THE JEWISH CHRONICLE

The only Jewish publication in the State of Michigan
Devoted to the interests of the Jewish people

Vol. I. No.

$1.50 per Year

DETROIT, MICH., APRIL 14, 1916

7

Singe Copies 5 Cents

The Value of a Shadow

By Rabbi Max Merritt, Evmsville, Ind.

Do you know the story of Peter
Schlemiel, the story that has given
the word Schlemiel its connotation
of unlucky fool for all time? The
story is that l'eter Schlemiel, a
peasant boy, leaves his village for
the nearest city, there to seek his
fortune, his only assets a meagre
pack and a letter of introduction to
a certain rich man in the city. Ile
arrives and, inquiring his Way sets
out to present his letter of introduc-
tion. I lis directions lead him to a
splendid marble mansion, set in a
beautiful and noble park. Ile is
admitted and, as fortune would
have it, the master himself is show-
ing a company of ladies and gentle-
men, his guests, over his magnifi-
cent preserves. . The peasant boy
presents his letter very humbly, is
received in a lordly and supercili-
ous manner. and is forgotten the
moment after he is bidden to follow
the party in its excursion over the
grounds.
Then the astonished Schlemiel is
treated to a succession of strange
and incomprehensible incidents.
Ile notices attached to the'splendid
and richly dressed party, a little
gray shabby old man, whom no one
else seems to pay the least attention
to. Ile carries a little pouch at his
side, and marvels of that pouch
strike the poor peasant boy dumb
with wonder. The party in its
walk over the grounds, comes out
on a point that gives a splendid
view over the ocean, and the mas-
ter of the park calls for telescope
to focus a tiny white spot far out
on the waters. Silently the little
old man steps forward and draws
from his pouch a giant telescope
with which the party make out a
great ship on the edge of the hori-
zon. But no one but the Schlemiel
seems to be surprised that the great
telescope could be drawn from that
little pouch. That is only a begin-
ning. A moment later comes a call
for refreshments, - and from the
pouch the little unregarded Old man
produces a varietyOf food and fruit
from every clime that seems to as-
tonish no one but Peter Schlemiel.
And so one marvel after another
comes out of the magic pouch ; a
costly Turkish carpet to protect the
party from the damp, a pavilion to
• shade them from the sun, until the
awe-struck Schlemiel, sensing
something uncanny in all this, slips
away from the party in the hope
that he may get away . unseen.
But he has scarcely gone a hun-
dred steps when he finds himself

,

David A. Brown.

The pronounced success of. the
recent' mass 'meeting at Arcadia
Hall, where close to $125,000. the
third largest amount subscribed . at
a single meeting in the Vnited
States, was raised in less than two
hours, still forms the topic of fa-
vorable comment throughout the
country. _ Few people, however,
realize the..partplayed by one man
in making the result possible. That
man is David A. BroWn.
Mr. Brown has furnished a note-
worthy example in devotion and
sacrifice, one which other Detroit
Jews would do well to strive to
emulate. When some months ago
a group of fifty of the representa-
tive Jewish men of the community
met to plan for a city-wide cam-
paign to raise $100,000 for the re-
lief of the Jews in the - War Zone,
David A. Brown .stepped forward
and laid his time, energy and capa-
bilities at the service of the Cause.
Though the full import of this step

on the part of Mr. Brown could not
be realized until now, even at that
time the Committee was in some
measure conscious of the signifi-
cance of his action. Mr, Henry M.
Butzel, chairman of the committee
in charge of the relief Work, de-
clared at the first meeting of that
committee that "the success of the
enterprise is now assured since Da-
vid A. I trown has consented to take
active charge of the campaign."
David A. Brown carried into the
relief work the same boundless
energy and systematic efficiency
which has made him one of the
leading business men of the city.
He laid aside the affairs of his
business and for a period of over a
month devoted all of his energies
towards making the relief campaign
a success.
Detroit Jews owe a debt of grati-
tude to David A. Brown, a debt
which they are quite willing to ac-
knowledge.

face to face with the little old man
himself, who bows obsequiously to
the peasant boy. In answer to
l'eter Schlemiel's nervous question
as to what the little old man would
have of him, the mysterious old
man answers : "I noticed that you
have a good-looking and NI; el 1 - p ro
portioned shadow. I want that
shadow. i am willing to give in
exchange • for it this magic pouch,
which twill be always full of gold no
matter how much you take out of
it. Peter Schlemiel can hardly 'be-
lieve his ears. Before his eves fleets
a golden vision, gold, gold without
count, and in return for it his
shadow, to which he attached not
the slightest value. Before the old
man could say another word, Peter
Schlemiel has clinched the bargain.
And in another moment the pouch
is his and the little old man, kneel-
ing down, cuts the shadow from his
feet, rolls it up and disappears.
Peter plunges his hand into the
pouch and draws out a handful of
gold. Reassured, he strolls out on
the highway. Ile is aroused from
his dreams of wealth by a passerby
calling out, "Hey, there, where's
your shadow'" :\ moment later
two women pass, and pointing at
him, cry, "Look, there goes a man
without a shadow." A crowd of
boys coming home from school hear
the cry and drive him down the
road with showers of stones and
the cry, "All decent men - should
have a shadow."
That is the beginning , of the
wretched Schlemiel's troubles.
Wherever he goes he is scorned and
taunted and pointed out as the man
without a shadow. There . is no rest
and peace for him. He wanders
from city to city and village to vil-
lage. He surrounds himself with
everything that the gold of his
magic pouch can buy, but whether
in secret or public, there is always
mockery and contempt and scorn
for the man who has sold his
shadow. His wealth, his generos-
ity-, his acquired culture, cannot
blind the people he meets to the
. fact that he is a monstrosity, a man
without a shadow. And with pleas-;
tires vitiated, life embittered and
future empty, Peter Schlemiel real-
izes at last the wretched bargain he
has made, realizes the full worth of
the formerly unprized, unhonored
and unvalued shadow. In a ht of
despair he throws the magic purse
far from • him, and plunging into
the depths of the forests, never
again returns to the'hattrits of .tnen.