Yeshiva

“ For the sum of his learning will be as naught against her own, and who dare assure us that he will not be left sitting before her like a pupil before a master? And will she not say that in our Yeshiva we study Torah only to make that [Pg 24] which is sinful appear pure? Therefore I say to you that in order to triumph over Beruriah one must be the most illustrious. And who is most illustrious if not he who can add to his personal gifts and to his own good name the pedigree of his noted family? Our master, Rabbi Mayer, Beruriah’s husband, is endowed with many virtues. ”

“ He was my great chum at the seminary. The students called him Tidy Naphtali or simply the Tidy One. He was a slender, trim lad, his curly brown hair and his near-sighted eyes emphasizing his Talmudic appearance. He was the cleanliest and neatest boy at the yeshivah. This often aroused sardonic witticism from some of the other students. Scrupulous tidiness was so uncommon a virtue among the poorer classes of Antomir that the painstaking care he bestowed upon his person and everything with which he came in contact struck many of the boys as a manifestation of girl-like squeamishness. ”

“ Look not so frightened, we are neither fowlers nor birds of prey; we wish thee no evil, but great good. Come, the Tsar awaits thee and will choose thee for Tsaritsa if thou put not on that scared look!’
Poor Vera glanced at the Superior, who followed behind her Highness, but the old woman shook her head; tears were in her eyes, and she sobbed as she said, ‘Nay, child, I can do no more for thee; they have broken into this House of Peace. ”

“ I would rather she were not here.’
‘Here is the minx, Vera Kurbatof,’ said the Regent, smiling nevertheless kindly upon Vera, and shaking her finger at her; ‘she who shrinks from us, Ivan. Dost know why she has done this? Because she knows that a bride is the more valued the more difficult has been her wooing and her winning. Doubt not she pines for thee, Golúbchick; she longs to be Tsaritsa and to sit beside thee in the highest seat.’
Vera said not a word, but stood with her eyes upon the floor at her feet.
‘Is it so, Vera?’ said the Tsar. ‘Speak truth and fear not. ”

“ If we do not hear its laughter, neither do its moans distress our ears.’
‘Nevertheless, good mother,’ said Vera, ‘I{156} would sooner remain in the world. God may be served without these walls as well as within them.’
‘That is both true and untrue. But remain in the world by all means, pretty: who would prevent thee? Moreover, we are most of us disappointed women—we have had our sorrows, our bereavements, our sins, many of us, and therefore we are here. You, I doubt not, have reason enough for desiring neither to be Tsaritsa nor to enter sanctuary ”

“ Vera considered a while, then she spoke.
"I think we will go out of Moscow; there is no longer any reason to stay here. The smoke hangs over the city in every direction; already there is more fire than all Napoleon's men can extinguish; within a fortnight the rats must make their bolt."
"We have done something, certainly, but it is not yet time to go—not for me; for you it is different; go, in God's name, Vera; I will do your work and mine. In the face of this man's insult I cannot leave Moscow."
"Yes—that is true; you cannot; we will stay, then, Sasha ”

“ Praskovia Soltikof had grown pale, but she{277} kept her wits. ‘Fear nothing, Ivan,’ she said. ‘This poor maiden would strike me, not thee; she is mad for jealousy. Do not kill her, Streltsi. Bethink thyself, Olga, only one can win; it is the will of God. I have done thee no injury except to gain the prize before thee.’
‘Is not that enough, she-devil?’ shrieked Olga, struggling in the hands of the Streltsi who had seized her. ‘You have gained the prize not by merit but by wicked arts——’
‘I have won because the Tsar has chosen me,’ said Praskovia, and here the Regent interrupted. ”

“ I speak French so easily, you see, that I shall pass as a Frenchwoman in case of need; for the rest, I am not at all afraid, and I belong, moreover, to the patriotic guild and am bound to watch for opportunities to serve our beloved Russia."
"There can be none, Vera, believe me, that a woman can safely employ. For God's sake be persuaded to leave the city."
Vera shook her head.
"No, Sasha, I am not to be persuaded. I shall be safe. I am well armed, and these two faithful old servants who have chosen to stay with me are armed also ”

“ Yezibaba said. “But wait until my son comes. He may be able to tell you something. Yes, yes, I’ll manage to save you somehow. Go hide under the besom and stay there until I call you.”
The mountains rumbled and the castle trembled and Yezibaba whispered to the prince that her son was coming.
“Phew! Phew! I smell human meat! I’ll eat it!” shouted Yezibaba’s son while he was still in the [Pg 60] doorway. He struck the ground with his leaden club and the whole castle shook.
“No, no, my son, don’t talk that way. It’s true there is a pretty youth here, but he’s come to ask you about something.” ”

“ Markof led the way to the spot in which Sasha had fallen. Amid the dead and dying around they found Paul de Tourelle dozing, but Sasha had disappeared. Paul opened his eyes at the sound of their voices.
"Ah! the fair Vera," he said; "I am glad I have lived long enough to see you; I am desolate, Mademoiselle, by reason of your treatment of me, yet I forgive you. Your friend Maximof has been taken by Russian peasants to the village yonder; me they left, after bestowing a great whack upon my head with a bludgeon—Maximof is alive; he——" Paul's head drooped and he closed his eyes. ”

“ The Countess Maximof presently received a letter from a relative in Moscow. "Come quickly," her cousin wrote; "you are the favoured of fortune; Sasha has arrived, slightly wounded—do not be afraid, it is a mere bagatelle, a bullet scratch in the left arm; he is busy recruiting—a very important billet, my dear, and the appointment is the highest compliment to so young a man! Sasha is too busy to write, but he begs me to say that he hopes to see you here, and also—if she is with you—Vera Demidof, who has of course returned from Paris." The Countess went straight to Vera with her letter. ”

“ They were to be married in a month; they love one another; it is hard for them. If you were generous you would furnish a substitute for Karl."
"Mon Dieu, Louise, is it you that talk thus, you?" exclaimed the old man; "then indeed I do not recognise my own child. A substitute, when the Emperor has called him to arms? Shame!"
"It will break Marie's heart, be sure of that; she has been a good daughter to you, father; it is due to her that you should assist her in this emergency. Karl has no money to pay for a substitute—you have plenty. Let him stay a while at least with his wife. ”

“ The cowardly governor Inayet Khan, who had run into the fort in Tuesday night, formed an infamous plot from his safe refuge. On Thursday he sent a young follower of his to Shivaji with pretended terms of peace. These were so manifestly unreasonable that Shiva scornfully asked the envoy, "Your master is now cooped up in his chamber like a woman. Does he think of me too as a woman that he expects me to accept such terms as these?" The young man immediately replied, "We are not women; I have something more to say to you;" and whipping out a concealed dagger he ran full at Shivaji 's breast. ”

“ From this aspect, the Jewish people are obligated to dedicate themselves to the love of the Almighty, as it is written, "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul." As we learn in the chapter about the one who foresees, even if He takes your soul.
In Sifrei, Shimon ben Azzai says, "Love Him with all your soul," as we find with Rabbi Akiva, as mentioned in the chapter on the one who foresees. When they took Rabbi Akiva out for execution, it was the time to recite the Shema. ”

“ Being in an hospital, and possessed of a strong constitution, Shiv struggled through the disease, and so was not numbered among the numerous victims to attendance at the great melá.
From that time Shiv Dás altogether lost all faith in the Hindu creed. "The religion which leads men to believe that bathing in a river can remove sin, and so leads to an appalling amount of disease, misery, and vice, cannot be from a good God, but from some wicked spirit, enemy of man!" he exclaimed.
A few years afterwards, as we have seen, Shiv Dás, the Hindu, became Isa Dás, the Christian. ”

“ Vera replied. "My mother looks upon the betrothal as binding, I know. The law and the Church both would have something to say before the contract could be broken."
"Well, let us see first what he is like; if he should be an impossible, without doubt both the Church and the law will listen to reason. What, are two people to be bound to one another for life if they desire it not? God forbid!"
"Maybe we shall both desire it when we meet, who knows?" Vera laughed. "We are talking in the dark, since Sasha and I have not met for many years. ”

“ For forty years yonder man has prayed to us, and yet there be only a few grains of rice and some broken cowries before him after all. Men's hearts will be hardened by this thing." And Shiv said, "It shall be looked to," and so he called to the temple which was the temple of his son, Ganesh of the elephant head, saying, "Son, there is a mendicant without who is very poor. What wilt thou do for him?" Then that great elephant-headed One awoke in the dark and answered, "In three days, if it be thy will, he shall have one lakh of rupees." Then Shiv and Parbati went away. ”

“ Shiv Dás never felt any remorse or shame for his lying till he met with, and had much talk with a follower of the God of Truth. He saw a man whose character, compared to his own, was as the pure stream to the stagnant pool, a man who would not have told a lie to save his own life. Shiv Dás at first thought this man a fool, but after nearer acquaintance reverenced him as a saint. The Hindu listened as the teacher told of Christ the Great Physician, whose touch was healing, whose words were wisdom, and whose gift is life eternal. Gradually on the Hindu doctor broke the light of Truth. ”

“ This is no Bráhman, this is some god come to deceive me, for such things often happen in this world.
Story of king Śivi:--So in former times there was a king named Śivi, self-denying, compassionate, generous, resolute, the protector of all creatures; and in order to beguile him Indra assumed the shape of a hawk, and swiftly pursued Dharma,* [10] who by magic had transformed himself into a dove. The dove in terror went and took refuge in the bosom of Śivi. Then the hawk addressed the king with a human voice; 'O king, this is my natural food, surrender the dove to me, for I am hungry. ”

“ Tzevi immediately took advantage of so favourable an opportunity, proclaimed himself to be the Messiah, and promised the Jews a glorious [Pg 444] kingdom, in which they should enjoy peace and prosperity. He pretended to work miracles, and reproached some of his followers with wilful blindness, because they would not own that they had seen him rise up into the air! The multitude believed in Tzevi, but many of the better instructed and more intelligent Jews condemned him as an impostor, and would gladly have put him to death, could they have done so. ”

“ It may seem strange that a religion whose outward ceremonies though unassuming and modest consist chiefly of the worship of the linga, should draw its adherents largely from the educated classes and be under no moral or social stigma. Yet as an idea, as a philosophy, Śivaism possesses truth and force. ”

“ The Śaivas have considerable resemblance to the Theistic Sánkhya; they hold that God, souls, and matter are from eternity distinct entities, and the object of philosophy is to disunite the soul from matter and gradually to unite it to God. Śiva is the chief deity of the system, and the relation between the three is quaintly expressed by the allegory of a beast, its fetters, and its owner. Paśupati is a well-known name of Śiva, as the master or creator of all things. ”

“ He who goes from the Synagogue to the lecture-room, and from the lecture-room back to the Synagogue, will become worthy to receive the presence of the Shechinah; as it is written (Ps. lxxxiv. 1) , "They go from strength to strength; every one of them in Zion appeareth before God." (Moed Katan, fol. 29, col. 1.)
Rabbi Yossi says, "The Shechinah never came down here below, nor did Moses and Elijah ever ascend on high, because it is written (Ps. cxv. 16) , 'The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord's, but the earth hath he given to the children of men.'" (Succah, fol. 5, col. 1.) ”

“ Vera laughed, "if only to prove to you, Madame, that Alexander Petrovitch and myself shall need but one interview to assure ourselves that neither is anxious to be bound by the foolish betrothal of a dozen years ago!"
"Well, we shall see, we shall see; meanwhile you will come, and that is good. We shall travel in my own Dormese; in three days we shall be in Moscow. We shall not journey by night, for I would have you look your sweetest when Sasha sees you; poor lad, he will not be at his best—wounded and perhaps ill with fever ”

“ But Sweep shook his head. "It is not suitable that I should fight for Empress Yelva," he replied. "My black face fits me for naught but my trade of sweeping down tall chimneys."
"But you are wrong, Sweep," argued Master Jasper; "a black face in battle is no great mat [Pg 198] ter. Stout hearts and strong arms are sorely needed. Come, and we shall march and fight together as brothers."
Again Sweep shook his head. "Indeed, good Master Jasper," answered he, "I wish with all my heart that I might fight with thee against this savage tribe and aid the lovely Empress Yelva; but alas! ”