Page 67 - The Legacy of Abraham Rothstein - text

Wisoka Mazovieck

My father, although orthodox, had many interests outside religion.
I have mentioned his love of natural history and the discussions of
European politics which I eagerly listened to. He also taught me
Polish by reading the newspaper to me, and German from the Bible
translated by Moses Mendelssohn. All this developed in me a desire
to go see some other place besides Pelcovizna, which was no bigger
than a couple of streets in Los Angeles. To travel and see different
scenes was out of the question: not having fifty kopeks at most, how
could one think of leaving his bread and tea, and wander about? Gil
Blas, in the Lesage story, wandered on foot to the university in
Salamanca. He was safe from being molested on the road by his
countrymen, but a Jewish boy walking to another city in Poland took
the chance of being beaten or crippled by Polish boys or shepherds
in the meadows.
My cousin David, uncle Leiser’s son, was one year younger than I
was, and had been my student when I was studying in the bet
hamidrash. He was not as bright in his studies, so we teamed together.
We both got the wanderlust, not knowing how or when, since we
never read “forbidden” books or came in contact with outsiders.
One day, just after Passover, we decided to go to Wisoka Mazovieck
in the state of Lomza, where there was a yeshiva. In distant cities were
yeshivot, schools organized free of charge with several teachers, to
provide an education to boys from different towns. Some of those
yeshivot had the best systems of Jewish education and the best
teachers. Volozhen and Kovno were very popular, producing great
rabbis and well-known Jewish educators and writers.
To enter those institutions required very good knowledge and
understanding of Jewish learning, which we did not have, so we
decided to go to a lesser yeshiva in a small town. The nearest was fifty
miles away by rail. I wished to go there and study like a big boy, but
no one in our house had the fare. Cousin David could get his fare
from his parents, who were willing to entrust him to me. My father
did not know my plans; he believed that when one has the desire for

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