make a "fine Jew" of me. Nor was she a rare exception in this
respect, for there were hundreds of other poor families in our town
who would starve themselves to keep their sons studying the
Word of God

Whenever one of the neighbors suggested that I be apprenticed to
some artisan she would flare up. On one occasion a suggestion of
this kind led to a violent quarrel

One afternoon when we happened to pass by a bookstore she
stopped me in front of the window and, pointing at some huge
volumes of the Talmud, she said: "This is the trade I am going to
have you learn, and let our enemies grow green with envy."



BOOK II ENTER SATAN CHAPTER I THE Talmudic seminary,
or yeshivah, in which my mother placed me was a celebrated old
institution, attracting students from many provinces. Like most
yeshivahs, it was sustained by donations, and instruction in it was
free. Moreover, out-of-town students found shelter under its roof,
sleeping on the benches or floors of the same rooms in which the
lectures were delivered and studied during the day. Also, they
were supplied with a pound of rye bread each for breakfast. As to
the other meals, they were furnished by the various households of
the orthodox community. I understand that some school-teachers
in certain villages of New England get their board on the rotation
plan, dining each day in the week with another family. This is
exactly the way a poor Talmud student gets his sustenance in
Russia, the system being called "eating days."