a rule, and 4655 given to the curious trait of taking a personal interest in the stranger in their midst. The services, however, are so chilly! The good old fervor is not noticable. Do you know,” eamnnestly continued Mandell, “though no stricter orthodox than yourself, whenever I attend the Synagogue, during the Holydays particularly, all these years of travail, my entire past, which was not always happy nor bright nor pure, this gulf is spanned over by the wonderful memories of my childhood when, as a wondering and awe-struck laddy I prayed by the side of my father who would guide me through the bulky Miachzor, and then a serene happiness overcomes me, a calmness of soul that I rarely know otherwise.’
Kremner glanced at his companion. He perceived a rather serious intelligent face, his raiment clearly indicated to Kremner that his finances were not in a flourishing condition, or else why berate a congregation for its efforts to raise the funds necessary for the maintenance of its house of worship. They had unconsciously retraced their steps; Kremner, who was a kind-hearted man, wanted to purchase a ticket of admission for the Holyday services and present it to Mandell. He was trying to construct a proper and pleasant form of speech in tendering the gift, “for” he reasoned, “he looks like a proud beggar.” And then they found themselves in front of the “Shool” again. A sudden fancy possessed Kremner. “Listen Mr. Mandell, I will buy tickets for the Holyday services providing you consent to be my guest,” he exclaimed.
Mandell acquiesced.
“I will be the wolf in the fold,” Kremner laughingly remarked when they left the Synagogue with the cards of adimission:
When Kremner appeared at Shool, on the following morning he discovered that his ten dollars had secured them seats in the region of frock coats and silk hats. In fact many more people at synagogue wore silk hats than were to be found in a reformed temple.
His fear of being bothered by his fellow worshippers ‘was unfounded. No one disturbed the unpretentiously clad, middle-aged man- The scene was strange to him. The numerous candles of various sizes shed a steady glow and, augmented by the
crowded humanity, heated the atmosphere beyond the point of comfort. Now and again a Hebrew sentence of the prayer would reach his ear and he was surprised at his understanding of its meaning. He looked about him. “How odd for me to be here!” he smiled. The worshippers were somewhat noisy in the House of God. They lacked decorum. The older men particularly were somewhat demonstrative, they swayed to and fro shouting their prayers, but he observed the zest, the gusto with which they pronounced the words. He could not doubt their earnestness. It scemed to him as if the air was permeated with a spirituality, a strange subtle feeling that used to overpower him just as it did Mandell, as a boy praying in the ‘Shool, in Russia.
"What would my wife say were she aware that I am worshipping at an orthodox synagogue. She might dub me a sentimental idiot," Kremner mused.
His wife was a Jewish Christian-Scientist. He laughed at the absurdity of it. Then he furtively looked about to note if his untimely laughter was observed. It was not noticed. Two of his children had intermarried. He suffered keenly from it. Could he really condemn the son and daughter for choosing their mates from the people among who they dwelled? Their mother was aChristian Scientist; could he blame the children for mating with respectable Christians though not of the scientific clan? Try as he would he could not reconcile himself with his children’s matrimonial ventures.
The worshippers were droning the prayers in the sing-song but hearty fashion. Strange, long forgotten childhood scenes came surging through the floodgates of his memory! He marshalled forth from a be- cobwebbed past his boyhood days in Russia, the ‘chedar,’ the ‘melamed,’ armed with the formidable strap. How vivid the picture! He was a little mischievous but very bright pupil. The old folks, his parents, were strict in ritualistic Judaism! He reflected: “I wonder if the narrow zeal of my dear parents was not partly the cause of my breaking away from the body Judaic upon my landing in America?”
He was a youth then, and like thousands of others he migrated to the new world to seek his fortune and to gain civic liberty. He worked hard and