Page 124 - The Legacy of Abraham Rothstein - text

Escape to New York
plentiful, yet the Jewish family divided the last morsel to feed a young
boy who came to their town looking for a house of learning where he
could find knowledge of the Torah. Every family, even the poorest,
gave one day of meals to a boy who had come to the yeshiva to study.
Not only did they feed the boys, but the Jewish women, to their great
credit, washed the boys’ clothes, helped them in every way, and urged
them to study.
It is not surprising to see so many Jewish learned men
contributing so much to every science all over the world. Most of
them either studied in the yeshivot themselves, or their fathers did,
seeking knowledge for knowledge’s sake, not for a career. It is the
poorest—or their children—who have contributed to science; the
rich Jews and Gentiles looked instead to gain money or social
standing. The loss of the Jewish communities in Eastern Europe is
the greatest calamity that ever befell the Jewish nation, and the
spiritual loss is twice as great. The soul of the Jewish people there
was destroyed, for the enemy purposely and systematically searched
for and rooted out the cultured and intelligent class, the brains of the
community. A picture or beautiful scenery is to be judged from the
distance. When looking back to the old home, the simple and dreamy
life of unexciting events, I see a fine picture which I can enjoy
looking at again and again. The accursed enemy has torn and
destroyed that picture, but it shall remain in my mind until the last
moment of my life.

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