Page 155 - LEIBY

Chapter 19 155

expended some effort to find them someone who spoke Greek
and could translate to Czech whatever they wanted to say, and
thus they’d be able to ask for what they needed. Dovid thanked
him and motioned to him that there was no need for him to
trouble himself, but the hotel manager was determined to help.
He returned after a few minutes with an elderly woman who
worked as a cook in a nearby restaurant.

“This is Melina, she’s an immigrant from Greece. She’s been
here for years and is fluent in both Greek and Czech.”

Dovid smiled politely at the woman, but inwardly he was
quaking. What would they do now?

Melina smiled back and began to speak in rapid Greek. Dovid
and Pesach looked at each other helplessly and suddenly
burst out laughing hysterically. They held their stomachs and
continued laughing uncontrollably.

“So, my Greek is an old dialect,”Melina huffed, insulted.“What
of it? Why are you laughing at me?”

Dovid wanted to mollify her but didn’t really know how to do
it; of course, she wouldn’t understand his dialect of ‘Greek’ – a
jumble of words in lashon hakodesh. Melina turned her back on
them and stalked out, deeply offended by the young Greeks’
uncouth behavior and promising herself that she would never
speak Greek again.

“Phew – we got out of that one okay,” Dovid murmured, when
Melina’s figure had disappeared from view. “Now we have to get
to work and decide how to go on from here.”

“Shame that our route won’t take us through Prague,” Pesach
mused. “I’ve always wanted to visit the altneuschul – the most
famous shul in Europe – where the Maharal’s seat is still
preserved, and the Golem of Prague is hidden away in the attic,
under piles and piles of genizah.”

“Well, you don’t have to travel as far as Prague for that,” Dovid
replied. “Just look at me, I’m a golem myself. Sitting here with