Page 75 - The Legacy of Abraham Rothstein - text

Makova

The bet hamidrash in Pelcovizna was full of books and young men
willing to teach for free anyone willing to learn, and the rabbi of the
town, a very learned and pious man, gave a free lesson every day to
the youth who wanted to learn but were unable to pay for their
studies. But the place had become too small and inconsequential to
David and me. After traveling for the first time in our lives on a
railroad, and being away fifty miles from home, we felt like exploring
the world a little further. When I was studying the Talmud, I was
simply doing a mitzvah; I had no goal to reach, no specific aim for the
future, not the slightest idea how to become independent and make a
living when grown up. Neither did thousands of young boys of the
same age who filled the yeshivot ever think of the seriousness of
manhood. It was assumed that when one became of age he would be
married to a girl through a matchmaker, and her father would feed
the young husband for years until some way was found for him to
make a living and support his wife and the few children born by that
time.
I was just reaching the stage where, like a chick that pecks a hole
in the eggshell and sticks his head out into the light, I was beginning
to make the effort to break out of my surroundings and see the
world. Once I had observed the territory fifty miles away, I wanted to
see more. There were many yeshivot in the old country, and many
heroic young fellows who could boast of the yeshivot where they slept
on bare benches and had only a few regular days to eat at patrons’
houses. Their stories stirred my blood for adventure. Again, my
father did not like the idea, looking with disdain on this search for
learning, and again I had no money. The House of Rothstein did not
do cash business: meat and groceries were always bought on credit.
We paid our bills but never had any cash on hand. Naturally, I could
not have a new outfit for my new adventure. But, money or no
money, I prepared my pack: a couple of extra shirts wrapped in a red
bandanna and, most important, my tephilin, for I was bar mitzvah and
a pious Jew.

71