LESLIE EPSTEIN
57
not be deli vered directl y into th e hea then 's hand , it may be put on a
SLOne within hi s reach . T hus, by an alogy-"
"1 kn ow!" Kl een interru p ted. " We can write the li st and leave it on
the table!"
"A perfect soluti on !"
T he Pshisker descendant : "Not so perfecl. A loaf is a loaf and no t a
person . Why is thi s di stincti on important ? First, because the fo rmer is
not capabl e of feeling pain , but the laller is. Second, because one loaf is
exactl y like ano ther, whil e no two peopl e are the same. With the bread
there is no true process of selecti on ."
Another d isappointmenl. T he tea rs, whi ch had nea rl y sLOpped,
started aga in . T he sun , meanwhile, was f1 allenin g out at the bOllom,
and looked like a Bulga ri an ha t.
Rabbi Wolf-Kitzes bri ghtened once more: " Do no t despa ir. T he
one-hundred loaves reminded me of th e one- hundred women ! T he
hea then demands tha t of thi s number he be g iven one to use for hi s
pleasure, o therwi se the whole community sh all be defil ed. T he ruling
is that no woman may be surrendered-except tha t one who is already
unclean , since tha t would do her lilli e ha rm."
Baggelman : " 1 do not understand. Are we
to
write down th e names
of fifty harl o ts?"
Nomberg: " No, no. T he prin ciple is, one may a llow the def il ed
LO
be defil ed . T hus we may han d over farmers to farm , or even those
already dying-the aged, the criti call y ill-to di e. 1 who lehea rted ly
support the interpreta tion of Rabbi Wo lf-Kitzes!"
T he li ght in the room was draining, like puddl es, away. You could
see it lifting off the wa ll s. T he las t o f the sun dropped benea th the line
of rooftops. Eveyon e knew thi s was their las t chance.
"And wha t is the opinio n of the Mos t Pious?"
"A nega tive opinion ," announced the descendant. "1 am shamed
even to think o f women o f tha t kind."
"Wha t says the Rabbi of the Fu r Trimmers?"
Korni schoner, with much diffi cu lty, shook hi s head."
0."
Hi s
fin al word .
"Ah ," said Dorka Kl einweiss. "The vote is two
to
two."
T he dusk was now so thi ck tha t the J ews had to grope for the backs
of their chairs. They sat in them, not noticing tha t the Rabbi from
Yambol was no longer unconsc ious but, on the contra ry, sitting
upright, rubbing hi s swo ll en eyes.
"What am 1?" Lunt as ked. " Li ving or dead?"
"Rabbi !" the Council members excl aimed. "Can we make the li st
or can 't we? Tell us! Break the ti e!"
"Alas, living," sa id the Ra bbi , whose back was humped.
