PARTISAN REVIEW
271
Mark Mirsky
From DOWN BLUE HILL AVENUE
"I'm a Rabbi, not a prophet. But don't take it so hard.
Children come back. We were talking about Isaac. You know, Mrs.
Blatz, Isaac lived! Believe me. He had a son, Jacob."
Rabbi Lux leaned forward. "Isaac lived. And he had a son,
Jacob. A good fellow, maybe you heard of him? He had the same
name as your late husband - Jacob."
Mrs. Blatz shook her head. She hadn't heard of the other
Jacob. But she wiped some of the tears out of her eyes. "What
about this Jacob?" she asked hoarsely.
"God blessed Jacob with a son. Not just one son. But one son
especially - Joseph. Just like you, this son Jacob loved with all
his heart. An apple this little Yoselle was to him. Jacob was crazy
about him ..."
"Crazy?" said Mrs. Blatz, looking at the Rabbi. "He was crazy,
I'm crazy."
"You're not crazy," said Rabbi Lux, interrupting her, his voice
rising. "About children everyone is crazy. You have to
be,
believe
me. Jacob was crazy about Joseph. His heart ached with love just
to see him. Jacob always had his eye on him. Nothing was too good
for Yosselle. He ran out to get him a coat. A coat of many colors
he got him. In those days, it was something, a coat of many colors.
The best of everything for Yosselle. Just like you ran to do the best
for Harvey. And if that's crazy, it's all right!"
"What happened?" asked Mrs. Blatz, beginning to get anxious
about this Yosselle.
"Vey," sighed Rabbi Lux. "One day, Jacob let Joseph out of
his sight. A growing boy, you can't lock him up. And the next
minute, before Jacob knew what was happening, they bring back
the coat of many colors. Right away, Jacob recognizes it. A coat
like that you don't see every day. But his heart faints as he looks
at it. Blood allover it. And the cloth is in shreds. It's a rag. What
happened? A beast of the field, a lion or a wolf, something terrible,
went and ate Yosselle. Oy! Jacob is sick. He starts to cry. He
weeps. He tears his garments. He heaps ashes on his head. He sits
