Page Eight

THE JEWISH NEWS

PASSOVE

Friday, March 30, 1945

GIFT

The Prophet Elijah

A Short Story By DAVID MORDECAI

T

HE BLONDE, slim salesgirl's brow
was knit. She stood behind the counter
marked "Current Fiction" and stared hard
at the customer browsing in the juvenile
book department. Somewhere she had
seen the youthful-looking, well-groomed
and excitingly handsome man before. If
only he would look sideways so that she
might get a good look at his profile . .

Why! of course—it was Arthur Brad-
field, author of "I'm Telling All," which
had already sold over a million copies less
than six months after publication.

Francine, for that was her name, left
her post behind the best-sellers, where
Mr. Simon, of Simon's Central Bookstore,
had stationed her. She was seemingly
calm as she came close to Mr. Bradfield,
but her cheeks were slightly pink.

She cleared her throat. "Can I help
you, Mr. Bradfield?"

Name Changed by Agent
Arthur Bradfield, whose name had been
changed from Bedansky by his literary
agent, was a pleasant, affable novelist
whose success had not gone to his head.
"Well," he replied, "the fact is that I heard
Simon's has a big selection of Passover
books."

Francine became alerted. She was hep
on the Passover books department. She
was determined to prove her superb sell-
ing ability. Feeling elated at the turn of
events, she lopped her arm lightly through
Mr. Bradfield's, and said cheerily, "Come
right this way. We have a really fine
selection."

The Passover volumes were located be-
hind the stairway. Before Mr. Bradfield,
embarrassed but not angered by Fran-
cine's familiarity—for she had begun now
to speak about how much she enjoyed
"I'm Telling All"—before she had reached
the Pesach-dige books, his eye had caught
sight of an elderly man, short and stooped,
reading and browsing. The man was clean
but poorly clothed and seemed to have
about him a certain air. Pride, perhaps,
Bradfield thought.

Bradfield's search for interesting char-
acters, for these were the tools with which
he constructed best-selling novels, made
him pause and observe the oldster for a
few minutes.

He nudged Francine (much to her de-
light). "Who is that man?" he asked.

Just Some Old Fellow
"Oh, some old fellow who's in the store
almost every day. He keeps going through
the books but never buys one. Mr. Simon
doesn't mind. He figures the fellow is
penniless."

Bradfield had already excused himself
and cautiously he approached the elderly
book-lover.

"I beg your pardon," he said. He smiled
pleasantly at the puzzled intelligent face
that looked up. "I understand that I've
found my better."

The old man peered at Bradfield for a
moment. Then he shut the book and re-
placed it carefully. He slipped off his
glasses. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well, I'm great on books myself, but
from what the salesgirl says you're much
greater."

"Y-yes, I suppose I do like books very
much. Except these new-fangled novel-
ists. God, what stuff they turn out! Like
this fellow Bradfield. Why, in my day no
self-respecting publisher would even look
at more than the first chapter. Why, there's
no writing in today's books. I read a lot,
you're right, and you can give me the old
days of good books any time." The oldster's
sharp, brown eyes seemed to dance in
time to his tongue.

By JACOB FICHMAN
(Translated from the Hebrew by Gabriel Preil)

Bradfield said, "Certainly, books today
are different. The writing is crisp, snappy
and tight. Every word says something.
It's a new kind of writing because there's
a new kind of life."

"Tell me, Mr.

Seder-night, night telling of bliss,
The land is at rest in solemn peace,
The moon is white upon entrances,
Vagrant blow clean April winds.
Whose the shade moving there? So silently stirring,
T'is be—The Prophet Elijah.

," he paused.

"Uh, Bedansky."

Were a man to throw open his door
To the wayfarer and the hungry,
And, friend-like, bid glad welcome
To the stranger, to the humble—
Elijah to him his steps would turn;
From his glass sip, him offer benediction.

"All right, Mr. Bedansky. Did you ever
read any best-sellers of the '20s. Like
`Madame Brett'?"

"Yes, I did, as a matter of fact. It was
all right in its day but it's outdated.
Things change, you know."

None there is who knows, none is a listener.
Like a dream, Elijah is roving.
A hush. Stillness. Just waiting,
The glass of wine brightly gleaning.
Only the candle aquiver; be then approaches:
"Be thou blessed, Elijah."

Public's Taste Changes
"You're wrong. The writer of that book
is still as good as he ever was. It's the
public's taste that has become bad."

Bradfield smiled ever so slightly. He
offered a cigaret to his new friend, who
waved it away, and lit one himself. He
inhaled deeply.

"Well, let's not go into that or we'll
start arguing. I've enjoyed your conver-
sation too much to let it be spoiled now.
As a matter of fact," he said, reaching for
his wallet, "I wonder if you'd permit me
to show my appreciation for your remarks
—may I present a book or two to you?"

The old man's expression changed in-
stantly. It was as though he had been
slapped in the face. He began to button
his overcoat.

"Young man, there's no need for your
gift. Don't think I can't afford to buy as
many books as I please." He pulled on
a pair of worn woolen gloves.

(Copyright, 1945, by Independent Jewish Press Service, Inc.)

Jewish Quiz Box
for Passover

By RABBI SAMUEL J. FOX

(Copyright, 1945, Jewish
Telegraphic Agency)

Q.

A

.

"But," he continued, "if you wish to
-make a purchase of a book, I suggest you
buy something worthwhile, like 'Madame
Brett'?"

Clumsy Gesture of Charity
Bradfield was at a loss. He felt as
though he couldn't have hurt the old man
more than by his clumsy gesture of charity.

"As a matter of fact," the old man went
on, "I think I'll buy one of this Brad-
field's new books. Good day to you, Mr.
Bedansky."

His head protruding slightly forward
the old man approached the cashier's Win-
dow. Bradfield saw him fumble with a
small change purse, heard the coins add
up to $2.50 and saw the old man walk out
without turning. "I'm Telling All" was
tucked under his arm.

Bradfield sauntered back to a bewil-
dered Francine. "Could I have a copy of
`Madame Brett?' " he asked her. She
hurried off to the stockroom while he
picked up the Passover books that she had
collected from him and began to thumb
through them, lost in thought and vastly
annoyed with himself.

He looked at its thin binding, small
print and ornately designed title, "Madame
Brett." He turned to the frontispiece and
saw opposite it a woodcut of a singularly
handsome man in his forties. It was the
old man of a few minutes ago.

Francine said, "I remember this book
now. It was a big hit about 20 years ago,
but the author never wrote another."

Why was the name "Seder" given to the entire ritual
of Passover Eve?

A.

There are a number of reasons given for this title. The word in
itself comes from a Hebrew root meaning "order" or "procedure."
There are writers who claim that the meditations propounded on the
evening of the Passover through the means of the Haggadah are to
be taken as the "order" of life the year around. Our prayers. our
festivals and even our Sabbath rituals revert back to the occasion
of the exodus and are captioned "lecher Leyitzias Mitzrayim." (A
reminder of the Exodus from Egypt). The morals implied in these
miraculous events were meant to impress the daily living of man.
Others attribute the name to the fact that the feasting, drinking and
merrymaking for the night were directed in an orderly moderated
fashion implying the great ideal that ultimate freedom cannot be en-
joyed without "order." In spite of all the reasons usually given it
seems to me that the name "Seder" was attributed to the ritual much
the same as the name "Sidur" was given to our traditional prayer
book. •Both of these names come from the same root and are merely
intended to imply the fact that such was the order or procedure of
the respective service of each.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

"Yes," Bradfield mused seriously, "yes,
he was a one-novel writer. Poor chap."

"Have you selected your Passover gift
book yet?" Francine asked.

Bradfield shook his head. "No. No,
as a matter of fact I'll just take this. It—
it's sort of a Passover gift to myself."

(Copyright, 1945, Jewish Telegraphic Agency).

The Haggadah in the form that we have It today is not the work
of one author—much the same as our prayer book certainly wasn't
the literary creation of - one individual. Neither was either of the
two the product of one generation. - The Haggadah is rather an
edited collection of liturgical writings and sayings, the earliest of
which seems to be accepted as of about the year 8 C. E. (excluding
Biblical quotations) in the days of the Tannaim, the students of the
saintly Rabbi Jochanan Ben Zakkai. After additions from the later
Amoraim and the Post-Talmudic writers it is generally believed
that the present collection was compiled and edited either by or at
least at the time of Rab Amram (850 C. E.) who is generally con-
sidered the redactor of the daily liturgy. The first printed Haggadah
is said to have come out in the year 1486.

Q.

He had almost become interested in a
beautiful illustrated copy of the Haggadah
when Francine returned.

Recognizes the Old Man
"This is certainly very old. You're lucky
we have a good cataloguing system." She
handed him the volume.

Who was the author of the Haggadah and when was
it written?

Q.

A.

Why is it customary for the children
nuts on the Passover Holiday?

to play with

The earliest origin of this custom seems to be the saying of Rabbi .
Judah in the Talmud (Pesachim). "What value is there for the chil-
dren in wine. so give them nuts on the eve of the Passover so that
they will not fall asleep but rather ask questions (relating to the
Seder ceremony)." It should be noted that no holiday of the year
emphasizes the part of the children as much as the Passover holiday.
Many quaint customs were introduced into the Seder ceremony to
retain the interest and arouse the curiosity of the children. such as
the stealing of the Afikomon, the four questions, according to some
authorities the dippings. etc. The general trend dates back to the
Biblical insistence that the Passover holiday be handed down through
the generations. '..If thy son shall ask thee tomorrow." Perhaps the
newly created "project method" • of education was realized long ago
by our sages when they sought to organize the Passover eve as a
means of educating the children with the great past of the Jewish
People. It was hence, that nuts were supplied to the children for
this very reason. Some writers even give a mystical interpretation for
the nuts, i.e. the Hebrew word for nut, "Egoz," has the numerical
value of the Hebrew letter "Toy." which means "good." when count-
ing the respective numerical letter value in each. The nuts were, hence,
the symbol of "good."

Why is it customary to eat a hard-boiled egg on the
eve of Passover?

Some writers consider this act as a reminder of the destruction of the
Temple. It should be remembered, in this vein of thinking, that the
mourners upon returning home from the funeral eat a hard-boiled
egg. The egg, then, represents the omen of mourning. Many protest
this interpretation, however, and offer another which is, as a rule,
universally accepted. It is recorded that the Egyptians, because of
some superstition. would abstain from eating eggs with meat. Upon
attaining their freedom, the Jews displayed their bold assertion in
their belief in C-d and their disbelief in Egyptian superstitions by
eating hard-boiled eggs on Passover, the festival of - liberation.

Why are three "matzos"
Passover ceremony?

put on the fable in the
:Pr

In the actual ceremony it should be noted that each of the three has
a special function. On the top one is made the special blessing for
Matzos. The center one is used to break off the "Afikomon" as well
as to pronounce the usual blessing for bread._ The lower one is used
for the ceremony of eating the Matzoh and the bitter herb together.
Many relate the three matzos to the three-fold classification of the
Jews, ie. the Priests, the Levites and the Israelites. As a matter of
fact each respective "Matzoh" is named after each one of these three
classes. Others relate to the Biblical narrative of the three measures
of grain which Abraham summoned for his guests.

What is the object of the four cups of wine at the
Seder?

Many as well as varied reasons have been advanced throughout the
ages for this impressive part of the ceremony. The Talmud considers
it as symbolic of the four different expressions found in the Pentateuch
for the act of redemption. i.e., "withdrawal," "rescue," "redemption"
and ''take ye unto me." Much has been said about the deep signifi-
cance of categorizing redemption into these four features signifying,
not only bodily and physical Freedom but also social and Spiritual
Freedom. Another Talmudist refers the four cups back to the four
goblets of Pharoah as mentioned in the Bible at different times. Still
others refer it to the four governments that enslaved Jewish people
during the course of their history, i.e., Egypt, Greece, Rome and Persia.

