He knows not
how to thank for the sorrows that have been sweetened by His mercy,
blessed be He!"
Mother did not understand, and looked at father questioningly. "The
Catcher is in town," explained father.
"The Catcher!" shuddered mother.
"But he takes only Fourths and upwards," said father, reassuringly.
Fourths, Fifths, etc., those households were called which had four,
or five, or more sons.
"And our household has only three sons at present," continued
father. "Do you understand, woman? Three sons were left to us, and
our household is exempt from military duty. Now do you see the
mercy of the Lord, blessed be He? Do you still murmur against Him,
blessed be He?"--
So it was in those days. Every Jewish community had to deliver a
certain fixed number of recruits to the Government annually. This
number was apportioned among the families, and every family taxed
the households composing it. But not every household had to supply
a recruit. A household with a large number of sons secured the
exemption of a household with fewer sons. For instance, a household
with four sons in it was exempted, if there was a household with
five sons to levy from in the same family.
Pages:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25