroysgezeyet: az ir vet zey gefinen bay mir, kent ir zey nemen. di poyerem hot oyfgekokht zayn gelasnkayt: zey nisht genumen, nor du -- hobn zey geshrign -- ale zogn azoy. tsegelek hot vider arayngetsoygn a hipsh bisl roykh: -zogn ken men oyf yedn -- hot er geredt gelasn -- afile oyfn galekh aleyn. fun zogn vert men nisht trogn . . . men darf gefinen oder hobn eydes. di poyerem zaynen nokh mer oyfgekokht gevorn. take derfar, vos er hot azoy glatik geredt, un zey hobn nisht gehat vos tsu entfern, zaynen zey nokh beyzer gevorn. der "voyt" hot breyt geefnt tsegeleks oreme shtal. a tsig hot oyf im gemeket fun dem shtal aroys. efsher iz dos dayne, rafal? -- hot tsegelek geshpot -- nem zi un melk zi oys. Refoyl hot di shvartse bord oysgekratst fun mel: -- her oys, tsegelek -- hot er gezogt -- di ferd zaynen bay mir tayere. finf un tsvantsik rubl in mezumonem vel ikh gebn, az [z. 104] men vet zey mir tsurik araynshteln in shtal arayn. ale mentshn hern. tsegelek hot oyf im gepintlt mitn blindn oygl. -- bist khitre, rafal, -- hot er gezogt mit has, -- ober tsegelek iz kliger fun dir. nisht ikh hob dayne ferd genumen, nisht ikh veys ver es hot zey genumen. er hot ongeshpign zikh in beyde hent un genumen hakn vayter dem krumen vortsl, nisht umkukndik zikh oyf di mentshn mer. di poyerem zaynen avek beyze fun bergl. zint etlekhe yor hobn zey gehat fun tsegelekn a sakh tsores oystsushteyn. zint er iz tsurikgekumen fun kriminal un zikh oyfn bergl bazetst, iz keyn menukhe nisht geven in dorf. do iz a lopate avekgekumen fun feld, oyb men hot zi fargesn arayntsunemen; do iz a hak farfaln gevorn; do hot a katshke gefelt fun der stade vos iz gekumen fun taykhl. punkt vi kleyne ganeyves, zaynen oykh gresere ganeyves ongegangen. a mol flegt a geshpan farshvindn fun shtal aroys. eyn mol hot men baym porets dos fentster baynakht geefnt, un dem goldenem zeyger aroysge|ganve|t; der galekh hot zikh geklogt, az in der kirkhe felt gelt fun der pushke. khotsh der "voyt" iz ale mol nokh yeder gneyve in dorf gegangen oyf s'nay zukhn bay tsegelekn un oyfsnay gornit gefunen, hobn ale gevust, az dos alts shtamt fun zayn hoyz; az di kleyne ganeyves makhn zayn vayb un kinder, un di groyse -- tsegelek aleyn. frier zaynen keynmol azelkhe zakhn nit forgekumen in dorf. tomer iz nokh geven vintsik di ganeyves, hot tsegelek oykh alerley andere shodns un shtiklekh dem dorf opgeton. eyn mol hot der yidisher kremer fun dorf gefunen in der fri, az emetser hot oysgeboyert a lekhl in fas naft, vos er hot gehat shteyn in feder-hayzl, un der gantser naft hot oysgerunen. khotsh men hot keynem nit gekhapt bay der hant, hot men gevust az dos hot tsegelek geton. dos hot er zikh noykem geven derfar, vos der kremer hot nisht gevolt gebn oyf borg zayn vayb a kvatirl naft farn lempl. es hot gefelt a hor, az dos gantse dorf zol [z. 105] opgeyn mitn fayer. an andersh mol flegt er ontsindn di ratsn, vos er hot gekhapt bay zikh in hoyz, un lozn zey brenendike loyfn iber di felder, un grod dan ven di trikenish iz groys. a sakh mol flegt er gor khoyzek makhn fun di poyerem, opnarn un makhn zey tsu laytns gelekhter. far di etlekhe yor tsayt hobn di poyerem nisht eyn mol gefodert baym "voyt", men zol dem tsegelek aroystraybn, di shvartse kretsike shof fun der reyner stade aroysnemen. ober der "voyt" hot gornit geton dertsu. -- az men hot im nisht gekhapt bay der hant, kon men gornisht nit ton -- hot er getaynet-azoy iz dos gezets. itst, nokh di ferd, vos m'hot aroysge|ganv|et fun Refoyl|s shtal aroys, hot dos blut bay alemen gekokht fun tsorn kegn tsegelekn. -- vos far an eltster bistu? -- hobn zey geshrign tsum "voyt" -- az du kenst dos dorf nisht ophitn fun shlekht|s? -- vos far a balebos bistu, az mir zaynen nisht zikher mit di ferd in di shtaln? der "voyt" a farlorener, a tsetumlter fun di geshreyen oyf im, iz geshtanen mit an aropgelozenem kop. plutslung hot er oysgeglikhn di brust, aroysgezetst dos blekhl fun zayn amt, un a klap geton mitn shtekn in dr'erd: -- vos shlepn zikh do di "babes" mit di kinder hinter di trit? -- hot er zikh genumen beyzern -- men ken keyn vort nisht oysredn -- aheym, vayber, aheym! di vayber hobn a blik gekhapt tsu di mener, tsu zukhn zeyer hilf, ober di mener hobn zey keyn hilf nisht gegebn. zeyere oygn zaynen geven beyz. hobn di vayber farshtanen, az zey zaynen iberik do, un zey hobn genumen di kinder un umvilik avek aheym. az di vayber zaynen shoyn geven hipsh dervaytert, hot der "voyt" oyfgehoybn di hant un gegebn a tseykhn, men zol im hern. -- mentshn -- hot er gezogt shtil -- di tsung tsvishn di tseyn haltn kent ir? -- az m'darf, vet men haltn -- hobn koyles geentfert. -- hert zhe, vos ikh red tsu aykh -- hot der "voyt" soydes|dik gezogt -- ikh ken tsegelekn gornisht ton. ikh hob gornisht gefunen. ober tsu vos darft ir mikh? poyerem darfn aleyn zikh [z. 106] kenen an eytse gebn mit a ganef, ikh vel fun gornisht nit visn . . . eyder emetser nokh hot a vort oysgeredt, hot der "voyt" zikh ayngeviklt in zayn broyner kapote un gikh avek. di poyerem hobn zikh ibergekukt: rikhtike reyd! shoyn lang gedarft ton. az di politsey git undz nisht keyn gerekhtikayt, veln mir aleyn zi nemen. -- poyerishe gerekhtikayt, brider! tsu tsegelekn tsurikgeyn! -- oproymen im, dem hintishn zun! di kishkes aroyslozn! yan der shmid hot oyfgehoybn a farshmirte, farkasherte hant. -- shrayt nisht ale vi di gendz -- hot er gezogt -- a zakh darf men ton barekhnt; keyner zol nisht visn, un nisht mit di bloyze hent. tsegelek iz a shleger, meglekh, az er hot a biks in shtub. -- rikhtik -- hobn di poyerem tsugegebn -- kluge reyd redstu, yan. der shmid hot a shmeykhl geton in zayne vontses arayn fun di shvokhem vos men git im, un gegebn bafeln vi an eltster. -- geyt yeder tsu zikh aheym -- hot er bafoyln -- un redt keyn vort nisht, afile far di eygene vayber nisht. baynakht, ven di vayber un kinder veln shoyn shlofn, nemt yeder in der hant vos es lozt zikh, a hak, a meser oder a shtekn un kumt zikh tsunoyf bay Refoyl|s mil. fun dort veln mir shtilerheyt avek tsu tsegelekn. az politsey vet tsumorgns kumen, zol keyner fun undz nisht visn gornisht. gedenkt zhe bay der mil trefn mir zikh! di poyerem zaynen shvaygndik zikh fanandergegangen yeder tsu zayn heym, tsu zayn arbet. Refoyl der milner iz avek tsu zikh. ober onshtot arayntsugeyn in mil, iz er arayn tsum vayb in kikh. beyle -- hot er gezogt shtil -- a nay umglik oyf mayn kop. beyle hot farbrokhn di hent, nokh eyder zi hot gevust epes. Refoyl hot ir a dershrokener dertseylt, vos men hot im ongezogt nisht tsu dertseyln. [z. 107] un mikh hobn zey gerufn mit zikh -- hot er mit shrek geredt -- vos tut men? Refoyl un zayn vayb zaynen gezesn shvaygndike. zey hobn gornisht gevust vos tsu ton. fun shtendikn voynen in di derfer, hobn zey gut gevust vos poyerem kenen opton, ven zey teylen oys gerekhtikayt. keyn shum rakhmones iz nishto ven zey trogn aroys a mishpet kegn a zindikn. iberhoypt zaynen zey biter, ven zey pakn a ferd-ganef. bislekhvayz der|harg|enen zey azelkhn. un khotsh Refoyl un zayn vayb hobn gegloybt, vi di iberike aynvoyner in dorf, az nit keyn anderer vi tsegelek hot zey di ferd aroysgefirt fun shtal aroys, hobn zey oyfgeshoydert fun gedank bloyz, az m'vet im der|harg|enen in der nakht. -- vey iz mir -- hot Refoyl geziftst -- a hak hobn zey mir ongezogt mittsunemen. khotsh Refoyl iz nisht geven keyn groyser lamdn, hot er gevust, az retsikhe iz dos ergste in der velt. in zayn gantsn lebn hot er keyn mol keyn blut nisht fargosn, nisht nur fun a mentshn, nor afile nisht fun keyn khaye. er hot afile nisht rekht fartrogn, ven di shkheynem flegn koyln a khazer un der khazer hot s'gantse dorf mit zayne koyles fartoybt. nokh vintsiker hot er gekent laydn, ven di poyerem in dorf flegn zikh a mol shiker|e tseshlogn un mit "klonitses" fun di vogns di kep zikh efenen. bay zayn gantsn koyekh, hot er gefilt an ekl tsu blut. afile ven er flegt a mol aropbrengen dem shtetlshn shoykhet tsu zikh in dorf un shekhtn a kelbl, hot er nit gekent tsukukn zikh tsu der shkhite. der shoykhet flegt im oysredn: -- az men makht a brokhe, filt di beheyme nisht keyn veytik, reb Refoyl -- hot er im gezogt. Refoyl hot dem shoykhet gegloybt, ober kukn fundestvegn vi men shekht a kolb, hot er nisht gekont. a khaloshes flegt oyf im onfaln. itst hobn di shkheynem im geheysn kumen mit a hak, optsuroymen a mentshn baynakht, di kishkes im aroystsulozn. -- vos tut men? vos tut men? -- hot er gefregt zikh aleyn, visndik gants gut az er hot nisht keyn tshuve. redn tsu di poyerem vegn rakhmones hot er nisht gekont. er hot [z. 108] gekent di shkheynem zayne, gevust, az khotsh zey haltn fun im, veln zayne reyd keyn pule nisht hobn. er vet zikh bloyz narish makhn, dos alts. opzogn zikh fun mitgeyn, hot avade keyn zin nisht gehat. zey veln im haltn far a pakhdn, vos hit zikh di eygene fel, ven ale andere shteln zikh ayn. dertsu hobn zey zikh ongenumen far im. tsulib zayne ferd vos men hot aroysgefirt fun shtal, viln zey tsegelekn oproymen. vos far a ponem vet es hobn, ven er vet zey azoy optsoln derfar. beyle hot aroysgenumen fun der kikh a top poredike kartofl un ongeshotn in leymene shislen. zi hot aroyfgenumen fun keler kalte zoyer-milkh un avekgeshtelt oyf dem tish. dertsu hot zi oykh a yunge tsibelke tseshnitn un farbrokt di heyse kartofl. di geshmake pare iz zikh tsegangen iber der kikh. Refoyl -- hot zi gezogt -- gey tsu esn. host nokh haynt in dayn moyl nisht gehat. Refoyl hot nisht gekont esn. a shvaygndiker iz er aroys in droysn. in hoyf iz nokh alts der ge|harg|eter hunt gelegn. Refoyl hot im avekgeshlept hintern hoyf un a tifn grub far im oysgegrobn. a mider fun grobn un fun agmesnefesh iz er in der mil arayn un zikh in di leydike zek arayngevorfn. -- got -- hot er gerufn, oyfheybndik di shvartse oygn tsu di oysgefoylte krokves -- helf mir, tate ziser in himl. er hot zikh ibergedekt mit a zak un shver ayngeshlofn. * * * a gantsn tog un a shtik in ovnt arayn iz Refoyl opgeshlofn in mil. ven di hint in dorf hobn ongehoybn shtark biln oyf der nakht, vos iz ongekumen, hot er oyfgeefnt di oygn un arumgekukt zikh arum zikh. durkh a nisht-farlatetn lokh in shindl-dakh hot a shtikl oysgeshternter himl arayngekukt. Refoyl hot zikh dermont, az er hot durkhgelozt a minkhe un arayn a moreshkhoyre|diker in shtub. beyle zayn vayb hot im vider gerufn esn: Refoyl, vest dokh faln fun di fis -- hot zi gezogt -- gey tsu un es epes op. -- kh'vel davnen mayrev -- hot Refoyl geentfert, un er hot zikh gevashn di hent. [z. 109] in mitn der shimenesre hot er derhert trit, vos derneentern zikh. er hot gikh opgezogt di shimenesre un aroysgekukt durkhn fentster. di ershte poyerem hobn genumen onkumen un zikh oysgezetst oyfn klots in hoyf. di fayerlekh fun zeyere makhorke-papirosn hobn geloykhtn un geloshn zikh in der tunklkayt. zey kumen on -- hot er gesheptshet -- vos tut men, beyle? a vayle iz beyle geshtanen a farshteynerte, mit beyde hent farleygt oyf der brust. bald iz ir a gedank ayngefaln. fun ir bobe der arendarke hot zi kindvayz nisht eyn mol gehert vi azoy zi flegt rateven dem zeydn, ven der porets flegt zikh on|shiker|n un gevolt im shlekht|s ton. shtendik flegt zi im in bet araynleygn, a heyse shtarts tsum boykh tsuleygn un ongezogt im, er zol krekhtsn, mit ale koykhes krekhtsn. ot der bobes eytse iz beylen itst in kop arayn. zi hot shnel tserudert dos shtroy in mans bet, etlekhe kishns avekgeleygt tsukopns, vi geveynlekh men makht far a krankn un Refoyl|n arayngevorfn unter dem iberbet. bizt krank -- hot zi im ongezogt -- herst! krank biztu, der boykh tut dir vey. Refoyl hot zikh geshemt: beyle, got iz mit dir -- hot er gemurmlt -- zey hobn dokh mikh in der fri gezen. red nisht un tsi beser arop di shtivl fun di fis -- hot beyle bafoyln. eyns un tsvey hot zi a khap geton a fayerke fun der kikh, ayngeviklt zi in shmates un tsugeleygt Refoyl|n tsum boykh; dernokh hot zi im ibergedekt un avekgezetst zikh oyfn breg bet lebn im. krekhts, -- hot zi im gezogt, -- vi got iz dir lib, Refoyl, krekhts. di shtimen in droysn hobn zikh alts mer gehert oyfn hoyf. bald hot zikh durkhgeshnitn a fayf. az keyner iz nisht aroys, zaynen di poyerem arayn in shtub. rafal -- hobn zey gerufn -- vu biztu? beyle hot zikh geshtelt lebn bet vi a shuts. -- Refoyl|n hot der boykh gekhapt -- hot zi gezogt a krekhtsndike [z. 110] kh'hob im shoyn etlekhe shtartsn tsugeleygt un es helft nisht. alts fun agmesnefesh iber di ferd, ot ligt er. di poyerem hobn gekukt oyf der shvartser bord zayner, vos hot aroysgekukt fun betgevant aroys, un shver geshvign. der shmid, mit a shtik ayzn in hant, hot opgedekt di perene. der boykh gekhapt -- hot er nokhgeshpet beylen -- mir ken men azelkhe zakhn nisht aynredn. ikh farshtey mikh oyf yidishe kuntsn. Refoyl hot derfilt an emesn veytik in di gederem: shkheynem, -- hot er gemurmlt, -- hob ikh aykh shoyn a mol opgenart? yan hot mit kaas tsugedekt im tsurik mit dem iberbet: gleybt im nisht mentshn -- hot er gezogt tsu di poyerem -- dos vil er zikh oysdreyen fun mitgeyn, der yid . . . opteyln zikh fun dorf vi a fremder. beyle hot beyde hent farbrokhn: mentshn hartsike -- hot zi ongehoybn redn. yan hot ir ibergerisn: -- shvayg, beyle -- hot er gezogt mit tsorn -- mir'n aleyn geyn. ober mir'n es gedenken -- kumt, mentshn! kumt! -- hobn di poyerem gezogt, un aroysgeshpart zikh fun shtub. in der shtiler oysgeshternter nakht hobn di poyerem fun lyeshnovke tsvey mishpotem aroysgegebn iber mentshn, vos kenen nit zayn mit der eyde: dem ganef tsegelek hot men der|harg|et, mit drenger dos harts untergehakt. Refoyl dem milner hot men mit shteyner di shoybn fun shtub oysgeshlogn. glaykh oyf tsu morgns hot Refoyl genumen zukhn a koyne oyf zayn mil un di felder. -- kh'vel farkoyfn in mekekh -- hot er gezogt tsu di meklers -- kh'vil ariber tsu yidn in shtot. --------------------------------------------- End of _The Mendele Review_ 03.011 Leonard Prager, editor Subscribers to _Mendele_ (see below) automatically receive _The Mendele Review_. Send "to subscribe" or change-of-status messages to: listproc@lists.yale.edu a. For a temporary stop: set mendele mail postpone b. To resume delivery: set mendele mail ack c. To subscribe: sub mendele first_name last_name d. To unsubscribe kholile: unsub mendele ****Getting back issues**** _The Mendele Review_ archives can be reached at: http://www2.trincoll.edu/~mendele/tmrarc.htm