"What did you say was the name of your native town?" I asked out of
sheer curiosity. She named my native town. I felt a shiver go
through me. "And what was your father's name?" I asked again,
trembling.
"Bendet."
"Was he a wine-dealer?"
"Yes; and how do you know it? Are you of the same town?"
I told her my father's name, and we clasped hands in surprise.--
While the old man was telling his tale, the clouds dispersed. I
looked upwards: the dark sky spread vaultlike above us studded with
stars, some in groups, some far apart. Then I remembered what the
Lord had promised to our father Abraham: "And I shall multiply thy
seed as the stars in heaven." And I thought I saw in the sky naught
but so many groups of Jews: some kept in exile, some confined within
the nebulae of the Milky Way. . . . But even then, it seemed to me,
there was a strong attraction, a deep sympathy between them all, far
apart and scattered though they were. Even so they formed
aggregations of shining stars--far apart, yet near. . . .
VIII
The wind began to grow cold; we pressed close to one another to keep
warm.
Pages:
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94