All possible subjects came up for discussion “between Minchah and Maariv.” The politician of the Kehillah discoursed1 learnedly on the European situation and the various problems of statecraft involved in the relations of 22the great Powers to each other, the philosopher shed the light of his wisdom on the great scientific movements of the day and the wondrous2 inventions which are revolutionizing civilization, while the Talmudist elucidated3 knotty4 and interesting questions of rabbinical law or lamented5 the downfall of religious sentiment in these evil days and contrasted these with the unyielding fidelity6 and loyalty7 of yore. They all found attentive8 and eager listeners, to whom their words were as the very revelation of the Urim and Tummim; but they did not arouse the same degree of enthusiasm as the story-teller. This accomplished9 narrator of witty10 tales and humorous anecdotes11 held the hearts of his auditors12 in his hands; and when his turn came and he began to draw upon his apparently13 inexhaustible stock of Mesholim, an immense enthusiasm took possession of the entire audience, and there was no limit to their enjoyment14 of the numberless good points he made. They were indeed amusing, those tales of impecunious15 rabbis, and still more impecunious Bachurim, of awkward bridegrooms and homely16 brides, of witty Poles and scheming Schnorrers. But they were more. They were instructive, for they reflected the inner life of the Jewish people, and showed, even if from a humorous 23point of view, the many trials and difficulties by which they were encompassed17.
But now the shadows had deepened into night, and the Shammas, who had the privilege of reading the service before the rest of the congregation in order that he might be permitted to perform the work-a-day task of lighting18 the lights, interrupted the pleasant tales of the story-teller by a brief notification that the time for prayer had arrived. The evening service was brief, lasting19 in all hardly more than a quarter of an hour. Its chief feature was the Havdoloh, in which the Chazan pronounced a number of benedictions20 over wine, spices, and a peculiar21 braided wax candle, and thanked the Lord that He makes a distinction between light and darkness, between Sabbath and week-day, and between Israel and the nations. The service concluded, the worshippers greeted each other with hearty22 “Gut Woch” and repaired to their homes, but not yet to resume work-a-day tasks.
It was an unwritten law in Nordheim that the Saturday night was not to be given over to labor23 or business, except in cases of emergency. The women were particularly zealous24 in following this rule. Instead sociability25 reigned26 supreme27. The men indulged in friendly card-play, the married women sat together in groups and gossiped, 24the youths and maidens28 played musical instruments, sang, and danced. These pleasant occupations were continued several hours, so that on Saturday nights the worthy29 Jewish burghers retired30 much later than usual.
The sincerity31 and thoroughgoing consistency32 which marked the observance of the Sabbath were characteristic of the religious life of the Nordheim community throughout the year. It would be inconsistent with the scope of this sketch33 to go into all the details of religious life and practice; but suffice it to say that Jewish piety34, as illustrated35 in Nordheim, was eminently36 earnest, emphatic37, and genuine. The very children possessed38 the spirit of martyrs39. They would have endured tortures rather than eat forbidden food or violate the Sabbath or any other of the holy days. Some of the manifestations40 of this piety were quaintly41 humorous or pathetic, according to the viewpoint from which they are regarded. The children of Nordheim, like children the world over, were very fond of fruit and berries. Had they been permitted to go into the orchards42 and gardens and gather their sweet products unrestrained, there can be no doubt that as much would have disappeared down their throats as they brought home. But the Nordheim mothers struck upon a shrewd 25scheme for circumventing43 the appetites of their sweet-toothed offspring, which did equal credit to their ingenuity44 and their psychological knowledge. They would send the children to gather fruits or pick berries upon a fast day. The plan was as effective as it was beautifully simple. The children brought home all that they gathered, for no Jewish child in Nordheim would have even thought of committing such a heinous45 sin as tasting food on a Taanis. Think of applying such a rule to American children! It would be about as effective as trying to restrain a bull with a piece of cotton thread.
It is recorded of a worthy Nordheim Baal Habbayis that he once saw some flies rise from his boots and settle upon some hay, which was later on eaten by his cows. Now that in itself is a trifling46 and insignificant47 incident; but it so happened that the boots, in accordance with German village custom, had been smeared48 with tallow, which, from the viewpoint of the Jewish religious law is Trefah—that is, ritually unclean, and forbidden to be eaten. Our worthy Nordheimer at once felt himself burdened in his conscience and despatched a special messenger post-haste to the rabbi at Gersfeld with an inquiry49 as to whether the milk of those cows might lawfully50 be drunk. This pious51 scrupulosity52 26did not, however, as might be thought, involve any gloomy or dreary53 harshness of sentiment. What we are accustomed to call the Puritanical54 frame of mind was utterly55 unknown in Nordheim. On the contrary, a cheerful and pleasant disposition56, which made the tone of social intercourse57 extremely agreeable, was the all prevalent mood. In individual instances this mental tendency was emphasized into pronounced joviality58, and the happy possessors thereof became the “Spass macher,” the jesters and fun-makers of the community. Woe59 betide the unfortunate individual who acquired a reputation for sourness and unsociability. He was considered a legitimate60 victim for the gibes61 and jests of the official jokers, and small indeed was the meed of sympathy which he received.
Another instance of the prevailing62 jocoseness63 was the custom of attaching nicknames to persons, which were then used instead of their proper appellations64. It was rarely that any one was referred to in Nordheim by his given name, the nickname being so universally used as almost to displace the real and legal cognomen65. These nicknames were derived66 from some personal characteristic or some peculiarity67 arising from vocation68 or experience in life, which had struck the village wags as humorous. It was “the 27black Elias,” or “the long Moses,” or “the bold Isaac,” or “the gentle Sarah,” the last two appellations being, of course, mildly ironical69. One individual, who had an undue70 amount of audacity71 in his psychological make-up, was known as “der Baishan,” that is, “the bashful or timid one,” while another who had failed in nearly everything he had undertaken was universally dubbed72 “der Mazzeldige Shmuel,” that is, “lucky Sam.” A family, some remote ancestor of which had once been imprisoned73 in a tower and escaped therefrom by leaping from the window of his cell, was generally known as “die Thurm hüpfer,” “the tower-hoppers,” while six brothers, all of whom were over six feet tall and stout74 in proportion, bore the strikingly apposite designation of “die Kinderlich,” that is, “the babies.” The swineherd, who called his charges together by means of a long tin trumpet75, from which he emitted shrill76 and piercing, though hardly melodious77 notes, was styled by the Jews “der Baal Tokea,” that is, the blower of the Shofar or ram’s horn trumpet used in the services of the New Year; while the village constable78, who was an extremely pious Catholic and always walked around through the village streets on Sundays with a prayer book in his hand, from which he read with strait-laced mien79 and 28ostentatious devotion, was dubbed “der Baal Tephillah,” that is, the cantor or reader of the synagogue services.
Schnorrers.
The two banes of village life and at the same time the most diverting figures therein were the Schnorrers and the gendarmes80 or rural policemen. The first-named gentry81, wandering Jewish mendicants, who believed in the socialistic doctrine82 that the world, or at least that part of it which professed83 Judaism, owed them a living, were a most interesting set and worthy of a special study in themselves. They honored the community frequently with their visits. Some were usually visible in the streets at all seasons of the year, and the services in the synagogue were generally graced by the presence of two or three. In most instances they professed intense piety and then their Tephillin were larger, their Talethim longer, and their prayers louder and more ecstatic than those of the rest of the congregation. They came from anywhere and everywhere. Most of them were of Russian or Polish origin, but there was a goodly sprinkling of individuals of German birth and occasionally a Sephardi from Jerusalem or some other Eastern region, clad in Oriental robes and with a majestic84 turban upon his head, relieved the monotony of Schnorrerdom and added interest and diversity thereto by his strikingly alien and picturesque85 appearance. They came in the most diverse guises86. Some appeared in the r?le of venerable rabbis with flowing beards, and anxious to display their learning in the law to whomsoever they could induce to listen; others professed to be merchants who had lost their all in ill-starred commercial ventures; while others were wandering apprentices—Handwerksburschen—temporarily out of work. Sometimes they were accompanied by their wives, who were always more voluble and eloquent87 than their husbands. Sometimes an entire family, grandparents, married sons and daughters and children of all ages, including infants in arms, made their appearance and then the resources of Nordheim charity were severely88 strained adequately to provide for them.
点击收听单词发音
1 discoursed | |
演说(discourse的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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2 wondrous | |
adj.令人惊奇的,奇妙的;adv.惊人地;异乎寻常地;令人惊叹地 | |
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3 elucidated | |
v.阐明,解释( elucidate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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4 knotty | |
adj.有结的,多节的,多瘤的,棘手的 | |
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5 lamented | |
adj.被哀悼的,令人遗憾的v.(为…)哀悼,痛哭,悲伤( lament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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6 fidelity | |
n.忠诚,忠实;精确 | |
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7 loyalty | |
n.忠诚,忠心 | |
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8 attentive | |
adj.注意的,专心的;关心(别人)的,殷勤的 | |
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9 accomplished | |
adj.有才艺的;有造诣的;达到了的 | |
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10 witty | |
adj.机智的,风趣的 | |
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11 anecdotes | |
n.掌故,趣闻,轶事( anecdote的名词复数 ) | |
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12 auditors | |
n.审计员,稽核员( auditor的名词复数 );(大学课程的)旁听生 | |
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13 apparently | |
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎 | |
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14 enjoyment | |
n.乐趣;享有;享用 | |
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15 impecunious | |
adj.不名一文的,贫穷的 | |
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16 homely | |
adj.家常的,简朴的;不漂亮的 | |
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17 encompassed | |
v.围绕( encompass的过去式和过去分词 );包围;包含;包括 | |
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18 lighting | |
n.照明,光线的明暗,舞台灯光 | |
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19 lasting | |
adj.永久的,永恒的;vbl.持续,维持 | |
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20 benedictions | |
n.祝福( benediction的名词复数 );(礼拜结束时的)赐福祈祷;恩赐;(大写)(罗马天主教)祈求上帝赐福的仪式 | |
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21 peculiar | |
adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的 | |
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22 hearty | |
adj.热情友好的;衷心的;尽情的,纵情的 | |
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23 labor | |
n.劳动,努力,工作,劳工;分娩;vi.劳动,努力,苦干;vt.详细分析;麻烦 | |
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24 zealous | |
adj.狂热的,热心的 | |
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25 sociability | |
n.好交际,社交性,善于交际 | |
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26 reigned | |
vi.当政,统治(reign的过去式形式) | |
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27 supreme | |
adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的 | |
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28 maidens | |
处女( maiden的名词复数 ); 少女; 未婚女子; (板球运动)未得分的一轮投球 | |
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29 worthy | |
adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的 | |
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30 retired | |
adj.隐退的,退休的,退役的 | |
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31 sincerity | |
n.真诚,诚意;真实 | |
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32 consistency | |
n.一贯性,前后一致,稳定性;(液体的)浓度 | |
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33 sketch | |
n.草图;梗概;素描;v.素描;概述 | |
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34 piety | |
n.虔诚,虔敬 | |
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35 illustrated | |
adj. 有插图的,列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词 | |
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36 eminently | |
adv.突出地;显著地;不寻常地 | |
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37 emphatic | |
adj.强调的,着重的;无可置疑的,明显的 | |
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38 possessed | |
adj.疯狂的;拥有的,占有的 | |
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39 martyrs | |
n.martyr的复数形式;烈士( martyr的名词复数 );殉道者;殉教者;乞怜者(向人诉苦以博取同情) | |
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40 manifestations | |
n.表示,显示(manifestation的复数形式) | |
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41 quaintly | |
adv.古怪离奇地 | |
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42 orchards | |
(通常指围起来的)果园( orchard的名词复数 ) | |
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43 circumventing | |
v.设法克服或避免(某事物),回避( circumvent的现在分词 );绕过,绕行,绕道旅行 | |
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44 ingenuity | |
n.别出心裁;善于发明创造 | |
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45 heinous | |
adj.可憎的,十恶不赦的 | |
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46 trifling | |
adj.微不足道的;没什么价值的 | |
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47 insignificant | |
adj.无关紧要的,可忽略的,无意义的 | |
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48 smeared | |
弄脏; 玷污; 涂抹; 擦上 | |
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49 inquiry | |
n.打听,询问,调查,查问 | |
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50 lawfully | |
adv.守法地,合法地;合理地 | |
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51 pious | |
adj.虔诚的;道貌岸然的 | |
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52 scrupulosity | |
n.顾虑 | |
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53 dreary | |
adj.令人沮丧的,沉闷的,单调乏味的 | |
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54 puritanical | |
adj.极端拘谨的;道德严格的 | |
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55 utterly | |
adv.完全地,绝对地 | |
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56 disposition | |
n.性情,性格;意向,倾向;排列,部署 | |
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57 intercourse | |
n.性交;交流,交往,交际 | |
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58 joviality | |
n.快活 | |
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59 woe | |
n.悲哀,苦痛,不幸,困难;int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
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60 legitimate | |
adj.合法的,合理的,合乎逻辑的;v.使合法 | |
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61 gibes | |
vi.嘲笑,嘲弄(gibe的第三人称单数形式) | |
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62 prevailing | |
adj.盛行的;占优势的;主要的 | |
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63 jocoseness | |
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64 appellations | |
n.名称,称号( appellation的名词复数 ) | |
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65 cognomen | |
n.姓;绰号 | |
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66 derived | |
vi.起源;由来;衍生;导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 );(从…中)得到获得;源于;(从…中)提取 | |
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67 peculiarity | |
n.独特性,特色;特殊的东西;怪癖 | |
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68 vocation | |
n.职业,行业 | |
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69 ironical | |
adj.讽刺的,冷嘲的 | |
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70 undue | |
adj.过分的;不适当的;未到期的 | |
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71 audacity | |
n.大胆,卤莽,无礼 | |
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72 dubbed | |
v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 );把…称为;配音;复制 | |
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73 imprisoned | |
下狱,监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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75 trumpet | |
n.喇叭,喇叭声;v.吹喇叭,吹嘘 | |
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76 shrill | |
adj.尖声的;刺耳的;v尖叫 | |
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77 melodious | |
adj.旋律美妙的,调子优美的,音乐性的 | |
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78 constable | |
n.(英国)警察,警官 | |
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79 mien | |
n.风采;态度 | |
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80 gendarmes | |
n.宪兵,警官( gendarme的名词复数 ) | |
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81 gentry | |
n.绅士阶级,上层阶级 | |
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82 doctrine | |
n.教义;主义;学说 | |
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83 professed | |
公开声称的,伪称的,已立誓信教的 | |
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84 majestic | |
adj.雄伟的,壮丽的,庄严的,威严的,崇高的 | |
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85 picturesque | |
adj.美丽如画的,(语言)生动的,绘声绘色的 | |
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86 guises | |
n.外观,伪装( guise的名词复数 )v.外观,伪装( guise的第三人称单数 ) | |
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87 eloquent | |
adj.雄辩的,口才流利的;明白显示出的 | |
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88 severely | |
adv.严格地;严厉地;非常恶劣地 | |
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